Celebrating Quiet

It's 39 degrees outside. I throw on my neon orange sweatshirt that I bought at the beach this summer and I step outside. I see frost on the windows of the cars as I walk Bella. It's a brisk autumn morning. My favorite. Back inside with my bowl of cheerios and cup of coffee, I contemplate the day ahead. It's free with no plans. I will grade and write. I'll do laundry and blog. Read some books. I may even nap. This day sits before me filled with possibility. I want to sink into the quietness and the peace. I want to celebrate every single moment before me. Just BE-ing. Wishing you a Saturday filled with possibility and peace.

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for providing this space to share our celebrations. Please join us and share your own!

Celebrating Quiet

It's 39 degrees outside. I throw on my neon orange sweatshirt that I bought at the beach this summer and I step outside. I see frost on the windows of the cars as I walk Bella. It's a brisk autumn morning. My favorite. Back inside with my bowl of cheerios and cup of coffee, I contemplate the day ahead. It's free with no plans. I will grade and write. I'll do laundry and blog. Read some books. I may even nap. This day sits before me filled with possibility. I want to sink into the quietness and the peace. I want to celebrate every single moment before me. Just BE-ing. Wishing you a Saturday filled with possibility and peace.

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for providing this space to share our celebrations. Please join us and share your own!

Writers in Writing Groups

Sixth grade writing groups are here. We have been writing since the first day of school. Sharing our writing too. And now, we have formed writing groups to become better writers. I remember my first writing group. I became part of a writing group ten years ago as part of a graduate class from the Northern Virginia Writing Project. My instructor was reviewing the format of the class and when I heard writing group, my first instinct was to drop the class. I panicked! The idea of sharing my writing with other people terrified me. I didn't run. I stayed and shared. It changed me. My writing group was composed of high school teachers (at the time I taught elementary). Thinking they knew more than I did, I worried they would think I was not a good writer. Boy was I wrong! They were kind and supportive. Their feedback encouraged me and I slowly took more and more risk with my writing. Since that group, I've been part of many writing groups over the years and each one has made me a better writer. I shared that with my sixth grade writers. We talked about the fears of being in a writing group. We rehearsed giving feedback. We talked about being respectful to each other. I felt the tension ease slightly as they changed seats to sit with their new group. They sat with their new groups, introduced themselves, and shook hands. We took time to talk to each other and get to know each other. I've added this part and stressed it because the relationships in writing groups are vital to effective feedback. "What do you do when someone suggests something and you don't like it?" Isn't that a great question? Many sixth graders struggle with being confident to say no to a suggestion. We talk about how to say no thank you and how to listen without defending the writing. My favorite response to that is this, "Thank you for your suggestion. I will consider it, but I am the boss of my own writing." That gives my sixth grade writers ownership and permission to say no. It sounds funny too, so it diffuses any tense moments. Listening to the writers meet and begin revising their leads made me grateful to be surrounded with these brave and creative writers! Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers.

Writers in Writing Groups

Sixth grade writing groups are here. We have been writing since the first day of school. Sharing our writing too. And now, we have formed writing groups to become better writers. I remember my first writing group. I became part of a writing group ten years ago as part of a graduate class from the Northern Virginia Writing Project. My instructor was reviewing the format of the class and when I heard writing group, my first instinct was to drop the class. I panicked! The idea of sharing my writing with other people terrified me. I didn't run. I stayed and shared. It changed me. My writing group was composed of high school teachers (at the time I taught elementary). Thinking they knew more than I did, I worried they would think I was not a good writer. Boy was I wrong! They were kind and supportive. Their feedback encouraged me and I slowly took more and more risk with my writing. Since that group, I've been part of many writing groups over the years and each one has made me a better writer. I shared that with my sixth grade writers. We talked about the fears of being in a writing group. We rehearsed giving feedback. We talked about being respectful to each other. I felt the tension ease slightly as they changed seats to sit with their new group. They sat with their new groups, introduced themselves, and shook hands. We took time to talk to each other and get to know each other. I've added this part and stressed it because the relationships in writing groups are vital to effective feedback. "What do you do when someone suggests something and you don't like it?" Isn't that a great question? Many sixth graders struggle with being confident to say no to a suggestion. We talk about how to say no thank you and how to listen without defending the writing. My favorite response to that is this, "Thank you for your suggestion. I will consider it, but I am the boss of my own writing." That gives my sixth grade writers ownership and permission to say no. It sounds funny too, so it diffuses any tense moments. Listening to the writers meet and begin revising their leads made me grateful to be surrounded with these brave and creative writers! Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers.

Celebrating Three Years

Three years ago today this blog was born. I've been writing in this space for three years. Usually I'm not one for numbers, but let's look at the stats. This is my 510th post. I have 4987 comments. I have 13 followers and this blog has been viewed 212,102 times as of this writing.

Wow! Here are my most popular posts...

What does this mean? I don't know but I like looking at these stats. I wonder why Permission is the post that is viewed the most. These numbers create more questions for me than answers. I find it interesting to see where people go on this site.  I'm proud of my blog. I'm grateful for readers. These numbers mean that I am showing up and telling my story and you show up to read it.

I celebrate these three years. Here's something about me: I love big ideas and I am great at starting new projects, but I'm not always successful at the follow through and the implementation of these ideas. I look at these three years as growth. I've followed through and I'm still here. Blogging has given me confidence. Blogging has opened up my world. Writing is how I enter the world. 

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for providing this space to share our celebrations. Please join us and share your own!

Why I Write

I've been writing since I was nine years old. I started writing because I am a rule follower. Writing was assigned in school. I wrote what the teacher wanted to read. At nine, my mom bought me my first notebook. This is where the fun began. Now, my audience was me. I didn't have to answer someone else's question or prompt. Still, my writing followed a traditional diary format. Each day I wrote about my day and not much more. I wrote poetry too. As I grew, I wrote about my dreams. College was when my writing helped me figure out problems. I'd write when I was lonely. I'd write when I was confused. Writing always helped me feel better. I remained my only audience. No one else got to see those words. As an adult, I took more risks with my writing. I tried more poetry and a little bit of fiction. Writing became a friend...ever by my side. I brought my writing, my notebook, with me wherever I went. I never felt alone again. Writing always had my back.  

The Northern Virginia Writing Project changed me as a writer. This group gave me an audience...encouragement...and courage to share my story. The NVWP showed me that I had a story to tell and nudged me to write. For the last ten years, I've continued to write but now I write for more than just me. I blog. I write for my students. I share my writing. Why do I write? I must. I have a story to tell. Writing forces me to reflect, which in turn helps me grow as a teacher and as a person. Writing helps me untangle life. Writing gives me time to observe things happening around me through my words. Writing allows me to express myself.  Three years ago during a Twitter chat, I read a tweet by Penny Kittle that sparked the creation of this blog...

This is why I write. Please take a moment and celebrate the National Day on Writing, October 20th!

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers.

Show Up

I haven't been here for awhile.  I've missed this space.  Taking a step away gives a new perspective. I'm back. Showing up is necessary for me. When I show up, I feel accomplished and proud. Here I am. Today is a celebration post. There is much to celebrate. My students. My writers. They have started blogging and they are already flying! Expressing themselves. Mining notebook pages to find something to post and share with the world. They are writers...entering writing contests and signing up for writing workshops.   

I watch them show up every single day. They write. They read. They work. Being a student is hard and they show up smiling and giving it their all. I celebrate the students who sit in my classroom and take risks...the students who demonstrate their creativity in their notebooks and blogs...the students who recommend books to each other. 

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for providing this space to share our celebrations. Please join us and share your own!

The Best Part of Me

We have been experimenting with some interesting entries in our notebooks. I wanted to share. Last week, I borrowed an idea from Penny Kittle's website called Writing Beside Poetry.

We watched Sarah Kay perform her poem, "Hands" and we created our own hands and filled them with stories and memories. 

 

I was shocked at how well this worked for my sixth graders. I struggled with it, more than they did. The more I stayed with it and the more we shared, my hands filled up with ideas and stories. 

From there we talked about other stories we carried with us. I posed this question to my sixth graders, "What is the best part of you?" I shared that I liked my crazy, curly hair and I often got compliments on my smile. Students listed parts of themselves that they loved. We read poems from the lovely book, "The Best Part of Me". I shared the photographs and the poems. Students got to work scribbling down the best parts of themselves. It struck me how often we overlook the parts we love and focus on the parts we don't like.

Their poems were thoughtful, vulnerable, funny, and creative! Students wrote about their eyes, hair, legs, eyelashes, brains. They had ten minutes to write, but the poems will stay with me forever.

The pages in their notebooks continue to inspire and surprise me. I'm so proud of the risks they are taking and the work they are putting into their words. They are writers. 

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers.

The Best Part of Me

We have been experimenting with some interesting entries in our notebooks. I wanted to share. Last week, I borrowed an idea from Penny Kittle's website called Writing Beside Poetry.

We watched Sarah Kay perform her poem, "Hands" and we created our own hands and filled them with stories and memories. 

 

I was shocked at how well this worked for my sixth graders. I struggled with it, more than they did. The more I stayed with it and the more we shared, my hands filled up with ideas and stories. 

From there we talked about other stories we carried with us. I posed this question to my sixth graders, "What is the best part of you?" I shared that I liked my crazy, curly hair and I often got compliments on my smile. Students listed parts of themselves that they loved. We read poems from the lovely book, "The Best Part of Me". I shared the photographs and the poems. Students got to work scribbling down the best parts of themselves. It struck me how often we overlook the parts we love and focus on the parts we don't like.

Their poems were thoughtful, vulnerable, funny, and creative! Students wrote about their eyes, hair, legs, eyelashes, brains. They had ten minutes to write, but the poems will stay with me forever.

The pages in their notebooks continue to inspire and surprise me. I'm so proud of the risks they are taking and the work they are putting into their words. They are writers. 

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers.