“Giftedness is not what you do or how hard you work. It is who you are. You think differently. You experience life intensely. You care about injustice. You seek meaning. You appreciate and strive for the exquisite. You are painfully sensitive. You are extremely complex. You cherish integrity. Your truth-telling has gotten you in trouble. Should 98% of the population find you odd, seek the company of those who love you just the way you are. You are not broken. You do not need to be fixed. You are utterly fascinating. Trust yourself!”

Linda Silverman~Gifted Development Center Denver


Friday 11 October 2013

I'm hanging in there...and a FREEBIE for reporting!

This is how I have been feeling lately, 
a little scary and little zany.
I hope people think I am a little cute too! 

I feel badly that I have not written a post in over a month. I have to say I am exhausted!  I am tired in a way I have never experienced.   I have already had to use sick days this year, and tonight I feel kind of achy and yucky too!  Why did I come out of hiding you ask?  Well, someone left me some lovely feedback on TpT and it reminded me that I might not be the only person who is writing progress reports in Ontario.  

Last year, right before the first reporting period (progress reports) I realized that my students did NOT understand what they were being evaluated on in the area of Learning Skills and Work Habits.  They had seen the words, responsibility, initiative, independent work, organization, collaboration and self-regulation, but it was crystal clear to me that they did not understand what those words meant.  I created a checklist of the learning skills and work habits in kid friendly language and started teaching my students what each of the skills/habits meant.  They gave me feedback and helped to refine the final checklist.  My students used it weekly to measure their own growth and set their own goals.  Although it was sometimes time consuming (we did it each Friday afternoon), I didn't regret using it, and the students would comment that they needed it to help guiding their goal setting.
I was thinking about writing progress reports today and had looked to see if there was anything new posted for learning skills and work habits, but when I googled it I found my own work!  Not even two hours later I received some lovely feedback from a Teachers Pay Teachers buyer (but the checklist is FREE) and thought, well there, I could post that in case someone else can use it...and thus my blogging block has been broken...at least for now.



Click on any image to go to TpT to
 download the checklist for FREE!

Wish me luck, I am off for a long weekend with my significant other for the first time in 8 years.  I am still trying to process all the events following my mom's death and my brother's cancer relapse but hopefully I'll find continued motivation to blog comes from the people who make it all worth it...the readers like you!

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers and Happy Columbus day to my American readers.  I am thankful for another year with my daughter and the love of my life.  I am also thankful for the new friends I have made through blogging.  I am going to have dinner with one of my new friends tomorrow!  I hope your weekend is equally blessed.




Awesome Jack O'Lantern clipart from the super talented Krista Walden!

Freebie Fridays



14 comments:

  1. Thank you for blogging!! I really look forward to what you have to say! You are insightful and a teacher I admire.

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    1. Thank you so much! I appreciate the pick me up. I have been so down lately and felt I had nothing worthwhile to say. I am sure that things will pick up as the holidays approach and my students start to catch on! Have an excellent weekend.

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  2. Love all that you do! Keep up the awesomeness! Happy Thanksgiving fellow Canadian!
    Najda

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    1. Najda,
      Aw thanks! I needed my bloggy friends to come to my rescue! This year has been plain strange for me, and I am still struggling with all the demands of family and work, but I think if I can start to channel some of my energy (what I have left) back into blogging, maybe the funk will lift! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving...because honestly we all have much to be thankful for!

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  3. Great post. Thanks for your candid and inspiring posts. Hugs to you. Enjoy your weekend AND your progress reporting! :)

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    1. Thank you Mr. Hughes. You are MY inspiration. I love reading about the ups and downs of life in the Hughes family! We are teachers yes, but we are people too and sometimes life gets tricky. Have a wonderful weekend with your brood, I am so glad Alissha is home from the hospital and on the mend!

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  4. Good to see you on here! Hope you are feeling better and have a lovely weekend!
    Alison
    Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'

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  5. It sounds like you've been through the ringer and back. Hang tough! Teachers always find ways to rebound. Thinking of you! You are welcome to pop over and share your ideas on my linky.....
    Every Day is Like Sunday Linky but NOT if it causes more stress. Sometimes I like to do linkies and things for fun and other times it seems stressful to get it out there. Only pop over if it is for fun! You don't need any more stress right now!
    P.S. My assistant is Canadian!
    Pam
    Rockin Resources

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    1. Thanks Pam! I love that you have a Canadian "assistant". I would LOVE to have any assistant right about now! It was really nice of you to stop by and say hi, and to leave me a nice comment and invitation. I am a little swamped right now, but I do appreciate your thoughtfulness. Hope you are having a great week!

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  6. Awww Sidney! I was thinking about you so I decided to check on you and now I know why you haven't been around. I hear you about the challenging class this year-I'm mentally exhausted too! But I'm bound and determined to beat them! haha Keep your head up, you're a strong teacher and person! I've missed you! Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
    Joanne
    Head Over Heels For Teaching

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    1. Thanks Joanne, I can use all the "checking in" I can get! I wish I could tell you my weekend away was AWESOME but it was such a disaster on so many levels that honestly all I can do is laugh. From power outages, to sprained ankles, to custom guards who took my car apart, it was quite the experience...but I did SURVIVE! I have missed all of you, and I hope to be back to more regular blogging soon! For now, I have to get done my writing assessments and do fall progress reports. First things first! Have an outstanding week, you made my day!

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  7. I hope you're feeling better, Sidney! I'm finding my class challenging, too! How does that happen after 23 years of teaching?!? Take care, my friend.

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  8. Hang in there, Sidney! I have the most challenging group I have had in 16 years of teaching, so I am with you on this! This shall pass!

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