Does anyone besides me get out of bed to write something down? This has been a fairly common occurrence for me over the last five years or so. It seems to happen when I am trying to work through a problem, have a parenting issue, decide how to address something, or occasionally, like last night,…
Yesterday was World Poetry Day and it also so happened to be my weekly meeting with the third graders in my writer’s circle group. I was a little on edge because the week before, one of my students had started sobbing twenty minutes into our meeting, while writing Haiku poetry. But, as I arrived at…
The cycle of airport rudeness; another way of saying what comes around goes around! Recently, two of my family members had to take multiple flights across the country to visit a sick relative and investigate a prospective university for attending graduate school. Due to the locations of the destinations, multiple flights were involved. Some of…
Last summer I bought a Meyer Lemon tree at Wal-Mart for $14.00. As a Master Gardener, I’ve always wanted to try to grow lemons, so I saw the tree as my chance to do so. Our summers are hot and sometimes humid in the mid-west, but our winter’s can be harsh. I thought I could…
I’ve been thinking a lot about connecting with students lately. Part of the reason for doing so is that I am taking a graduate course on the Models of Teaching and Learning. The text for this course is set up in “families” of models and has been informative. Believe it or not, many of the…
I love to sleep. However, I do not consider myself a “napper”. Naps are great but they typically interfere with my nighttime sleep and I guard that very carefully. Admittedly, I am prone to insomnia. I have times when I just cannot seem to get my brain to shut off. So, after much reading on…
Luckily, I have raised three readers. My entire immediate family loves to read. This started early with my boys, reading to each of them at bedtime. Now, they have been known to devour books when the spirit moves them. And, it moves them quite often. Even with busy schedules, heavy course loads, sports, and/or music…
Tomorrow, my Writer’s Circle resumes. We had just started a poetry unit when I had to cancel our meeting last week. The students will be sharing two different Cinquain poems and an acrostic with our group. We will then go on to Haiku. When we talk about poetry, I make sure that the students understand…
What are your favorite comfort foods? You know, the foods you want the most when you are ill. This week I had a chance to think a lot about my comfort foods because, unfortunately, I had a chance to use them. Ginger Ale – For some reason, when I do not feel well, I crave…
Last month when we explored bees and their role in pollination, my garden club students made fun of my pronunciation of the word almonds! I’m okay with being made fun of on occasion so this really didn’t bother me. But, what ensued was a rather humorous five minutes of me responding with, “What?, I’m pronouncing…