I am participating in a month-long writing challenge called The Slice of Life Story Challenge sponsored by Two Writing Teachers. The purpose is to share little short "slices" of your everyday life in realistic terms. "Slicers" also read and comment on other bloggers' slices. There is an individual SOL challenge and a classroom SOL challenge. I frequently use this space to share what I learn from the wise folks in my PLN, whether local educators or those I've encountered via social media. The quote I've used above is the result of a recent venture down into the Twitter-verse "rabbit hole." Some such ventures bear incredible fruit, as did this one. A couple of weeks ago, I ran across a tweet by librarian-extraordinaire Margie Myers-Culver (@Loveofxena) that led me to Margie's blog, Librarian's Quest, and the twists and turns of the proverbial rabbit hole then led me to this wonderful TedX video by acclaimed author Carmen Agra Deedy. Oh, my—I love Ms. Deedy's storytelling—and her message of the importance of stories! {Listen for the whack-a-mole comment! It's spot on, as any teacher will tell you, and made me laugh at the visual image it brought to mind.} Carmen Agra Deedy's book The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet, delightfully illustrated by Eugene Yelchin, has been receiving attention from teachers, librarians, children, and critics everywhere because at its core is the message of giving voice to your truths. Read this inspirational book about a rooster who finds his voice in a town where singing is outlawed. Scholastic Reads shared this interview with Carmen Agra Deedy about giving children a voice. Look here for the podcast. Here is a link to this important book. As a teacher who has a passion for sharing books with children, and as a teacher who encourages students to share their voices in their writing, this lovely book is perfect match!
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Somewhere in my journeys through the musings of my PLN on Twitter or Instagram, I found a post about "Feet Up Friday." It featured a teacher with her feet up after a long week at school on a Friday afternoon. I liked that image of relishing in the silence as the busy-ness of the week retreats and the solitude that brings reflection settles over the classroom.
I cannot sit like that for long, a leftover open locker door beckons me; or perhaps it is a student's lunch box calling to me to run it down to the gym before she gets on the bus so our room won't smell like spoiled yogurt or hatch fruit flies over the weekend. Often, though, it is simply a paper lying on the floor that draws my attention and pulls my weary self out of my chair to retrieve it. Somehow our classroom feels rather flat and lifeless, like a balloon deflating, when the students leave. How could it have just been full of live, vigor, energy, laughter, and purpose only ten minutes before? Oh, there's plenty of purpose left - filing my huge "file pile," or grading, or straightening up, or planning, or a hundred other things that our day is comprised of. But in those few first quiet moments, I like to sit with my feet up and reflect on the flavor of our day...what did we do particularly well? What do I wish had gone better? I believe those moments of reflection, those moments of quiet soaking-in of the initial solitude, are truly placing the imprints of these students on my heart when I consider how our week or day went. Not just curriculum imprints, for surely no teacher wants that on her heart. No, more personal things, family and friend things. Will Z have enough time to build his fort? Did E take home her library books? Should T work with an aide on an intervention folder? Will K bring lunch money or should I donate some? Did I remember to tell E good luck at her gymnastics meet and E good luck at his wrestling match? How does B feel about his soon-to-be-step mom? How can I make fractions pop for these math kids? How is L doing since his dog died? Why has C seemed so quiet and withdrawn lately? Are these boys too rough playing football at recess? Do our math rotations need revamping? What book can I recommend for J to make him a reader? So I place my feet on the floor once more and pick up, pack up, and dream of making the next week a "ba-zinga" week for them all! Today's inspiration asks us to consider who we are grateful for, suggesting that our slices do often feature those who are important in our lives - even those who share their influence around the edges of our being. I made this little puzzle sign to try to pin down the various segments of my life influences. They run the gamut from immediate and extended family, to friends and mentors at various stages of my life. Strong influences, like my parents who worked hard to provide for their four children, and like my husband who has always supported my dreams, to others who saw me through the tough times all parents face. Equally important are the gentle and subtle influences like teachers and church friends. There were sections here and there with a huge impact, and sections here and there with a smaller role, but not necessarily a lesser impact, those whose influences have nudged in from the edges. My slice: Sometimes you have to listen to your heart - and know that a simple "thank you" can lift someone else up. Consider someone from your past who you might reach out to - offer a note of thanks to a former teacher, friend, doctor, relative, neighbor, or co-worker who touched your life somehow. A couple of years ago I felt called to write a thank you letter to the doctor who delivered our daughter. I remember it was her 23rd birthday. I wrote that I was confident he wouldn't remember me because he was my doctor 20+ years ago. Well, he might possibly recall a patient who came in crying one day because she had to relocate to a new state and that wouldn't fit into her plan that he would deliver all of her babies. Yep, I really did that, so I was really hoping he didn't remember me, as you might imagine! My note of thanks to him was simple and from the heart because he took the time to ask if we'd pray with him right after our daughter was born. I know that our praises and prayers - both spoken and unspoken - that very day, within the first few moments of life, were indeed heard. We know He is at work always in our daughter's life. I'll never forget that. You might wonder what a busy doctor would do with a thank you note sent from a patient from two decades earlier. Well, he was delighted to know that his prayers that day had such an impact on us and that she is a strong Christian on her own following her dreams. That simple note started with just a nudge in my heart. Listen to your own nudges and follow through in your own way to offer gratitude. Gratitude unlocks the FULLNESS of life, it turns what we have into enough...and more... I'm enthralled watching my small-group kids who are equally enthralled reading about sloths. They are reading and researching silently and don't even know I am watching them!
Sloths, you say? Why SLOTHS? Our fluency passages currently are all about unusual animals, so when sloths popped up this week, we became very curious. They have been using EPIC as an online reading site, and after reading on EPIC about the lives of sloths, we have found that they are quite interesting: they are very slow (like 6-8 feet in an hour!), they hang from trees, if a predator comes they cannot outrun anything, they have a sleep/happy face, they have a very low metabolism, they live in trees and eat leaves, and - get ready - the best fact of all: they only go to the bathroom once a week!!!! We're quite intrigued--so intrigued, not a creature (kiddo) is stirring.....we are all silently reading and rather sloth-like now that we have to move on to something else.....but since it's lunch, we can do this! These dear students of mine do this to me all the time - slow to start, but then you can't get them to move on....homework time at the end of the day, limerick writing, etc. Sloth-like beginning, then stubbornly hanging on when it's time to move on - gotta love it!! I am participating in a month-long writing challenge called The Slice of Life Story Challenge sponsored by Two Writing Teachers. The purpose is to share little short "slices" of your everyday life in realistic terms. "Slicers" also read and comment on other bloggers' slices - and in the process we get to experience some fun topics and are exposed to many different writing styles. {There is an individual SOL challenge and a classroom SOL challenge, so perhaps next year I'll be brave enough to tackle this with my students!} Our inspiration for today was to share simple little stories that creep into our lives. This is a perfect opportunity to highlight an app we use in our classroom to share simple stories and slices of our learning: ChatterPix Kids.
If you're not familiar with it, look for it in the App Store. It's easy to use and my kids love it! Here are just a few ways we've used ChatterPix Kids to share our learning:
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