Filling Your Educational Bucket

   Summer. It’s a season to rest and recover from the hard work of being an educator, right? Whether you are a five-day-a-week teacher in a brick and mortar school, a co-op facilitator teaching once or twice a week, or a home educating parent, teaching can take a toll on your enthusiasm and outlook. And when summer finally rolls around, about the last thing any educator wants to do is to continue teaching. Yet it is during the span of the long, sun-drenched, dreamy days of summer that educators have an opportunity that should not be missed—an opportunity to fill their own educational â€Å"bucket† so that they can have an excess for when the fall semester inevitably comes back around. But why, you may ask, should I do this? Andrew Pudewa provides compelling reasons in his article called â€Å"Fill Yourself.† He explains that by taking the time to fill yourself, you and your students will gain a myriad of benefits, among which include the following: (1) Self-study stimulates empathy for our own students; (2) It provides knowledge that we can then pass on to our students; and (3) It allows us to model for our students the value of study. To learn more about these valuable benefits, read Andrew’s article. If you’re already convinced, your next question may be, â€Å"But where do I begin?† We are happy to help you with that! We have a wealth of resources on our website that will help you fill up your â€Å"bucket.† Here is a list of just a few of the many resources you can utilize to help you prepare for a rich and rewarding school year: The Great TWSS Adventure – This adventure is happening right now, but it’s not too late to join the fun! Educators all over the world are participating in this simultaneous learning experience as we move through the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style seminar and practicum. If you have been thinking about working through the course, now is the perfect time! The Arts of Language Podcast – Podcasts appear weekly and cover a myriad of topics of interest to educators. Wondering about the value of memorizing poetry? We have a podcast for that! Intimidated by the prospect of teaching grammar? We have a podcast for that, too! We have podcasts on many topics related to language arts, and they are all free and waiting for you to check them out. The IEW Forums – The forums are our community spaces. There are dedicated spaces for traditional five-day-a-week teachers, co-op and hybrid instructors, and home educating parents. Within each of those spaces we have threads dedicated to various subject matter, including grammar, special needs learners, high school, and more. It’s a super welcoming and encouraging environment, and we would love to have you participate in it! Online live webinars and our webinar archive – Our webinars and webinar archive are filled with learning opportunities for educators. Are you feeling confused about an element in Unit 3? Listen to our Unit 3 webinar in the archive. Andrew Pudewa will take you through the process and help you clarify your confusion. When you visit the archive link, you will find that you are easily able to sort the topics to find exactly what you are looking for. The IEW Blog – Our blog is filled with posts that discuss many elements related to teaching language arts. Additionally, we feature articles on learning Latin, encouraging entrepreneurship, assisting struggling learners, or enjoying poetry, as well as many other topics. It also includes a handy filtering tool so that you will be able to find exactly the support you are seeking. Articles, e-Newsletters, and Audio Files – We have a plethora of various other free resources that we put on our website to help support you as you seek to support your students. However Imperfectly – This newly released book coalesces Andrew Pudewa’s approximately thirty years of teaching experience into one volume. The title of the book reflects the name of one of his newest seminars, during which he reflects on his years of teaching. Included in the book is a DVD of this seminar. You can read more about this wonderful resource by visiting this blog post. By the way, we are currently sponsoring a drawing to give away three copies of the book. But don’t wait to sign up! The drawing happens on July 2. With all of IEW’s resources at your fingertips, now is the perfect time to begin filling your educational bucket. Lean on us. We’ve got your back!    Jennifer Mauser  has always loved reading and writing and received a B.A. in English from the University of Kansas in 1991. Once she and her husband had children, they decided to homeschool, and she put all her training to use in the home. In addition to homeschooling her children, Jennifer teaches IEW classes out of her home, coaches budding writers via  email,  and tutors students who struggle with dyslexia.