The Sunrise Story

I came across this Instagram post and decided to jump in and join! Please join me!!! Good morning. Hope you've had your shower. I sure have. We start writing tomorrow, the first day of school in these parts so go get a new notebook or journal or sketch pad or start a new blog or word doc. Whatever feels the most natural to you (I prefer typing. Others love pen on yellow legal pads). Decide when you'll write (only 8 minutes!) and where you'll write (your bed? A desk? The porch? The bathroom?). The main rule for this whole thing is to be kind to yourself. It's okay if you miss days. It's okay if you feel like you have nothing to say. There's no good writing or bad writing. The goal is to just write. Anything. The more we do it, the more surprised we'll be. Toni Morrison once said: "it's not being in the light, it's being there before it arrives." Til tomorrow friends. A photo posted by Ann Dee Ellis (@anndeecandy) on Aug 16, 2016...

In sitting down to write my slice today, I discovered this poem. I wrote it in the beginning of July. I don't remember why I wrote it or why I didn't post it, but here it is... We see the world through our lens. And that lens- the lens we see our entire world through- is tiny and only shows our perspective. I wonder how my lens would change if I was different? If I was older or younger, a different race, a different religion, lived in another place... How would my world look through the eyes of someone else? Take a moment. Wonder. Think. Everyday I work to widen my lens. 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 .

Today's post is inspired by the teachers from the NVWP ISI , I sat down and penned this poem. Thank you for your words, your friendship, and your creativity! Say it with me, "I am a writer!" Words multiply reproduce and they demand to be written ...in notebooks ...on blogs ...in books Suddenly, everything is a prompt the article you read in the morning paper the blog post written by a friend the song lyrics you're rocking out to on the drive Once writing begins it's an unstoppable force that invades sleep interrupts dinnertime requires constant preparation because a good idea is always floating around As a writer I listen I grab those ideas I assemble the words into lines, phrases, sentences that make sense that stir emotions that ignite ideas I am a writer. I write. Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community y...

We are writing daily in sixth grade. I am so proud of my students. They show up everyday. They write. They share their writing. They live like writers too.  Yesterday, I challenged my students to live like writers and listen for good lines at lunch. When they came back from lunch, one student wrote a hilarious slice of life about a mini-food fight. My favorite line, "I look up and there is a dangerous smile on her face." My favorite part of this experience is how this student was laughing while she was writing her slice. She kept cracking up. She is living like a writer. She is paying attention and using everyday experiences in her writing! I got to see the words of Robert Frost come to life in front of me!  We are currently practicing our weekly slice of life blogging while we are continuing with our poetry writing. I have more than twenty students who are participating in our poetry challenge. These students show up everyday and write and post a poem.  Next we...

Sharing an original poem everyday in the month of April. Happy National Poetry Month! I spent Sunday (well, much of the weekend, cleaning and organizing). I didn't post a poem, but here's my Sunday poem, today!  All day cleaning... Music eases the boredom and monotony of cleaning. Singing like I’m on the Broadway stage makes the time zoom and suddenly I’m done and everything is clean. My second poem is a haiku for Monday, calling for some sunshine... Rainy Mondays are slower and it’s hard to start Sunshine! Where are you?

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for providing this space to share our celebrations. Please join us and share your own! Today I celebrate the luxury I have to "introvert". These past few weeks have felt  non-stop...no quiet. These weeks have been filled with lots of good things, but I'm yearning for some introverting time. This weekend is my quiet time. I'll breathe. I'll walk. I'll eat. I'll rest. I'll do. I'll be... all in quiet This sounds heavenly to me. Enjoy your weekend and remember to take some time to care for yourself. I'm reminded of what I learned from flying on airplanes...

Sharing an original poem everyday in the month of April. Happy National Poetry Month! He just walked in… the front door just like everyone else Shouldn’t poets have a special entrance? A yellow brick road… A red carpet… A secret passage... Shouldn’t there be fanfare?   Trumpets… Red carpet… People cheering… Instead he quietly walks in the front door like you like me. Poets deserve swanky entrances with lots of Pomp and Circumstance like a King or a Queen… Because poets make magic from words, they make words dance cry shout laugh They make words enchanted. My Magical Power Every morning we wait for announcements, so we can begin our day. I confess… my impatience! I want to start, so I refuse to wait. As soon as I start to speak, it’s magic! Every. Single. Time. The announcements begin, at that exact moment when I begin to speak. My students laugh, every...

Sharing an original poem everyday in the month of April. Happy National Poetry Month! Life zooms Too fast I must Remember to Slow down... To stop. Look around Allow my Eyes to wander Breath to steady Mind to focus on Delights everywhere

Sharing an original poem everyday in the month of April. Happy National Poetry Month! So much swishing around in my head… Did I finish…? When will I…? I have to ....! Oh no, I forgot…! Too much swirling and gushing around inside my brain! I want to turn it off just for a moment. Silence. Breathe. In. Out. In. Out. Now, what needs to get done? First, Next, After that I will, All of the swirls and gushes fall into place and finally I feel better.