Thinking About Read-Aloud #SOL23

I have been thinking about read-aloud lately. 

Maybe it's because on Wednesday, I read the last chapter in our class novel, and every student was either following along in their books or were listening intently as I read every word. The room was silent; it was wonderful.

Maybe it's because I listened to Donalyn Miller Friday night and her words stuck with me: "We don't age out of read-alouds. If we did, audiobooks would not be on the rise for adults."

Maybe it's because I listened to Neal Shusterman Sunday morning, and he told a story about how he was a summer camp counselor, and the way he got kids to settle down for bed was by telling them stories. As he was telling teachers from across the country his story about his thoughts and ideas behind writing Challenger Deep and Scythe, the entire audience was hanging on his every word, as if we were the kids at camp.

Or maybe, it's because of all three.

 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

I Forgot My Socks! #SOL23

I arrived in South Bend Friday afternoon for a conference. Knowing I would be traveling almost five hours, I wore comfortable clothes. That evening was a reception with opening remarks and keynote with Donalyn Miller.

I decided to freshen up little and change clothes. I unzipped my bag and took out my shoes, sticking my had inside to get my socks. (I always stuff socks in my shoes to save room.) 

But they weren't in there. I looked under a few clothing items and found my navy socks, but those weren't the ones I needed. I needed the ones that were supposed to be in my shoes. 

The ones I left at home.

I had one pair of socks...one pair of socks to wear all weekend. Looking on the bright side...at least I remembered to pack my underwear!

 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

Getting My Brave On #SOL23

When I look at my teaching career, I see many fingerprints of others embedded in my practices. Kelly Gallager, Penny Kittle, Ruth Ayres, and Donalyn Miller just to name a few.

But Donalyn Miller was the first. After my first year of teaching, I read The Book Whisperer and my teaching was forever changed. She affirmed what I believed as a young teacher and gave me the strength and knowledge to do something that no one else was doing or even believed was the right way to do things.

The first time I saw Donalyn in person was at the All Write conference in Warsaw, Indiana back in 2014. I am an introvert, so I was too intimidated to go and meet her. I then saw her present at NCTE in Houston and Baltimore. Again, I was not brave enough to introduce myself.

Social media has changed my teaching and has opened the door to many opportunities. It has helped me to come out of my shell a little when presented with opportunities to meet people in person.

Finally, last night this happened...it only took 10 years!

 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

Currently #SOL23

Between deadlines and presentation preparation and packing for a weekend conference, I am relying on a tried and true I-need-a-quick slice on Thursday night for Friday morning's call for slices!

I am currently...

worrying about the snow forecast in South Bend for tomorrow.

thinking about my journaling presentation on Saturday.

hearing nothing but silence and maybe the slight snore of my husband in the other room.

writing with some of my Teach Write friends during our new "Write Before Bed" time.

eating a cheese stick because I was diagnosed as prediabetic in December.

wanting some of those Oreo cookies in the kitchen.

remembering that I haven't played Wordle yet today.

hoping I am able to turn off my brain and go to sleep tonight.

 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

Slicing to a Deadline #SOL23

I am a yearbook staff and procrastinator of one. The clock was ticking, so here is a timeline slice about making my deadline!

Wednesday, February 1:  materials were given to me and told the deadline was March 1 (although I know I have longer than this!)

Monday, February 20:  logged in for the first time and had problems. Nothing started.

Saturday, February 25:  successfully logged in but could not upload pictures-Gave up and went to bed with nothing started yet again.

Sunday, February 26:  tried again---discovered my Google account was "paused" so the program didn't recognize me. Process began!

Wednesday, March 1:  deadline date--took the day off to complete start it. After a full day's work, sent email to our photographer (she's in charge) with five issues I couldn't fix. Everything else was done!

Thursday, March 2:  she forwarded the problems to the yearbook company.

Friday, March 3:   sent a follow up email. Didn't hear anything.

Monday, March 6:  four issues were fixed, leaving one more to finish.

Tuesday, March 7:  received the information to add color to the background--last thing to do.

Wednesday, March 8:  felt really stupid because I let technology get the better of me. 

Thursday, March 9:  should be submitted today!

 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

He knows; he always knows #SOL23

"He knows; he always knows."  is a line from the movie, A Christmas Story. My family watches the 24-hour marathon starting on Christmas Eve and running through Christmas night and can recite most of this movie.

But these words have taken on a different meaning over the last few years.

The other night my husband made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up just a few items. He comes back with a large bag of Oreos--one of my daughter's favorite cookies.

They talk about Oreos, laugh about Oreos, put Oreos on their eyes. You know, those stupid little things "adults" do.

It wasn't long after the Oreos were eaten that Megan was scrolling through Facebook. And what should appear, an ad for Oreos. She never searched for Oreos or typed in Oreos on her phone, but there they were.

So yes, he knows; he always knows, and to me, that is very worrisome.

 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

Life Equation #SOL23

   1 presentation - 4 days  =  lots of stress

not finished yet                     

I have had several deadlines this month...and yes I know it's only the 7th! This life equation is all the slice I have today as I continue to finish my slides for a presentation this weekend at Notre Dame!

 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

Signs of Spring #SOL23

Journaling, or what I also call notebooking, has become a regular part of my life. I have been trying different ways to journal in different kinds of journals. At a Time to Write session with my Teach Write group, I was introduced to The Curious Nature Guide by Clare Walker Leslie.

What a gorgeous book! The book is full of invitations to lead you out into the natural world and to write about your experiences. The first pages suggest leaving the book "by your window to remind you to look outside." She further states that sometimes we find that in learning about the natural world, we learn more about ourselves. I am finding this to be true.

Saturday, I used the first prompt to "begin where you are" and look around and see what nature is doing. Today I found her yawning and stretching and showing off her signs of spring and captured this moment in an etheree poem.

Signs 
of spring,
beckoning 
me to take note,
as the day lengthens
and life emerges from
its dormant state of mind, I
see her yawning and stretching as 

I find hope and new beginnings in
the red buds and lilies and magnolias.

 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

Am I a Bad Neighbor? #SOL23

We live on a dead-end street where not much happens. If it is not a delivery truck or a neighbor or someone who is lost, then we don't have much traffic. But those delivery trucks sure do make a ruckus. 

Actually, it's our neighbor's dogs who make the ruckus.

They bark at everything. Everything. For the most part, we have become used to it, but it becomes very annoying when I want to spend quiet time on one of my porches or it's late at night when I need my quiet time in front of the fireplace, and all they do is bark. The owner will sometimes come home and make barking noises at them, almost mocking them.

They have a doggie door that allows them to come out into their backyard that is surrounded by a wooden privacy fence. But the privacy fence does nothing for the barking.

At night when I hear them barking, I turn on our two lights, one on the garage, and the other on the porch, thinking it would scare off the cat or other critter (or God-forbid a person) that was out there. 

I then began to think turning on the lights would let the owners know that "hey, we hear your dogs, don't you? Can you make them stop barking?" Kind of like a Pavlovian response - you see the light; you stop barking or you call your dogs inside.

But that hasn't happened.

Now, I turn on the lights hoping that they shine in their bedroom windows which face our backyard and keep them awake much like their dogs keep us awake.

Dog owners, am I being petty? Am I being a rude neighbor? I have never owned a dog, so I really don't know "pet etiquette."

But I sure am tired of hearing barking dogs.

 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

An Imperfect Storm #SOL23

Same storm but just an hour away from me.

An "imperfect storm" was converging--severe weather right at dismissal time.

Lucky for us, Mother Nature was in a hurry today.

 

 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

A Losing Battle #SOL23

Today, I lost a battle. Again. A battle with the Tupperware cabinet. I am not even sure why we still call it Tupperware because I am sure I haven’t owned a piece of Tupperware in the last 25 years. But the Rubbermaid cabinet just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

When I open the door of the cabinet, I have my hands up, ready to fight. I open the door carefully because I know the lids and containers are strewn every which way, and I anticipate them striking first.

My family members are traitors; they help the enemy by throwing the plastic pieces haphazardly like they were throwing candy in a parade. I have drawn a line in the sand by labeling the shelves with “circle” and “rectangle” expecting them to place the items on the correct shelf, but they continue to sabotage me. 

No matter how hard I strategize to conquer the enemy, they outmaneuver me. When I have lots of leftovers and need a large container, I only have small ones. When I need small ones to pack my lunch, I only have large ones. And I consider myself lucky when I win a round of “who can find the lid.”

This morning, as I was fixing my lunch for school, I waved the white flag. I surrendered and took my 1/2 cup of taco meat in quart container and threw my shredded cheddar cheese in a baggie because I couldn’t find a simple lid.

Surely, I am not the only one who loses the battle with the Tupperware cabinet. 

 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

Traditions Connect Us #SOL23

Traditions connect us.

I went to high school and currently live in a community that is rich in tradition. For many years our high school had generation after generation of "Alices" (That's our mascot!) Families would talk about the high school memories just like they would family ones.

In the past three years our boys basketball teams have won less than ten games combined. That is not what our community is used to. That record is unacceptable to many. And this is where our problem lies.

It is difficult for the "old guard" to accept losing when we have a tradition of winning. It is difficult for some parents, who want to live vicariously through their own kids, to accept loss after loss after loss. It is compounded by social media where our community lashes out at coaches and players because they say the current teams don't understand "the tradition."

Somewhere along the way, we have forgotten that these high school players are kids. Kids who make mistakes. Kids who are still learning. Kids who aren't their moms and dads.

Playing sports is so much more than winning and losing. It's about learning the game; it's about being part of team and something bigger than themselves. It's about life.

Tonight, I am listening to our boys' first round of post-season tournament play. We are the underdog. We aren't expected to win. Every player on this team is a former student of mine, and I am so proud of them. They have worked so hard against so much adversity. Sadly, most of that adversity is from our own community. They have never given up when they could have so easily folded.

The game just ended as I am finishing this post, and I am holding back the tears. 

Traditions connect us. 

 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

Making Thoughts Permanent #SOL23

As February was winding down, I began to question my decision once again on joining this challenge. Do I really have time? Do I really have 31 stories in me at this point in my life? Do I really want to do this?

This is year ten for me, so there is a nice round feeling about that number. I mean, I couldn't quit at nine. That feels like I am half-dressed or something.

I began to look through my slices from past years. I realized I missed this type of writing. This storytelling. This finding small moments out of my day. Poetry, journaling, and writing professionally take up most of my writing time, but story takes a backseat except for the month of March.

As I looked at my previous years' posts and comments, one comment seemed to grab me. The commentor said something about although she may not have had many visitors or comments on her blog, she enjoyed writing and "making my thoughts permanent." 

This is it.

This is really why I do it.

So, I am taking advice from a slice I wrote last year and celebrating year ten! Thanks for letting me join you.

 Advice from a Slice

Find the ordinary.

Capture the small moment.

Look for the unexpected.

Look everywhere.

Keep a notebook.

Write from the heart.

Tell the story.

Warn your friends and family.

Silence the critic.

Tame the fear.

Accept grace.

Just hit the publish button.

Celebrate.

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

Ashes

 

this day of ashes
a smudged cross on our foreheads
we seek renewal

purify our hearts
through reconciliation
this Lenten season

One of Teach Write's writing prompts for this month was ashes. Today I write a double haiku as I begin this Lenten season.

Petrichor

the scent of rain

mingles in the air,
mixed with the secrets,
the darkness
I want to leave behind.

Petrichor

beckons me to come

to not be afraid

of its cleansing,

its healing power.

Petrichor--

I breathe deeply

and cry out,

"Wait for me."

Spring Invitation

the daffodils push

their green-tipped hats through the snow

anticipating

tomorrow's sun-soaked welcome

invitation accepted

I have been trying to write on a more regular basis, and I am using Teach Write's daily word prompts for inspiration. I have taken the prompts and created a bingo board, trying to make my way to a five in a row bingo (or two!).

Today's word was anticipation although I altered it to anticipating and wrote a tanka, or a five-lined poem with a syllable count of 5-7-5-7-7.

January Writing Prompts

I participate in a monthly writing challenge with members of the Teach Write Academy. A word list is published before the new month begins to inspire and challenge us to write every day. These word prompts can take me to unexpected places and lead me to untouched memories. But they always inspire writing and help me to write from a place of joy.

The January 16th prompt was the words were "my dream." I used this prompt to write a golden shovel using Marin Luther King Jr.'s words from his "I have a dream" speech. This was my first time writing one and is definitely a form I want to try again.

Drafting a Dream

Looking back through my life’s pages, I

have scribbled memories; I have

words holding hope and a

chapter left unwritten, drafting a dream.

Today's prompt was "this morning," and I chose to write a haiku inspired by our first measureable snowfall of the year. 

this morning's daybreak

playing nature's melody

of snow-filled silence

February's list will be coming out next week. Look for the word list on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We would love to have you join us! Learn more about The Teach Write Academy.

#MustReadIn2022 Year-End Recap

 

Tis the season to reflect, and this includes your #MustReadIn2022 challenge. 

I hope you had a wonderful year of reading (much better than mine!) and a year of finding new authors and reacquainting with beloved ones. Congratulations to those of you who made a dent, however small, in your To Be Read pile!

If you would like to add your post and celebrate your progress, please link up below.

Here's to more reading in 2023!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Secrets Whispered

This month in the Teach Write Academy, we have a list of November prompts that are words and phrases created to inspire writing. What I love about these prompts is that I never know where they are going to take me. What words are going to come. What memories I am going to find.

One of the prompts last week was "whispered secrets." These two words begged for a poem, and after trying out several forms, a skinny was created. 

The Skinny Poem is short poem form that consists of eleven lines. The first and eleventh lines can be any length (although shorter lines are favored). The eleventh and last line must be repeated using the same words from the first and opening line (however, they can be rearranged). The second, sixth, and tenth lines must be identical. All the lines in this form, except for the first and last lines, must be comprised of ONLY one word. The Skinny was created by Truth Thomas in the Tony Medina Poetry Workshop at Howard University in 2005.

Whispered secrets
from 
me
to
you
from 
confidential
to
betrayal
from
secrets whispered.

Lost Memories #TeachWritetober22

I walk into a room, and I forget why I am there.

I see someone I know and can't remember her name.

I am in the middle of teaching, and I grasp for a word floating around in my mind, just out of my cognizant reach.

I know this is a regular part of aging, but when dementia grows two generations deep, I feel fear. A fear that I will be next.

My writing life has become even more important to me because I want to remember. I want to keep my thoughts and my stories safe. 

We've been making difficult decisions with my mom since last May. Parenting a parent is not easy, especially when we have to take things away from her. As she continues to decline, her memory loss makes it easier at times. Simply because she doesn't remember.

This week for our #TeachWritetober writing challenge, our prompt was to write a haiku about something that scares us. I am living that fear each time I walk into my mother's house, afraid that she will not remember who I am. I know that day is coming.

with faraway eyes
her present becomes my fear
of lost memories