MOVING...

MOVING...
It's that time of year again... In my 14 years of teaching, I have moved or changed my teaching space 12 times. This year is one of those times, again. 
The good news is, I'm moving from a wide-open pod classroom to an enclosed room with walls and a door! I'm super-excited about that. 
But the not-so-good news is, it's a LOT smaller of a room than what I had before. So that means all my 14 years of accumulated stuff can't come with me. 
So I'm taking this opportunity to make lemonade out of these lemons and make the best of the situation. I've decided to de-clutter!
I had to start with my classroom and professional library. Even my principal resorted to calling me a book hoarder so I knew it was time to do something. I went through and pulled out all my professional books that I haven't referred to in years (if ever!) and then I went through 50+ baskets of kids' books. I pulled out duplicates, old books and much-loved books that were not-so-much-loved anymore. I mean, has anyone had a kid actually ask for a Rugrats, Amelia Bedelia, Berenstain Bears, or Arthur book in the last ten years?
I'll be honest. My books are my treasures to me. Last year, several kids in my class said that next to me, they'd miss my library the most. So just giving the books away was not my first thought. But after making a trip to Half Price Books in hopes that they would offer me about $30 for my awesome professional books, I was instead told that they couldn't use any because they were overstocked in that category. 
So, I decided to pay it forward. I am donating my books to a brand new teacher who has nothing. I've had fabulous friends through the years who have done the same for me, so now it's my turn. Here's a picture of just the kid books that I'm giving her.





So when I titled my blog entry "Moving", I realized that it wasn't just about moving my stuff into a new physical space. It's also about moving on and letting go. And being totally okay with that.
I hope to do a much better job of keeping this blog updated. Stay tuned...