Oh, I need more time...

"Oh, I just need more time" -- that seems to be a very familiar thought during the school year. So much always to do and what seems like so little time to do it. The hours in class and out of class just never seem like quite enough.

I hoped the move to just teaching one subject would help this year and I suppose in some ways it has (i.e. lesson planning is going quicker), but I still find myself frequently lamenting "Oh, if I just had more time..."

For example:

Oh, if I just had more time...

- I'd blog much more regularly, and this wouldn't be the first entry of the year.

- I'd have all my papers graded, and not feel bad walking in tomorrow with papers from last week still ungraded.

- I'd have the reading response blog I want to try out with my students this year already created, especially as I want to implement it soon and it currently exists only in my brain.

- I'd actually be able to have reading AND writing workshop each day (vs. having to alternate them....as 60 minutes of class is NEVER enough!).

- I'd regularly be able to do the same 20+ minutes of pleasure reading, I ask my students to do.

- My house would be clean...there wouldn't be dirty dishes still in the sink, or boxes sitting around of things to sort through.

- I'd be able to read, browse the web and brainstorm more ideas of things I'd like to try in my own classroom.

- I'd be able to implement more of the ideas I hear, see and think of....

and well, the list could go on and on and on!

I sat down on Saturday evening and made a list of the things I really wanted to get done today and ended up with 17 things. I worked most of the day and still at least 13 things remain. Although I always have this dream of entering a school week feeling completely prepared, it seems almost every single Sunday night I discover my grand and glorious plans always seem more do able on paper than in actuality. And, yes, that's the way it is again tonight. As I close this entry, I head off to bed just thinking once again: "Oh, if I just had more time!"


(p.s. though, at least I got one more thing crossed off my list. "#14: Blog this weekend" has been accomplished. :))