SOLSC #13 - Plantar What?

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Two Writing Teachers

Teachers and feet problems are not a good combination.

Several years ago I experienced my first bout with plantar fasciitis.  Now some of you may being thinking, what in the world is plantar fasciitis.  I know I did when I was first diagnosed.  Heck, I couldn't even pronounce the darn thing!  Since then, I have had several flare-ups, and I have met and talked with many people who have also had the foot problem.

There is a thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of your foot and connects your heel to your toes.  Inflammation of this tissue causes extreme heel pain, especially when you first get up in the morning.  The pain may return if there is prolonged standing.  This condition is also common in runners, overweight people, and those who wear shoes with poor support...well I have two out of three of those...and no, I am not a runner!

Here lies the problem.  I, like most teachers, am on my feet all. day. long.

I have basically been in pain since the beginning of the school year.  I love to wear capris and sandals up until the first frost.  This only aggravates the problem.  I have not taken care of my feet, and now I am paying for it.  (Those cute shoes aren't so cute right now.)

I know that in order to completely heal, I need to follow the doctor's orders.  I have a pair of orthotics which actually support that tissue so your foot doesn't have to.  I have been wearing those in my tennis shoes for support, and have been trying to stay off of my feet during the evenings...which is not easy for me to do.

Tonight, I am sitting here reading slices with my brace as my companion.  This brace flexes my foot and stretches that tissue.  After we finish this little rendezvous, I will be dunking my foot in a pan of ice water to try and decrease the inflammation.  Then it is another does of ibuprofen and off to bed!

So, there is your medical lesson for the day!  If you have ever had plantar fasciitis and have some advice, please let me know - cute shoe season is just right around the corner!  I never learn!

SOLSC #12 - Spring Intruder

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Two Writing Teachers

Last night my family was taking advantage of this beautiful spring weather.  My daughter and husband were shooting baskets in the driveway, and I was sitting on our porch reading slices.

As the birds were singing their spring serenade, I looked over and saw the magnolia buds hanging out their welcome sign.  The sunset reminded me that we have an additional hour of daylight.  All signs that spring is on its way.

All of a sudden, those thoughts of spring - that season when we impatiently wait for longer days, signs of green, and warmer temperatures - had an intruder.  

No, it wasn't the weather forecast for tomorrow that is predicting snow...AGAIN!

There was a faint sound.  So faint that I thought surely I must be hearing things.

Then it came again, a little louder this time.  

          A little closer to my ear.  

  

                    A little buzzing sound.

Then all of a sudden, it attacks my face and I swat at it! 

                             The...dreaded...intruder.  

A mosquito - now dead on my porch floor - was not going to ruin my evening!

SOLSC #11 - "Wonder" at Walmart

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Two Writing Teachers

I love sharing books with students, teachers, family and yes, even strangers.

Last night I made my middle-of-the-week Walmart trip.  I always have to make a detour through the book section just to see if there is something new on the shelves.

As I turned the corner, I spied a girl with "Wonder" by R.J. Palacio.  Do I say something?  Will she get scared if a complete stranger speaks to her? 

I decided to take a chance, because how often do I get booktalk "Wonder" in Walmart?

"That is a great book."  I say to her.

"My teacher is reading it to us."

"Your teacher has great taste in books.  What grade are you in?"

"4th."

"That's what grade I teach. Where are you in the book?"

"Well, we are somewhere in the beginning."

I lean over and whisper to her, "Have you read the part about the farting nurse?"

She looks at me and smiles kind of embarrassed.  That was all I needed to know!  Yep!  They had read it!

Ahhh....book-talking in Walmart - a day in Walmart can't get much better than that!

SOLSC #10 - A Special Bookmark

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Two Writing Teachers

One day last week Kay McGriff wrote a slice about bookmarks which reminded me of a very special bookmark given to me by my mother-in-law.

My mother-in-law was one of those mothers who saved everything which involved her children!  She had pictures they drew and stories they wrote.  Cards from their birthdays, baptism, and first communion.  Report cards, newspaper articles, and pictures.  You name it - she saved it!

She had special boxes or packages for each child.  She had seven children, so she had quite a collection.  After she passed away, my husband was given his box.  He, of course, thought it was silly that she kept all of this "junk," but I of course loved it and kept it all!

As I was perusing through the artifacts of his life as a child, I came across this old tattered prayer card. 

Since my mother-in-law was no longer here, I asked my husband's oldest sister about the significance of the card and why it was in my husband's box.  My husband is the fifth child out of seven.  He has four older sisters.  When my mother-in-law was pregnant with him, she desperately wanted a boy.  

This card is the prayer to Saint Ann, a prayer to obtain a special favor - to grant her a boy.  I was told she regularly prayed this prayer and was blessed with a boy, my husband.

My husband may think it is "junk," but I consider it a treasure.  I keep this card as a bookmark in my Bible and think about my mother-in-law and how lucky I am that she was blessed with this boy!  

SOLSC #9 - The Seed

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Two Writing Teachers

I am a wife, a mother, and a teacher.  

I plant seeds.

I am a gardener of love, life and learning.

This weekend I watched my "seed" make a good life decision.   

Deciding that drinking and drugs is not the best choice.  

Fitting in is a matter of personal opinion.

The Gardener

Tilling the ground

Preparing the soil 

Planting the seed

Watching it grow

Blooming...into a young adult

I am the proud gardener

SOLSC #8 - My Super Heroes

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Two Writing Teachers

Celebrate with Ruth Ayres

Today's post is both a slice and certainly a celebration!

I am blessed to have a small Bible study group which meets before school once a week.  The husband of one of our teachers is a pastor, and he leads the group.  He usually shares a lesson based on a scripture passage.  We celebrate life's blessings, share tears, and laugh and pray together.  Teaching is not easy, and this group gives me the support that is needed to sustain a positive attitude.  Many weeks it is the highlight of my day.

This week was our state testing and as much as we try to keep things on an even keel, this week has been anything but that.

We started our week with a snow day on Monday (our tenth!), a two-hour delay on Tuesday, and a one-hour delay on Wednesday.  Testing was delayed a day, and the kids and teachers have been stressed.  To top all of that, we are in our second week of hour-long extended days to make up for the snow days.  Needless to say, it has been a long week for everyone.

As always, we prayed for our students, our principal and each other.

"God, please help our students to understand they are made of more than just a test score."

His words lifted me, yet also haunted me that day.  I had students in tears and literally sick this week because of their fear of not passing this test.  The pressure placed on these students diminishes their unique personalities, their love of learning, and the reason they are in school in the first place.  These scores do not define who they are.

Being a kid during testing week is not easy.  My students have been real troopers! They are my super heroes!  And not a single score can tell me otherwise!

SOLSC #7 - Five Minute Friday

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Two Writing Teachers

Before Thanksgiving break my students and I were in the routine of "Five Minute Friday."  I copied the idea from a blog and decided to use it with my students.  I would pick a random word, and they would write whatever came to mind.  The idea behind it is to just get them to write.  I eventually let them write a word on a card, and we put them in a jar to draw from each week.

Since Christmas our schedule has been everything BUT routine, but I decided it was time to try FMF again.  Today I decided to write along with them and include it as my post for today.

When I pulled out the word, I groaned loudly.  Of course that was to really build up the suspense and it worked.  I have 21 students and 16 of them play basketball.  Guess what the word was - yep basketball!

Here is my writing for today's FMF:

Basketball

balls bouncing

nets swishing

crowds cheering

whistles blowing

parents yelling

players listening

horns sounding

popcorn popping

cheerleaders flipping

teams winning

teams losing

players growing

life

lessons 

learned

SOLSC #6 - A Missing Part

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Two Writing Teachers

Tuesday we had a two hour delay, but I went in at our normal time to finish last minute preparations for our first day of state testing.  As I sat at my desk, I heard the sound on my computer that signaled an email.  Then another and another.  As I looked at them, I thought they appeared rather suspicious.  (Undeliverable Viagra messages sent by me for Pete's sake!)  I immediately contacted our tech team, and sure enough my computer had been hacked.

It appeared that we caught it early, but a part of me still felt violated.  (I later read on my spam report that I had 1,165 spam messages - I average 30!)

I spent a good part of the day talking with our tech department and trying to fix problems that arose because of a simple password change.  Unfortunately, I was unable to do anything on my computer so I left it at school Tuesday night.

What was I going to do without it?

Although I still had my iPad, I really do not like using it to read blogs, make comments, or write posts.  I don't even know how to copy and paste on it.  How was I ever going to post Wednesday's slice on Two Writing Teachers?

Not having my computer made me feel as if a part of me was missing.  Am I that dependent on my computer?  Can I really not function without it?

I did survive, but I did not like it.

It is my understanding that they had to completely rebuild me as a user on my computer.  Luckily, they were able to save everything, and it is now back in my hands.

Tonight, as my fingers dance rhythmically across my keyboard writing and commenting on slices, I am smiling once again!  I feel whole.  I am connected!  My missing part is back and I am elated!

SOLSC #5 A Captcha Surprise

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Two Writing Teachers

Yesterday Michele Nero made a comment on how I wrote about "hot topics" two days in a row.  So, today's slice is a little more on the lighter side - a true slice I guess!

On Sunday we were asked to turn off the "Captcha images."  I knew what those were, but I didn't know what they were called.  I know that some are real words, others are just random letters, and some have recently been numbers.  Most of the time I do not even pay much attention to them.

Being technologically challenged, I would assume that these are totally random and mean absolutely nothing to the blogger or the commenter.   So when I clicked to publish a comment Monday night, I was totally surprised when this came up!

Now you may be asking yourself what is so surprising about this?

Vincennes is my hometown!  It is not like I live in a city like Madison or Jackson, which many states have.  Most people do not even know how to pronounce Vincennes.  What are the chances of this happening?  

So, those of you with computer brilliance - that would NOT be me - was this totally random or are the computer gods playing with my mind?

SOLSC #4 - False Sense of Security

Thank you TWO WRITING TEACHERS
for encouraging me to write everyday!

Last week I had an interesting conversation with my students.  The topic was AR.  (For those of you unfamiliar with Accelerated Reading, it is a computerized testing program for independent reading.)

During the conversation, I said these words which I fear will come back to haunt me someday...

"I do not care about AR."  

There were many gasps followed by complete silence.

Because we are an AR school corporation, (and because I don't want to lose my job!) I feel like I have to support it in some way.  Here is my "spin" on it.

I explained to them (again!) that the one thing I like about AR is the goal setting, because that is a life skill.  Throughout our lives, we set goals and create a plan to reach them.  They not only need to learn to make a plan, but also to learn how to change the plan when they are not successful. Although we set other reading goals during the year, I feel this is the one way I can support AR.

Then the conversation moved to why I don't like AR.  I wanted to think carefully before I answered.  I could have chosen any of these:

• extrinsic rewards don't work
• book choices are limited
• competition is created among students
• students can be turned off to independent reading

But the real reason is that it gives them a false sense of security.

Most of these students have been "programmed" to be AR robots since first grade and in some cases by the end of kindergarten.  They have become products of robot reading:  read a book - take a test - repeat until you no longer enjoy reading.

They know they need to correctly answer 85% of the questions on the test.  When they score 85%, they "think" they have comprehended the book.  Here lies that false sense of security.  They have no realization or understanding of the deeper meanings that are hidden in the books they are reading independently.  

Our current read-aloud is One For The Murphys by Linda Mullaly Hunt.  Many of them will probably get most of the AR questions correct, but did they really comprehend it?  

Did they understand the significance of the sign, "Be Someone's Hero?"  Could they explain how Carley changed from the beginning of the story to the end?  Can they state if they agree or disagree with the ending?  Did they understand the way the author used flashback to tell about Carley's abuse?  Did they infer the message the author wanted to leave with us?

Books deserve reflection and discussion, not low level test questions.

After our AR awards for the second grading period, my principal asked me what we could do to motivate our kids for AR?  He knows how I feel about this, so I looked at him and said, "You are asking the wrong person."

I have been working on an answer for him, but that is another post!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers cohost It's Monday!  What Are You Reading?  Be sure and stop by to participate and see what others are reading and recommending.

It may be one book at a time, but it is three weeks in a row!

Seven Stories Up by Laurel Snyder

This is one of those books I heard such a buzz about on blogs and on Twitter.  

I was not disappointed.    

Annie, a twelve year old little girl, and her mother visit her dying grandmother who is an unhappy and downright cranky old lady.  Annie wakes up back in 1937 and meets her grandmother as a little girl.  Annie begins to understand the secrets of her grandmother's past which are key to understanding her present state of mind.  

Although this book is a mixture of realistic fiction, historical fiction and fantasy, I think many readers will be able to relate with the characters and maybe understand how everyone needs to be treated with respect.

Next up...

Happy Reading!

SOLSC #3 - Let the Testing Season Begin

Thank you Two Writing Teachers
for sponsoring the March SOLSC

I can't tell you how many times I have deleted and rewritten this post, worried about hitting that publish button.  So many experts or teachers who have many more years of teaching experience than I, have written about standardized assessment.  

What could I possibly have to offer?  

Just my rambling thoughts.

My "writer's fear" is coming out, but I know I need to conquer it.  So here is my post...finally!

Tomorrow we begin our first round of state testing, otherwise referred to as the "testing season."  Friday night I read this tweet on Twitter, and it left me thinking.

Differentiation seems to be one of many buzz words in our school corporation.  I am an advocate of this type of teaching.  I truly believe it my responsibility to reach each of my students in whatever way is needed.

I believe in teaching the reader, not the reading.  I believe in teaching the writer, not the writing.  That is differentiation at its best.

This tweet says so much in such few words.  Yes, we are expected to teach each student, make accommodations, use small group instruction, and differentiate our instruction.  Then testing season begins, and all those ideals seem to lose their importance.  The importance is solely placed on the score.  Not the student.  Not where it should be.

We know students learn differently and teachers should instruct them differently, but standardized assessment is a one size fits all.  Is it right?  Is it fair?

One child + differentiation = one test.

Is there something wrong with this equation?

SOLSC #2 - By Her Side

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Two Writing Teachers

My daughter, Megan, played basketball for ten years, so many hours during those ten years were spent in a gym.  Yesterday, I was back in the gym with that rhythmic sound of a ball bouncing on the hardwood, the smell of sweaty kids and stinky shoes and socks, and parents yelling in the stands.  But this time, I was watching Megan on the other side - the coaching side. 

Megan grew up with a basketball in her hand and my sister, Janis, by her side.  Janis was the girls' high school coach, and Megan could always be found watching from the bleachers.  Megan could tell you every player, her position, and her number.  Those girls were her heroes, and she couldn't wait to wear that "Lady Alices" uniform. Basketball was her life, and my sister played a huge part of that.

Janis retired from coaching when Megan was in the fifth grade.  After she made the announcement, she came to our house to tell Megan.   Megan cried and cried.  Her dream was to play for my sister.  I know Janis's decision to retire was not an easy one to make because of this special relationship with Megan.  I remember sleeping with Megan that night, trying to comfort her as she cried herself to sleep.  She was devastated.

Much to our delight, Janis ended up coaching Megan during her middle school years on a travel team.  It wasn't school ball, but she was her coach.  Again, Janis was by her side.

When Megan became a freshman, Janis came out of retirement and became the assistant coach.  I think she felt as if she had let Megan down when she retired, and she wanted to become a part of her high school career.  Once again, Janis was by her side.  

I remember watching Megan run out onto the court that first time as a varsity player.  This was her dream.  This was what she wanted to do since she was a little girl.  Sadly, for many reasons, that dream did not turn out as she expected.

This year Megan and I went to a high school game.  Sitting next to Megan, I watched her as a spectator once again.  I asked, "Do you miss it?"

"A little."

"Do you see yourself down there someday?"

She smiled and answered, "I left some unfinished business on that court."

Megan is in her third year of college and wants to become a teacher and a coach.  Megan and Janis are now coaching my niece's travel team together.  Megan still has a basketball in her hands and my sister is still by her side.  This time as a mentor.

I look forward to the day when this comes full circle.  Megan coaching from the sidelines - finishing that business she left on the court, and my sister in the bleachers watching her protégée...forever by her side.

Megan watching her team during warm-ups.

Celebrate Good Times, Come On! - 3/1

Each Saturday  Ruth Ayres invites us to share and celebrate events from our week. Looking for small celebrations has certainly improved my outlook on my week. For that, I am certainly grateful to Ruth and to all of you who choose to celebrate with us.

Snow days - I used to love them.

Snow days - Nine too many!

Snow days - Another one or two coming!

Wondering about my celebration?  This week our plan to make up these nine snow days began.  Counting the ones built in, the ones the state is exempting and the ones where we took Good Friday and the day of graduation - we have two days left to make up.  We are adding one hour to our school day, excluding Fridays.  Six hours equals one snow day.  

That's not my celebration!

I am celebrating how well these first four days went.  Because I teach a "testing grade," our hour was structured with additional instruction.  My students worked extremely hard during this hour.  I can honestly say the extra hour was the best hour of our day.  They were focused and engaged in what I had planned.

Today I celebrate my students and the troopers that they were.  Let's hope the newness of the plan doesn't wear off anytime soon.

Snow days - No more!

SOLSC #1 - The First Day

This post is part of the
March Slice of Life Story Challenge
sponsored by Two Writing Teachers

A year ago I was lurking among the slicers, completely mesmerized by the dedication and skill of these writers.  I knew that in 2014 that I wanted to BE a slicer, not a bystander in the March Slice of Life Challenge.

The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines challenge as something that tests strength, skill, or ability, especially in a way that is interesting,

I can guarantee this challenge will test my strength.  Finding time to write everyday will take effort, work and endurance and will exercise writing muscles that I don't use on a regular basis.  I think I am ready for the "post pressure" of writing everyday.  

I can guarantee this challenge will test my skill.  I hope this challenge will open my eyes to new craft ideas, push me in new directions and encourage me to try new things.  I want to be able to show my students, "Hey look what I did."  I want to be able to show them slices and use them as mentor texts.

I can guarantee this will test my ability.  I have always been one who wants to learn and get better at just about everything I do, especially my teaching.  I spend many hours reading and trying to improve my teaching ability.  This challenge is no different - it will test my writing ability.

I cannot guarantee that it will always be interesting, but I will give it my best shot!

Ten days ago I wrote a slice about my fears concerning this challenge.  I received wonderful advice from many slicers, especially from Terje.  If you are a new slicer, please read her words of wisdom here.

I am still amazed by the outpouring of support and encouragement I received from this community after writing that post.

I know the support will continue...because that is what you do.

Let the challenge change begin!

Ring Around the....

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TWO WRITING TEACHERS

It is hard to believe that February is almost over, but I am so ready to put this winter behind me.  We had nine snow days, which is the most I can ever remember having.  This week we started extending our school day by an hour in order to make up these days.

Saturday we were given a sneak peek of spring with temperatures rising into the upper 50's.  It was such a beautiful weekend, but I thought my husband was going to ruin it for me.

Saturday I was in the house getting caught up on weekend cleaning.  He was outside picking up some debris from the high winds we had earlier in the week, when I heard him holler for me.

"Leigh Anne, come here and look at this."

I go out and he is just standing there by one of our evergreens.

"Come and look at this," he repeated again.

He doesn't tell me he wants me to look at, so I just stand there kind of dumbfounded.  I look in the tree expecting some kind of animal.  "Uh, what am I looking at?"

"Look up,"  he says.

I look up but am blinded by the sun.  "What am I suppose to be seeing?"  I asked completely lost.

"Come over here.  Don't look directly into the sun"

And there it was...a ring around the sun.  I ran to get my iPad so I could try and be like Elsie!  get a picture!

"You know that means snow is coming."  And he was right, but lucky for us it was just flurries.

Spring, where are you?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers cohost It's Monday!  What Are You Reading?  Be sure and stop by to participate and see what others are reading and recommending.

I barely finished this on time, but I made it two weeks in a row!  

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes.

I couple of students in my Mock Newbery Club read this book, and both of them thought this was not Newbery bound.  I think it surprised many readers because of the age of the main character and the possible reading audience.  It is a tender story, and the ending was what won me over.

Next up...

Happy Reading!

Celebrate Good Times, Come On! - 2/22

Each Saturday  Ruth Ayres invites us to share and celebrate events from our week. Looking for small celebrations has certainly improved my outlook on my week. For that, I am certainly grateful to Ruth and to all of you who choose to celebrate with us.

I am so excited about my celebration this week - heart tugs!

Last summer I read a post on Jaana's Writing Blog about a special book club for adults with disabilities.  It is called the Next Chapter Book Club.  When I read her story, I felt an instant heart tug.  So I inquired about getting one started here in my hometown.  The training was quite expensive, and I had no idea where to start.  I put the project on hold.

The first of December my daughter told me how her education club at the university she attends, works with a group of college aged students with disabilities   One of her professors was in charge of this group.  Again, I felt a heart tug.  I emailed the professor and told her about what I wanted to do and asked if she would be interested in helping me.  She replied that she could not commit but thought it would be perfect for her group.  Again, I put the project on hold.

In January I received an email from the director of NCBC stating they had lowered the registration fee by almost half.  At the same time, I came across a book called God-Sized Dreams by Holly Gerth.  Again, I felt a heart tug and this time it was pulling harder.

We have a church in our community which supports local community events.  I put some feelers out about the church funding the training for this project and received some positive feedback.  Once again, I felt a heart tug.

It is Friday, and I just came back from a meeting with the pastor.  They are going to fund it!  To say that I am excited would be an understatement!

I have a dream and wrote about it here.  My dream involves literacy for all ages but I have no clear idea of how it might look or where it may lead.  I know starting this club may be a small part - but it is a start to reaching that dream.

Starting this club has been tugging at my heart since summer.  Sometimes when we feel a tug, we ignore them for whatever reason.  We think it is impossible, too big, or even stupid.  I tried ignoring this tug, but it just would not go away.  Today my heart is filled with possibilities.  I am so glad I listened.

March 27th I will being going to Columbus, Ohio with a special education teacher to be trained by the Next Chapter Book Club.  I can't wait to bring this back to my community and REACH out to another group of readers who sometimes can be overlooked, but who still need to feel important and loved.

Today I celebrate heart tugs!

And This is What I Am Afraid Of

Read more slices at
TWO WRITING TEACHERS

Ten days!

Ten days until the Slice of Life Challenge begins.  This will be my first challenge and I am excited, yet scared.  I look forward to the challenge of writing every day.

But yet, I am scared.  Scared that I won't have the time to sit down and put my words on paper.  Scared that I won't have anything to write about for 31 days straight.

Today was hectic.  I got home from school at 7:30 this evening and knew that I had my slice to write for tomorrow.  Sitting down with my computer, I thought...

I really don't have the time.  I have tests to grade, plans to make, and resources to find.

I really don't have anything to write about it.  I really don't have the time to sit and think about ideas.

This is what I am afraid of.  That panic that a deadline is coming.  Being so tired that the words just won't come.  That I will write just for the sake of "finishing the assignment" and not necessarily writing words that someone will want to read.

All in just ten days.

For those of you who have participated before, please feel free to leave advice in the comments.  I am sure many of us new slicers will learn much from your mentoring.

Celebrate Good Times, Come On! - 2/15

Each Saturday  Ruth Ayres invites us to share and celebrate events from our week. Looking for small celebrations has certainly improved my outlook on my week. For that, I am certainly grateful to Ruth and to all of you who choose to celebrate with us

Today I celebrate Tuesday.

Each Tuesday we have a Bible study group which meets before school.  This group consists of teachers, our principal and a local pastor, who also happens to be the husband of one of our teachers.  I have written about this group before and what a difference this 15 minutes each week has on our lives and our work with children each day.

Our principal led the group this week.  I am very blessed to have a principal who believes that family should come first - always.  This week he personally reminded us of how we can sometimes forget about that with all the demands that education requires.  I celebrate his vulnerability and the fact that principals are also human.  Sometimes we forget that fact and don't always get to see that side of administration.  There is something powerful about praying along-side your principal - that is a celebration.

Tuesday I finally gave my PD on blogging in the classroom.  It had been canceled three other times due to weather.  Hopefully, I have enticed some teachers and will soon be celebrating their arrival into the world of blogging, whether it be personal, professional, or as a classroom.

I also had a meltdown on Tuesday.  Words can be so powerful.  They can build up or tear down. Unfortunately, they tore me down.  But I celebrate those colleagues and my principal who gave me much needed support and encouragement that day.

I also celebrate that meltdown on Tuesday.  It is because of those low spots in our lives that we become stronger. 

Tuesday was a day of highs and lows - a day to celebrate!

I hope you have a great week and find many things to celebrate.