She Who Plans, Succeeds

Image source: http://rentalbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/He-who-fails-to-plan-is-1.jpg

My title, She Who Plans, Succeeds....because I like to put a positive spin on things...
Maybe it's not quite as eloquent as Benjamin Franklin or Winston Churchill but, it's true...
I plan.  And I succeed.  (Usually).  And I'm a "she". 

Here's the nitty gritty, down and dirty, bare-bones approach to planning.
There will be no "re-tweeting", pinning, sharing or even "liking" to these links.  Not likely anyway.
It is what it is.  Planning to cover my bases and ensure outcomes are met.

Do I plan like this everyday?  Heck no!

Can I?  Oh yeah.   I can and I will if it's what I need to do to prove myself to parents, colleagues, superiors and, even lil 'ole me (with a big conscience that every now and then demands that all my i's be dotted and my t's be crossed so I can sleep at night).

For the curriculum mumbo-jumbo (General Learner Outcomes - GLO's and Specific Learner Outcomes - SLO's) that I mention in my plans, refer to Programs of Study, Alberta Education , click on the appropriate subject and then the specific grade link.  This is similar to what my American counterparts know as the Common Core.

When I mention Permeation of Faith with Intent I am referring to the points of convergence between the program of studies and the Permeation of Intent Tasks, Virtues and Values created by the Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Separate Regional Div. 4.  Find the Permeation with Intent and Grade specific curriculum maps here.

Lesson plans 

Read them, skim them, or skip them altogether.  I'm going to admit it,  I'm jumping through hoops here.  Although I do actually do almost everything I write in these plans every single day, I do not write it down every single day.  Not in this much detail.  Who has time?
So the plans aren't pretty.  But they did the job I asked them to do.  Isn't that what we're all really aiming for?


Language Arts 3/4 Paragraph Writing/Daily 5 Lesson

Social Studies 3/4 Venn Diagram Lesson

Weekly plans

Example of Week 5 plans from Teacher Binder

Example of Week 25 plans from Teacher Binder

These however...now these are my lifelines.  These weekly plans keep me sane and hopefully will make me a very happy woman in years to come.  (At one point I thought that was my husband's job, but I'm quite certain these weekly plans are quickly and deceptively taking his place!)   At least in school they are.   I devote at least an hour a week to these plans and they are worth every milli-second.  Admittedly, they could be better, more outcomes-based, more detailed in assessment strategies and differentiation tactics.  (Look close at my photos and you'll see that even by mid-year I've been able to devote just a little more attention to the "Objectives" column!) For now, for my first year using them, they are good.  They are works in progress and the beauty part is, they will be used again, and improved upon.  They're digital.  They're neat and tidy.  They're color-coded!  The templates were purchased from the ever-so-organized, creative wonder that is Traci Clausen at Teachers Pay Teachers.

The first picture is an example of my first few weeks of school and the next is mid-year, just so you can see that although I'll need to open the document again and add/delete, assuming I teach the same thing next year, they are absolutely re-usable and improvable (now I'm just making up words!)

Such a time-saver!
Note: I create and use these with Excel.  Google sheets (which is what my link below is for) does not do these justice.  Although you're able to get a good idea of what goes on during my week, you can't fully understand how concise and practical these are unless you can view them in the 2-page spread which is why I've included photos.  Also, when you're in the google doc, you will be directed to the first blank template page.  To see them in use, you'll have to click on the light grey weeks at the bottom of the screen.

Example of Weekly Plans

Unit Plans

Let's call this the "High-school, No time for messing around, Specific language outcomes to be Achieved, Few Resources Available so Teacher makes her Own" French 10 Unit Plan.  circa 2005

Sit down, hold on tight and brace yourself...this is the "Drama Queen Third Grade India Unit Plan". So called because it was my first time trying PBL, and I absolutely loved it, hated it, shook my fists at it, got messy with it, but then sat back in awe as the student's metaphorical lightbulbs zapped on and off over and over and over and over again.  The connections were awesome.  Scroll to the bottom of plan to view actual student work examples.

If you build it, they will come.  A third grade science unit plan for Building Structures & Testing Strength.  It's nice to look at but sorry copy-catters...it'll be hard to replicate as I don't have permission to distribute my main lesson plan resource.  I wish it was more practical for teachers in search of help but if you email me directly I might be able to hook you up! ;)

Year plans

I absolutely love the visual of this year plan format.   I purchased it from a very talented Traci Clausen at, where else?, TpT.  Here's the direct link: Year Planner: Back to School Curriculum Year Pacing Planner.  (And NOW it's available as a bundle!) I've used it with Junior/Senior high and now with split grade 3/4.

It is stuck right above my computer so I actually look at it daily and it is completely customized (Traci gives excellent instructions for inserting your own dates and subjects) for me and the 2015 school year.  I know you can't see much in the photo but if you open the photo as an image you can zoom in a bit and see that the grey vertical boxes are our days off and the larger blocks of colour correspond to the months.

Have I followed it to a tee, dutifully fulfilling each unit's timeline?

I wish...but I think it may need an electric shock prod and duct tape to do that, which would be far too difficult for Traci to supply!   But I do love having it printed in a four page spread above my desk computer. I actually look it at this way!  Although the default was excellent, once I waded through the very explicit instructions on how to customize it using Excel, I was thrilled at how specific I could make it.   

Here is the Google sheets version link (remember it's not as great as the Excel version but you'll get the jist just the same) 2014-2015 Year Plan At a Glance and here is the 20-odd page version which includes Alberta Ed Outcomes, Homeroom expectations etc.

The Definitive Guide to Planning a Solid Marriage Retreat Part I

Our church's annual marriage retreat is approaching and I have the privilege of helping to organize it!  It's something I am passionate about since I truly firmly believe that marriage does not come easy nor can it be left to blossom on it's own.  Like a well-manicured garden, spring does not come and the garden instantly looks beautiful. Aside from sunshine and good soil, it needs constant care and attention, weeding, watering, fertilizing, deadheading etc.  Every day.  Every season.  Every year. 

Certainly it needs more than just one weekend away as this retreat is, but as I've found in attending and helping out over the past five years, even one weekend is hard for most people to commit to.
Yet, it's a start, a really good start.

In any case, this organizing has kept me busy and so instead of just letting the blog slip again to the wayside because of it, I thought I'd write about it.  After all, a quick Pinterest search actually came up fairly empty.  Not blank empty, but just empty of realistic, practical information, that wasn't too touchy-feely, geared toward a fairly small group as we have.   As it turns out this post is actually a series of posts dedicated to planning a solid, successful marriage retreat.  I'm sure there are many improvements to be made and it won't work for all groups due to differing numbers and economics, but I've kept the information fairly general so it should apply to most or be easily adapted for others.

First off, I'm no marriage expert, having only been in mine for ten years, and holding neither a psychology nor a counseling degree.  But this isn't about therapy, this is about preparing a successful retreat from start to finish, so to that organizing end, I AM an expert!  (Mother of three, teacher, volunteer, and if you knew who I am married to, you'd value my credentials immediately!  Here's your one piece of marriage advice in this article - opposites attract. Yeah, so I'm the organizer and he's the....the opposite of all things organizational, so that should qualify me for some respect!)

And the first item up for bid, errr...major point to consider is...

Location Location Location
One of the most important aspects of the retreat and pretty much the first thing you need to secure, is a good location so you can plan for travel and give your attendees a cost estimate.  Now, as much as I'd like to find myself with my spouse "working on our marriage", on a white sandy beach in Hawaii, that whole plane-ticket- triple-zero-price-tag-thing, would likely do more damage to our marriage than the retreat could hope to repair, so here are the important points to consider about location, sans white sand, if you live in the 95% of the world without white sand.

A good location for a marriage retreat needs to be:

• Far enough away that couples can't race home to take the kids to soccer practice.  No, you can't run away from your problems, but a little space can give perspective and a much needed  break.
• Close enough that the gas money isn't a consideration and couples can race home should the baby swallow a quarter at Grandma's house.
• Beautiful enough that couples can forget the heaps of laundry, stacks of dishes, and piles of bills littering their house.  Nobody needs the Ritz, after all, the getaway (time alone) should be good enough, but there needs to be a balance between feeling a bit pampered and not paying through the nose for it.  Everyone's idea of pampering is different (heck I went to the dentist the other day and after reclining for 10 minutes in their padded ergonomically correct chairs - uninterrupted - with the fish tank bubbling at my side - with my eyes shut - aside from the drill buzzing in the next chair (I pretended it was a skin buffer) I almost tricked myself into thinking I was at the spa!)  So perhaps my idea of beautiful isn't a great standard, but you get my point - there needs to be some degree of serenity, cleanliness, peace and quiet. 
• Private!  Self-explanatory.  Couples need their own space to do their thing.  At minimum, they need a private bedroom.  A private bathroom is almost as important and certainly adds to the feeling of pampering if it can be offered as well.  Private areas in and around the property are important too, for discussion, heated or cool!  (Make no mistake, a good disagreement - fight even! - will often crop up!  Worry not!  It isn't a bad thing to have at a marriage retreat...at least it can almost always be resolved without life interrupting!)  Privacy for the group is also essential to creating a safe, comfortable, distraction-free atmosphere where conversation can flow. Which leads me to...
• Group friendly.  There needs to be a central meeting place where videos can be watched, books read together, discussion ensued, board games played, munchies eaten, and music played.  These are not definitive actions for a retreat but a large open area, preferably with couches, is necessary for them to occur if desired.

So all that is well and good but does a place like this actually exist?  I think it can just about everywhere if you're creative and willing to make some calls.  A summer camp could do the trick or even a floor of a college dorm residence (although usually the beds are singles which isn't exactly conducive to a great night's sleep...yeah, sleep, that's it, wink wink)  While a hotel is okay, it can be a bit too isolating for a good retreat to happen, plus there are usually other people milling about so distractions are plentiful.  A small, clean, well maintained motel that the group could take over, would be also an option. That being said, the location is what you make of it and if it can offer these five things above, it will certainly work.

As for an example, we've been extremely lucky with our location as most years we've been able to convene at a private guest house in a picturesque little village near the mountains.  The Mountain View Inn and Retreat Center has eight bedrooms in the main house, and for times when there has been more couples attending, it also has a more rustic cabin a few feet away that sleeps another three couples.  This is has been sufficient for our fairly small group but the quantity of couples will dictate your final destination. In case you're a local reader in Southern Alberta and are actually hunting out a place, I've included a few pictures from thier website just to let you know how perfect this location is.

Group area in the middle of the house.  Also has TV and WiFi to watch videos or stream video.

One of the bedrooms.  Even though it has two queen beds, we don't share rooms to save money.  Privacy is essential on this trip!

We usually go in the spring so we're not paying high-season rates so the grass isn't always this green. But, the grounds do allow for some lovely strolls and lots of little private areas to talk or play football or sit around a campfire. 

Food Glorious Food

Not much to say on this topic other than I highly recommend you include catered meals in your total cost.  Food buying, planning, prepping and the subsequent cleaning of it all, can be a monotonous chore that can cause some stress in our daily lives.  Eliminating that stress goes a long way to providing that feeling of being pampered and lets folks focus on the reason they're there.  

At our retreat, which runs from a Friday afternoon/evening until Sunday noon, we offer two breakfasts, and a catered dinner as part of the retreat fee.  The Inn also provides a full kitchen that can be used for everything else.  Some couples bring their own Friday night supper and we've also organized everyone to bring appies to share that evening.  Same goes for Saturday lunch and snacks in between.  Others eat out at at the nearby touristy town for a little bit of added luxury. 

Wine, beer or other spirits are something you may or may not want/need to address but we find it best to encourage couples to consume any "potent potables" within the confines of their own room.

You now know my "where" and and a few extra tips. Stay tuned for the "how" to put this altogether (with PRINTABLES!),  "what" a marriage retreat should cover (itinerary) and lots more suggestions in the next few blog posts!

How to Put it Altogether with Practical Printables!