This summer has not exactly gone as planned. I thought I would have moved to Sacramento by July 1, settled in and be writing and editing The Jade Serpent all summer. But it didn’t turn out that way. Due to the whims of the universe, I have had to stay in Oregon for the summer. Now, this has not been a hardship by any means. I have had a wonderful place to stay and have been busy with family and friends. The only negative is that it hasn’t been my choice or my schedule. Poor me, I know. But I am used to organizing myself and my time, so that has been a bit of a challenge mentally.
The last two weeks I have been developing my curriculum for the upcoming school year. I have not taught 5th grade before, and my new school does not have a pre-created curriculum, so I have had the wonderful opportunity to shape and mold what I will be teaching. I have the year outline done and the first week of lesson plans. Now I am working on the second week – when we really start to get into the meat and start rolling.
I will only be teaching the humanities – thank goodness. So our wonderful 44 kiddos will be split in two and each day they will switch back and forth across the hall.
I’ll also be coaching volleyball (5/6th grade) and teaching an after school class called Adventures in Writing – both of which I am very excited about.
So suffice to say, The Jade Serpent has been smoldering in the shadows. I am now moving down to Sacramento at the end of next week – finally! Just in time to start school the following week. Once settled, writing will become a priority for me again – in the evenings 🙂 I can’t wait.
So, by the end of September I am hopeful to have an update on progress towards completing the editing. Wish me luck!
Gretchen M Fogelstrom 