Because We Still Need to Celebrate #SOL20

My friend Ruth Ayres used to do a weekly Saturday round-up that celebrated the small moments in our lives. Even among the chaos and uncertainty of the days ahead, we still need celebration. 

Today I share a few small celebrations from my week.

• A former student who is now an 8th grader came to my room and asked if she could get a book. I love that students feel comfortable enough to come to me and know that I will share my books with them even when they are no longer my students. She left me a little note on my desk. 
• The day before break we watched the movie of the book we finished this week. A student said, "Mrs. Eck you did a good job with the voices of the characters when you read parts of this."
• I found out that I won a book giveaway on Twitter - perfect delivery time since I will have a little extra time to read.
• We had early release yesterday, and I was able to come home and take a nap.
• I found two new recipes I want to try this week. One of my commitments for the year was to try a new recipe a month, and this has not happened yet.
• I was able to buy toilet paper this morning at the store - not because I am in a panic, but because we are in need!

I hope you manage to find some celebrations this weekend, no matter how small they may be.

Please join Two Writing Teachers and the annual Slice of Life March Challenge.

Every Journey Starts with a Single Step

I am so thankful for Ruth Ayres, who extends an invitation to share the celebrations from our week.  Here's what I am celebrating today!

Last September I took a big step in my journey as a teacher. I began working on my Master's degree. I am ready for a different turn in my journey, and I knew this path was the one I needed to take.  

Looking back at that first assignment, I remember the tears and the doubt and the fear, and I honestly didn't know if I could do it.  With the empty nest on the horizon, I knew it wasn't a matter of running kids here and there and being present in their lives. I had the time. Teaching full time is a challenge, but now that I had taught 6th grade for three years, I felt comfortable with my curriculum.  The workload wasn't the problem.

My biggest fear stemmed from own self-doubt.  Could I really do this at my age?  At the age of 54, many teachers are thinking about retirement, and I am thinking about stepping out into a bigger circle in the education world.

Today, I celebrate learning, as my first semester officially ends this week. Yes, I did it!

When I chose step as my one little word this year, the decision to go to grad school was a big part of it.  Now I am ready to swing my arms back and jump to the next rock.

And I can't wait to see where this journey takes me.

Celebrating My Grandma #celebratelu

I am so thankful for Ruth Ayres, who extends an invitation to share the celebrations from our week.  Why don't you join us?

Today I celebrate the life of my grandma.

Today I woke to the message that she peacefully passed early this morning.

Today I remember how hard she worked, 

                      how hard she lived, 

                      and how hard she loved 

                      ...for 92 years.

                     

Today I celebrate the 54 years (minus one day) I had her in my life.

I am one blessed granddaughter.

The First Step

I am so thankful for Ruth Ayres, who extends an invitation to share the celebrations from our week.  Why don't you join us?

I have yet to write about my one little word. There are many reasons why, but the one I am about to write is the biggest.

September 1st I started working on my Master's degree.

September 2nd I was in tears, wondering what in the world was I thinking.

I became a teacher at the age of 43 and was a non-traditional student in a distance program (now called on on-line program!).  I was a stay-at-home mom at the time, and I worked hard to finish that degree.

But this is so different.  I am now almost 54 and working full-time.  Going back to school at this time in my life creates a whole new set of challenges.  The most significant one is time.

I found myself not reading or writing because the guilt would set in.  I felt guilty knowing that  I should have been reading my textbook or writing papers.  I read two books the first semester, when I typically read about 25. But that is for another post.  I wrote a few blog posts, more out of obligation than for the pleasure of just writing.

I missed that part of my life.

Yesterday, I submitted my final assignment for my first semester.  And I finished six weeks early!

When I picked my one little word, I knew I had several journeys ahead of me this year.  This degree is just one of them.

Today, I celebrate taking that first step.

Celebrating A Tribute to Ruth

Each week Ruth Ayres extends an invitation to share the celebrations from our week. I began 2017 celebrating those people who have inspired my writing life.  One of my beliefs for this year was that we RISE when we lift others.  My goal was to lift a person each month.  Sadly, this didn't happen, but you can read my other tribute posts here:

A Writing Gift - A Tribute to Fran
Found Poetry - A Tribute to Terje
The Beginning - A Tribute to Katherine 
Cherishment - A Tribute to Margaret

I want to end the year with a final tribute.  I have waited to write this post because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to capture everything I wanted to say.  I wouldn't be able to get it right.  And I want it to be right because this person has helped me to RISE as a writer, a teacher, and a person. (And yes, I still think it falls short.)

Today I celebrate my friend, Ruth Ayres.

I remember the first time I met Ruth face to face.  It was my first time at the All Write Conference.  I had known Ruth through blogging for almost a year and was looking forward to meeting her.  I walked into the lobby of the hotel and there she was with a a group of fellow bloggers.  She recognized me and came over to hug me. 

What I remember most about that time was how welcoming and down-to-earth Ruth was.  She included me in conversations, in time by the pool, and in lots of laughter.  I quickly learned, that is just Ruth.

In time, I realized that Ruth began influencing my life beyond my blog, and I began a far-away friendship with her.  

As the school year started, I would come from conferences with students from hard places.  My heart would ache for them and the life they were living.  I remember saying to my team, "Every child from a hard place needs a Ruth."  

During my daughter's first year of teaching, I didn't think she was going to make it through the first few months.  I sent a message to Ruth asking for help, and she began praying for Megan.  That is when I told myself, "Everyone needs a Ruth."

I wanted to push myself as a writer and extend it beyond my blog.  Ruth has become my encourager, my nudger. (She's quite good at nudging!)  She helped me to say and mean the words, "I am a writer."  I remember thinking, "Every writer needs a Ruth."

If you are here celebrating today, then I know I am not alone in my admiration for Ruth and the gratefulness for the impact her words have on us.  To celebrate, I have written a found poem from comments from her fellow bloggers and friends.

Your words, 

filled with passion,

connect many

shine brightly
and give us hope.

Your love,

permeates everything you do

and spreads to everyone 

who knows you.

You,

reach out to others

and lean into love.

You,

bring joy and inspiration

make our world beautiful

and make us smile.

You,

are a gift.

Thank you

for nudging,

for sharing, 

for writing, 

and for being a light 

in the darkness.

Deeply grateful for your words
and to have your voice 
in our ears
in our hearts, 
For, we would have never written a word to share  

if it weren't for you.

©Leigh Anne Eck, 2017

Thank you for just being Ruth.

The Needle and Thread

Each week Ruth Ayres extends an invitation to share the celebrations from our week. It has been awhile since I have written a celebration post.  This week was one of those weeks where I taught lessons and learned a lesson.  That is always a cause for celebration!

This week my middle school held its second annual door decorating contest.  It is a week a chaos, messiness and a whole lot of fun.  

My students created a Christmas quilt for our door.  It has not been one of my best years, and I was leery about letting my entire class participate in this year's contest.  I tried to make it simple, yet include each one in the process.  I decided the quilt would be just the answer.

Each student had a nine block pattern and created their own design pattern.  The only rule was that it had to be colored with red, green, and yellow crayons.  (Another reason why dandelion should NOT have been retired!)

My students of the week began piecing it together on the door.  We used the words which were suggested by Margaret Simon, 

"Christmas stitches us together 

with JOY!"

Now if any of you quilt, then you know just how important that 1/4 inch seam allowance is!  As the students pieced it together, the more distorted it became.  And the more I had to close my eyes and say, "kid created" because the sashing, borders, and blocks not lining up was driving me crazy.

Our blocks were crooked, our seams didn't meet, and we had gaps where we shouldn't have had gaps.  As I stood back and looked at our finished door, I realized that my classroom was just like this quilt.  

Each block is different with their own little design, just as each one of my students are. They come from different backgrounds, different abilities, and different personalities. But each one is special in their own scrappy way. Their seams don't always meet. They make mistakes which create crooked paths. They have gaps socially, emotionally, and academically which need to be filled.  

As this epiphany hit me, I realized how much they depend on us, as teachers, to "patch" them up.  Teachers help them to realize they are unique designs, and each block has a special place in the quilt.  We help them to realize their seams might not match, so we set them on a straighter path.  We may even have to rip some out and help them realize starting over isn't so bad.  We need to teach them that the seams are what holds the quilt together.  

And the gaps...oh my are there gaps. That is when teachers add a little here and add a little there to help the masterpiece come together.

And so I added the line,

...and teachers patch us up

with LOVE!

Our door was 6th grade runner-up,
but I think it was the emotional appeal of the judges and NOT neatness! 

So yes, my door is a little scrappy, a little crooked, and in need of a little patching.

Just like my students.

What did I learn this week?  I need to look at my students like this quilt and realize they are not perfect, and they have gaps, and they certainly have crooked seams, but they are trusting me and needing me to hold the needle and the thread.

Creating Reading Memories

Each week Ruth Ayres extends an invitation to share the celebrations from our week.  Why don't you join the celebration?

  

Today I celebrate One Book, One District, One Community, a project I have been working on since the beginning of the school year.   The project revolved around the book Wonder, by R.J. Palacio. 

With the help of community sponsors and our school corporation administrators, we were able to purchase over 1,400 books.  Each student in our four elementary schools received their own copy.  Third through fourth grade received the novel, and our pre-school through second grade received the picture book, We Are All Wonders.

Teachers have been reading the book this month and participating in kindness activities.  Today was "Distribution Day," the day the students received their copy of the books.  I had the privilege to be at all four schools and to watch the magic.  

What a day for celebration! 

The smiles on their faces when they carefully held these books in their hands was pure joy.  Many of them sat right down and began turning the pages or tried to find the spot where their teacher was reading.

At one school, I knelt down and talked with a few of the students as their teachers were passing out the books.  Here are some of their reactions:

"Is this book really mine?"

"Do we get to take these home?

"Now I can read ahead of my teacher...but I won't tell what happens."

"I can't wait to take this home and read it to my mom."

The little girl in the pink jacket looked up at me and was the first one to say, "Thank you."  My heart melted because I could tell by her sweet little face that her thank you was so sincere.

As literacy teachers, we spend our days building reading communities, showing our students the importance of having a reading life, and hoping that we somehow provide the spark that ignites their love of reading. 

Our students won't look back and remember our most engaging lesson, or a grammar worksheet they mastered, or a standardized test prep packet.   

Our hope is that for the short time we have them in our classrooms, we create reading memories.  That we read aloud a book that changes them.  That we place a book in their hands that teaches them empathy, or that becomes a mirror where they see themselves, or that gives them hope.  

We want them to look back and say, "Remember that time when we read..."  We want to be memory makers because...

Reading memories trigger reading lives.
(Click to tweet.)

And that is what today was all about. 

Celebrating Student Writing

Each week Ruth Ayres extends an invitation to share the celebrations from our week.  Why don't you join the celebration?

Today I combine Poetry Friday with my Celebration post.  Join this week's round-up with Kathryn Apel.

As I was giving a test on Friday at school, a former student came to my room and asked me if I would read something she had written and tell her what I thought.  The assignment was to write from the voice of an inanimate object.  Kaitlyn's writing left me speechless.

A colleague describes Kaitlyn as an "old soul" and this description could not be more perfect.  The words which come from her pen are full of imagery.  Her vocabulary is beyond that of a 7th grader, and her sentence structure is something which cannot be taught.

I told her I thought she could work this into a stunning poem, adding line breaks to deepen the meaning and make the lyrical imagery stand out.  But when I shared it with Margaret Simon, she said it could be left as a prose poem.

So, today I share and celebrate her work with you.

I am paper. I am frail and faint, sitting in a stack of thousands just like myself, collecting more and more dust by the second. My skin crawls against the soft wind of her door opening, and then closing. Her humming echos throughout the bedroom. I can hear her tossing the brown rucksack down. I now know, it’s time to write. She gently scoops me up in her hands, taking me away from the others. But I know, I will see them again. I wish I could reach out a hand as soft as hers, but I cannot. For I am not real. She’s begun her writing now. Although I cannot see the words her pencil writes on my skin, I feel her story coming to life. I can feel every squiggle, line, and eraser mark she makes as she trails down my vibrant blue veins. When the pencil drops from her delicate hands, sadness washes over me like rain on a sunny day. But of course, she’s still smiling. She’ll never truly feel this pain that runs through my blue lines. As she steps up from her chair, I feel different. Shreds of my flaky paper skin begin dancing around the room. I see her eyes shining bright from the slight distance. And then time stops. She hesitantly brushes a hands across my cheek. I feel her arms wrap around me in a hug. Impossible, I think to myself. But I look down. I am human. My shreds of paper skin have become real. I have arms and legs and a torso, too. I am human, like her. But something is wrong. My flaky paper skin is falling apart now. I am becoming nothing more than paper again. She grasps my forearms, as I do the same to her. I am fading fast, too fast. But then I realize, I am paper. I am the body of a book. And with that book, a spine. We are all held together by nothing more than words. Her beautiful words. I feel her grip tightening as I take my paper form once more. But before I am completely lost, I tell her this, “I love you, but you’re real.”

And this is how your story becomes real. But is it really a story if the words don’t dance across the pages? Is it really a story if you aren’t a part of the same world?  And is it really a story if a piece of you isn’t left between the spine?

~ Kaitlyn

I plan to show her your comments about her writing, so thank you for reading today.  

Here is a quote in her writer's notebook. I don't think this is something she has to worry about because I am quite confident she was born to write.

Rising Celebrations ~ Celebrate 2017 (nineteen)

Each week Ruth Ayres extends an invitation to share the celebrations from our week.  Why don't you join the celebration?

Isn't it funny how a single word can bring about change?  Changes you think about, changes you hope for,

and changes you never expected.

Today is a simple list of rising celebrations.

In about three weeks I start on my master's degree. After ten years of teaching, it is time to think about different paths.  Getting this degree is the first step.

In one week I will be presenting training/professional development on writing traits for our English department. Focusing on literacy instruction in every classroom in my school has been a vision for me, albeit a blurry one.  The path to what this may look like is becoming more visible (which is the reason for the above celebration).

In about six weeks our school district and (hopefully) our community will be celebrating the book Wonder by R.J. Polacio.  I am spearheading a One Book, One District, One Community project.  Thanks to Katherine Sokolowski for the idea.  Read about her project here.

A week ago Jennifer Laffin, Michelle Haseltine, Margaret Simon and I launched our new chat for teachers and teacher-writers. I think all four of us were rather surprised at the response we received. Check out the #TeachWrite Chat blog with an archive of the chat along with a call to write for the JOY of it.

I just finished our first full week of school.  Another school year with another set of students is always a celebration.

Have a great week, and may you find many celebrations along the way!

Short Inventory of a Summer Day ~ Celebrate 2017 (eighteen)

Each week Ruth Ayres extends an invitation to share the celebrations from our week.  Why don't you join the celebration?

On my computer sits a coral sticky note. Its purpose is not what you would expect - a place to write reminders. Instead it is a quick check to see which one of the three Mac computers is actually mine. I have been known on multiple occasions to take the wrong one to school.

Today the sticky note sits in the bottom, left hand corner with these words scribbled in messy handwriting:  "short inventory of current life."

I wrote this quote down weeks ago because I loved the celebration that it captured. I thought I knew its owner, but when I went back to link the post with the quote, I couldn't find it. Please let me know if those words were yours so I can give proper credit.  Here is how I captured my inventory and my celebration today.

Short Inventory of a Summer Day

fresh sweet corn

fresh peaches

low-humidity pool time

kids home

lingering back porch moments

freshly brewed iced tea

sunshine

a return of green grass

black-eyed Susans

a perfect summer celebration

Contracts ~ Celebrate 2017 (seventeen)

Each week Ruth Ayres extends an invitation to share the celebrations from our week.  Why don't you join the celebration?

This week I have been reading tweets from the Booth Bay Literacy Retreat and copying many of them down in my notebook.  Many have made me think.  Many have made me nod my head.  And many have made me remember the important work we do as teachers.  This quote made me do all three:

"I feel like we have a contract:  I will tell the best story I can tell.  

And you put it in the hands of kids." ~ Chris Crutcher

Toward the end of the school year I finished Swing Sideways by Nanci Turner Steveson.  It was an autographed copy that I won in a Twitter drawing.  This book introduces us to Annie, a young girl who struggles with panic attacks and who has an overprotective mother.  Annie's parents agree to give her a "summer of freedom," and the three of them head off to the country.

Here, Annie meets California, a young girl staying with her grandfather, and the two girls form a perfect summer friendship.  When California tells Annie that her grandfather is dying of cancer, the two go on a mission to reunite the grandfather with California's estranged mother. This mission is full of adventure and secrets and a summer Annie (and the reader) will never forget.

I closed the book, wiped the tears, and knew exactly to whom I was going to hand this book.  As I handed it to Isabella, I told her to come see me as soon as she finished because I knew I would want to talk to her about it. 

The end of the school year was upon us, and Isabella had not finished the book. I told her what any passionate reading teacher would say, "You can take the book home with you."  She smiled and carefully (she knew it was a signed copy!) placed it in her backpack for the summer.

This week she returned the book along with this note.

 

I knew she would love this book because I know Isabella as a reader.  I spent the year handing her book after book after book.  She would come into my room and ask, "Ok I finished that one. What's next?"  She is the reader every teacher wants in their classroom.

Authors can write amazing books, but if we don't find a way to get them in the hands of our students, we are reneging on our end of the contract.  Today, I celebrate that contract, the trust that authors place in us as teachers, and the joy of placing the right books in the hands of the right readers.

Yes, we have important work to do.

Notes:  After I read Swing Sideways, I immediately ordered multiple copies to use in my student book clubs.  This is the reference Isabella makes in her note about ordering more copies.

Nanci is also the author of Georgia Rules, another amazing heart fiction book which was published in May, and Lizzie Flying Solo about a recently homeless girl who loves a pony she can't have - coming in September 2018.  Nanci is a must-read author for those middle grade students who love books that tug at the heartstrings. 

Burnout, Passion, and Purpose ~ Celebrate 2017 (sixteen)

Each week Ruth Ayres extends an invitation to share the celebrations from our week.  Why don't you join the celebration?

This week marks the half-way point in my summer vacation. (No, that is not my celebration!)  I have to admit I became a little nervous at the end of the school year.

This was my tenth year of teaching, and for the first time I experienced a new set of feelings.  I didn't have to hold back tears as I said goodbye.  I was ready for this year to be over about the same time I turned the calendar page to March. I even counted down the days.

This was unfamiliar territory for me, and the b-word began to slip into my thinking. Burnout. I made it past the five year mark, the one that seems to be the high water mark for teachers.  What was wrong with me?

The first week of the summer I was a teacher at our SPARK camp, and I had a camper tell me that her cousin told her that I was mean.

Those words stung.

Had I lost my passion for teaching?  Did I forget my purpose?

Luckily, I found my answer this week at the All Write Conference.  And that answer is a firm no.

The theme of the conference was:  Reclaiming Purpose and Passion.  I surrounded myself with teachers who share their passion.  I listened to experts in the field and frantically wrote and tweeted their bits of inspiration.  I mentally tucked ideas in my head that I can't wait to implement this fall (or in about five weeks!)  I felt that excitement of learning as a teacher and the desire to share that learning with others.

I reclaimed my purpose and passion.

Here are just a few quotes I took away. 

"We need our teaching to be deep and slow like a river.  We need to slow down for teaching to sustain the learner."

"Students need mirrors, windows, and doorways.  They need to see some piece of them in us."

"We seek communion with those who understand us best."

"Love yourself enough to stand up for what is best for children."

~ Lester Laminack

"I don't think anyone of us truly gets how important we are in the lives of students." 

~ Ruth Culham

"We need to remember the meaning of what we do."

"Our jobs get hard when we forget about our purpose."

"When teachers tell the stories of the impact they make, everyone benefits."

~ Lee Snider

Principal

"...investing in the lives of children. I can think of no better way to make the world more beautiful."

~ Ruth Ayres

Take time this summer to ignite your passion for teaching and to remember your purpose. 

Reclaim it and yes, celebrate it!