The Sunrise Story

This school year is quickly approaching its end. (I'm sad about that as it's been one of the best years for me as a teacher!)  I've found it helpful to make plans for the summer. With family visiting and PD sessions, I have forty-seven days this summer that are currently unplanned. What will I do with that time? There are a few things I want to develop habits by doing them every single day.  1. Walk. I want to go on walks every day. I've already made some plans with a few people who may join me. Starting the day out with a walk is a great way to get outside and really begin my day.  2. Swim. I love to swim. Being in water always brings me joy. I'm putting it out there. One goal is to get to the pool every single day. Again, I'm not one to spend lots of time outside and I want to change that. What's better than swimming?  3. Read. Ok. I read. I love to read, but my pleasure reading has fallen off. Bringing a book (or my Kindle) with me...

This question was posed to me by a friend a Facebook group. I decided to sit and think about it and make a list. Here's what I came up with... After I wrote, I decided to flip back to the past week or two in my notebook to see if I'd done this recently. Look what I found... It's a collection of posts that focus on the joy in life and the funny moments during the day. If I were forced to pick just one thing that brings me joy, satisfaction, and engagement...it all leads back to the notebook! Two Writing Teachers provides a space each Tuesday for slice of life posts. Please join us there !

It's May. Chaos. Busy. Hard to catch your breath... We are going to start state testing next week. We are working on our poetry portfolios this week.  We are in the middle of our blog takeover at Sharing Our Notebooks this month.  It's Teacher Appreciation Week.I've declared it Notebook Month.  AND the year is drawing to a close.   It's hard to stay in the moment with so much to accomplish, yet that's what I want to do.  Savor these moments. Notice how seamlessly students are working together. Admire how they pull together in a team when one of their team members is struggling. Appreciate their time and attention and remember that they are probably feeling so many of the same things I am.  Today, I will savor, admire, appreciate, and remember these things. Today, I am grateful to be a teacher and witness the growth of these students. I'm grateful to do this work alongside kind and funny colleagues. I'm gratefu...

March is Slice of Life Challenge. April is Poetry Month. I am declaring May to be Notebook Month.  The month when we reconnect with the pages of our notebooks. That's a primary goal for me this month. Get back to the notebook! My students are reflecting and writing about themselves as notebook-ers this month because of an amazing opportunity! We...they...the sixth-graders are TAKING OVER Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's blog Sharing Our Notebooks .  They have signed up voluntarily to write a blog post for every single day in May. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Today I conferenced with every single writer (again) and checked their progress. The excitement is contagious! They can't wait! I love reading their thoughts on creating their notebook pages and their advice. My favorite part may be their author bios. These students are writers. They see themselves that way...they call themselves writers. We are all writers.  My notebook is going to be busy this month... Thank you to Two Wr...