December 1st…
Chocolate calendar opened. Candles burning bright. Christmas tree up and presents are starting to appear below it as we think back on the year that was and the look forward to the year that will be. To the year I turn 40, to the 10th year of this blog.
For the past year, I said no a lot, focusing on my family as my husband enters his final year of his education degree – I cannot wait for him to graduate in a year! As my kids settled into new routines, as we worked through another diagnosis for one of the children. No to anything extra that would take my focus away from my family, away from my classroom. And I loved it, mostly, it was wonderful to have time to breathe and time to re-prioritize. But…and there’s always a but. I missed out on great opportunities to learn. On meeting new people. On exploring new facest of my life that I otherwise would have grown from.
So with the blessing of my husband, I am embarking on a year of “yes.” On saying yes to as much as I can manage, on saying yes to new collaborations, to new adventures, to new learning. On saying yes when it feels like a great fit either personally or professionally. On saying “yes” when it feels as if I can help in some way.
While it will not be yes to everything, after all, I am only human and do not want to work all of the time, it will be a lot more yes than no, a lot more let’s try than no thanks. A time to perhaps write another book, to blog when I can, to learn as much as I can.
So this is my invitation to the world; whether it’s for collaboration, working with other teachers or speaking at a conference, whether it is trying a new idea, meeting new people, doing interviews or reflecting through something, whether it’s for friendship or some other thing, send your idea my way. Reach out, send an email, come say hi if our paths cross.
Welcome to the year of yes, I cannot wait to see what happens.
To contact me, please go here https://pernillesripp.com/about/
If you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.. If you like what you read here, consider reading my latest book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child. This book focuses on the five keys we can implement into any reading community to strengthen student reading experiences, even within the 45 minute English block. If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.
Pernille Ripp 
I love that you are embarking on a year of YES. My 2020 is the year of MORE.Happy December!
Have a great year of yes!! I just received your book in the mail yesterday (my own copy) and can’t wait to dive further into it. 🙂 This is my year of being a stronger advocate for what’s best for the kids in my classroom and the teachers in my district.
Thanks I have find this very interesting post keep on sharing.
Oh, Pernille: Thank you for this. I always think of today as my New Year, as it was Advent 1. Such a time of beginnings. A friend, who celebrated a birthday yesterday, quoted from “Closing Time” “every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end”. So here’s to a year of “yes”, and moving forward. And I’ll reach out, and say if you felt like traveling to the wonders of Ontario, that there would be a meal and space here in Peterborough to visit. We have lovely places to paddle a canoe nearby…..
A year of yes! I like how that sounds.
Your year of YES sounds good but make sure you remember your feelings from this last year where you had time – time to think, to breathe, to love your family, to ‘smell the roses’. Don’t let a year of YES push you too far. Say yes of course but as you say you will also still need to remember to sometimes say no. Your passion is powerful but it is also a fragile gift which needs to be nurtured.