Summer Final Day

Having the opportunity to hear Stacey Shubitz speak about writing was fantastic.  She was difinitely inspiring.  Sharing her slice of life writing was the perfect way to thing about writing everyday.  The more posts she shared, the more I couldn't wait to get started.  Her stories were the everyday stuff that life is made of and I am definitely thinking that it would be a great way to allow me to write more and write everyday.  Since finishing the course, I have been researching and really working to design my inquiry project.  Hopefully in the next week or two, I can get started with my own slice of life writing. 

Packaging the first presentation with the opportunity to be in workshop with Lynne Dorfman, could it get any better.  Lynne brought forth so many different techniques with which to share with our students and liven the writing workshop.  All the things I learned from her that day will be exciting to use throughout the year.  Lynne and Stacey's passion filled the soul with the energy for writing and leading a writer's life.

 In the end. the day was filled with fantastic information about the use of a writer's notebook and I so enjoyed spending that day writing and writing with other authors!  At the end of the day, it felt so up lifting, so refreshing. When the day ended, I longed for more.  Wishing the day had gone slower or been longer.  Weeks later, I am still feeling lucky to have had the opportunity to hear these authors and share the room with their writing and thinking.

Reflection- Day 11

Great Day - Terrific way to wrap up the workshop with wonderful reflection.  Deanna had so many thoughtful activities for reflection.  Perhaps the one I enjoyed most was reflection that was embedded within a free write.  It seemed so natural to talk back to your wonderings.  I think having students do more reflection is a worthwhile use of time.  Definitely something I need to incorpoate into my classroom. 

The presentation on digital writing was great fun and thought provoking as well.  With some of summer still ahead, it will be fun to further explore the sites to find ways to use these ideas in our classroom.  It is another hook to bring students into the writing world and invite them to explore. 

Reflection Day 10

Phew!  Our demonstration has come to an end and now the inquiry begins!  At first I have to say, I felt nervous which is highly unusual for me.   Having stayed the night before until five, I thought things would come together, but yet I hesitated.  Once we began, it seemed to take on a like of its own.  The presentation came together with each one of us ebbing and flowing like we have worked together for quite some time.  From here, the hard part, what to do with it all and how to bring bit into the classroom.   A daunting task to say the least. 

In the beginning, I have to admit that I dreaded the demonstration because I couldn't see how it would all come together and now I can't imagine not having done the work in such an authentic way to inform and mold our instruction......

Reflection-Day 9
So good to be back, but feeling a bit lost as well.  Everything is so slow.   I  don't know what I was thinking.  Somehow I really believed that it would be able to use my right hand to at least type, but part of my hand is numb and the cast keeps hitting the keys.  I  can do this!

The demos today were great!   With each demo, I came away with great ideas that can be used in my classroom.  Mini-lessons in reading and writing are the best!  I use them all the time in my reading workshop, but truly loved the lessons presented today.  It would be great to teach the students the activity about  summaries and tag lines to create a resouce board of book titles for readers to go to when looking for their next independent reading book.

Our focus this past year has been the creation of the PLC for science.  Throughout the process, we have been focused on the creation of formative assessments.  Having been part of the process throughout the year, it was great to see the value of formative assessments presented in another way.  I am so sad to have missed the others, but am grateful to have been a part of them today.

Reflection - Day 5

Today was a whirlwind of day, but hugely helpful.  The gift of time is truly a precious gift to have been given.  Although I arrived in of the middle of the day, I  was able to get in the grove and use my time effectively.  More work has been done on my narrative, just one last nagging question to be answered and then I will submitt it.  Brainstorming for the argumentative writing is all complete as well.  Tonight I will work to begin that piece.

Our group is really starting to gel.  When we first began meeting, I couldn't imagine how this was all going to come together, but working with these two ladies is the second gift of the day.  The three of us have worked exceptionally hard to find the heartbeat of our presentation and let that be our guide as we carefully choose our activities for the group and work toward pulling all the potential pieces of our presentation.  As a group we evaluate, critique, wrestle with, and modify what needs to be done.  I couldn't be more thrilled with how the process is going, the heart of the group and the work that has been put into the final outcome.  Lastly, I have to say that the group has been empathetic to my plight and totally supportive.   Trying to be proactive, I have worked ahead to prepare things ahead of time as not to disappoint my team.  Thank you Rich and Brend for letting me stay!  I am totally loving this class!!!!

Floating Around

Finishing the rough draft was more challenging than originally thought.  Finally, surrounded by the inspiration that I needed, I waded through memories, throughts, and feelings, the heartbeat came in an instant.  Grabbing it quickly, the writing seemed to flow from my fingers and a rough draft  appeared on the screen. 

Reading and rereading.  Changing words, and discovering descriptions that had illuded the author during the writing were some of the final tasks.  Ahhhhh, saved.  Time to put it away for the night and float around in the sea of the narrative written for class.  Float with the currents of the story, and ruminate over the ideas on the cool waters while sipping languidly on the soury, sweetness of the message.

All at once, the tranquility is interrupted as a random child jumps into the pool, upending the float.  Instead of floating around, I emerging spitting water as the thought of sharing my piece creeps into the picture.  Ugh, the dreaded day appears on the horizon like that child or big brother looming large waiting for the perfect moment to launch themselves haphazzardly at the tube upsetting the delecate balance.

Reflection - Day 4

Today I fought my dragons and won.  An opportunity to share presented itself and I felt as though I had a piece worth sharing.  Confidence? Maybe?  Perhaps the sense of community in the room, knowing that it was a safe place, a place of encouragement for a beginning writer.  Perhaps too, it was the feedback that I received on one of my blogs that gave me the courage, as I realized the truth in what was told to me from a writer that I admire.  Thank you for those words!  Today was a beginning, at last.

Treading Water or Sinking Quickly?

Having opened up my narrative and reread it, I have noticed some things.  There are parts of it I am proud of and parts of it that I will continue to work on as I finish the piece.  So my job for tonight, finish the piece and try to make it come together as a first draft, a rough draft.  I hope to finish this tonight once I get home to my parents' house.  Surrounded by memories and with my Dad, I hope that will help me find my way before I am finished with this piece.   I know that I want to paint a picture of the man I know and how special he is to me, but more than that I want others to feel the angst I feel at the mention of the possibility that one day he might not be here.  Isn't that always the terribly awful part of loving someone, the fact that one day for one reason or another that very person might be parted from you. 

Yet as I write this, I feel so selfish, as I know that I have been incredibly blessed to have had this man in my life for as long as I have.  There are so many others that have never known the love of a father or grown up with that love.  My son is one of those, but yet he knows the love of an amazing grandfather, that loves him as much as anyone could.   Still others who have lost those they love long before they ever should have in their life time.  Yet this is the heartbeat of what I hope readers will understand,  as they read my piece.
(Prior to finishing the piece - a second look)

Swimming Around

So I have jumped in and now it is time to swim around in the topic at hand, my Father.  Something so important to me that my heart aches as I write.  What am I trying to say?  What is it that I want others to know about my Dad?  That is the question.  As I began, I knew the anecdote that I most wanted to share with others, one of my favorites from childhood.  That is how I began my narrative. Now to write and to try to paint the picture of the first man that I ever loved and the man by which I judge all other men.  When I am through will others know some of what I know?  Will they be moved by what I have to say and by one of the people who helped to shape who I am and who I hope to be when I am finished becoming me?  All of these questions are swimming in my mind after I hit save on my computer. 

Phew, well know that I have driven myself absolutely mad spinning in a circle of questions that I do not have the answers to at this moment.  It is time to put it to bed for tonight.  I will come back at this tomorrow after I have had some time to let what I have down on the paper settle in to the water I am swimming in at the time. 
(writing session 1, not counting all the others that I deleted prior to this)

Reflection Day 3

Reflection of Today

Refreshed is the word for today.  It feels as if I am on board with where we are in class at least for the daily routine.  At some point I hope to be able to share my writing with others.  As I hear the thoughts of others, their pieces seem to be at a different level than mine.  Perhaps it is the level of the vocabulary and the way in which others craft their writing to fluently  using  rich and creative language the first time through.  For me, I am not always that writer.  I need to get my ideas down and then go back to hone the work that I started.  I almost made it today, but hesitated at the last minute.  Somehow I feel freer sharing my ideas while engaged in a class discussion.  I know I am a work in progress, but boy is time to pull on my big girl boots!

On another note, thank you for bringing in the demonstration today.  It was invaluable in putting the demonstration in perspective.  I feel a little more at ease, but yet a bit more anxious about the time to get it all done.

Reflection Day 2

First Day at the Institute - 2nd Day for Most

As I entered the room, I was a bit hesitant to do so.  Not only was I worried as I had missed a day, but everyone was busily working as I entered.  The new kid walking into class.  Hmm, now what do I do I thought to myself.  Of course as luck would have it I sat at the wrong place and didn't know we had to be in assigned groups.  Luckily I saw my name tent on another table and moved to it.  So glad I wound up with the group I was in, not that the others were not great as well.  For the first day, I could breathe a sigh of relief as my colleagues were easy to converse with and open to ideas.  One of the things that I was most worried about when I signed up for this course.  As I got settled, I heard that we had to reflect on letting go.  I was able to freely write about that, but still hadn't found my groove yet, still uneasy about what I had missed and how behind I was having missed the first day.

Thankfully, Brenda presented and had us work to share our thoughts about focus.  An ice breaker of sorts for me.  As we shared our ideas in the group, those around me were accepting of ideas and able to have great constructive conversations about our ideas that had differed from those around us.  Interestingly enough it was men against women where our ideas were concerned.  Fun to see how we both looked at the same writings and how our opinions took different twists and turns. 

From there I looked at the board, the moment I had been dreading .  .   .   .   . the narrative.  Ugh, do I really have to join a group?  Off we went in our narrative groups to share the writing with our peers.  Thankfully, I can say the process was more than positive and surprisingly, my peers had the same hesitancy that I had prior to sharing my writing.  The group consisted of members that wrote deeply personal stories, stories that jumped in and when to the heart of the matter.  Having never read my story aloud to anyone, I was ever so thankful to be with the people with whom I was.  Not only were they encouraging, they were very kind in their suggestions as to how to improve the quality of my writing.  Perhaps it was due to the fact that I shared my hesitancy after I read my writing, but mostly I think it is due to the fact that they were just supportive writers that were brought together for a common purpose.  All in all, I think by lunch, I had found my grove.   I do not have feelings of trepidation about what is to come, but excitement for what I have to learn.  I hope that is not a bad thing????  Should I be worried????

Jumping In

Hmmm . . . . the ideas flow, but which seed will make the best story? Funny, sad, a lesson to be learned, entertainment, or serious, which direction to head?  As I sat with another classmate we shared personal stories, so many seed ideas as Mr. Fletcher states, but which kernel is the one to crack open?  For her, the dilemma was the same, but somehow different.  As we sat and laughed over stories that we shared, it was evident that she was a fabulous story teller, but yet struggled with freezing.  Both of us had many, many great story ideas for our narratives, yet for different reasons we both struggle to begin.  Personally, I was struggling with the purpose of the story.  Somehow writing for your students is vastly easier to me, as they unconditionally accept the gifts that you offer.  Writing for your peers however, a different ball game for me.  This is where I freeze to the face as the thought, "What if they don't like it?" creeps into my head.  Chase that thought away and jump in!

       Awe is one of many words that flew through my head after the first session.  Sitting in the room with my esteemed colleagues, I became keenly aware of the myriad of talent in that room.  My question, "Can a girl hang?"  I sure hope so, as writing is a true passion.  My secret dream is to spread my winds and fly out of my comfort zone.  So eventually, I might have the courage to do what I was indeed born to do, WRITE. 
     Fear is another one of those words that I had momentary prickles of during my time in the workshop.  "Hmm, what did I get myself into?"  I couldn't help but thinking.  Then I had to quell my fears and quiet the inner demons that have stood before my dream.  Goodness, I love writing!  I guess it all comes down to one of my favorite quotes from A. A. Milne in Winnie the Pooh, You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.  That will be my matra for the duration of this course as it will definitely lead me out of my comfort zone.  So, I will be brave and return on the 18th to see what more lies ahead.