Monday, March 18, 2024

A Mixed-Up Kind of Day 18/31

For the past 32 years, I could count on two hands the number of times my husband and I have NOT eaten pizza on a Friday night. Before teaching and when I was a stay-at-home mom, I could always count on not having to cook on a Friday. And even when I started teaching 17 years ago, I would come home from a long week knowing that pizza was on the menu.

My spring break started on Friday, and my daughter and I went to Tennessee for a long weekend to visit my sister. On our way home today, Megan asked, "Think Dad would want pizza tonight? I know it's not Friday, but pizza just sounds good."

"It sounds good to me too because I sure don't want to cook when we get home."

I texted him, and it was settled--pizza it was.

Isn't it funny how getting out of a routine can mix us up? Sitting down to write this slice, it feels like Friday. Pizza and a fire in the fireplace all add up to a Friday. It certainly feels like a mixed-up kind of day, and I know with six days left of break, this mixed-up feeling will continue. 

But I'll take it!

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
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Friday, March 15, 2024

Spring Break Has Arrived! 15/31

I gave myself permission to miss slicing today. My spring break started at 1:30 this afternoon I walked out the door with my students, and my daughter and I were on the road by 2:00. We are spending the weekend with my sister down by Nashville.

We arrived, went out to eat dinner, and now are getting ready to play cards. We have a whole weekend of shopping for items to go into my daughter's new house--still a slice to come!

But I just can't not slice.

So here I am with a late-night slice and hoping I hold good cards!


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Thursday, March 14, 2024

A Word Buffet 14/31

Since 2017, with the exception of 2019, I have held a March slicer party. To try and make it fun and different each year, I would ask my guests to bring something different to the party. This ranged from favorite things to favorite quotes to things in their best color. One year we even had to bring a special ID.

I have already been asked to host another party, and I think this one might just be my favorite yet, thanks to my writing friend Heather at Writing My Way!

A word buffet!

I hang out online with some amazing writing friends who love to play with words. I am a word nerd! I love finding, learning, and exploring new words. Imagine all of us slicers sitting together with our favorite notebooks and pens in hand and sharing our favorite words.  What better way to do this than with other word nerds and writers!

So, grab a notebook and pen and let's get started! Here is my addition to the word buffet:

serendipity--the occurrence of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. I believe in serendipity, and I love to use this word in poems. Especially in a haiku (check out that syllable count!).

petrichor--the scent of rain. There is nothing like going outside and breathing deeply after a rain. I learned of this word while I participated in a poetry challenge a few years ago. It was nice to know this scent had a name.

incredulous--unable or unwilling to believe something. Have you ever had a word that kept popping up in books you were reading, like the bad penny? This is now I learned about this word and how it made my favorites list.

kaleidoscope-- a tube containing mirrors and pieces of colored glass or paper, whose reflections produce changing patterns. I love finding kaleidoscope-like images in nature. Sometimes it might take a twist, but they are there.

dandelion--a widely distributed weed in the daisy family. I love the strength of a dandelion, it's will to survive in hard times. But I mostly love this word because it is my favorite color of crayon. I was devasted when Crayola discontinued it, so I try to keep it alive in my writing.

I hope you consider joining me this month. When you have a day when ideas just aren't coming (and you KNOW you will), accept my invitation to the word buffet and write a slice sharing five of your favorite words. Just let me know you have joined, and I will include you on the guest list down below. I can't wait to see who else is coming!

Past Slicer Parties

2024 Guest List

Juliette at Gifts

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
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Wednesday, March 13, 2024

March 13th--100 Word Slice 13/31

Four years ago today, our world turned upside down. The rumors about places shutting down and events getting canceled started early in the morning. The more the day went on, the louder the buzz. 

By mid-afternoon, we were told our spring break was extended for two weeks. The kids were excited; the teachers were concerned. 

We left and never returned that school year.

I have written very little about the pandemic and want to keep it that way. But for me, March 13th is a date that will always be tethered to a memory, an end, and a different beginning.

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
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Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Writing about Reading 12/31

Writing about reading. I have been thinking about these words a lot lately. My relationship with them has been rocky. Definitely not a stable one for my students' reading lives nor with my own.

I move back forth between these two thoughts: 

  1. I want my students to think deeper about what they read.
  2. I want my students to just read and enjoy the book without having a task attached to the reading.
The past three weeks, we read The Watsons Go to Birmingham as a whole class novel. I taught specific standards and did not assess their reading through comprehension questions. We had rich whole class discussions about racism, life in the south, and the Civil Rights Movement. 

However, I did assign a one-pager during these last few days leading up to spring break. It was a way to spark creativity yet keep them on task...if you know what I mean!

I was pleased with my students' work, but I am not sure if this is an effective teaching practice or assessment. My students enjoyed creating them and they enjoyed the book and conversations we had. But I am still left with more "writing about reading" questions than answers, and I would love to hear what you do in your classroom!





Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
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Monday, March 11, 2024

A Teacher's Heart 11/31

There is a lot of talk about teacher shortages across the nation. Here in my little town in southwestern Indiana, we have had a year of juggling teachers and placing non-certified teachers in classrooms, especially in my middle school.

Tonight, I attended our monthly school board meeting, and I think we might be seeing some positive changes. We hired teachers for positions we don't even have open, hoping to hire the best candidates before they are taken by other schools. 

I love seeing former students making their way into the education field, and I wonder if people ask them the same question that was asked of my daughter, "Why would you want to become a teacher?"

I think about this a lot, but especially these last few years. My daughter graduated with a 4.0 and received a full scholarship at our local university. Many people questioned her decision to be "just a teacher."

It takes a special person to go into the educational field, especially in our world today. I am a firm believer in "you either have it or you don't." You have to have a big heart because it seems each year, we give a little bit away. As I looked around the room tonight, I could see those hearts full of hope and excitement that belonged to these new teachers. And I am confident that we are heading in the right direction. 

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Sunday, March 10, 2024

A New Season Part One 10/31

My one little word this year is "season." I spent the day helping my daughter move into my mother's house--that is another slice yet to come!

For now, because I am exhausted, I will share a little bit of the spring explosion from this week. I hope Mother Nature isn't teasing this year, and spring really is on the way!




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Saturday, March 9, 2024

5-4-3-2-1 Weekly Reflection 9/31

Sometimes I like to end my week with a 5-4-3-2-1 Friday reflection in my notebook. It gives me a chance to look back and count the blessings in my week and to look forward to the weekend. This is also a great way to find slice possibilities!

5 things that made me smile:

  • reading aloud to students
  • connecting with former slicers
  • listening to Elvis with Mom
  • buying house stuff with Megan
  • reading a book

4 words to describe my week:

  • deadline
  • rainy
  • book-ish
  • spring-like

3 plans for the weekend:

  • spend time with Ethan
  • move Megan in to Mom's house
  • Gena's surprise party

2 things I learned:

  • middle schoolers still like to be read to
  • it's ok to ask for help

1 goal for next week:

  • survive the week before Spring Break

Here is a picture of my notebook page--minus two of the words to describe my week that I forgot to finish before I took the picture! 



For those of you who focus on counting your blessings, have you heard this song? I listen to this song every day at school before my day begins.


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Friday, March 8, 2024

A Radio Chuckle 8/31

Have you ever done this? Have you and someone else ever looked up and pointed at something in the sky or on the ceiling that really wasn't there? You know what happens. Anyone who walks by or sees you from a distance looks up to see what you are looking at. 

This morning on my way to school, I was listening to the radio. They were talking about "Happy Dance Friday" and taking calls from listeners. 

A woman called in and talked about her foot surgery. She was happy because she actually moved her toes for the first time since her surgery in August.

"You haven't been able to move your toes since August?"

"No. You know how you can move your toes up and down and spread them apart? I was finally able to do that for the first time this week."

The radio host says while laughing, "Oh my goodness. I am sitting here moving my toes. And I bet all of our listeners are doing the same!

Guess what I was doing? Yes, moving my toes up and down and spreading them apart.

Did you get caught wiggling your toes just now?

What's making you dance on this "Happy Dance Friday"?


Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
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Thursday, March 7, 2024

A Gathering of Grandkid Goodness 7/31


I am delighted to once again be joining other bloggers for Spiritual Journey Thursday. I missed February (this post is part of the reason why) but I am glad to be back this month. Today's journey is hosted by Ramona at Pleasure from the Page. Please feel free to join us!

Before I became a teacher, I was a stay-at-home and a quilter. I quilted with my husband's grandmother and sister. We spent hours laughing and talking at the quilting frame while my daughter Megan played underneath. 

About 25 years ago, we began making picture quilts where we had pictures transferred onto fabric and then sewn into quilt blocks. Our first one was for the 50th wedding anniversary of my in-laws. It was beautiful.

We also made one for my grandma. This one featured a baby picture and a current picture of each one of her 18 grandchildren. That was such a special Christmas as no one had ever seen a quilt like this before.

Many years later, dementia took over my grandma's life, and she moved in with my aunt. I assumed she took the quilt with her. Sometime after she died, I asked about the quilt, and the search began.

My aunt looked all through Grandma's things. 

Nothing. 

My aunt looked all through her closets and drawers in her house. 

Nothing.

The quilt could not be found. We assumed that sometime during the move to my aunt's house, the quilt must have been accidently thrown away. It was probably stored safely in a box or bag, and someone had mistaken it for trash or a donation. 

After many years now, I have come to accept that it was gone.

Over President's Day weekend, my siblings and I packed up my mom's house because we had just recently put her in a nursing home. We each took a room, and I was in the back bedroom with my nephew. Going through a closet that had extra bedding in it, I looked down and I saw corner of a blanket.

"No, this can't be!"

I pulled it out and started screaming. The quilt was at my mom's house all these years. My mom now has dementia, so I will never know how or when she got it.  I am assuming that since my mom is the oldest of her siblings, she took it and didn't remember.

I now have the quilt, but what a day it was:  a gathering of grandkid goodness!




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Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Reading Hope 6/31

"Oh, Mrs. Eck! You have to keep going!"

These words are music to a reading teacher's ears.

We have been reading whole class novels these past three weeks. One class is reading Grenade by Alan Gratz, and the other five classes are reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham. I read selected chapters through the book study, and I always read aloud the last few chapters. 

As I read today about the bomb in Birmingham, you could hear a pin drop. Every set of eyes were either on me or were in their own copy of the book. And when I read about Hideki, a young boy in the Japanese army about to surrender to the Americans, students begged me to continue reading.

Today gave me back some of the hope that has slowly been dwindling this year. The hope that books can capture their attention. That books can stand up to the distractions of the world around them. That even middle schoolers still enjoy being read to.

It may just be one day, but I'll take it.

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
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Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Getting My Groove Back 5/31

Image by Pixaby

I sit this morning in my classroom with the dim light of my computer glowing in the darkness. It's quiet, as it always is being the first person to arrive in my wing. I like it this way. It gives me time to think about my day and to spend a few minutes with myself and to listen to uplifting music.

I have yet to find that rhythm and routine of slicing this year. I typically have a slice ready the day before, and I spend this morning time at school reading and commenting.

But that hasn't happened...yet.

Maybe it's because March started on a Friday. Maybe it's the sinus infection or the looming yearbook deadline. Or maybe it is the added stress of taking care of my elderly mother or helping my daughter move out of our nest.

Life is complex, but so full of stories. I am hoping this is the start of getting my groove back and sharing those stories waiting to be told. 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
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Monday, March 4, 2024

Stop and Enjoy a Spring Day 4/31

Don't you love when you read a slice and it sets you off onto a path of new discovery? That is what happened when I read Jill Bless' post, "A Saturday Treat."

She shared how she is reading a new bookThe Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year, taking time on Saturday mornings to savor this writer's essays. After I searched the book on Amazon and read the sample, I realized the first essay was a great mentor text. 

Here in Indiana, the weekend weather was spring-like, so I took advantage of it and sat outside and noticed my surroundings to create my little slice for today.

"Wherever you are, stop what you're doing."

Stop and look at the daffodils forming buds at the end of their long leaves.

Stop and ponder the warmth of the spring-like temperatures.

Stop and listen to the little neighbor girl as she squeals with delight at riding her bike with training wheels.

Stop and consider your dinner choices of grilled burgers or pork chops.

Stop and peer into the landscape to see which perennials are poking their heads through the soil.

Stop and notice the dirt on the car left over from last week's weird winter mix.

Stop and contemplate the idiosyncrasies of Mother Nature.

Stop and think how lucky I am to have this beautiful day to enjoy.

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
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Sunday, March 3, 2024

Life Equation 3/31

 Sometimes a slice is nothing more than a life equation.

sinus infection + yearbook deadline > a well-written slice

That's all I have for today.

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
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Saturday, March 2, 2024

Space, Space 2/31

Surely, I didn't do that! 

No, I really couldn't have.

Did I?

Photo by jules a. on Unsplash
I read a slice yesterday from Lisa Corbett who was searching for her very first slice from 17 years ago. I had remembered what my very first slice was about but not my first March Challenge slice. So off I went to find and reread it.

It was March of 2014. Ten years ago. The minute I clicked on the post, I became horrified! 

I have been teaching for 17 years, 10 of those years teaching middle school language arts.

...and I was still double spacing between sentences!

Surely, I didn't do that! Did you?


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Friday, March 1, 2024

Wishes: A Golden Shovel 1/31

I know it is March 1st, but I can't let February go by without writing something about leap year. 

In my writing group we have a monthly writing challenge. Some months it is a daily challenge, while others may be a weekly or a one-time challenge. We have written fiction, memoirs, all types of poetry, and even riddles.

For February we chose to write a Golden Shovel but added a little twist for leap year--the line had to come from Shakespear's Sonnet 29. We called the challenge A Golden Leap. And it was definitely a leap for me! 

Here is the line I used:  Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,



Wishes

I threw a penny in the fountain, wishing
for love to find me.
Instead of love, grace falls like
rain from the sky to
the ground--protecting my heart, one
beat, two beats, three times more
Showing me how rich
 I am, not in love, but in
hope.




Here's to 31 days of writing! Here's to wishing for words to find me!

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Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Stories That Start with a Kitten

"Sometimes stories start with a bang, and sometimes stories start with a whisper, and sometimes stories start with a car chase or a fist fight or someone being born or someone dying. Sometimes stories start with a kitten. I mean, the funny thing about stories is that they don't really start or stop at all...It's just the telling that starts or stops."


This is the opening paragraph in the new book, Coyote Lost and Found, by Dan Gemeinhart, which is due out March 5th. I feel this is not only a great opening paragraph, but it also describes my relationship with slicing. 

As I get ready to jump into the March challenge in just a few weeks, I realize another year has gone by, and I have let my practice of slicing fall away. I always make a goal to continue slicing after I turn the page on my calendar, but for several years, I have fallen short.

But do my stories really start on March 1st and end on March 31st? If Coyote is right, then my stories haven't stopped...only my telling of them has.

My life right now is full of stories, but stories that are hard to share, and honestly, are quite depressing. I need to find those stories that "start with a kitten," that start with a little happiness.

It's time to find those stories hiding in my ordinary; it's time to start slicing again.

 

 Thank you Two Writing Teachers for creating a space to share our stories.

Friday, January 19, 2024

I Missed It Reading Challenge

A few years ago, I participated in a #MustRead book challenge. We created a list of books that we missed reading the previous year and wanted to read in the new year. I loved this challenge because it was fun to read and see everyone's list plus it inspired me to pull those books from my endless TBR pile.

I recently stumbled upon a similar reading challenge from The Book Girls" Guide. It is called the In Case You Missed It:  Backlist Reading Challenge. Each month the reader chooses a book that they missed reading the year it was published starting with 2013. I thought about this challenge because I hardly read adult books, but then I realized I have many middle grade books that I have also missed reading.

I decided to create my own middle grade #IMissedIt reading list challenge. My only requirement was that I have to currently own the book (not difficult to do!). I began making list by looking at my "Want to Read" list on Goodreads and the past Nerdy Book Club's Middle Grade Fiction Nerdies Award. (All of the books starting in 2018 came from that list.)


January
Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz (2013)


February
Dash by Kirby Larson (2014)


March
The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier (2015)


April
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor (2016)


May
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling (2017)


June

You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly (2018)


July
Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (2019)


August
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk (2020)


September
Pony by R.J. Palacio (2021)


October
Two Degrees by Alan Gratz (2022)


November
The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass (2023)

December
To be determined!

I have no idea how successful I will be, but it is always fun to create reading lists! I invite you to create your own backlist reading challenge and share with me here in the comments or on social media. If you are like me, I am sure you have books you have missed too!

Monday, January 15, 2024

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 1/15/24

 

Thank you to Unleashing Readers for continuing to promote reading and great book titles and especially for letting us wayward readers find our way back here.

What I Read Last Week



Coyote Lost and Found by Dan Gemeinhart is the sequel to The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. I don't often say this, but as much I loved the first book, I liked the second one much better.

I know my love for this book is based on my current life experiences. In the first book Coyote and her father take a cross-country road trip to run away from accepting the death of Coyote's mother and sisters. In this second book, Coyote is finally ready to say goodbye after finding her mother's ashes in a hidden box. Another road trip to scatter her ashes leads Coyote, and me, to discover some hidden truths about the way we let go of those we love and an appreciation for the life we have.

This book is due out in Early March, and I highly recommend it...along with a box of tissues!



I am slow reading All It Takes Is a Goal for a Teach Write book club. We have read and discussed the first section, which is about making a Best Moments List. Acuff states that instead of looking forward to plotting our future such as vision boards, we need to look back at the best moments of our life. A best moment is when our vision and our reality overlap; it's "when you hoped life could be actually matches how life is" (p. 54).

This list becomes a snapshot of who we really are, and four categories emerge from studying the list:  experiences, accomplishments, relationships, and objects. He states that when we understand these categories, "your list transforms from a task about the past into a tool for the future. It's like finally seeing the individual ingredients for your favorite meal and realizing you can cook it again and again" (p. 48). 

I am not sure where he is going with the list as we move into the next part, but I did learn a lot about myself from doing this activity. It brought gratitude to the forefront and made me look at what is really important to me. I find myself keeping a running list of my best moments in my notebook. Even if you don't read this book, creating your own list just might surprise you about what you find in your own categories.

Currently Reading

I am vicariously participating in the "In Case You Missed It Book Challenge." In this challenge, I choose a book that I missed reading the year it was published, starting with 2012 and ending with 2023. I chose A Man Called Ove, which I know was a favorite among many of reading friends, BUT I missed reading it.


After being named Indiana Rural Teacher of the Year for 2023, I am trying to be more cognizant of rurality in my reading life and in my classroom, so I hope to finish this collection of voices from rural America.



Reading more in '24!

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Will we get snow?

 Thank you Two Writing Teachers for creating a space to share our stories.

We began hearing whispers of potential snow a few days ago. My husband has been glued to the weather app and sends us updates regularly...many more than we need. I think sending them helps him to believe that we really might get some. He is just like a kid anticipating that first big snow of the year.

"Looks like some snow next weekend."

"1-3" Monday and dropping to around 10 degrees that night."

"Maybe 1-3 on Sunday too."

"Now they are calling for up to 8 inches."

"Now it's all rain."

"Negative 4 on Tuesday morning now."

"1-3 back in play Friday night winds up to 40mph." 

"Who knows...apparently they don't."

I think I will just wait and wake up and let my own eyes be my weather forecaster while my husband dreams of a snow like the one we had a few years ago!