Hi, Lauren here! Today I'm interviewing Cara Carroll from the popular blog, The First Grade Parade! She is an amazing teacher, mom, TpTer, and blogger!
I started blogging in 2010
during my first year in 1st grade.
I was searching online for ideas and there wasn’t very much out
there. I figured if I was searching the
internet for ideas, then other teachers were probably searching, too. I wanted a little space to share those ideas
no matter how lame they might have been!
Plus, I wanted a scrapbook of my first year in 1st
grade. I wanted a visual reminder of
what did…and didn’t…work. I love being able to look back and the
different things I did and reflect on what I would’ve done differently, etc.
Blogging has helped me to
become a more reflective teacher. It’s
also helped me to become more intentional with what and how I teach. I love having a visual scrapbook to look
through year after year. It helps me to
reflect on what worked, what didn’t work, what needed to be better, what I
would do differently, etc. Before the
blog, I would repeat so many of the same activities year after year and halfway
through those lessons, I’d remember why it was a flop the year before. I’m a visual learner, so the visual
storytelling I get with the blog helps me to plan more intentionally J
Oh bless. I absolutely DON’T. I personally don’t think there is such thing
as balance. What might look like a
balanced life on the other side of the screen is genuinely a hot mess. What you see is the “highlight reel”. What you don’t see is the 6 loads…or
more….of dirty laundry that takes up permanent
residence in my laundry room. You aren’t
here on the nights when all I can muster to prep for dinner is cereal and
toast. On the days I teach, I might stay up ‘til 1-2 in the morning just trying
to have some “me” time while finishing up all the stuff I want to do for my
classroom, TpT, the blog, etc. It’s
H.A.R.D to balance everything and it’s easy to feel like a failure when you
realize you just can’t do it all.
Balance isn’t in my vocabulary and I’m totally okay with that J
Remember to be authentic and
all YOU. People are reading YOUR blog to
hear what YOU have to say. When you
don’t have anything to blog about, don’t feel pressured to put something out
there just for the sake of blogging. Judy
Garland said it perfectly when she said, “Always be a first-rate version of
yourself instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”
Oh, this is a hard one! I
put so much blood, sweat, and tears into each one and I feel like I love them
all the same! I love my fluency
resources (Rock Your Fluency Pre-Primer – 3rd Grade). I
love what they did for my kids and how much their fluency grew when using the
resources in this product. I also really
love my Math Missions resource. Such a
fun and hands on approach to getting kids excited to review and practice
fundamental math skills.
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