Professional Growth Resolutions Linky and a FLASH Giveaway!!!

I'm teaming up with some of my bloggy BFF's to share my professional growth resolutions!  Of course, this is a topic near and dear to my heart at this point in my life and my career.  I'm hoping this post will be therapeutic, because it is all I have been obsessing thinking about lately.  Here it goes! :)

As you all know, I just graduated a few weeks ago.  I now have a Masters in Literacy Curriculum and Instruction!  :)  I suppose you could say that Step 1 of my GRAND PLAN is complete, but because relaxation is against my nature, I'm already plotting the next step.  :)  If you know me in real life, you will not be surprised by that statement whatsoever.  Not one bit! Ha!

This is my confession:  I love teaching third grade, and my little kiddos make me smile on the regular.  I just don't know if the classroom is my final destination.  I have a few different ideas in mind.  I would LOVE to be a literacy professor at the graduate level.  That's my ultimate goal, but I also think I would really enjoy working in curriculum or as a literacy coach.  Now that I've graduated, I am excited to explore my options, although I don't see myself leaving the classroom anytime soon.  That being said, I do plan on carving out some time during my holiday break to update my resume.  I don't want to jinx myself, but let's just say that a door has potentially opened, and I may be able to get my feet wet as an adjunct to see if being a professor is really my cup of tea.  Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but this would be a wonderful opportunity for me.  If I am fortunate enough to land the job, it would help me decide whether to start looking at doctoral programs or to pursue other career paths.  I won't lie though.  Since I will be turning 29 this year, I am starting to think a lot more about how my career aspirations fit with my ticking biological clock.  We're still basically on a two year timeline, but I'm definitely starting to feel stressed out about balancing it all.  Timing is going to be a HUGE factor for this goal to reach fruition!  For now, I'm just going to take it one day at a time, beginning with the updated resume and letters of recommendation.  Of course, I'll eventually need to fill out another job application too!  :)  Fingers crossed!

While we're on the topic of paperwork, this year I also get to renew my five-year license again!  That's on the list too!  :)  Nothing else will matter if I'm not legal... and I'd rather not wait until July when my current license expires to check it off of the list!

I'm really hoping that 2013 affords more opportunities to work with teachers through workshops.  :)  I have been working with my county's educational service center for the past two years, and it's been a fabulous experience!  I have really started to enjoy presenting and sharing my passion for literacy with other teachers in the area.  I will be speaking about writing and modeling lessons for lead teachers at the end of January, and I'm definitely looking forward to it!  :)  Hopefully this is just the beginning of great things! 

Of course, because I am such a literacy nerd, I also want to find more time to read professional literature this year.  I have so many books on my MUST READ list... just waiting to be devoured on my bookshelf.  I buy them... and then they sit there collecting dust.  :)  It wasn't always that way, but once I got married and was consumed by grad school, a new job, and blogging, professional reading quickly slipped down my list of priorities.  In 2013, I am going to try to make it a bigger priority again!  :)  Okay, and this is where I'm going to look like a huge nerd again, because most of the books on my list are not regular professional development books.  They are textbooks!  Yes, I want to read textbooks for fun!  The kicker?  They were not textbooks that I bought for my coursework.  They were textbooks I picked up for FREE when my professor decided to clear off her bookshelves over the past few years.  Now that I am finally done with school, I just might actually have time to delve into the content!  My main focus: assessment!  It's an area that I want to learn a lot more about and improve in!  :)  This is a sampling of my MUST READ LIST!



This year, I also plan on officially becoming a member of a few professional organizations.  I have been kicking the idea around for a while, but now that I don't have to spend money on classes (at least for the time being), I would like to take that next step!  I plan on joining the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English.  No matter what I do with my career, more knowledge and more memberships can't hurt one bit! Maybe I'll join today and get an early start!  ;)

Of course, BIG goals are scary.  They take lots of time and planning and perspiration!  I'm definitely ready for whatever comes my way.  I realize that big risks yield big rewards, and I'll never know what's possible if I don't take the leap!  :)  I'm hoping that I will grow and deepen my understanding of teaching and literacy even more over the next year!  More than anything though, despite my lofty goals, I hope I can find BALANCE in the midst of all of it.  Teaching is all-consuming, and working towards larger goals can take even more out of you!  Even though I have my eyes focused on the prize... I don't want to forget about having a life outside of work.  I want to be able to go out with my friends and spend time with my husband.  I want to be able to go to to the park with my dog without feeling the stress of impending deadlines.  I want to live a FULL and EXCITING life!!! :)  Perhaps this is my greatest resolution this year!

For now, my ultimate game plan has seven steps.  Who knows how this will evolve over the course of 2013!  I just plan on taking everything one day at a time... one year at a time.  :)  You can BET that I will be plugging along... working towards larger goals in the meantime!

As a BIG thank you for celebrating another year with all of us, we are giving away the following resources to help start out your new year with a BANG!  This FLASH Giveaway will be over before you know it!  You have 24 hours to enter to win 17 fabulous lessons... :)

Open publication - Free publishing - More 1st grade a  Rafflecopter giveaway

If you like what you see above, check out the following blogs for more fabulous ideas!   Erica: Erica Bohrer's First Grade
  Lindsey: The Teacher Wife    
Michelle: Fab-u-lous in First
   Amy: Step Into Second Grade  
   Hope: Second Grade Shenanigans
Anna: Crazy for First Grade
Cheryl: Primary Graffiti 
Deanna: Mrs. Jump's Class
Deedee: Mrs. Wills Kindergarten 
Natalie and Rachelle: What the Teacher Wants
Sarah: First Grader At Last
Kim: Kinder Gals
Kathleen: Growing Kinders
Cara: The First Grade Parade
Abby: The Inspired Apple 

   So, what are your professional development goals for 2013?!  Don't forget to link up and share your goals with all of us!  You just might inspire someone else to check a similar goal off of their list! ;)