I often get the Sunday scaries during the school year. Sometimes, I even get summertime Sunday scaries just because my system-body and mind-have become accustomed to expecting what the coming week will hold. One strategy that always helps whatever level of scaries I am dealing with is the organization and planning of my upcoming week. I have planned my weeks for a long time now on Sundays. It has become a Sunday morning tradition where I will look to the week ahead as a fresh start, a way to get ahead, or just a way to find some time to relax. This post contains a quick Youtube tutorial that shows you 3 different examples on how to plan your week. You will also find some more weekly layout examples in this blog post and detailed directions on how to use any notebook or journal to plan your best week.

December 2020 is upon us! No matter how you have felt about the past year with everything that has happened, December is always a mood. It is a distinct vibe. Perhaps you run to set up holiday decorations or maybe you are a person who might be feeling some ease because this year the same holiday gatherings-at work or at home-may or may not be happening. It is definitely an odd time. I like December because it brings about this idea of reflection, and I also love the idea of deciding here in Michigan to cozy up for the winter. In this post, you will see my December planning pages as well as some of the things I am doing to make December more enjoyable with cozy accents and decorations. You will also see my mood meter as I make sure to check-in with myself as to how I am feeling each day.

As I reflect on the planning that I did at the beginning of August, I am keenly aware of the transition to the fall teacher schedule that happens in September. Yesterday was the first day of school and our first day implementing our district’s online learning plan. While today was the first full day, and I think it went pretty well, there still is something to be said about the major adjustments in the schedule that happens in not just my life, but in the life of a teacher. Really, anyone associated with someone going to school. Different pockets of priorities sneak up around keeping track of new tasks, email inboxes, trying to stay organized, and encouraging personal creative growth and inspiration. One way I like to try to maintain life’s course during times of transition is through journaling. Last month I wrote about how I was utilizing the Undated Daily Passion Planner in Lush Green in order to take things one day at a time. I can focus on the goals and the tasks that need to happen that day. This has been an adjustment in how my brain thinks. I am a habitual planner-aheader. I want to know what is happening a week from now, a month from now, and a year from now. I am constantly making lists. However, I think this particular fall season calls for all of us to maybe considering slowing down.

However you find yourself slowing down this fall season, I hope you get a chance to focus in on your goals, get curious about your own learning, and indulge in small moments that make you happy. One way to do that is to focus on your journaling habits. You may be choosing to use a bullet journal system, keep a Passion Planner, or write down your thoughts in any notebook you have around the house. My process for September involves figuring out where my motivation is through an inspiration layout, and then planing for each day, one at a time. This post is a preview of my inspiration layout for the month, some dailies, and my process for tackling the rest of the 29 days ahead.

April 1st means it is officially poetry month! I woke up this morning to an email letter from Jennifer Benka, executive director of The Academy of American Poets or Poets.Org. In her email, she stated, “More and more people are turning to poetry at this moment, because amid fear and uncertainty, poetry can help bring needed strength. At a time of anxiety and alarm, poetry can help bring tranquility. Poetry has the power to bring us together.” Poetry is powerful. I have to admit that over the course of the past week or so, I had started reading a little less. I had tried to keep up with my journaling, I was writing away on the blog, but my reading was something that sort of fell off. On a day I was feeling particularly funky, I remembered a line from The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney where the main character asked, “What else is possible?” in response to not assuming the worst outcome right away. The poem stuck in my brain as being so important right now. There is always something that goes awry. Stubbed your toe? Slow down. Dishwasher broke? You have an opportunity to learn how to fix something. Unexpected school closures in the last third of the school year due to a pandemic virus? Perhaps there is a reason.

I repeat, perhaps there is a reason.

I immediately started to round up the poetry books and novels-in-verse that were in my house and on my bookshelf. I am making a plan for my reading this month focusing on novels-in-verse and poetry. I was scared I had left a ton at school. I had. However, I had more access to poetry and books than I realized. I made a giant stack, and then I spent the rest of the day making a plan for my journal around poetry. I got excited about collecting poems, making lists, and trying to find the right words. Then, I paused when I came across Sarah Kay’s Poem “The Paradox.”

When I was 8 or 9, one of my favorite books was a light blue field guide of North American birds. I would browse through this book for hours. I loved owls and hummingbirds, robins and blue jays. The sight of birds always makes me smile. I have the same feeling about the month of March, specifically when I can feel spring is coming. The moment when the snow starts to melt and the wet grass is exposed to fresh air after a while. March is right before Spring Break. If you are anyone in the teaching world you know that Spring Break signifies a major benchmark in the school year. You can feel like you have accomplished so much…or you might have a long way to go. You may be gearing up for the testing season, or you may be trying to wrap your mind around the last 14 weeks of a school year and how to tackle each day with sanity.

Wherever you seem to be, my hope is that you find some moments to notice things like birds in the trees, find some moments of reading, and enjoy early morning journaling. Small things. Things that matter. March means we are three months into the new year, but there is still lots of time to do great work. It isn’t too late. This post outlines my plan for the month of March with a monthly layout, weekly layouts, and a reflection page in my bullet journal. I also have included “more” and “less” sections on each weekly layout to help guide a focused reflection each week. What do I want to do more of? Read, sleep, write, and spend time with my husband. What do I want to do less of? Taking work home, to-do list piling, anxiety, and not being proactive about stress. I am still using the same materials from my February post, including my Leuchtturm 1917 Medium A5 Dotted Journal in Port Red.

Journal in hand. Let’s do this, March.

I have been laughing quite a bit at all of the posts regarding how long the month of January feels to those in the teaching profession. On Friday, it really did feel like we were on the 62nd day of the month. The process of coming off of winter break, entering back into a routine, and realizing that 2020 goals are going to take the same grit from 2019 are all jarring realizations, to say the least. I went back to the yearly overview post I made around New Years to recenter myself on how I am moving forward into the next month. February is about moving forward. Moving forward with any goals, moving forward with ideas, and moving forward into the rest of the school year. At the beginning of January, I had written about the two books I am focusing on for this year: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy and You Had Better Make Some Noise: Words to Change the World by Phaidon Editors. I have many words that connect to goals for 2020, but both of these books are strong reminders to insert love and kindness into the world and do so loudly.

“What do you think success is? asked the boy. “To love,” said the mole.” -The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, Charles Mackesy

The first step in moving ahead into February is to challenge the negative mindset that has crept in throughout the month of January. Thoughts such as:

• The school year is already halfway over, and I feel as if I am not accomplishing as much as I want to do.

• I am tired.

• I already feel behind, and it is only January.

• I feel defeated when it comes to sustaining the same energy each day.

• I should be writing more.

• I should be reading more, and yes I am in a reading funk.

• Why haven’t I started the big project, yet?

There are more. However, the battle with negative self-talk enters right around February. Right when the feeling of the New Year subsides. Right when you realize that snow days aren’t happening this year in Michigan, and you adjusting to the idea of survival mode as a means of living. Just surviving is not a way to live. As teachers, the goal of February should be recentering ourselves out of survival mode and moving forward into a place of love. Love for self, others around us, our profession, and our own goals. For many of us, we say to ourselves, “I simply can’t.” Our daily demands are forcing us into a “when I open my eyes, until when I close my eyes” type of mentality. We still have to find a way to move forward even if it is small. Small progress is progress. In order to move forward, we are going to need a lot of determination and a lot of coffee (or the beverage of your choice). This month, the theme is coffee.

I have been writing a lot about burnout here on the blog and in my journal. If I look back at my morning pages, it is something that has slowly been building up since we went back-to-school in September. Because I have always felt that December is a month for reflection, I wanted to highlight that purpose in my December pages this month. If I compare my October reflection page to my November reflection page, I have already made some changes in terms of physical wellness and professional wellness. I have engaged in the idea of trying to balance the six different areas of self-care: physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social, and sensory. While I always feel like self-care is a concept that isn’t obtained, kind of like “work-life balance,” it is a word that is a strong reminder to put yourself first before the work.

Rachel Hollis in Girl, Stop Apologizing said, “When everything is important, nothing is important” (97). These words are so powerful, especially in December. I am getting better at understanding that everything can’t be important. We only have three weeks until winter break (not four this year!), and I want to make sure that in the rush I am celebrating small wins on a daily basis and setting the intention to practice regular self-care not for the sake of sounding good, but the ability to keep teaching month after month. December is about small wins…and all things merry and bright.

November calls for gratitude. It includes the first big holiday since maybe Labor Day or the Fourth of July when people get together. I am often struck by these holidays that sometimes the people closest to us are family, but not connected by blood. While I am not an advocate for celebrating the known reasons behind Thanksgiving, I am a person who loves holidays. This post outlines my November bullet journal inspiration, my November pages, and some key points of reflection. If you choose to celebrate Thanksgiving, you might feel the same as I do. The push and pull of recognizing the “Hallmark” holiday absurdity of it all or really loving the atmosphere of the day. To me, there is something comforting about the food (my husband makes the best turkey), the people, and the purpose that everyone has for taking time out of a busy schedule. It makes me want to plan more holidays throughout the year for no reason. at all. I always focus on the opportunity to be grateful for this moment in my life and then also trying to be more mindful of this feeling throughout the rest of the year.

I love October. I fall for all things pumpkin and leaves and warm coffee. The inspirational books from this month were very deliberate, and yet they all sort of fell into place naturally. I am going to be reading Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes with my classes this month in preparation for her author's visit to Kalamazoo in November. We will be writing ghost personal narratives while studying this mentor text, and also learning skills in scene writing, dialogue, snapshots, and imagery. Some other things I am excited about this month:

• My husband and my birthday are on the same day this month.

• Michigan Council for Teachers of English is this month! I am presenting on mentor texts and receiving an award!

• I am presenting in my district about mentor texts this month.

• Jason Reynolds Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks comes out on the 8th!

• The FIRST marking period of the year comes to a close this month.

• The FIRST round of parent/teacher conferences is this month.

• I speak at Western Michigan University to a group of pre-service teachers this month.

• Happy Halloween!

September is one of those months that everyone has an opinion about. Either people love the start of a new academic year, or they miss the days of summer where things were a little bit slower and more carefree. I fall into both camps; it is a time to reminisce and a time to jump back into routine. September is about re-finding your rhythm. I love the inspiration from this month’s books, and also the idea of of holding onto the ideas of empathy, perspective, and adventure as I get ready to start year 10 teaching middle school.

Get ready with me for the new school year! I love my bullet journal for keeping my general life focused and for daily morning pages; however, I am going to try to also use a bullet journal for my teacher planning this year. I end up always writing my teacher plans, dreams, and schemes all over the place. This could be in countless random notebooks, my personal bullet journal, and on my little clipboards. My goal is to put all of these things in one location-including my meeting notes-so the end of the year reflection will be easier and I will stay more organized. I also want to take much of my teacher planning out of my personal bullet journal and use that more for life goals, personal reflections, and other writing projects. I recently posted my August Plan With Me for my personal bullet journal, and if you don’t know where to start, here are some amazing Teacher Bullet Journals to follow on my Bullet Journal Round-Up Post. It is important to note that my spreads in this post are not all the way filled in yet. Once our calendar/contract are finalized, I can add in some dates and marking period cut-offs to my schedules. Also, like in my classroom, I like to leave some things blank because I find that there is something about filling things in as you go that is part of the bullet journal process. I think it encourages reflection at the end of one marking period to stop and reflect, and then go on to plan the next six weeks. I will post these as they are updated throughout the year.

it’s time to start planning to return to a routine. If you are like me, I rarely stop thinking about school; however, the start of August makes me pause and appreciate the small freedoms that happen when time off is happening. Things like morning coffee runs, errands to Target and the grocery store around 10am, experimenting with cooking different dinners for my husband (he is the main chef in our house), and doing work in front of the TV at home with my husky-lab curled up nearby. August is about gratitude. I found myself particularly grateful in front of a bonfire the other night on our anniversary…so I tried to recreate the image in my mind with this month’s cover.