On a Personal Note

I call this blog My Primary Passion because I am passionate about being a primary grade teacher. I actually have several passions and my family is truly my primary passion. Tonight our adoption group celebrated the 12th reunion of our trip to China to adopt our children. I thought I would share a few photos of my other primary passion.

That was then.... in China. My daughter is on the far right.

This is now... My daughter is in orange.

The parent photo.

Causing Me to Think

I read many tweets and articles online this afternoon and some of them are causing me to think deeply about what happens in my classroom every day. I am not ready to write a full post with my thoughts yet but I wanted to share a few of the items that are causing my thoughts to swirl.

And then there is this article called, What Schools Need: Vigor Not Rigor.

I need to learn to blend the world that I have to be in with the world that I want to be in and that is hard work.

Balance?

I do understand that a true balance between my personal life and my professional life is not really possible. There will always be shifts back and forth between where I spend most of my time and energy. Right now though, I can't seem to shift away from spending the vast majority of my time on my work. I know that I need to shift a bit the other way but I don't know how. I know that it is important for my health and that having time away from work will make me a better, more relaxed teacher. I know all of this but I still can't seem to make it happen - there is just too much to do. I am honestly seeking your suggestions and advice on how to improve my balance. What has worked for you?