I was first introduced to the acronym K.I.S.S. my sophomore year of college....It was a writing course and I had a very "to the point" type of professor....He had no problems telling you what he wanted and how he wanted it. In fact, when he assigned us our first writing assignment he said, "If a professor assigns you an essay and tells you he wants it on pink paper with purple ink, give him an essay on pink paper with purple ink." I can't remember why he gave us a lecture on K.I.S.S. but it was probably a segue into some sort of writing assignment. Well I carried that with me...especially into my life as a teacher. Keep it Simple (I had to drop the "Stupid" because I use this phrase in the classroom from time to time- and it can sound pretty mean when you use it with adults). These are three words to live by- KEEP IT SIMPLE. It is easy for simple things to grow into more complex things- that is pretty much how everything works. When you start out simple, with clear lines and concrete goals...it makes it easier to add the "extras"...This is relevant in classroom management, project planning, and lesson planning. I like to refer to it as...."organic" (I've been using this word all week). When you have an organic plan, it makes it easier to follow and eventually expand.
Well...... the one time I don't think the "keep it simple" theory worked for me was with this whole blogging thing....sort of.... When first starting out I had a ton of ideas and let me just tell you, it is not easy for me to keep a consistent blogging schedule. Initially I was going to have something on a Monday...this on Tuesday...Freebie Friday... that on Wednesday. Nope. I pretty much have "Hey this is cool today!" or "Hmmm I can share this on my blog tomorrow!". Despite my inability to keep a "consistent" posting schedule, I absolutely love to blog--- blogging like---reading other blogs (written by people who clearly have better time management than me), sharing on my facebook page, reading other facebook pages related to teaching, pinning, TPT-ing (yes, this is now an official VERB : ) and making *freebies or resources for my store! So...the original point...I had a ton of ideas and I didn't want to clutter my blog. I wanted to have a clear "brand". This is why I started a few other blogs. The idea was ok...The Diary would be for "teaching ideas" and the Not So Wimpy Teacher's Manual would be for "management tips" and Not So Wimpy Book Reviews would be for "book reviews". Yup. TOO MUCH. Not "simple" at all but that was the intention. So what I've decided to is put all of that information on one blog and (wait for it....) SORT IT!
I am giving my blog and TPT store a face lift....Over the next few weeks I will be removing most freebies (unless it is a file folder game or workshop/center game) from my TPT store and posting the download on my blog. I will also set up a small store for those parents/homeschoolers/students etc. who do not have TPT accounts and you will be able to buy directly from blog(using a secured paypal account). I will soon have sections/pages on my blog where I will link activities, freebies and resources by subject so that they are easier to find. And for now on, all of my book reviews, management tips, basic resources and tips will all be posted on THIS blog! Once I transfer all of the posts from the other blogs over to this blog, I will shut them down officially. (So beware...if you've already some of the other post on my other blogs, you will see some repeats but I will try to space them out).
THIS, my blogging friends, will be my new "simple"! Yes....it only took a YEAR to figure it out...HAPPY BLOGGY BIRTHDAY TO ME! In my second I am hoping that I really find my groove ; ) My first year has definitely been a learning experience!!
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