Final Reflections

• I enjoyed participating in this project, and for the first portion of the year found it very rewarding to take the time every afternoon to record the events of the day. It was a good time for reflection. Then, around Teachers Convention Time, it just seemed to slip away from me. I don't know if it was that I had more evening shifts at work and couldn't stay as long after school to record the information, if it was wedding planning, or something else, but all of a sudden I couldn't keep up. This was a project where you very much needed to record everything every day unless you have an outstanding memory, which I apparently do not!)

• I think the recording also would have been easier if I hadn't kept modifying my teaching and plans. I would plan for the day including books, songs, poems etc... and on the 1-2 days every month where we actually completed my plans, it was very easy to record. However, if a student was having a rough day, if they really wanted a different book, if we had an unexpected visitor to the school or classroom, soon the plans would change. If I didn't immediately record the changes, they would disappear forever.

• I loved the idea share portion of the site. I have used it as a guide to set up my own balanced literacy program. I tried to implement it this year, but although the students really enjoyed it, I had difficulty restructuring the day to include it. Next year, I will integrate it from day one to help this.

• I also enjoyed having the opportunity to read about other people's days, resources they used, activities completed, etc...

• The highlight for me was the e-mail from the author of Cheese Louise. I had  shown the students the site in around January, but they didn't really understand what it was for. When we got the e-mail from one of the author's we had referred to, they were so excited to realize that people were reading about what they did each day.