Alphabetical Advice

I was browsing through different blogs and a few nights ago I came across a blog that posts writing prompts every few days.  I loved it immediately! I decided to use one of the prompts today for my writing and here it is:

The link below is a link the blog where I found this:
Writing Prompts Blog

My Alphabetical Advice:
Always do your best.  (4 agreements) Enough said.
Be yourself.  Yourself is good enough.
Consider others feelings before you speak or act.
Don't make assumptions. (4 agreements)
Easy does it.  Don't overdo anything.  Don't go on a crazy diet, don't push too much with exercise.   Just ease into it and do what you can.
Food is meant to be good.  Eat what you want, in moderation.
Girls just wanna have fun.  It's true, they do.  Boys can too of course.  But just make sure no matter what gender you are, that you have fun in your life!
Hope for the best.  (otherwise what good is hope anyways?)
I believe in love.  (Love is incredible)
Just do it.  If you haven't tried something new today, go ahead and do it, it may turn into your favorite thing!
Kindness can go a long way.  Try to always act with kindness first.
Love yourself first.  If you don't love yourself first, then how will you ever have enough in you to love others?
Make time for family.  Put your family first.  Don't fret about cleaning and chores all the time.  
Spend time with your family instead.
No excuses.  Don't make excuses for your actions.  Say your sorry and move forward.
Openness.  Be open to others ideas and suggestions, but make the decision on your own.
Pictures.  Take pictures of special occasions, but remember you need to be in them too, and not to spend all your time taking pictures, live in the moment too!
Queen for the day.  Dress up and look fancy, if it makes you feel great, do it!
Right wrongs.  Say you're sorry when you need to.  It means a lot!
Simple is best.  Don't over complicate your life.  Simplicity is key!
Talk it out.  Don't let frustrations fester inside you, take the time to talk things out with those you love.
Use your time as you wish.  Your time is precious, spend it how you want to.
Value experiences over things.  Rather than always buying something for someone or yourself,  consider going to a play, concert, or getting a massage.  We don't need to accumulate so much!
Wonder.  Wondering is dreaming while awake.  Take time to wonder every day.
X marks the spot.  Find the spot you love and be there whenever you can for moments of calmness.
Yearn to know more.  Be a lifelong learner.  There is never a better time to learn something new than right now!
Zaniness is fantastic!  Don't be afraid to be wild and crazy.

7 Valleys Writing Project Shout out

I'm on the eve of my final day at the 7VWP Summer Institute.  I can't sleep because I am both excited and sad at the same time.  Mostly, I'm filled with a million different ideas of what to do and where to go.  I actually want to change the name of my Blog now too, since I have morphed and I am no longer going to simply have the identity of Reading Teacher, since now I see myself as a Writer and a much better prepared Writing Teacher.  I owe a world of thanks to David, Danielle and Kathryn for all they did to make this institute what it is (was...).  The impeccable way that Danielle and Kathryn model co-teaching is inspiring.  Writing to Learn has transformed my way of thinking and eventually my way of teaching.  Basically, these 3 weeks have blown my world up in such an exciting way.  I also would like to say a huge thank you to my cohorts this summer as well.  Thank you James, Shannon, Lauryn and Wendy (who joined us most of this week).  I am very grateful that my colleague, Marilyn, introduced me to the 7VWP. Thank you Amy for all your support with my demo, burning question work, and being an amazing editor of my writing! Inspiration like this has the momentum to move mountains.  I am going to sing it loud and proud that this is the place to go to improve your practice and become a lifelong writer.  To quote Flashdance, "Take your passion, and make it happen!"  This will be me from here on out.

Pastry Perfection

Zachary hard at work!

The rhythm of the kitchen
Crash!
Clank!
Sizzle!
The oven radiates energy
to create a confection
Mother is the drum major
of today's creation
Zachary's unrestrained voice
provides syncopation
Our hands together
roll out the lattice crust
which lays over
slippery apple slices
dancing in cinnamon
the final beep sounds
apple pastry perfection

No One Told Me (Poem to my Daughter, Meghan)

No one told me
I couldn't hold you in my arms
No one told mehow long that pain would last
No one told me
how independent you would be
No one told me
resisting you would be impossible
No one told me
how much you would melt my heart
No one told me
how sleep would be a stranger
No one told me
how instantly you were at ease
No one told me
how your voice gently calms
No one told me
how feisty you could be

No one told me
how much you would teach me
No one told me
how much you would look like me
No one told me
how love for you would shake my world
No one told me
How hard it would be to leave you
No one told me


And even if they did,
Would I have been able to hear?

Writing Prompts?

Wow, writing prompts are so important to me.....I am learning to see myself as a WRITING teacher, not just a READING teacher.  I have had the experience lately to be immersed in a writing program that has fostered a transformation in me. I write everyday.  I did this before, but now I do it more (and more) everyday.  I am in search of writing prompts to use with my students to have a place to start from.  What is so interesting to me about this concept though is that even though I'm feeling a strong urgency for a prompt I want to also be open to the students coming up with their own prompts. Sometimes they will have to use another one and sometimes they'll want to reuse one over and over again.  I'm thinking of starting a section in my room and in their writing folders where we record the stories we want to write or the ideas we want to write about so we always have a growing list.  I did stumble across a few websites that I will look over and refer to for sure.  I am interested in other teachers' feedback on this too.  I want to have a big collection of prompts available, yet I also want there to be an openness that students can free write on topics of their own choosing.  That would be truly exciting too, I could add their topics to the list of topics.  Doesn't get much more engaging than that!




http://keikihendrix.com/prompt-and-productive/


http://creativewritingprompts.com/#

Not Your Ordinary Friday (re-edited)

While searching through the pile of Vogue magazines in my dormitory room I hear a disturbance in the hallway. It reminds me of life on the Cape, it sounds like a sea of whales moaning in agony intertwined with the whimpering of a young dolphin who has lost her mother. What's going on? it is Friday afternoon and I'm biding time until Eleanor, or my Ellie gets back here so we can head out for dinner. I guess I'll just have to check and see what is going on. There usually is some commotion at this point of the afternoon, but the sounds give me an eerie sensation.

I slip my slippers on and peek out my door. Down the hall Ellie, Mary Francis and Sally are all huddled close together and I can see that they are crying.

"Stella. It's the president. He's been shot. In Dallas," whimpers Mary Francis.
I don't believe my ears. Did I just hear that? It's 1963, presidents don't get shot. Not Jack Kennedy. He’s so vibrant. I remember seeing him at  the campaign rally in Boston the summer before Freshman year in High School. He was so glamorous,  He was...and now someone has possibly taken his life. How is this even possible. I am doing everything in my power to hold back the tears and eventually I whisper, "when did this happen, who told you, why....?"
Sally looks over at me and says, "we were in Cooking with Wine and the prof was interrupted by the Dean of Textiles.  He came in and told her what he had happened to the President.  She canceled class immediately."
Ellie says, “everyone was walking around campus in a daze. Stella, I cannot believe that Jackie is going to be a widow. She's only 34 and she has such young children," she stops to wipe her tears.
I am so frozen I don't know how I get the words out, but I ask, "Do we know if he's gone? This is maddening. Let's go to the common room and turn on the television and see what's happening.”
When we arrive at the common room there is barely standing room. It seems that the world has come to a stop. All eyes are glued to the television. Usually at this time, a few of the girls are down here watching their stories. As the World Turns is a favorite here in Balch, but the usual Friday merriment is replaced by a silence that I've never heard before.
I have been in Ithaca just four short months studying women's fashion. I dream to be an editor, but my mom has bigger dreams. She wants me to find a law student here at Cornell and put my dream to rest and become a housewife. My mother and I aren’t from the same generation.  I feel that the world is changing, and women have the potential to be so much more than a hostess or a baby making machine. I want to work for Vogue or Glamour, or even Woman's Day would be okay. My mother’s dreams are for me to be a Betty Crocker, I see myself more as a Betty Friedan.  
I look up and see images of Jackie with her husband's blood all over her pink Chanel boucle wool suit. She is standing on Air Force One while Lyndon Johnson is taking the oath. Mary Francis and Sally are on their knees reciting an “Our Father” when Mr. Cronkite reports that the President died. A few other girls from down the hall are gathered together forming a circle of tightly grasped hands. On the screen flashes the image of  Lyndon Johnson as he had taken the oath of the presidency. Mrs. Kennedy is standing right beside him,  Lady Bird is standing further to the back. Camelot is over. In an instance our world has turned upside down. I'm trying to let the words sink in, but it just is so unreal.
I stand up, wishing that I had my cardigan sweater to wrap around my sadness.  I scan the room with my eyes, noticing that there is a quietness that I've never seen since arriving at Cornell.   We had so much hope.  Just this morning my biggest worry was about the argument that I had with my mother about my studies.  She doesn't want me to go on the trip to New York City this Spring for Fashion week. She believes that a nineteen year old "young lady" has no business frolicking around that city.  I know that I just need to talk to Daddy.  He'll make her see that I can do this.  But now, who knows what is going on in the world?  Is this about the Cuban Missile crisis of last year?  Did Castro seek revenge with the help from the Soviets? How can I be thinking about fashion and the death of our president in the same breath?

I  walk over to Ellie, take her hand and we walk back in silence to our room.  The pink and purple flowers we decorated our door with seem completely inappropriate now.  I want to tear them down, but resist the urge to do so.  

"Stel, what are we going to do?" Ellie whispered.
"Honey, I don't think there is anything I we can do but wait."  I solemnly replied. I walked over to our table that has the record player on it and put Bye, Bye Birdie on the the turntable, hoping that the carefree musical would temper my mood a bit.  

Just then the hallway phone rings.  Ellie gets up and walks just outside our room and picks it up.  "Mom, mom, slow down.  I know. I heard.  It's terrible. Yes, yes, Stel is with me.  We saw in the common room.  It is so upsetting. How's daddy?"  There is a long pause where Ellie's mom must be telling her more.  Ellie starts talking again, “Mom, I’m going to let you go for now.  Sure, I’ll be in touch.”  She hangs up the phone, walks back into the room and absentmindedly starts humming along as Dick Van Dyke’s sings, “gray skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face.” She quickly walks over to the turntable and moves the arm so fast that it scratches a bit as she’s turning it off.  She looks over at me and we both nod, a silent understanding.  Sometimes silence is all that is required.

I walk over to my bed, kick my slippers off, and let the salty tears hide deep into my pillow.  

Sleep

Sleep
You are a mystery to me

I spent my childhood fighting you
and now my adult years
are spent trying to win you back
I love thee
I slumber and dream vividly
I awake from what I thought was a fall
and am settled to realize
that it was my subconscious mind
playing tricks on me.

Sleep
You are where I find refuge
I dream and wonder
where I may go tonight
I laugh knowing
that tomorrow I won't remember
where you took me
I dream in color
I dream the same thing
over and over
Sleep
Why does it feel like only a moment
has passed
since I rested my weary head
on my pillow
I awake
mostly refreshed
slightly confused
sometimes angry
at the dream maker



Sleep
You offer a new adventure
every night
How did this happen
is this some kind of puppet game
are we lost in some other space
forever lingering
you impress me
you dazzle me
I want more of you
yet yearn for more hours to complete
life's other journey

For two weeks now I've been involved with the Seven Valleys Writing Project in their 3 week Summer Institute.  I don't know if there has been a time in my life since my teens that I've been this inspired and opened up to write as I have been these last few weeks.  On this beautiful 80 degree weather day with a pool just outside my window I'm still itching to write and write.  I am working on research about co-teaching, but I also am working on making a list of all the topics I'd like to research about, or have more time to delve deeper into. This doesn't even begin to say what this experience has been like for me. I have met some incredible people, hand opportunities to read and write creatively.  I am working on writing a novel about life for a young women growing up in the early 1960's, a time I have always enjoyed learning about and now I get to write about it.  I am immersing myself in the process too.  I've made a playlist on Spotify that I think my main character would be listening too.  I'm making a collage of clothing that she and her friends would wear, and activities that they would enjoy doing.  I've also written personal narrative, poetry, reflections, and work on my research paper.  One of the parts that has meant so much to me is that I have felt my writing grow.  My husband, my best friend, many of my friends, my sister, my fellow classmates have all wrapped their arms around me in support.  I found this quote, "Make your writing BLOW people AWAY,"  and it reminded me how I'm feeling. I woke up one morning and wrote for 30 minutes and what came out was one of my better pieces of writing.  It was very exciting.  I literally could feel the words forcing themselves out my fingertips.  I don't want this journey to end.  I don't know how the door to this writing will ever close.   I'm working on how to incorporate what I've learned into my daily practice as a Literacy Specialist.  I'm thrilled about this journey.

Not Just Another Ordinary Friday

While searching through the pile of Vogue magazines in my dormitory room I hear a disturbance in the hallway. It reminds me of life on the Cape, it sounds like a sea of whales moaning in agony intertwined with the whimpering of a young dolphin who has lost her mother. What's going on? it is Friday afternoon and I'm biding time until my roomie gets here so we can head out for dinner. I guess I'll just have to check and see what is going on. There usually is some commotion at this point of the afternoon, but the sounds give me an eerie sensation.

I slip my slippers on and peek out my door. Down the hall Ellie, Mary Francis and Sally are all huddled close together and I can see that they are crying.

"Stella. It's the president. He's been shot. In Dallas," whimpers Mary Francis.
I don't believe my ears. Did I just hear that? It's 1963, presidents don't get shot at. Not Jack Kennedy. I mumble, "where did you hear it?"
Sally looks over at me and says, "we were in Cooking with Wine and the prof was interrupted by the Dean of Textiles coming in and telling her what he had heard on the radio. She canceled class immediately."
Ellie says, “everyone is walking around in a daze. Stella, I cannot believe that Jackie is going to be a widow. She's only 34 and she has such young children,"she stops to wipe her tears.
I am so frozen I don't know how I get the words out, but I ask, "Do we know if he's gone? This is maddening. Let's go to the common room and turn on the television and see what's happening.
When we arrive at the common room there is barely standing room. It seems that the world has come to a stop. All eyes are glued to the television. Usually at this time, a few of the girls are down here watching their stories, As the World Turns is a favorite here in our dormitory, but the usual Friday merriment is replaced by a silence that I've never heard before.
I have been in Ithaca just four short months studying women's fashion. I dream to be an editor, but my mom has bigger dreams. She wants me to find a law student here at Cornell and put my dream to rest and become a housewife. My mother and I aren’t from the same generation.  I feel that the world is changing, and women have the potential to be  so much more than a hostess or a baby making machine. I want to work for Vogue or Glamour, or even Woman's Day would be okay. Being a part of the world of fashion would be enough for me.

I look up and see images of Jackie with her husband's blood all over her pink Chanel boucle wool suit. She is standing on Air Force One while Lyndon Johnson is taking the oath. Mr. Cronkite just reported that the President died and Lyndon Johnson took the oath of the presidency with Mrs. Kennedy standing on one side while his wife, Lady Bird stands on the other. I'm trying to let the words sink in, but it just is so unreal. 

I stand up, wishing that I had my cardigan sweater to wrap around my sadness.  I scan the room with my eyes, noticing that there is a quietness that I've never seen since arriving at Cornell.   We had so much hope.  Just this morning my biggest worry was about the argument that I had with my mother about my studies.  She doesn't want me to go on the trip to New York City this Spring for Fashion week. She believes that a nineteen year old "young lady" has no business frolicking around that city.  I know that I just need to talk to Daddy.  He'll make her see that I can do this.  But now, who knows what is going on in the world?  Is this about the Cuban Missile crisis of last year?  Did Castro seek revenge with the help from the Soviets? How can I be thinking about fashion and the death of our president in the same breath? 

I  walk over to Ellie, take her hand and we walk back in silence to our room.  The pink and purple flowers we decorated our door with seem completely inappropriate now.  I want to tear them down, but resist the urge to do so.  

"Stel, what are we going to do?" Ellie whispered.
"Honey, I don't think there is anything I we can do but wait."  I solemnly replied. I walked over to our table that has the record player on it and put Gypsy on the the turn table, hoping that the carefree musical would temper my mood a bit.  
Just then our phone rings.  Ellie picks it up.  "Mom, mom, slow down.  I know. I heard.  It's terrible. Yes, yes, Stel is with me.  We saw in the common room.  It is so upsetting. How's daddy?"  There is a long pause where Ellie's mom must be telling her more.  
I walk over to my bed,  kick my slippers off, and let the salty tears hide deep into my pillow.  

Research Journey Reflection

I love how my research has actually led to many distractions and new directions. I knew the heart of what I wanted to research: how to effectively co-teach. The question has been a big part of my last year teaching. There has been a significant vagueness to what co-teaching was and what expectations go with this mandate.  

Co-teaching is a relatively new initiative that has been thrown around the district I work in these past few years. And unfortunately, like most initiatives, it isn't universally understood, valued, and or supported with adequate and meaningful professional development. I have had an awesome opportunity to take my own time to reflect and dig deep into this question. I have had most of the tools for my kit all along, with the one exception. Time. I had downloaded or copied articles to read, looked at teacher blogs, read books, and experienced various models of co-teaching in my own practice, yet I knew I needed to learn more and take some serious time to reflect and take action. This is what I am now getting a chance to begin and I couldn't be more excited.

I was reminded about a book that I had read this past year called "The Four Agreements."  I remembered that there were some agreements to live by that would make your life run more smoothly and give you more strength. The 4 agreements are: Be impeccable with your word, Don't take things personally, Don't make assumptions, and Always do your best.  I feel that they can be the foundations of an ideal co-teaching relationship.

There are 2 concepts around co-teaching that much of my attention is being paid to.  Power and Communication.  I am taking time to reflect on my views on both and the experiences I've had teaching thus far in my career.  I realized that one or both of these elements were the source of the conflicts that arose. One of my colleagues has the best analogy of what a specialists role is in co-teaching and collaboration.  We must be chameleons and change with the style of the teacher we are working with.  Using this analogy I have had a better understanding of why at the end of a day or week I feel very drained.  

I have been working each day a little bit at formalizing my question since I want to be clear on what I'm really searching to know more on.  When my mentor, Amy came to help she was able to listen to what I was thinking about and she was able to reflect back at me what the question was.  "What best practices are out there about how to work with classroom teachers?"  I needed that cleaned up for me and through this process I was able to move forward.

I had been feeling very scattered in my thinking and I couldn't get to a place that resonated with me.  This entire process of researching is great though, because when in my busy life do I get the opportunity to spend as much time as I can focusing on one research question?  I have decided to start a document that has some of my "burning questions" on it so I can have them there to go back to when I have time to reflect.

Another important realization that I made was the ability to focus on desirable qualities rather than focusing on the parts of co-teaching that cause frustration or worry.  It is amazing too how I am really a person that has so many questions that I want to answer and how hard it is for me to narrow it down to one at a time.  This is true to me in many aspects of my life.  I have so many thoughts brewing that I don't end up "finishing" any of my thoughts.  Putting the ideas down on paper (or google docs) have helped me have a sense of direction and at the same time the other ideas still have a place of value and I can come back to them at another time.

Reading is an escape.  Or it can be.  What if reading is a struggle for you, and you can't have the joy of curling up with a book?  I couldn't imagine how I would have survived my childhood without this solace.  My best friend and I would would take turns buying the next Babysitter's Club or Sweet Valley Twins book.  Then we would trade.  I loved the ability to transport to a whole new world and leave my world behind.  I still love this to this day.   This is why I am a Literacy Specialist.  I want to do everything I can to give this gift to my students.  I'm not saying that the journey will be the same for everyone.  It is quite possible, that some of my students will never consider reading as an escape, rather to them it will be something they are trying to figure out how to escape from. Over the past few years I have made a transformation in how I view reading.  If you are immersed in a story, whether it is being read to you by your parent or your ear buds are in listening to what we used to call a "book on tape," or doing my version of curling up with a book then you are getting that chance to dream with your eyes open.  This is the passion I have inside of me that I try to pass on to my students.  I find a way in and I help them to discover the joy of reading.  This past week I wrote about my superpower as an educator and I recalled that it is my ability to connect and hand a book (or digital text) to a student so they too can travel to worlds only their hearts can dream of. I couldn't ask for a better superpower.

One of my favorite Roald Dahl stories.  I could just eat this little girl up! I love Matilda and her pure enthusiasm for reading.

Positive Graffiti

I created this wordle for the 7VWP Summer Institute using words that my fellow TC's used to describe each other and myself.  This is an activity that teachers could use in his/her classrooms.  Wordles can be used in many creative ways.  Feel free to comment with other suggestions that I can add to my repertoire!

Putting Theory into Practice

While learning many new things to expand my repertoire as a writing teacher at the 7VWP Summer Institute I have had the opportunity to learn and grow so much in just 4 days. I can't imagine what will happen to me at the end of these 3 weeks.  I am tutoring a student twice a week this summer in the evenings.  I am in awe of how the ideas; concepts; demos; conversations; writing prompts; and people I'm working with have impacted my practice already.  This week I tutored the student I'm working with for 2 nights in a row.  We have tried so many of the ideas I've learned and he is growing so much as a writer already.  I had him write chapter titles that he would like to write about his own life while I did the activity as well.  He asked for more time!  When we first started the tutoring sessions this summer I couldn't get him to write for more than a few seconds, and tonight he asked for more time.  We are doing 3 minute chunks of time now, which doesn't sound like a lot, but he literally can't attend for more than 1 minute without becoming very distracted.  He's genuinely excited about writing some of these chapters now.  Last night I started writing him questions and having him respond only with writing and then he would create the question and I would reply.  He asked to do that activity again tonight.  We wrote a creative response to looking at a painting of Mona Lisa.  His was about her wanting to go and buy a hamster and mine was about her being a mother who could always have her eyes on her silly children since it appears that no matter what direction she is looking she is looking right at you.  That must be a mother!  Our last activity of the session was to write what we want to do soon.  I wrote about writing and my aspirations to write teacher articles, publish my poetry, and explore writing a novel.  He wrote, "I want to eat brownies, cake, ice cream, popsicles and fondant."  He cracked me up when he said, "well I can't have all this, but you said to write about what I wanted to do soon and if it could be anything, all I could think to write about was what I wanted to eat!" I replied, sweetie, I love that you took this in a different direction than I expected. I learned more about you this way.  He looked at me and said you are coming back tomorrow, right?  I said, sorry buddy we already had our 2 sessions this week, so I'll see you next week, but feel free to start writing one of those chapters.  He then giggled and said, I may have to write 2.  Can it possibly get better than this?

4 Agreements by Miguel Angel Ruiz

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word.
2. Don't Take Anything Personally.
3. Don't Make Assumptions.
4. Always Do Your Best.

These 4 agreements can be the cornerstone to any classroom.  I have used them as reminders for my own life and reflections and I have used them with my students as classroom expectations.  I believe that these 4 agreements are at the core of why people have conflict, either with others or within themselves.  I want to use these agreements to help foster collaborative teaching practices in my daily working life.  I will post more about this as I dig deeper into my thinking.  Taking the time to read those 4 agreements and recognizing how everything can come back to one of those universals can open up so many opportunities.

More reflections on the Four Agreements:


Be impeccable with your word.  In a co-teaching relationship there is perhaps nothing more important.  Communication is the most essential aspect of a co-teaching relationship.  This concept of being impeccable with your word is that you must say exactly what you need and what you mean, not dance around the subject and avoid saying what is absolutely necessary to say.  This doesn't mean that you should be rude and not consider what your partner needs.  Being truthful is important, but in order to maintain a strong working relationship it is also necessary to handle the conversation delicately.  Saying what you mean can be done and should be done, but it should be done respectfully.

Don't take anything personally.  Wow, now that is what I call a HUGE statement. This is the area where I personally need to grow the most.  When we take things personally we are only listening to half the story.  I want to be able to listen with an open mind and not always look for my reflection or my role in what is being said or done.  Not everything is about me.  Honestly, very little is about me.  Very little is to be taken personally.  It helps to take the time to listen fully.  It is important to recognize that the teachers we work with may have different philosophies or opinions and we need to realize that this is okay.  We need to find ways to respect both philosophies and then work together to move forward for the students we are working with.  Getting rid of ego is not a simple task. It it is thoughtful and purposeful way of living your life and using this focus to move your teaching in the best direction for collaboration.  

If you were going to write a book about your teaching, what would you title the chapters?

This was a prompt given to me today at the 7VWP Summer Institute.  I loved this exercise. I will do this with my students sometime.    Here is what the chapters of my book would have in it if I were to write this book today:

Everything you didn't learn while student teaching
Students as teachers
Teachers as students 
Stamina
Choice
What the students need to learn
What the teacher(s) needs to learn
Power struggle
Collaboration
Practical Interventions  
Enrichment
Independence
Teaching with your heart
Reflections

Embracing

Playdoh stuck to the dining room table
splashes of paint cling to the sheer curtains
squealing youthful voices
begging for another drink
another snack
Singing songs to themselves unaware of its beauty
freshly colored handprints are on my new pair of jeans
perhaps giving them more value
Once upon a time
I did not know where I fit in
this isn't so anymore
My husband has a miniature version of himself to reflect back at him
as do I
The questions that we are asked bring smiles to our faces
I laugh from a place I didn't know I had inside me
My lego imprinted feet ache, after a long day
Read it one more time, Mommy.
Love at first sight was hard to believe
yet experienced twice
Zachary stormed in with gusto
Meghan gracefully followed
forever changing
forever improving
my simple life

Teacher Reflection 

I learned... that sometimes it is more important to be flexible than it is to be right. Sounds pretty simple and I probably should have learned it earlier on in life. Well, this year I had many opportunities to practice this. When I felt like a roadblock was put in front of me I took 2 steps back and reflected rather than allowing myself to succumb to the incessant need to be correct. This helped so much. I was able to take the time needed to grow and listen.


I was stretched by... really having to figure out an organization plan and stick to it. It is amazing how much of a positive impact a filing cabinet can make. I now have a place to put everything. How have I done it thus far without one? Well, thankfully I have one now. I'm also accumulating more bookshelves. It seemed so bizarre to me that a reading teacher would be given bookshelves. Well ask and ye shall receive! I know I have a lot more to do in this area both professionally and at home but the mere fact that I care and I'm trying means I'm on the right track.


I am excited about... growing as a writer. It will help so much next year because many of my students have met their reading goals but we need to work on their writing goals. I've set a goal to write for 10 minutes every day and I feel that will help inspire my students as well. I'm also excited that I will get to work with some of my favorite teaching cohorts again next year. Some new ones too, which is usually inspiring.


I'm beginning to realize... that I can only do so much. I must prioritize and focus my energy on the things that are highest on my list. My list is also "my list". I wear the hat of the Literacy Specialist but there are many other roles and we all play our parts. This is perhaps the hardest part of my job. My passion doesn't understand limitations of time, resources or personalities. At least I'm starting to realize this though.