The Sunrise Story

How is it possible that I've never written this blog post before?!?! Today, this day, notebook launching day...it's my favorite day of the beginning of the year! It's so exciting! The energy is palpable! We begin by talking about what writing is. This helps me get a peek into their previous writing experiences and the emotions surrounding them. Here's what I heard today... These answers gave me such joy and hope. It's evidence of students who already feel successful as writers. Next, I shared my life as a writer. I love when I show them my very first notebook and hear the gasps when they see what year I began writing...1982.  After we discuss my experience with writer's notebooks, I say, "Writers, you need notebooks." Students begin shuffling around until they see the giant pile of wrapped notebooks... I begin passing them out and the volume slowly goes up. Students start whispering and soon, they are cheering. The sound of hear...

This marks the seventh year for Literacy Journey. Literacy Journey is our county-wide professional development program for middle school English teachers. I'm honored to be one of the facilitators and coaches. Each year we guide a new group of teachers through their journey of being readers and writers alongside their students.  If you're a teacher reading this, you know how precious each moment is before the students arrive. This time is spent planning and preparing and making sure we are ready for our kids. Taking any of this time for any kind of training is stressful. We work hard to make sure the time spent with us in Literacy Journey is valuable and worthwhile. Beginning year seven feels good. We've revised this training each year with feedback from teachers and it feels like we are finally in a groove. We welcomed almost fifty middle school teachers to our introduction to Literacy Journey first thing Monday morning. Watching these teachers walk into the classroom...

Celebrating small moments today. My first celebration is sleep. I slept. It was a good sleep. The phone woke me at 7:30 and I felt rested. I love when sleep comes like that. If feels good and complete.  I celebrate Bella. Her joy when she sees me at the end of the day, playing wholeheartedly with her toys, and enjoying her treats. Bella knows how to live.  I celebrate new relationships. Working together with new people and getting to know them and allowing them to know me. It's been a joy already! We help and support each other. We listen to what we need and we work to provide that.  I celebrate surprises! Yesterday was busy & stressful. I was at my wit's end and frustrated with some circumstances when a package arrived for me in the mail. It was a sweet surprise from my friend, Dana. The JOY that it brought me!!!! I couldn't believe how thoughtful this gift was and it reminded me to show thoughtfulness like this to others in my life.  I cele...

The school year officially begins tomorrow. All teachers return tomorrow. I've been back already for a week and a half...moving buildings and setting up a brand new classroom. Going back early is like waking up in the early morning hours before the world is awake...the building is quiet(-ish), there's time to just be in my new space and imagine the year ahead. When I stop and sit in the space, I imagine the students who will call this home for the next academic year. I imagine the conversations we will have. I imagine the learning that will occur. I think about the debates and the silliness and the messiness of finding out who we are that will transpire in room 734. I can't wait for those moments to arrive. Those are the moments that I live for...the reason I love working with students. I'm not done. It's a work in progress. This is, at least, the seventh classroom that I'll inhabit. It will take some time to live in it and find the best w...