So many thoughts...

As I began learning more about blogs, I got very excited thinking about the many ways in which I could incorporate a blog into my classroom.  It would be a new and exciting way to communicate with students and parents, I could post class activities and homework, and use it as a place to display student work.  So much to plan and think about!

But then, I couldn't help but feel that it is going to be one more thing I start in my classroom with great energy, but then with time, it fizzles out.  This is exactly what happened to the hare while he raced the tortoise, and it is exactly what happened to the class web page I started five years ago and haven't touched in almost three.  The energy was high and excitement was booming at the beginning, but then new initiatives were adopted by the district and more planning time got eaten up.  As a result, other things suffered.  And in my case, it was my class website that couldn't finish the race.  

So, how can I make this blog beneficial to me (and hopefully my students), without it becoming an extra add-on that fizzles out as quickly as it was started?  I think that for now, it needs to be a site where I reflect on my learning as a teacher and a learner.  A place where I can connect my life as a student conducting research and my life as a teacher guiding students through fifth grade.  In time, I hope for this blog to become a place where the students, parents, and I can collaborate with one another.  But that will come in small steps....slow and steady wins the race.