It's been a long time since I wrote a Monday Motivation post, but I've been feeling a bit uninspired in the blog department lately. Probably because it's been too dang hot to do anything, and I've been stuck in hyper-focus on school the last week or so. It's really frustrating, too, since there's really no reason to plan so far out this early, especially since I know there will be benchmark testing that I'll have to rearrange my pacing guide for, but this is a habit I just can't seem to break from years of being the chief planner for the newsroom.

I always feel better having some sort of plan laid out, even when I know it's likely going to change. Having at least a framework in place makes it easier to shift and make adjustments. And with that being said, my first unit is basically mapped out and plans tentatively written. I'm a little worried with pacing this year since my classes will be significantly shorter and our grading periods will be one week shorter.

In addition to planning my first unit, I've worked in my classroom twice. The first time all I did was get all the stuff I took home this summer moved in and get my desks set up how I want them. The second time I did a bit more: unpacked my filing cabinet, got my bulletin board backgrounds hung up, and hung most of my wall decorations (hopefully my class calendar will stay on the wall since it had to move rooms). According to our pre-planning schedule, I should have a lot of time in my room to get things finished, so I'll try to remember to take some pictures to share with y'all.

Speaking of pre-planning, my first day back at work is this Wednesday. We have five days of pre-planning this year, which is more than we've had the last two years. Students start back next week.

I think that's got us caught up on what's been happening lately. I hope everyone has a great week!