Vacation & Planning

This week was February vacation for my school district. It always comes at the time you need it most, doesn't it? Grading is piling up, my planbook is looking empty, and my energy is dipping. Then, right smack dab in the middle of the coldest month of the year, we get a week off. Since it's so cold, there isn't much I'd like to do outdoors. We save our traveling for April vacation, when chances for snow getting in the way of our plans is minimal. So, what do I do over February break? Work, mostly. I think it's that way for many teachers. It's a week not in the classroom, but generally not a week without school work.

Speaking of planning, I have to give a shout out to the online planbook I use, planbookedu. If you are thinking about making the switch to digital, you have to give them a try. Check out how organized my plans look!

There is so much to love about it. I can attach files in my lessons, which helps keep my paperwork organized. The standards attach to the lessons- AND they are searchable! I can type in "fossils" and it will pull up the standards in my grade level that relate to fossils. Seriously. The plans are easy to move around if something changes, as it inevitably does, and you can store templates in certain blocks of the day if you frequently have the same plans. If there is a school cancellation  the system can automatically bump all your plans ahead a day for you, too. I have to admit, I don't use this feature though. I program in all my meetings and after school activities, so bumping my plans ahead a day automatically often changes things that shouldn't change. Manually moving plans forward is a breeze, though- just drag and drop.

Seriously, I can't say enough good things about this website. They do charge for "premium" service, but there is a free trial available. Even after the free trial is over, the basic features are free. Check it out!