Well, if you’ve been here before, you might notice that my blog looks different.  After a couple days of feeling stressed and overwhelmed, I finally sat for five hours (I was subbing in summer school) and just worked on it.  It’s almost there.  Hallelujah!

This week’s Friday Faves mostly focus on posts I used to get my blog going this week, plus using Voxer in school, and how to take care of yourself.  Hope you enjoy!

Why You Should Start a Teacher Blog This Summer by Kelsey Hayes

Kelsey has been crazy helpful to me as I’ve tried to set up my blog and grow my social media!  (I’ve DMed her a million times, seriously!). I’ve had a blog for a few years now, but her post was the catalyst I needed to move it to a self-hosted site.  I’m also using Siteground to host, per her suggestion.  Read this post if you need convinced to start your teacher blog! Also, check out her Facebook group: Teacher Blogger + Seller Network.

How to Checklist for New WordPress Bloggers by Cori Ramos

This was SO helpful.  It literally walks through all of the menus on WordPress and tells you what to do for each option. After struggling for two days, this post really made the process much simpler.  Thank goodness for this post!

5 Ideas to Build Your Personal Brand this Summer by Vicki Davis

I’ve been reading a lot about “branding” lately.  Sometimes it’s hard at school because I feel like I have to justify why I’m doing the things I’m doing.  Why I write a blog, why I have social media for it, etc.  But this post (and this podcast from The Educator’s Room) made me realize that I’m on track.  We have to build a brand for ourselves and not depend on our schools to do it for us.  I am my own brand. What if I leave my school? What if I transition out of teaching? If I haven’t branded myself, what do I have to take with me?  Listen to the podcast and read this post!

Voxer: Have Fun with Speaking and Listening by Catlin Tucker

Next year I’m part of a new PLC at our school made up of teachers who volunteered to leave their grade-level PLC to join an innovative PLC.  Over the summer we’re reading and discussing The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros, on Voxer.  I was really hesitant to start using it, but as I get into it, I can see some value to using it in the classroom.  Catlin offers a list of great ideas for incorporating this technology into the classroom. I’m so excited to give some a try next year!

Why it’s So Hard for Teachers to Take Care of Themselves by Jennifer Gonzalez & Angela Watson

Well, y’all know that I love these two, and this post is excellent.  I know I am guilty of not taking care of myself. I think as teachers we often feel like we’re not doing enough, and we must do more, more, more! Let’s face it, our jobs are never really done.  Because of this, we fall into a cycle of skipping exercise, eating junk, sleeping poorly, you know how it is.  Check out this article for some tips on how to start taking care of yourself!  It’ll make you happier and healthier!  (Next week Angela Watson’s 40 Hour Teacher Work Week Club opens for new members. I will be writing a post to convince you why you should invest in yourself and join! Please email me if you have any questions!) .

As usual, there has been so much good stuff posted all over the interwebs this week.  My Pocket and Pinterest are full of new stuff, but I think five will keep you busy for a little while.  Happy reading and happy weekend!