What started out as a bunch of people joking on Twitter as we watched the local news stations fill up with closed and delaying schools turned into a great afternoon opportunity to connect with my PLN! Turning the #snowdaychat joke into an actual chat was sort of a last minute decision, but once you say "1pm CST" you are locked in!

Check out the transcript of our first #snowdaychat with educators from all across the Midwest!

My year doesn't really revolve around the calendar year, but the school year. As such, I set my new goals in July and August instead of January. But in the spirit of the season, I wanted to share a few thoughts for 2015.

When I sat down with my daughter's teacher in August, and when I sat down with my husband over Christmas break, I tried to articulate what it really was that I want my kids to do and learn this year. My answer as a mom is not any different than my answer for my students - so from here on out when I say "kids" I am using it in a collective sense of students, other people's students, and my own biological children. I want my kids to experience life. But since that's pretty vague, I narrowed it down to four main categories.

Field Trips: I want my kids to go new places and try new things. I want us to explore local treasures and venture to far off (okay, far-ish) locales. I want to make new memories visiting old favorites and discover new favorites!

Making: I want my kids to create; to make; to build. Our craft and our art and our passions and questions are unbelievably important. You want to leave a mark on this world? You want to leave a legacy? First you have to live that legacy. Live it over and over until you're ready to give your creation as a gift to the world. Thank you Seth Godin for that bit of inspiration!

Learning: I don't mean learning in a "Common Core Aligned" sense, I mean exploring, discovering, unearthing, and constructing new knowledge, new talents, and new interests. I want my kids embrace the wealth and magnitude of just how much the world has to offer. You'll notice the words I chose are a bit messy. They are active. That's what I want learning to be. 

Service: Finally, I want my kids to understand and experience what it means to give without feeling like anyone owes them anything. Yes, that's Seth Godin again, but I promise I picked these things BEFORE I read "What to do when it's your turn," though he gave me a new way to articulate them. I want my kids to do good. What parent or teacher doesn't want to help instill values in their kids? It comes back to good citizenship, I suppose, and the Social Studies teacher in me needed to couple service learning with the experiences I want my kids to have. 

So there you have it. What does this look like for me as a mom? Check it out here. I'll be filling in a table as I go, which you can view here. What does this look like for you as an educator? Probably pretty similar, but you tell me - though I'm happy to help you along the way!