Episode 1: Coming Full Circle at Ladybug’s Teacher Files

I’ve been blogging at Ladybug’s Teacher Files since 2010. Back then, blogging was a sometimes daily (and definitely weekly) event of sharing every little thing going on in the classroom.

I remember very well when I began. There were so, so many primary blogs out there…and they were (and still are!) absolutely incredible. I knew I wanted to create the same kind of chronicles with my 4th grade English Language Learner classroom, so I took the leap and never stopped!

As you well know, the landscape of teaching blogs has changed vastly over the years. The movement from sharing all the little joys, triumphs, disasters, creations, and everything in realtime morphed into a different mode of sharing what works best with evergreen content, with many websites beginning to position as experts in the field. And rightly so!! There is an immense wealth of extremely knowledgeable teacher authors out there that I’ve learned so much from myself.

As the years passed, I found myself slipping into this evolved blogging style here at Ladybug’s Teacher Files…one of knowledge and expertise. And after 6 years as a math coach, this only solidified as I felt the pressure to niche out my blog into a math-only world of ideas.

But then something happened that changed everything.

My math coaching position was coming to an end due to budget shifts. And (at the perfect time) a window opened to an ELD position at a different school in our district.

As scary as change is (I was at my old school for 24 years!) I knew it was time to move on. And I returned my beloved work with multilingual students.

I’m now a couple of months into my new position at my new school. Though everything is completely different (what a learning curve!) my heart is full and I feel I’m truly home in my career.

And now that I am a bit more settled, I’ve begun reflecting on my blog, my website, my resources.

I’ve grown weary of perfect photos, the best solutions, and striving to write expert articles. I miss the older days of writing about all the things, the joy I felt in sharing the range of things we experience as teachers.

Maybe this should be titled “Confessions of a Middle-Aged Educator” but the internet is changing so rapidly and I’m just craving realness. And the only control I have right now is with myself and how I share with others.

So I’m going back to blogging 2010. Well, kind of. I definitely can’t blog as frequently as I used to!

But I can go back to share what works, what doesn’t, and what I’m learning along the way.

I’ll still be sharing the resources I create, the math scaffolds, new literacy scaffolds, projects, ideas, tech resources, organization…all the things that are working well for us in my own little ELD classroom.

It might be a bit less polished, but a lot more real.

To keep myself focused on my new (old?) venture, I’m launching this as a series of episodes. Episode 2 has already been shared right here and I’m so inspired for what’s to come!

If you’ve gotten to the end of this, thank you so very much. I am teary as I write because I am truly grateful for you taking the time to read…I know how busy you are.

If any of this resonates with you, please leave a comment below. I know commenting on blogs isn’t what it used it be and that’s ok…but I still cherish every comment I get!

Thank you again 🩷

Kristen
Ladybug’s Teacher Files