I'm Chewing

So...a number of things have happened since my last post when I announced the new mission--study the Common Core Curriculum!  My daughter tore her ACL and will have surgery next week, so I got a little off-track posting.  I also delved so deeply into this topic that I literally couldn't stop my studies to write about it.  But write, I must.  Many, many times this week, I have thought about the phrase "Biting off more than you can chew".  I feel like I have taken an ENORMOUS bite with this Common Core Curriculum, and I am just chewing and chewing and chewing....

I'm going to be totally honest with you here.  I have gone from being excited and inspired by this major national education movement to depressed and discouraged.  Despite my attempts otherwise, I have begun to form some opinions about aspects of this plan.  However, I will strive to keep those opinions to myself on this blog.  So please understand, I am going to communicate with you the facts and needs and goals of this plan.  I am not necessarily endorsing it or not endorsing it.  I am just handing over the facts.  When I do interviews and post them here, undoubtedly opinions will come out, and I welcome them from people 'in the trenches'. I invite you to express your thoughts, as well.   I will strive to show all points of view except my own.

I am going to begin posting links to other articles on the subject, so look for them.  For those of you who follow my facebook author page, I'm posting them there, as well.  I would encourage everyone to read and learn about this topic.  I will begin with the K-5 LANGUAGE ARTS CURRICULUM.
I will discuss one grade level per post.  My first post will be about KINDERGARTEN LANGUAGE ARTS, then I will proceed to FIRST GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS and so on.  After I have gone through K-5 LANGUAGE ARTS, I will return to KINDERGARTEN for another subject area of study, probably Math.  Once I have finished K-5, if there is enough interest, I will then do the MIDDLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM.  

What do you think about that organization strategy?  I really labored over the best way to present it to you, and I wanted to present it by grade level and interdisciplinary units, BUT the goal is to study this curriculum and what it means for WRITERS OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE.  I finally decided that separating the subject areas would be more beneficial for that topic.

Today, I am working on interview questions for the professionals who have agreed to be interviewed.  I plan to throw in a few 'Jimmy Kimmel-style' interviews, as well, with people on the street.  I am interested to hear what level of interest/knowledge parents have been given on this topic from their schools.

So...boring as this post may be, I think it was necessary to set our course.  So here we go!  Stay tuned for exciting things to come!  Buckle your seatbelts, allocate a little notebook for notes on the Common Core Curriculum, and come learn along with me.  Aligning our work and careers with the Common Core Curriculum will help countless children, teachers, and parents.  My ultimate goal is to create a network of children's writers who are truly committed to supporting the goals of the Common Core Curriculum with books, magazine articles, and other resources that will help educators, children and parents.

So come along!