School starts next week and I am so excited! I was able to do some pretty amazing things this summer to recharge my seriously low batteries. After two extremely hectic years of finishing my masters, studying abroad, jumping into the world of CI/TPRS, presenting at a conference in Spain, and teaching an overwhelming number of students, (plus being a mom and a wife!!) I needed it!
My daughter and I went to Japan together in the beginning of June thanks to a cultural exchange offered by the Gibson County (Indiana) Economic Development Corporation. It was such an amazing experience! I always say that you learn so much about yourself, your culture, and your core beliefs when you find yourself plopped into another country – and we found that it was true!
Ainsley met her Uncle Takao for the first time and we both met our cousins!
Then it was time to meet host families. All the students were crazy nervous, but they smiled, shook hands, and headed off to their homes. It was so wonderful to get to see them blossom, almost before our very eyes, from nervous and scared kids to confident and curious world travelers.
I learned how to make soba (buckwheat) noodles!
And finally we were reunited!
But Japan was just the beginning! Ainsley and I were home for 5 very short days (sleeping for most of that!) before we headed off with one of her brothers on our school trip to Costa Rica (and here)! We did so many fun and exciting things on this trip: river rafting, zip lining, home stay, beach time, night hikes, up-close encounters with sloths and the ‘monkey mafia’… and so much more! But for me, the best part was getting to experience it all with two of my own kids.
At the butterfly reserve.
But that’s not all! That was just JUNE!
In July, I was also able to go to iFLT in Cincinnati, OH for an amazing, wonderful, and inspiring experience! I attended the Coaching for Coaches session on Monday and met a lot of crazy talented people! If you can, I highly recommend attending this session in the future. You will learn a ton about helping others learn about and use a variety of CI approaches.
I also attended sessions with the amazing Kristy Placido, Anna Gilcher and Rachelle Adams, Martina Bex, Rebecca Moulton, and more. I was able to observe master teachers Grant Boulanger and Mark Mallaney in action – and THAT was extremely valuable.
But most importantly, I was able to connect with like-minded individuals, talk about my passions and struggles, and be supported in every way imaginable. What a lot of preparation and planning that must go into this wonderful conference! I will DEFINITELY be back next year!!
I hope you were able to recharge your batteries, too. We put so much of ourselves into our lessons and our daily classroom experiences that we can be seriously drained at the end of the year. Time away from all that is necessary in order to keep that creativity and energy going for the next school year.
Here’s to a fabulous school year!!