The Sunrise Story

As a new school year is on the horizon, I begin the process to set up my classroom. This is the twenty-third time I'm doing this and it's always a challenge. Move furniture around. Unpack books. Arrange. Rearrange. Move again. It’s exhausting, but it’s mostly exhilarating. Let’s start at the beginning. After a summer away from this space, I return to my classroom. This will be my second year in room 734. I find it takes me three or four (maybe five) years to figure out the best way a space works for me. Whenever I first walk in, I stop and take it all in...breathe it all in. Before anything else, I turn on some fun music. I curated a playlist called Teacher Theme Songs inspired by Gravity Goldberg ’s new book, Teach Like Yourself. Music sets the mood and I’m off… Moving furniture to just the right spot is something that is a challenge. I can’t figure out which is the best Tupperware to use for leftovers, so designing an entire room is not easy for me, but I’ve lea...

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for the opportunity to focus on celebrations every week! September 19 will mark our 100th celebration! Please join us! I love September. September means new beginnings and fresh starts. It reminds me of the new year in January. As teachers, we get this additional opportunity for a new year and I love it!  I celebrate enthusiastic and sweet sixth graders and their parents. This week school started. We are getting to know each other. We are reading and writing a lot! Thursday was Back to School Night and I met lots of kind and supportive parents. I am blessed to work in such a wonderful school! I celebrate my OLW of the year, FLY!  This word has taken me places I didn't expect. I began writing a book this summer. It's about notebooks and how I keep them and how I use them with my students. Hoping this has an audience when I'm done. I'm hoping to get a publisher and get it published, but the act of writing it is amazing and powe...

Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, Anna, Kathleen & Deb 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 . We are in the middle of teacher workdays. Monday I presented and facilitated for most of the day. This morning I am meeting my sixth graders for the first time at orientation. With a spinning head, I am here. Here is where I stop, breathe, think. Knowing you will forgive me for the simple post today, I showed up...and today I want to write a list...a gratitude list. In no particular order, I'm grateful for: my mom, my sister, Jack and Jillian, my whole wonderful family, Bella, my home, friends who love me, notebooks, a job I adore, writing, the look on a face when a student finally "gets it", Dairy Queen, good books, Netflix, quiet after a long day, my writing group, funky reading glasses, peppermint, a smile, thoughtful gift...

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for the opportunity to focus on celebrations every week! September 19 will mark our 100th celebration! Please join us! This week marks the return to work for me. There's a new feeling in the school...lots of energy and excitement! I see lots of smiles and I notice so much positivity. It's exhilarating!  Today, I celebrate those that are new to our school community! Your motivation and energy are contagious and I already see the impact you are making on our community! I celebrate the returning staff members who are pulling together to help and support those new to our building and our profession!  I celebrate the amazing and hard working custodian staff. Our building looks beautiful!! Thank you for all you've done to maintain this beautiful environment! I celebrate my classroom. After hours of work, I'm almost there. It's almost done...here's a peek inside... To fully appreciate...

Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, Anna, Kathleen & Deb 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 .  One of my favorite quotes is from the movie "Hope Floats"... "...momma always says...that beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts the most. Try to remember that when you find yourself at a new beginning. Just give hope a chance to float up. And it will, too..." Beginnings are scary. After twenty one years in the classroom, beginning are still scary!  I was so worried about getting everything done. I don't have any other time to set up my classroom library...what happens if it doesn't get done? How will I finish? Worries plagued me as I tried to sleep. At 7:30 I crept into room C10. I haven't stepped foot in school since last June. The hallways were dark, ...

Thank you to  Ruth Ayres  for the opportunity to focus on celebrations every week!  September 19 will mark our  100th celebration ! Please join us! As I prepare to return for my twenty-first year as a teacher, I am taking time to reflect. Twenty-one years ago, I walked into a third grade classroom, Room 110, excited and nervous and ready to teach. I walked into that room alone armed only with my ideas. Twenty-one years later, as I walk into Room C10, I walk in with a crowd of support. I am not alone... As I walk into my classroom, I walk with Stacey who reminds me that I am a writer when I wonder and question myself. Her unwavering faith in me pushes me to continue when I think I can’t. I walk with Lee Ann who inspires me to be more creative in my notebook and in my life. I walk with Margaret who shares her creativity and poetry and her kindness. I walk with Julieanne who always encourages me to think about things in a new way with her thoug...

Yesterday in school, a student asked me this question, "Are you an author?" We were talking about reading and authors and writing and all sorts of things.  With a few extra minutes at the end of class, students began asking me questions about myself.  "What's your favorite color?"  "What food do you like?" "What's your favorite dessert?" "What's your favorite kind of meat?" (Yes, I got that question. Haha, loved it!) I love these questions because the answers connect us. When a student responds with, "Oh, I like chocolate chip cookies too!" it reminds me that we yearn for connection.  Anyway...I got lots of these favorite questions when I heard one of my boys ask me this, "Are you an author? Have you written a book?"  For a moment, I froze...scrunched my forehead to decide how to answer it and said, "I write. I'm working on a book. It's a book for middle schoolers, so maybe you guys could...

Slice of Life Challenge Please join the challenge over at  Two Writing Teachers ! I admit it. I have butterflies.  I'm grateful for the butterflies. I'm taking on new responsibilities this year. As I've worked through the past couple of weeks of work days, I've set on my goals. The focus for me this year will include:  1. Using my time wisely.  There's a lot to accomplish this year. I need to manage my time, so I've set up a schedule...when I'll grade, work on my evaluation paperwork, plan, and take time for me. If I'm smart, everything will be fine.  2. Being in the moment.  When there's lots on my plate, I get overwhelmed easily. This year I want to stay in the moment. Be. This helps with anxiety and stress.  3. Listening.  I have a tendency to talk. A LOT. All the time...I want to listen more. When I talk a lot, I'm usually passionate about something, but I miss out when I'm talking. There's so much to learn b...

Thank you to  Ruth  for giving us the inspiration and the space to share celebrations every week!  This week has been busy! I have much to be celebrating, so we'll go day by day. Monday: Training meeting in the morning. I met a new teacher that I'm mentoring. She's enthusiastic and nervous. It's a great opportunity to get to meet her before the entire staff returns. I'm excited to work with her! Tuesday: Oh what a day Tuesday!! I spent the morning enjoying cappuccino (my first ever) and yummy home made muffins while talking with a new friend. We met in church. It was one of those talks...you know...where you share about yourself and learn about someone else...where you discover random similarities and you feel like you have found someone important in your life. We talked about so much. I discovered that I'm really an introvert. It's TRUE! I was so shocked, but I feel like knowing that about myself has helped me accept my choices in my life.  We...

Thank you to Ruth for giving us the inspiration and the space to share celebrations every week!  This week I had two school days. One day was meetings and the other was working in my classroom. A few days ago I wrote about this quote... In reflecting on those words I realize that I often stress out during the opening of school because I am comparing myself with those around me. To help me with this, I sat down and I wrote about returning to school and I made plans for my classroom.  I decided to break it down into steps, so this week I organized the furniture. I thought about "dead" space from last year and I played with the arrangement. This week, I'll organize the books and bulletin boards and the walls. I celebrate growth and acceptance. I know who I am and I am accepting that I am enough.  Here are some pictures to help you (and me) see the progress. Here's the what the space looked like when I first walked in... With...