Teacher Evaluations, Internal Motivation, and a Shout Out Linky

Teacher Evaluations Feedback
As I have shifted from a classroom teacher role to an administrative position this year, much of my time is spent in classrooms doing walk throughs and observations.  While doing this I have learned a tremendous amount from teachers I get to watch.  They are amazing at what they do, and I've often thought that everyone should have the opportunity to do this during their career.  It is a great learning experience.  On the flip side, I want to make sure that my teachers are getting the most out of their observations and our conversations that follow.  I thought I'd come to all of you with a question!

What has been the least/most valuable information, format, or feedback you have received from your principal during and after observations? Feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email and let me know your thoughts!

Internal Running Motivation
My husband and I headed to the gym today around noon and it was packed!  I had to wait a couple of minutes for a treadmill, but in my crazy mind I thought I'd get some really good motivation from the people next to me.  I was wrong!  There were two older men next to me who were completely content with their walk.  I was proud of them for getting to the gym and exercising!  However, now it was all up to me!  I decided I was going to run 4 miles (farther than I've gone in a long time...so sad!!).  I began my workout, untangled my headphones during my walking warm up, and started reading the closed captioning about Obama returning from Hawaii.  I finished my 4 mile run with internal motivation!  I don't think I believed that I had that in me, but mission accomplished!  I can not promise that I won't be checking out perfect college girl next to me tomorrow, though.

Shout Out Linky

One of the best things I love about blogging are the people I get to meet and learn about through their words and inspiration.  Marie, from The Hands-On Teacher, gave me a shout out through a Linky because of my blog!  Thanks, Marie, you are the best!  Stop by and give her a shout out in return!

The way the linky works is that you give a shout out to two blogs, one that has more followers than you, and one that has less followers.  So here are mine:

3rd Grade Gridiron is written by Dana, and she is awesome!  First, I love a sports theme.  My first year of teaching I had a sports theme, so visiting her blog always makes me think about my beginning.  Dana is a regular blogger and always has great ideas.  She posts freebies, shares ideas, color codes, etc! I also watched her on the Virtual Teaching Expo a while back and she was wonderful!  Dana, thanks for your constant inspiration!

Learning to the Core is my second shout out.  It is a new blog (just started in November, but has almost 50 followers!!) that focuses on Common Core.  Aylin and Amanda, the authors teacher in the same school but share resources from the primary grades.  Both share creative ways to teach common core through different resources.  A lot of them are FREE!  They both offer great technology advice and ideas.  It is a really fun blog to read and you learn a lot!  Go visit them and share the shout out love!

Join in on the linky and give a shout out to the blogs you love the most!

Enjoy your weekend!

I'm Back...with a new weather unit, a sale, and running struggles!

I have been on an blogging hiatus due to a death in the family, but I'm back!!! I've missed my blogging buddies and getting feedback from all of you for the past 8 or 9 days! So sorry! :(

I've been working on a weather unit for quite some time, and it is finally finished! What I love is that you can mix and match whatever you want to do for your weather unit. It is a Super File for Weather! My goal was to keep all of their work in one place so that they can use it as a study guide or weather resource later on! It has a ton of foldables that go into a file folder. I love it, and can't wait to start it tomorrow! I'll be back later in the week to give you some photos of our weather in action. Click on the image below for its link to TpT! It's only $3.40 with my sale right now!

Also, I'm a bit late in the day, so I'll extend my sale through April 16th (but don't do that with your taxes!!). Click on the picture below to get 15% off my entire TPT store, including my NEW Weather Unit! Yay!

Lastly, today, I have to share some running struggles. I often use running as an outlet, to feel better about what I've done each day, escape the world of teaching just for a bit, or to train for a race. Last weekend I ran 10 miles with a friend, and felt great! It was so nice to get some good mileage in at a good pace, but I haven't been running as much during the week as I want to. I always fall back on the, "I don't have enough time" mantra. I came across this on Pinterest, and loved it!

Even if I just get out for a 20 or 30 minute run, it's only 2% of my day! Stop with the excuses Mary Beth and Run Teacher Run!! Who else is with me?!?!

Have a splendid week, and let me know how your 4% workouts are going!

Work Out Songs, Races, and You Know You're a Teacher When...

Happy Valentine's Day!  I thought I'd share about one of the big things I LOVE!!!  Running and working out!

I have had a couple of comments about what songs I use to run with.  While I have to admit that Justin Bieber can really get me motivated (I know...so embarrassing, but I had to be honest!), I wanted to share this great pin I found on Pinterest.  Many of these songs are already on my playlists, but I was glad to find the others! It has a great list of songs for you to use.  We all know that the winter months are a bit challenging to muster up the energy.

Secondly, I wanted to share that just signing up for a run will be a commitment worth making.  Our school has an annual run to help support our PTO.  They have a 5K and a 10K option, and it's so fun to see your students in this capacity.  Our 3rd and 4th graders have a Running Club at school where they train for the 5K, and then there is a Kid's Fun Run for the smaller kids.  It is a great experience!  I recently signed up for the 10K, and even though it is significantly shorter than the marathon I did, I know I need to be prepared.  

On the other hand, my sister just had her second child and is working out to get back into "pre-mommy" shape!  She is amazing, and inspires me to keep working out once I have kids, but she is training for the 5K.  Whatever your level of fitness is, find a race and REGISTER!  That's the first step!!

What runs, walks, and races have you registered for?  Any reservations? Share with us what you're hoping to strive for this spring and summer!

And in case you are worried about how you look, how others will perceive you, or just getting motivated, I loved this sign on Pinterest!!  That's right...get after those couch potatoes!

Also, I loved this linky party with Jeannie at Kindergarten Lifestyle because they make me laugh at how funny the teaching profession is.  Check out all of them on Pinterest too...so comical!

Winter Workout Blues

A friend of mine had texted me to get together on our long outdoor trail that runs through our town yesterday.  I committed last week, but the weather was FREEZING!  Hello!  It's mid-January in Indiana...what was I thinking!  It made me think of how to get motivated despite the winter weather.

My advice for the winter workout blues:

1. Plan to meet a friend.  Even if you don't do the same things, set a time, and meet up! Thanks to Lindsey, I made a commitment yesterday.  I may have bailed on myself after my 30 minute recess duty, but I knew I couldn't let her down!

2. Treat yourself to some winter apparel that you LOVE.  This could be something that you can wear to the gym to look good, or an awesome outerwear piece to workout outside.  Here is my winter motivation!  A black and pink (do you see a trend here?) puffy vest.  For all of my friends who read this, they know I like am obsessed with puffy vests, so one for running is even better!

3. Find a dog!  Luckily, I have one, so he's a great companion, but he has been known to be on lone to some friends who enjoy running with a dog.  Believe me.  If you don't have a dog, others would love you forever if you took their dog for a walk or run.  The dog's energy will be sure to get you going.  Unfortunately, my dog knows what my running shoes look like, and expects to be taken every time!  Here is my chocolate lab after our workout with his HUGE bone.  The Mr. just could not resist buying it for Scout.  Oh, and he was hoping to bring IU some luck last night, but that didn't work!

4. Find a quote, image, memorabilia from a past race, etc. to put up at work or at home.  Think about where you lose motivation.  Is it at school? In the car?  When you get home?  I found this poster on Pinterest, and thought it was perfect to put in my car's cup holder.  Once you get out the door, you are good to go, but something little might just help get you there.  So post something that strikes a chord with you in a place where you are least motivated to stay on track.

5. Put a good cd in your car for the ride home so that it gets your body going and energized.  Only use the cd when you're getting ready to workout so that it doesn't lose its luster.

What else do you all do to get through the winter time blues?

Motivation for the blog...Running!

I thought I'd share the motivation behind the psychological and physical design of the blog!  Since my blog is called Run Teacher, Run! I figured I needed to write something about running at some point.  Here it is!  I trained for and ran my first marathon in October.  It was always something in the back of my mind after playing soccer in college, and knowing that at one point in my life I had some sort of running stamina!

As I began teaching and getting out of playing soccer, I ran some of our schools 10Ks that the PTO organizes, and did several half marathons, but I always wanted to do the real deal.  Knowing that consistency with running isn't my forte, I called on the people I knew would support me the most.  We met for dinner, and I conned all 5 of them into running the marathon with me!!  We started a blog and wrote about our long runs, how we worked in the hours of running with our full-time jobs, and what type of gear was working for us.  I realized that writing the blog helped keep me honest and stay consistent!  Therefore, when thinking about what I wanted to do post-marathon, I wanted to be more consistent with running, and not just do it when I'm training for something.  Loving the feel after I finish a run, and knowing that my classroom is a haven for me, I thought I should combine them into one blog!  Therefore, psychologically, I know that my followers (as many or few of you as there are!) are counting on me to write something about running, just like my girlfriends did when we were training.

The second part of the blog was the physical design of it.  There are TONS, and I mean TONS, of really cute blogs out there.  Some have spent money to create custom designs, but that's just not in the cards for me right now, so I needed something personal, that I knew I would look forward to updating!  Then it dawned on me...my RUNNING SHOES!  When training, I needed a new pair of running shoes halfway through, and when the salesman came out with my shoe in a bright pink design I was sold immediately!  They are my typical running shoe, but with an awesome color combo!  

So there you have it!  I know I have people counting on me, and I have colors that are personal, but I love them!