The Sunrise Story

I planned a great post With so many words and ideas, I had so much to share... And then life got in the way quizzes to grade, groceries to buy, a debate to watch... Today I show up sleepy, with few words, a couple of ideas, knowing that my writing will always be there for me... 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 .

Yesterday I got to spend a day with a writer, and not just any writer...Nora Raleigh Baskin. She is kind and generous. She is smart and funny. She made yesterday a day we will all remember for a long time. I picked her up at her hotel in the morning. We chatted for the entire ride to school. She's so easy to talk to and we have so much to share. At school, things get set up. The technology magically works and kids begin arriving. I could feel the excitement. So many people stopped and listened to her talk, but the sixth graders were so excited. (I'll get reactions today in class.)  She talked about how she got the idea for the book, what it was like writing about an event like 9/11, and how it was like writing four books in one. Throughout her talk, she engaged the students and asked them questions. She talked about how books are windows and mirrors to the reader. She talked about the hard work of writing and revising and research. During lunch, she asked the teachers ...

Sharing words from our notebooks Writing in the butterfly garden Finalizing details Laughter Team coming together in big ways Encouraging words Daily photos from mom Smiles Kind words Support Dinner out with a friend Finishing a great book Good cup of coffee to begin a rainy Saturday... I celebrate each of these moments. These are the moments that made this a great week.  Thank you to Ruth Ayres for providing this space to share our celebrations. Please join us and share your own!

I've never felt like I  fit in...anywhere.  Not completely, anywhere...  Almost-fitting-in, that's my thing.  Outside the group,  or on the periphery, the outskirts, but close by. Nonconformist. Quirky. Different. Weird. Anomaly. There are moments when I want to fit in. To be the same, not different. Outliers  are outside- solitary independent  alone. Often they are... we are... I am...  alone. I wonder does everyone  feel like this? I wonder does everyone yearn to belong? WAIT. I don't want to fit in. I want to belong. Everyone wants to belong. I do belong.  I belong to my family, I belong to my friends, I belong to my students, I belong to my words. Belonging is what I want. I don't want to fit-in,  like a cardboard puzzle piece. I want to belong,  and I do.  These thoughts have been rolling around in my brain for a long time. The difference between belonging and...

Fifteen years ago on September 11th, I was standing in front of a classroom of fifth grade students, teaching. Today I’m still teaching, but now the students are middle schoolers and this date is now a history lesson to them. How do I teach eleven and twelve year old students about what happened on that day when they weren’t even born yet? Books. One of my mantras is, Everyone has a story. When we read stories, we become part of their story, part of history. I want them to know the stories of that day. We are using Nora Raleigh Baskin ’s book, Nine, Ten: A September 11th Story. It provides a perfect avenue to share that day with them. The story is told from four different points of view. This provides an opportunity for all of my students to connect with one of them. As I’m reading it to my students, they are able to relate to a character and really feel what they are feeling. Knowing more than one story is vital. That's another reason I love this book. The readers le...

Today I'm celebrating floating! I floated yesterday. It was my first float. Ninety minutes of darkness. Ninety minutes of silence. Ninety minutes of peace. I loved it and I'm going back soon, but it wasn't easy. I'll get back to that. Om Float in Ashburn is the scene of my float. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted with friendly introductions and welcomes from the owners, Amy and Brooks. They immediately put me at ease. I was excited to try this and really nervous too. Ninety minutes in a dark, silent pod...I didn't know if I could do it.  I had some time to chat and confess all of my fears about the float. Great advice was offered, "No expectations." Amy told me that every float is different and that's ok. (I repeated those words to myself during the float.) When it was time to float, the Brooks led me back to the room that held the shower and the pod where I'd be floating. More words of wisdom...about breathing and listening for my heartbeat...

Today's post makes my five hundredth post. Five hundred. Five hundred times I've hit the publish button. It's been one thousand and fifty days since I started this blog. I'm no math genius, but that works out to about one blog post every other day for three years. Let's continue with numbers and statistics for a moment...there have been almost 5000 comments left.  And people from all over the world have stopped by and read my blog... That's cool...it's not why I write, but it makes me feel like I have a voice. When I started this blog, I'd blogged before and I quit. I failed. I didn't know what to write. I didn't commit to it. Writing this blog matters to me. I put my heart into my posts and I write to reflect, to wonder, to share, to puzzle through, and to express myself. Writing and sharing my writing has changed me. The main focus of this blog is my teaching, my time in the classroom with students, my practice. When I write,...

The first week of school has ended. It was a whirlwind...it always is. As the week ended, I am happy to say that we have already established an important part of our writing routine. As the students enter the classroom, they get their notebooks out and begin their, "Sacred Writing Time". This time happens in our notebooks and it's an essential part of our journey as writers. We launched notebooks on Wednesday. I brought in spiral notebooks wrapped in bright and shiny wrapping paper. The students ripped open their gift and read the poem I wrote and taped into the front cover. (When I read the poem to the class, one class applauded and stood up!) We named our notebooks.  We celebrated our notebooks.  And we began to write... On Thursday and Friday, I reminded the students of the routine, "Come in. Get yourself settled. Write." We write for 7-10 minutes. Students are invited to share at the end of class. Our routine is already set...daily writi...