Why a blog?

   

I originally wrote this a couple years ago, but my sweet blogger niece, Kellie Lewis, reminded me about why we write blogs, so I decided to run it by again.  Probably nobody read it the first time, anyway!       

   

 This weekend I was a part of the "virtual kindergarten expo" -- four of my favorite teaching bloggers gave wonderful presentations that I could watch while I relaxed in front of my computer -- and unlike some of the school workshops I have attended lately, these were chock full of ideas that I could use this week. I took notes as fast as I could, then realized that I could pause it while I walked to the kitchen for  a snack -- and even watch the whole thing again and again -- even at 2:00 a.m. in my pajamas when I couldn't sleep.
     One of my favorite speakers, Crystal, at Kreative in Kinder, talked  about Writers Workshop -- and I have already used one of her ideas in my classroom this week. We made a poster titled, "Why Do Writer's Write?" and the kids told me the reasons -- to learn, to tell the news, to make people laugh, because you LOVE writing, etc. Then in the faculty meeting today, our principal asked, "Who has a blog?" and she asked me to send the link to my blog to the rest of the faculty. So, in case anyone is actually reading this, here are the reasons I write a blog:
1. to learn
2. to tell the news
3. to make people laugh (or at least smile)
4. because I love to write
     There are other reasons, but I realized that the kids were right -- all those reasons fit me.  I started writing mainly because I wanted to be a part of the amazing and rapidly growing community of "teaching bloggers."  I have learned so much from these talented teachers who share so many wonderful and creative ideas.  My blog is mainly for my own enjoyment, but I LOVE it when I find that someone is actually reading it and leaving a comment. And although I only have a few people who "follow" my blog, I am THRILLED with each new follower, especially since I have no "freebies" to offer.  If you want to read some really great blogs, check out the ones I follow -- these teachers are constantly offering new ideas and lessons  -- many for sale on "Teachers pay Teachers" but also lots given away for free. I appreciate the opportunity to share their ideas with my students.  And I love it when they say "Look at this cool thing I found at the Dollar Tree -- this is what I'm doing with it." I rush right down to Dollar Tree and buy whatever cool thing they discovered, just like other bloggers all over the country!  I love this kind of collaboration!

       When my kinders did something amazing, I used to go down the hall and try to find someone to appreciate the picture or story my little one produced.  Now I just take a picture and put it on my blog. And guess what? I have now had over 50,000 hits on my blog!