May Chalk-a-bration!

Today I'm joining up with Betsy From Teaching Young Writers to celebrate Chalk-a-bration!  Check out other great chalk work today!

Now that we have finally had some beautiful weather in Michigan for a little while, the kids are itching to be outside.  My kindergarten kiddos and I spent some time outside drawing and writing with our chalk.  There is nothing better than the happy smiles of kids when they see a brand new, enormous box of chalk!

Check out the beautiful creations they made for Chalk-a-bration!

 the sun

 I am a bug

 dinosaur

 

 Beautiful flowers - a mom/child collaboration

 Butterflies

 I love the Earth.

 The sun is beautiful!

 

I am a butterfly.

 

 And my personal favorite...a poem!

clouds

are

white

making

animals

in the

sky

Trying my hand...

If you stopped by my blog during March then you already know we were anticipating the arrival of our newest family member...a puppy!  In April, you may have seen a few new pictures.  You probably even saw the debate over and choosing of her name.

Well, now she's become a topic of my writing!  I often write poetry, mostly for myself but I also share it from time to time.  However, I very rarely write poetry for children.  I love reading children's poetry but I've never been inspired to write it.  It's just never really even crossed my mind.

Until last week.

One day, during a break, I sat at my computer with a rare free moment at school.  I didn't have email to respond to, I didn't have grades to enter, I didn't have copies to make or even phone calls to return.  So, I took advantage of it and spent some time writing!  What came out over the next couple of days surprised me very much!  I decided to share it for some feedback...keep in mind it's my first children's poetry ever!

I sat on a bench today

Just to breath the time away

A little bird landed near

Somehow I knew I shouldn’t fear

He tipped his head

And “Hi,” he said

“Why are you feeling down?

I see your face, I see your frown.”

Staring with shock and surprise

I could not believe my eyes

He started again, he began to speak

My head shaking, my knees weak

“Can’t believe you hear me, right?”

I nodded my head, fighting flight

“No one does and that’s a fact.

No one knows just how to act,

When words fall out

Should they run, should they shout?”

I just shrugged, it’s all I could do

He asked again, “Why are you blue?”

So, I figured I might as well talk

“Tuesdays are our day to walk.”

He said, “But you are alone, right?”

I guess I looked a sorry sight

“Usually I walk with my friend,

Tuesdays are our time to spend.

We walk in the park and feed the birds

Just to be, to play, to share some words

I’m lost without her, my faithful friend

Always with me until the end

My dog.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Known and The Unknown

I was having a hard time deciding what to write about today.  I wanted to share something about myself but I just couldn't find my topic.  It's not a true slice of life, but it is a slice of me that I share with you today.  

I challenged myself to think of 20 things about myself today.  The first five are things many people might know about me, but not everyone.  The next ten things are things that not very many people know about me, only those closest to me.  The final five are things that are probably unknown to all except myself, or at least, they were until I hit publish.  :)

1 - I have four pretty amazing kids ranging in age from 11 to 2.
2 - I met my husband my freshman year of college.  Our first date was January 16, 1997.  We went to Fazoli's.  I had pizza and he had spaghetti, which he ate with a fork and spoon.  I'd never seen anyone twirl their spaghetti with a spoon before!  I guess he was trying to be neat and impress me because I have never again seen him use a spoon for his twirling.
3 - I love to write.  I don't do it as often as I would like to, but I enjoy it very much.  I'm thankful for the SOL challenge on Tuesdays and throughout the month of March.
4 - My favorite teacher was my orchestra teacher.  He taught me a lot about teaching, getting to know my students, and how to be passionate about something.
5 - I love to read!  I'm pleased to say I am part of a book club!
6 - I played the violin from 4th grade through 12th grade and I loved it!
7 - I used to practice for hours because I wanted to be first chair in the violin section.  It was always a close competition between myself and another player.  We challenged each other often for the rights of first chair.
8 - When I was four, I wanted to be a country music singer.
9 - I am the youngest child of five.  The next oldest is 10 years older than me. 
10 - I would love to have a writing group.  A friend and I tried to start one and it never really grew wings.  I love talking about other people's writing and getting feedback on my own.
11 - My all-time favorite movie?  It's a tie between Dirty Dancing (I can recite it line for line) and Pretty Woman (Can't go wrong with Richard and Julia!) and Mr. Holland's Opus (probably because if #4 above).  There are many close runners-up, but these are the top dogs.
12 - When my hubby proposed, he brought dinner to my apartment.  He brought Fazoli's - pizza for me and spaghetti for himself.  Sound familiar?  See #2 above!
13 - The first book I read that I remember feeling an attachment to was my first chapter book called King of the Dollhouse.  It was about a child's dollhouse and the king and queen dolls that came to life after the child went to sleep.  I remember feeling like it was just a magical story and I read it several times.  I still have it and would love to have my daughters read it...but I'm afraid they won't see the magic in it.
14 - I despise all things vampire/zombie/scary-bad-guy related.  However, I LOVE the show The Walking Dead!  I didn't want to like it and I resisted for a long time, but my husband got me hooked.
15 - I still enjoy watching kids movies and love to take my kids to the theater to see them!
16 - Part of me secretly wishes #8 could still come true.
17 - I'm 35 years old and I have never lived alone.  I lived with both parents until college, I lived with people throughout college, when I graduated I briefly moved back home with my parents and then I got married. 
18 - I backed out of my garage and into my husband's car in our driveway.  Twice.
19 - Remember #3?  Last summer I started writing a novel.  I worked on it like crazy during the summer but during the school year it's been hard to become inspired enough to work on it.  At this point, it takes longer chunks of time to work on it than I can devote most days.  I can't wait until summer to get back at it!  Remember #10?  This is one reason I really wish I had a writing group!  I want people to read and give feedback on my story!
20 - My husband says I snore.  I don't know how he can possibly hear me over himself?


Well, there you have it.  The good, the bad, the ugly, the known and the unknown.  It was harder than I thought to think about the unknown items!  Did anything in the list surprise you?