Saturday Sounds

I have three daughters.

Yes, three.

Three girls who hold my heartstrings in their hands.

Three drama queens, each in their own special way.


Emma is the queen of all drama queens.  Everything about her everyday life is dramatic.  Everyday.

Maddie is mostly a quiet drama queen.  Except when she's not.  And when she's not, EVERYONE will know.  Because she doesn't cry.  She wails.  If something is wrong, the world will hear about it.

Avery is the youngest of the queens.  She is the law-making queen.  If she doesn't agree with you, she will tell you like it is.  And by the way, you are wrong and she is right.

To bring a small amount of balance to our castle, our three queens have a big brother.  It is he who holds my fourth heart string.  He is the king of all things boy. 

He is the opposite of loud.  He is the opposite of dramatic.  He is the opposite of in your face.  He is a master drama queen button pusher.  And a protective guard of the queens.

This royal court ranges in age from 11 (almost 12, he'd say) down to 3 (this many, she'd say, holding up three little fingers).

You can imagine the sounds I hear throughout the castle on a typical Saturday.  Playing, running, arguing, laughing, reminders...you name it, I hear it.

You can imagine the panic that raced through my mind on Saturday when the noises suddenly were absent.  The quiet in the castle was deafening.

I mentally ran through the list...

Matthew - downstairs on the xbox - check
Emma - ???
Maddie - ???
Avery - ???
Lucy - nose pressed to the kitchen door, barking at the neighbor dogs

I quickly walked to the room shared by the two oldest girls.  I peeked around the door.  I opened first one eye, then the other, dreading what I might find.

What I found was pure joy.  Pure Mama-is-so-relieved joy!  Here they were.  All three, side by side by side.  All three happily playing, happily enjoying a quiet moment, happily sharing the space.

I tiptoed down the hall and made a grab for the camera. 

You have to document this stuff, you know.  Who knows when this moment might come again!

Write On!

I received this picture in a text from a parent yesterday.

She said: This is what L wanted to do during his sister's basketball game.  :) What?!?!

This picture made my heart smile!  It was exactly the kind of encouragement I needed to hear to let me know that what I am doing is working.  It shows me that the time investment I am putting into creating writer's within my classroom is working and impacting my students in a positive way.  What more could I ask for?

Write on, L, write on!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I wonder who will join you at your table today
on your birthday up in heaven?
And do you get to choose
your birthday feast?
I bet I know just what you'd choose!
A hamburger grilled dark over a campfire,
a side of potato salad, or chips, or corn on the cob.
A root beer in your hand
or maybe an un-root beer?
And do you get to pick your treat?
It hits me now I'm not so sure
what you would desire.
A strawberry shake? A vanilla cone?
A chocolate cake?
Anyway, I'm sure it will be delicious.
And are there lots of sunshine streamers
with puffy cloud balloons?
I bet there are angels singing
a birthday tune for you.
If I was there, I would.
I'd even go easy on your candle count,
though not on the getting old jokes.
I'm sure those who join your table today
will take up my slack
as I won't be there to celebrate with you.
But in my heart
please know I'm singing
Happy Birthday to you today Dad
from this side of heaven.


I composed this several times in my head before my fingers found the keys.  It had to be just right today.  It couldn't be rushed.  I knew it would come in it's own time and it did.  And, if I wish it up to heaven, maybe it will even find it's way to him.

I found the balloon picture on Pinterest.  I don't know who to give credit to but it was too perfect not to use.  If you know where it came from, let me know.  I'd like to give credit if I could.

Lucy

Last year, after much debate, nudging, and back and forth wavering, my husband and I decided it was time to add to our family.  Our youngest was almost 3 and was quickly moving from baby to big girl.  We were feeling the pull of a new baby.  The warm cuddles.  The sweet little noises.  The special bed and toys just for the baby.  It was time.  We knew we had a special place in our hearts for one last sweet baby.

She came into this world in late February, but it wasn't until April that she finally came home with us.  She's just been the sweetest blessing.  We couldn't have asked for more.  Her older siblings have been such a great help with feeding and taking care of her.  They love spending time with her, playing with her, cuddling with her and even helping to clean up after her.  They love her so much they even want to sleep with her at night.  I often hear, "Mom, can Lucy sleep with me tonight?"  It's hard to say no to that!

So, without further ado:

Meet Lucy!  Our sweet...puppy!

And the other one with the dolls is pretty sweet too!  ;)

Broken

I enjoyed reading Betsy's post on turning quick writes into poems today.  I fully intended to give this technique a try for my slice today.  But, as often happens, life got in my face and demanded that I write a different kind of slice.  It's still a poetry slice but it stems from a lunch table conversation instead of a quick write. 

once happy
often light-hearted
frustration floats
heaviness in the air
broken
the mood has shifted
tolerating the untolerable
feet dragging
excuse making
broken
changes needed
follow through lost
ignoring lets it linger
broken

My Wheels are Turning!

I had the opportunity to visit an early childhood special needs classroom this afternoon to visit a student that will be in my classroom in the fall.  It was fun to see this different environment and to meet her in her surroundings.

The wheels in my head are spinning out of control as I begin to process the adaptations, accommodations, preparations, all kinds of -ations, that I have ahead of me.  I heard today about ipad apps that will help her become a writer when her hands cannot, technology and accommodations for reading, environmental adaptions to prepare the classroom for her convenience and growth. 

I am so excited to begin this new journey with her next year.  I know this sweet smiling face is going to teach me in so many amazing ways and I can't wait!

How To. Who knew?

 Today was my observation day.  It isn't something that worries me or makes me nervous.  My principal knows me pretty well at this point.  I know a lot of people who put on a "dog and pony" show when they are observed.  Not me.  I do what I would normally do and he comes in to watch.  No big deal.

This time, he chose to come on a day that just happened to be the change-over from one writing genre to another.  Typically, I take a day or two of writer's workshop and immerse my students in reading and studying the new genre.  But, I wondered, is this the type of writing lesson he would expect to see?  Probably not. 

Was I going to do something else instead?  Nope.  I grabbed two mentor texts and away we went.  I explained that since yesterday we finished our opinion unit and published our final piece, today we were going to start learning about the next writing genre!  The kids were pretty excited as I read the two short examples and we talked about the transition words used in each to show the procedures being explained in the books. 

For our writing today I let the kids decide what genre they wanted to write in.  They could pick opinion or narrative.  Many picked opinion because we had just finished it and they enjoyed it.  Some chose to write a narrative story since it had been a few weeks since their last one.  But there was a handful that surprised me!  They insisted on trying a How To piece!  After reading two examples, they were ready and confident enough to jump on it!  Check it out - I am completely blown away by these amazing kindergarten kiddos!

How To Make a Snowman With Paint
By Conner

Step 1
Use paint to paint the snowman.






Step 2
Let them dry.

Step 3
Decorate them.







How To Make a Rainbow Craft
By Meredith

Step 1
Draw a rainbow.

Step 2
Cut it out.

Step 3
Cut strips of tissue paper.

Step 4
Glue or tape the tissue paper on the rainbow.







Are these fantastic or what?  I am so excited to dive into this genre.  I know my students will love it and I already have some great student models to teach from!  Bonus!