Fall Break, Comfort Food, and Nikki Grimes #TeachWritetober19

It's fall break. But a break is a far cry from what I would call these past two days.

I have been
     pitching
          purging
               tossing
                    switching
                         sorting

and wondering how in the world did all of this mess happen in these short nine weeks.

Among all this cleaning, I did take some time to read Between the Lines by Nikki Grimes. My eyes are always opened and my heart gets a little bigger when I read something from her. And this book did not let me down.

We just finished our first nine weeks, so realtionships are strengthening. Reading the stories of Kyle, Marcel, Darrian, Freddie, Jenesis, Valentina, Angela, and Li help me to remember that behind each pair of eyes that look at me each day, is a story, stories that some are afraid to tell and stories that don't yet know how to be told.

I begin to wonder how I can be more like Mr. Ward and teach them how to not only search for their stories, but how to find their words.

We're not there yet, but I'm still working on it. I reflect on Darrian's words, "Once you teach a bird to fly, you should expect him to use his wings."

Yes, we'll get there.



Tonight I fixed a dinner of comfort - a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato-basil soup. The kind of meal that warms the heart and soothes the soul (and I so wish it could soothe these aching muscles too!).

I have Nikki Grimes' newest book, Ordiary Hazards, beside me ready to read and my notebook open, ready to write. From what I hear, it has many lines that need to be savored and treasured. Check out Paul Hankins' review on Goodreads.

Fall break, comfort food, and Nikki Grimes...a fall evening doesn't get much better than that!