Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Greetings and Salutations!!

Welcome to Mrs. Baer's ongoing...blog...website...journal...hmmm, I'm not quite sure what this is.  I will use this blog (for lack of a better term) for a number of purposes.  The primary use will be communication.  This blog is a method for me to communicate with students, parents, and other interested parties (friends/teachers and small animals). 

This occasion also marks the beginning of the school year for many of us.  Some have already begun school and some continue to partake of the joys of summer.  Frankly, I am ready to head back.  Don't get me wrong -- I have really enjoyed my summer!  Truly, if you look in the dictionary under "sloth", that picture of the black, fuzzy creature slinking through the forests is actually me heading for the sofa with my Kindle and cup of coffee (the third one of the day -- decadent, indeed).  I was not terribly productive this summer, and completely bought into the whole "rest and relaxation" thing.  Consequently, I am quite ready to quit the laziness of August and forge into the frenzy of fall (alliteration from the ELA teacher -- gotta stretch my word usage).

So, I have some cool ideas floating around my head (or, at least I think so) for this year.  I want us to really become a part of the digital world.  Now, you have to realize none of this technology stuff comes naturally to me.  But, I've got two big things going for me.  One, I like to learn new things, so learning about new technology and digital tools is "high interest" for me.  The other thing...I really am a social creature.  The digital world provides a whole new outlet for me to TALK!!  But, I also want to listen -- I really want some discourse going.  Tell me what you think.  Your first assignment is to describe (which is different from telling...discuss amongst yourselves...) your most interesting or unusual day/event of the summer.  I am thinking on what mine was, and it's a little depressing...I don't know that my days are very interesting or unusual.  I guess my "aha" moment, that point when I thought, "Ain't life grand?!?" was me sitting on board a cruise ship, in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, and I was able to shop, purchase and download a new book to my Kindle electronic reader.  This enabled me to do what I love -- READ!  I think I will write something about the wonders of the modern world and how it affects me...