Bulbs to Blooms

     I finally took the time this weekend to plant a bag of spring blooming tulips.  Yes, in this part of the country tulip bulbs are supposed to be planted between September and October, and yes it is now nearly December.  I was laughing to myself, thinking back to the fact that September was the start of a new classroom and teaching assignment and I was a little busy!
     And yet even then I was planting "bulbs" so to speak within my classroom and my own professional development, and gathering the "blooms" of other bulbs that were planted over the summer.  Bulbs like how to effectively run a multiage literacy program, ways to look at our curriculum as a continuum of learning rather than discreet grade levels (students, then standards, then curriculum and resources) and implementing Celina's Masterful Math Method.  Within our classroom bulbs of empathy, community and appreciation for uniqueness were planted this fall, and now we are seeing the blooms of students who are excited to come to school, who feel recognized and appreciated for their gifts and who are pushing themselves, their classmates and us to even greater insights. 
      So as we approach these last 3 school weeks of 2011, with the ensuing December distractions of concerts, potential snow days, indoor recesses and holiday mayhem, I am thinking instead of all the bulbs that we can plant.  What are the blooms that I want to see in January?  What are the bulbs that will get our students thinking and processing now in order to see those blooms in 2012.  Let's roll up our sleeves and plant away! ~ Ann