Here goes nothing!

Hello, world! My name is Amy Soupiset (pronounced soup•ə•zay). This blog post is ten years in the making. I have been putting off blogging ever since I first came back to the classroom a decade ago. I knew that blogging would be the best way to reflect on my practice as a teacher, but I am the queen of starting something with the best of intentions and then failing to follow through—kind of like New Year's Resolutions. I have made excuses for years: not enough time, what will I write about, who will read it anyway! I talk to my students and my own children about having a growth mindset and that failure leads to success. It is time for me to take my own advice and give blogging a try. 

You might ask, why today? Well, as I was doing my daily Twitter reading, I noticed someone who posted their first blog post. It was about "embracing the freakouts" and just doing what you are afraid of. (Thanks, Krista!) After posting an encouraging reply and lamenting my lack of blogging stamina, I was encouraged by several people on Twitter to jump right in and give it a try. I was even invited to join a Voxer group for people wanting to encourage each other in their blogging endeavors. (Thanks, Laura!) At this point, I had to at least give it a try. So that is why you are reading this post. Additionally, I am making the move from elementary school to middle school next year, so I also thought that it would be a good time to chronicle my journey from one side to the other. 

So—nothing fancy to see here. Just an introductory post to get my feet wet. I hope to blog about the middle grade books that I am reading and how I am trying to help students love literacy. I also hope to sprinkle in some of the ways I have found to add technology into the reading mix. Most of all, I look forward to the conversations and interactions that blogging affords. Thanks for stopping by to give this first post a read. It is very appreciated!