Tell all Tuesday: a Wish, a Goal, & a Dream for the School Year

Time for another Tell all Tuesday with the creative ladies from My Day in K and Teach Talk Inspire.

This week's summer linky is comes at a perfect time. I don't know about you, but school is on the brain! I received my class list in the mail yesterday and I can't wait to start labeling and preparing for my new group of learners. It's the time of year you set goals and create a vision for your year. This Tell all Tuesday topic was difficult to narrow down... I have so many wishes, goals, and dreams at the beginning of a school year. (At the end of the year it narrows to one goal - make it to the last day!)

Here goes...

That every day I would bless someone.
There is a story behind this. I have a wonderful retired teacher who has helped out in my classroom an hour a day for the past two years. She manages small group stations and works one-on-one with students needing a little extra support and encouragement. She is the sweetest, most vivacious retiree I've met. I heard from my dear friend (and fellow kindergarten teacher) that my sweet helper's prayer everyday is "Dear Lord, use me to bless someone today!" (I feel like my daily prayer is a little different "Dear Lord, I need someone to bless me today!")
 
I want this year to be a year where I am constantly looking for how God is going to use me to bless someone. Maybe it's a student who's had a rough morning and just needs a warm hug and smile, a colleague who needs a word of encouragement, or the janitor who needs an anonymous thank you card. I need God's help to keep the focus off of me and my needs. I want God's eyes to see when and how He wants to use me to share His love with someone else.

To improve my guided reading.
I struggle with having enough time in the morning to do guided reading the way it's meant to be since our school still offers a half-day kindergarten option. I've done a mix of math and literacy stations while I work with my guided reading groups to maximize the time.

This summer I read though Jan Richardson's The Next Step in Guided Reading. I know exactly what to do better this year to make my small group instruction more effective. What exactly? I'll have to devote a post (more like several) to share all that I've learned and want to implement from this book.

 If you haven't read this book -buy it right now! It's worth it!

To go to the I Teach K! National Kindergarten Conference in Las Vegas! This may not be a fulfilled dream this year... but it's a dream I'm going to keep rolling over from year to year until I can finally attend! To connect with teachers from all over who are passionate about teaching kindergarten AND to learn from the "star" teachers of the blogging world... would be a dream come true!

I'm looking forward to heading back to the link up and seeing what everyone else posted! Join me!