Day 3 - The Good Stuff

A few snippets from my day:

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My husband's alarm goes off at 5:30 am.  This morning the bed was hardly cold when my eight-year-old whispered to me.

"Mom, can I lay down with you?"

A snuggle is a nice way to start a day.

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My two-year-old wakes up a little groggy in the morning.  As my husband held her this morning, she was busy brushing her hair back out of her eyes.

"Hi Mommy," she said.

A few minutes and a fresh diaper later, she was asking to be picked up.  She wrapped her little arms around my neck, pressed her sweet little face into me and patted my back.

"I love you Mommy," she said into my neck.

A few sweet words said into your neck is a nice way to start a day.

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My ten-year-old is a fairly normal fifth grade boy.  Each morning he calls goodbye to me as he walks off to wait for the bus.  Once in a while I get a lean-into-the-side-of-me hug on his way out, but only if he thinks no one else will see him.

Today, I was surprised to get an actual, full-on hug from my little man before he left for school.

"'Bye Mom," he said as he hugged me.

A real hug from a fifth grade son is a nice way to start a day.

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My daughter is in my kindergarten class.  It's been nice to be able to watch her grow and change this year.  She has blossomed into a reader, a writer, and a thinker right in front of my eyes!  It's been a blessing to have her in my classroom.  The few days that I have had to be out of school this year have been a little harder on her than the other kids.  She not only misses the teacher but she misses mom too.  On those days she has been a little extra clingy as I tried to make my way to the door after dropping her off.  On those days she has been a little teary eyed as I made my exit.  She's fine after I leave, of course, but it's not easy on a mom.

Today I had to be gone.  I told her ahead of time that I wouldn't be at school today and tried to give her a little extra time to get used to it.  I guess I didn't need to worry today.  Today she was fine.

I said goodbye to her at her locker and she looked up at me with a big smile.

"Goodbye Mom!"  Then, she went back to reading her book.  Simple as that.

A smile and a happy, growing more independent everyday girl is a nice way to start a day.

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Be sure to check out the Two Writing Teachers blog for more slice of life stories today and every day during the month of March.

Day 2 - I'm From

In the last few weeks I have seen several people write or talk about poems about where they are from.  I always enjoy reading them but I haven't ever had quite enough inspiration to write one myself.  Yesterday, I was thinking about what I might slice about next.  The ideas just started flowing!

I’m from campfires and late night talks

Snowmobile rides through winter frosted forest

Summer swims in the lake with friends

Hot sunshine on our backs burning hot

 

I’m from riding bikes all day

Dune buggy rides through a sun dappled forest

Playing hide and seek with friends

Until it was too pitch black to see

 

I’m from climbing trees to the top

Walking muddy spring trails through a newly greening forest

Acting out movie lines with friends

And planning our own blockbuster remake

 

I’m from four siblings and two parents

I’m from a husband and four kids

I’m from the moments in time

That capture it all

 

Remember to visit the amazing ladies at Two Writing Teachers as they host the March Slice of Life Challenge.

March 1 - a slice poem

It's March! It's March!  It's time for the March Slice of Life Challenge hosted by the Two Writing Teachers blog.  Join in by sharing a slice or just sit back and read a few.

 

This is my third year participating in the March SOLC and usually, a couple weeks before March begins, I work on a list of ideas for the days that the ideas don't come easily.  I just have felt a little better knowing I was starting the challenge with a few ideas in my back pocket.  However, this year when I sat down to generate my list, instead I wrote the first two stanzas of a poem.  The next time I tried, I ended up working on the poem again instead.  I took it as a sign that maybe I didn't need a list to fall back on this year.  It's my new challenge to myself.  No list.  I'm starting fresh each day with my writer's eyes wide open to all the things around me, seeds of a story just waiting for me to notice.

 



A slice of me

A slice of you

Mixing together

A tasty chew

 

Morsels of soul

Left on the page

Positive comments

The author's wage

 

A story of love

A regretful tale

A writer's heart

Our words prevail

 

Your very own stage

A place to call home

To play with your words

Let your thoughts roam

 

So, serve up a slice

Or read, take a bite

Sample sweet stories

Let your ideas ignite!

 

 

Now...sit back, enjoy your coffee, read some more slices...it's going to be a great month!

 

 

 

February Chalk-A-Bration



I'm joining in the chalk fun today with Betsy from Teaching Young Writers.  Head on over to check out more chalky goodness!

May God surround you

with strength every day

May love fill your bucket

and hope light your way

 

 

 

Not only does this poem just make me smile, but it also contains my OLW for 2014: LIGHT!  I hope that next month I will be able to find a day that isn't below zero so I can head outside with my chalk!  It's been a long winter inside with my iPad chalk, but it works.

 



26 Slices

 

I have been less than inspired today in my search for a slice of life story.  Since I had several little snippet ideas but nothing that was worth a whole post...I decided to challenge myself and probably share a little about myself at the same time.

 

 

A - Anxious, the end of the school year seems to be rushing toward me and I'm just not finished with this group of kiddos yet!

 

B - Bestie, I'm lucky to have two.  One who "lives" across the hall and always inspires me and one who lives near Chicago who I miss so much!

 

C - Calling, what I should be doing to catch up with the Chicago bestie and Coffee, which I would like to be drinking and chatting over with across-the-hall bestie right now!

 

D - Daydreamer, what I often find myself doing.  I think this is where I get some of my ideas for writing!

 

E - Eight, eight-year-old drama is rough.  For parents.  Enough said.

 

F - February, it's almost over, which means it's almost time for the March SOL challenge!

 

G - The student who will not stop talking!  What am I going to do about him?

 

H - Home, home is where the heart is, it's not just a saying!

 

I - Inspired, I have gotten so much inspiration this school year because of reading blogs...both teacher blogs and writing/slicer blogs.  I love it!

 

J - Joke, I like a simple joke.  What did the zero say to the 8?  See P for the answer.

 

K - Kindergarten, where I live every week day, where I share my days with 18 pretty great kiddos!

 

L - The text level of my highest reader...in kindergarten!  She's just amazes me every day!

 

M - Make-up days, what my school district now has due to the outrageous amount of snow days we have had this year and winter isn't even over yet!

 

N - Novel, that huge document on my computer that calls to me, the thing that is always in the back of my mind, the story that I daydream about (see letter D).

 

O - Outing, I am looking forward to my book club meeting tomorrow.  It's my mommy outing and I'm looking forward to good company and good discussion...whether it's about the book or not!

 

P - Punch line, "Nice belt!"  (see J for the joke)

 

Q - Ok, did anyone really think I would come up with something for the letter Q??

 

R - Rainbow Loom, the thing that occupies every spare minute of my daughter's time (and the thing I secretly enjoy playing with too!)

 

S - Snow, more specifically, blowing snow...I mean really, haven't we had enough already?  Did we really need more snow and wind today?  

 

T - Two Writing Teachers, the blog that pushes my thinking in the writing arena, my safe place to share my writing.

 

U - Unexpectedly hard letter to find something to start with U!

 

V - Violin, I played from 4th grade - 12th grade.  Now it lives under my bed.  There are days I miss playing...there just aren't enough hours in the day!

 

W - Wondering...what book will the book club choose to read next?

 

X - eXcited to be attending the All Write Conference again this summer!  Anyone else going?

 

Y - You, thanks to you for reading all the way to the end!

 

Z - zzzzzz, what I hope you are NOT doing after reading all the way to the end!  :)

 

 

Well, there you have it: 26 slices of my world today.  I hope you learned something new, I hope you laughed at some of them, and I hope you will come back again!  See you in March!



A Day to Remember

In my thirteen years of teaching I have attended a lot of professional development and training sessions.  I’ve been fortunate to attend sessions on writing, reading, math, spelling, assessment, first aid, CPR and even proper ways to restrain someone.  I have not, however, attended a training that was ever more beneficial than the safety training I attended today.

There was not a lick of academics or a whiff of best practice involved.  What I learned today was how to save lives.  I had a safety training today that taught us about school shootings.  I learned about the emergency procedures pre-Columbine and what has been learned since.  I learned about the Virginia Tech shootings and what has been learned since.  I learned about the Sandy Hook shootings and what has been learned since.  I learned what to do.  I learned what not to do.  I learned how to take action.  I learned what it was like to have a gun in my face, and let me tell you, even knowing it was a fake one didn’t make it feel any less threatening.  I learned ways to keep my students and myself as safe as possible in the event of an emergency. 

I was able to participate in actual drills to practice the procedures and ideas we were taught.  I was able to practice my learning on the spot and in my own school building with the people who taught us.  I was able to practice my learning with my co-workers, the people I would be surrounded with in the event of an emergency.

I heard statistics and 911 calls and saw pictures that will probably give me nightmares for a while, sometimes made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and at times brought tears to my eyes.  But, I learned about keeping my children safe…and they are my children after all.  I think of the 18 little ones in my classroom as my children.  I am responsible for those precious little souls whose parents believe that I will do my best to teach them to read, write, and play nicely with others.  What I learned today is how to also protect my babies, because their parents have also trusted me with their safety and well-being and I don’t take that lightly, I can’t take that lightly.  As I was told today, no one as Sandy Hook woke up that morning thinking “today is the day tragedy will strike me,” but it did anyway. People at Columbine believed that a school shooting would never happen in their town, but it did anyway. 

I hope to the moon and back that I never once have to use the training that I received today but if I ever do, I feel more prepared to handle it and more confident that I would make good solid choices for the safety of my students.

I don’t know who was responsible for arranging for the professional development we had today but I can’t thank them enough.  I am thankful for the instructors who have dedicated their lives to teaching others in this way.  As one detective pointed out, they don’t teach this stuff in education classes, do they?  And even though the reading and writing trainings I have had have been great learning experiences, they don’t even hold a candle to today’s learning.  After all, it doesn’t matter if I have taught my students to read or write if we aren’t here to do it.

Join in more slice of life fun by visiting the Two Writing Teachers blog today. 

A Little Book Love

Join in the slicing fun by heading over to Two Writing Teachers.

I love to read.  I love to curl up with a good book and get lost.  I love that books can take you places you've never been, introduce you to people you've never met and send you on journey's you've never even imagined. 

I so badly want my children to love to read for all the same reasons and more.  So far, they do enjoy reading.  However, there are other activities they also enjoy and often reading loses.  I am hopeful that this will change as they grow older.  As they grow their book selection options also grows and I think, at some point, this will help their desire to read increase.  Until then...it's still something we do every day.

At school, I also want my students to gain this desire to want to read (and to learn to read!).  I try to find books that they are interested for guided reading and strategy lessons.  I try to choose wonderful books for reading aloud.  I've brought poetry into the classroom as an option.  We have studied authors to encourage a love of books and writers.  We have lots of favorites...Pigeon, Elephant and Piggie, David, The Gingerbread Man (they love that tricky fox!), etc.  Many kids in my class this year enjoy reading and they look forward to independent reading time.

And then...there's Jordyn.  She began kindergarten, at age 5, reading a level H.  Yes, I said H.  She has always had a love of books and she's the type of child who asks when she doesn't know something because she truly wants to learn every single thing she can.  She is the child you teach something to one time and she remembers and can do it forever.

Last week, Jordyn brought a book from home and asked if she could read it before school when she was waiting at her locker for the bell to ring.  Um, YES!  Of course!  When the bell rang, she asked if she could keep her book in her mailbox to read during independent reading later in the day.  Um, YES!  Of course!  This has been her pattern ever since.  She's reading a series of books and is loving every minute.

Today, I noticed that she pulled out her book during free choice (play) time!  At first, she wandered around the room as she was nose-deep in her book.  Eventually, she walked over to the rug where she stood reading for about five minutes (when I snapped this picture) as others played around her...literally, driving cars and building with blocks around her feet (just inches to her right).  Finally, she moved to the edge of the rug and sat down to read until clean up time.

It is so refreshing to see this type of reading enjoyment!  I just love this little girl and her love of reading and I truly hope that she's a trend-setter for her peers.