Inside Bell's Brain

This one’s kind of lengthy and vulnerable, so here it goes... I have so many new, brave, even scary goals for this new year. 2017 was good to me, but I can’t help but feel like I often times didn’t make the most out of it. I don’t want to live a squandered life. But I also want to be mindful, vigilant, and protective of my time and energies because I’ve learned I can care for no one when I’m burnt out and used up.  This new year will hopefully hold even more exciting opportunities than last year. I’m praying God will give me wisdom and discernment to know which to pursue. It feels like so much is happening right now in my life, but I don’t want to take another step if it’s not toward God. As hard a pill as it is to swallow, I don’t want any part of anything that isn’t God’s plan for my life, even if that means I don’t get everything I want.  My one little word for 2018 is discipline. It sounds harsh, but I realized something when I was studying a few weeks ago that made m...

Admittedly I struggled with my "one little word" for this year.  I'm at a really pivotal point in a great deal of things going on in my life right now but I wanted it to be a word of true meaning and significance for me...a word that represents the excitement, fear, elation, frustration, and confidence that this year is for me. At first I thought ringmaster seemed like a good enough word.  I was certainly juggling the many responsibilities I have while learning to find the most important balance...a balance to take care of myself.  I was becoming a ringmaster of my own life again .  (And I don't mean that in a spiritual sense because God guides my daily path.  I just mean that I was taking control back of the things that have spiraled beyond my control...mostly because of my desire to make others around me happy and to be a person who can't say "no.")  But I digress... That still just didn't have the right nuance to it.  This year is about...

  Call me an overachiever .  Or just a lover of alliteration .  But I think my #16for16 is off to a great start.  I wanted to have something catchy for this big upcoming year, especially since last year's #focusedin15 worked so well for me.  When I met with a few of my best girlfriends on New Year's Eve to map out our plans and intentions for the coming year, I broke each of my big areas into three sub-goals.  I added one little overall goal to the bottom...and BAM!  There was my #16for16. Everything is kind of self-explanatory in the bullets, but a few things may not be.  For example, PTP (Polishing the Pulpit) is a spiritual retreat week that my congregation hosts for churches of Christ from all around.  It originally started as an opportunity for preachers to connect, but then it grew into an amazing get-together of Christians from all around.  I'm hopeful that by going I will grow spiritually and that I might e...

So I've been MIA for the last part of 2015...I have been doing some serious work on myself, and it feels great .  But of course that comes at the sacrifice of time or hobbies elsewhere, and unfortunately, I often let blogging go to re-prioritize other things.  Now I'm back...with some exciting things to look forward to in this new year.  Here's a peek at what I'm currently up to!   Listening : As usual, if there's a Twilight marathon on, it's on in my house.  Just can't help myself. Loving : My new work out clothes!  Since the beginning of November, I'm down 20 pounds and two dress sizes!   I invested in some new cropped compression pants and a couple of racer back tanks.  Now I feel like I'm really killin' it when I'm getting my work out on! Thinking : I have a giant "to do" list for this weekend.  Considering it's already Saturday night, it's probably best that I start knocking some stuff off the list.  E...

I'm so excited that I FINALLY got latest product, English Learner Notebooks , posted in my store yesterday!  I've been working on it for several weeks now, but the back-to-school days had me like WOAH!  I really hope that it will be a useful tool for other ELL/ESL/ELD teachers across the U.S. whose schools/states are members of the WIDA consortium.  I decided to include a few highlights here on my blog so you can see what it's all about!  Click through the image below to check it out in my TpT store. Please note that I am not affiliated with WIDA in any way.  I do not and have not worked for them at any time.  This product is not approved nor endorsed by WIDA.  It is simply a product created to use in conjunction with your students' teacher reports to better help students understand their English development. It occurred to me a few years back that, while ESL teachers in my state are expected to meet predetermined percentages of growt...

Well, we made it through August, and today is the first Friday of a new month.  A perfect time for reflection as we take on another chapter in the school year.  What are your plans for your instruction this year? When planning projects and alternative assessments, remember to give students voice and choice. We want to create a generation of thinkers…not robots.  It's certainly easier on ourselves to assign the same projects/assignments for everyone...but what are our students really getting out of it?  How often does that reflect the demands of a 21st century work environment?  Our students must be able to think critically, and giving them the freedoms to do so now will give back to the world a hundred fold! 

Back again for another inspirational thought this Friday.  Have you missed the others?  No worries...just click on the label "Friday Feels" on the right side of my blog.  You can catch up on the previous ones there. Encourage a classroom dynamic of collaboration and sharing. Synergy is essential in a twenty-first century classroom.  We must be willing to let go of the illusion that we are the keepers of all knowledge in our classrooms.  It's long overdue that we empower our future leaders with the skill sets they need to be successful and solve issues that have yet to even arise.  We must also model for them how to interact with others in such a way that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.  What are you doing to encourage collaboration in your classroom?