Another Year {Celebrate this Week 4.30.16}

After teaching 4th grade for eight years, I felt a change coming. When the opportunity to move to 5th grade next year popped up, I took it. A new grade level meant new challenges and opportunities to both learn and teach new things.  Moving to the next grade level meant that I could also bring my class along with me.

I love my class.  There's just something about them.

Several times they have asked me if I would be their 5th grade teacher.  I always joked back that I've had enough of them or that I didn't want to torture myself for another year. They always "got" it.  They know that I care deeply about each and every one of them.  They are "my kids."

On Wednesday, I could finally share the big news. I was expecting the kids to be happy. I was not expecting them to be as elated as they were.

But this was not just about me.

It was about keeping our "family" together.

It was about the relief some of them felt at having consistency in their otherwise chaotic lives.

It was about putting to rest the fears they had about next year, about the anxiety some of them were already feeling about having to mesh with a new teacher with new expectations.

It was a wonderful celebration of how far we've come this past year and where we can go.

I Need Quiet {SOL 4-26-16}

Julia Cameron, author of one of my favorite books, The Right to Write, has written much about the power of Artist's Dates, a field trip away from home to be at one with your creative self.

On Saturday morning, I took myself on an Artist Date to the local Panera to enjoy a change of scenery for my writing time.

I ordered my lemonade and a cinnamon crunch bagel, found a quiet table in the corner, and began writing.

About 20 minutes later, I noticed an older gentleman take a seat at the table behind me.  I looked around the restaurant.  There were lots of other tables he could have picked, I thought to myself, but I went back to my typing.

After getting situated, the man took out his cell phone, brought up Monty Python episodes, and began to watch.

Without headphones. 

With the volume cranked up loud enough for half the room to hear. 

I gave an irritated glance over my shoulder, hoping the man would get the hint and turn the volume down.

He didn't.

Several more irritated looks, but still no compliance to the common courtesies of watching videos on your phone in a public place.

I stopped typing and just sat.  I couldn't concentrate.  All I could hear was fake laugh tracks and British guys yakking in the background.

I searched my bag for MY headphones.

Unfortunately, they were still at home, which was where I was now headed.

Soaking it In {SOL 4.19.16}

This past Saturday, the weather was absolutely perfect.  The temperatures rose to the low 70's, the sky was true blue, and I was so thankful to be able to wear short sleeves outside.

I soaked in as much of the beautiful day as I could....

I planted a couple pots of flowers (that could easily be brought inside to escape a chilly night):

I dragged out the cushions for the patio furniture and added some new pillows.

Then I took the new pillows for a test drive while I read my book.

Even the dogs were basking in the glorious day.

When the sun passed over the house and the patio became shaded and cool, I moved to the front porch.  Life was just as lovely there:

I wish I could take days like this and bottle them up to save forever.

But I can't.

I realize that it is the cold, dreary days of winter that make me appreciate days like this past Saturday even more.

If every day was this beautiful, 75 degree days in April wouldn't feel as special.

Links I Loved Last Week {4.17.16}

Here are a few links I found this past week that are worth sharing:

The history of the five paragraph essay is a very interesting read for all writing teachers.

Makerspace for Education will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about makerspaces and how to bring one into your school or classroom.

Interested in learning more about flexible learning spaces?  You must check out Rebecca Malmquist's classroom for some very cool ideas.

Jennifer Gonzales at Cult of Pedagogy shares a video to teach you how your students can publish an easy book using Powerpoint.

Thank you to Elisabeth Ellington for sharing this idea for a blog post!

Every Student an Author {Celebrate This Week 4.16.16}

This past week we celebrated every student as an author with our Cartonera Celebration.  It is one of my favorite weeks at school.

What is a cartonera?

It is, quite literally, a cardboard book.

To make their cartonera, each student went into their writing "treasure chest" (folder) and decided upon one of their favorite pieces of writing from this year.

We rewrote them on lined paper and illustrated them.

Our amazing art teacher worked with the students to create their covers.  Last year, we used actual cardboard.  This year, we used cardboard card stock because we were short on manpower to cut 800 pieces of cardboard. (Next year, our plan is to go back to cardboard, but to start cutting it much earlier in the year.)

We put the writing together with the covers, hole punched them, and tied them with yarn.

Each day, a different grade level had their books on display in the hallway during the PTO Book Fair and Special Person Lunch for families and the community to read.  

At the very back of each book was a "Raves from Readers" page.  Classes would visit the cartoneras each day, read them, and leave kind comments.

The students were all so proud of their cartonera books and were excited to read the raves that other students had left.  (One student came up and hugged me during recess to thank me for reading her cartonera and leaving a comment.)

As a school, I celebrate seeing us all unite to celebrate writing. We have been working hard to build our level of writing and celebrating is an important part of that. Sharing our writing with others gives us an authentic audience and builds a sense of pride in our writing. 

As a teacher, I celebrate being to read the work of students in other grade levels. It gave me a good feeling for what students were able to do at each grade level. 

For my students, it was good for them to read what other students wrote.  Many of them commented to me that they had learned something from another student's cartonera (many students' writing was non-fiction) or they saw how important good spelling (or neat handwriting) was in delivering your written message. Many students were impressed with the level of writing from students who were much younger than them. As they read, I would often hear giggles as they encountered something funny or see them recommend a just-read cartonera for another student to read.

Writing was alive and breathing at my school this week!

Celebrating every student as an author -- what could be better than that?

Too Many Needs {SOL 4.12.16}

Writing at home has its challenges.  When I have time to write, things always seem to get in the way.

You may be familiar with some of these things -- The dishes NEED to be washed, the floors NEED to be vacuumed, the dogs NEED to snuggle.  I NEED to check Twitter, I NEED to look up something on the internet, I NEED to get dinner started.

I'm sure it's not a funny coincidence that all of these NEEDS pop up when I am writing (or not writing) something hard or I feel stalled in my writing life.

Add to this that I am a napping girl.  I love naps.

But napping and writing don't mix well.  Napping always wins out.

This past Sunday, the weather was really miserable--cold and rain all day long.  It was the perfect day to write, but the only way that was going to happen was if I left home and got away from all of the NEEDS and the seductive call of the sofa.

So I packed up my notebook and my laptop and took myself on an artist's date at nearest Panera. After getting myself a cup of lemonade and a cinnamon crunch bagel, I found a table and settled in.

That's when I made a big mistake.

I checked my phone.

On my phone was a frantic text that NEEDED  to be handled right away. Before any writing. Before even unpacking my laptop.  I knew that if I didn't handle this text right away, there would be no way I would be able to focus on my writing. It was as if the writing angels had all conspired against me. Again.

This text led to an email that took me 45 minutes to type.  When I was finished, I had little energy left for working on my writing project, or much else for that matter.

I packed up and went home.

No writing for me.

I NEED to try again.

Links I Loved Last Week {4.10.16}

Adlit.org shared this interesting research on how building connections with our students can change so much.

If your students' reading notebooks are beginning be somewhat hum-drum, Maggie and Kate will show you how to use charts to get students refocused on the role of their notebook in this DIY Literacy Video.

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater uses Wonderopolis' Wonder of the Day to inspire a poem every day in April.  I am trying this with my class of 4th graders and we are loving it.

Flocabulary is a wonderful resource for your classroom.  They have a wide variety of rap videos to teach all subjects.  My class uses the Word Up Vocabulary program to learn 10 new words each week.  They love the videos! You can sign up for a free 30 day trial to take a look for yourself.

Owner Media puts out a great newsletter twice a week that always contains some nugget of advice that hits home. Even though it's geared toward business owners, I promise their words will speak to you too.

Where do you stand on the homework debate?  This post from NEA Today gives some interesting perspectives.

Love. Learn. Lead shared some interesting insights in Why We Are Moving on From AR.

Thank you to Elisabeth Ellington for the inspiration for this post.