Anticipation... Slice of Life

Thanks to Ruth and Stacey for hosting Slice of Life Tuesdays.  You can check their blog for more Slice of Life stories. 

Photo by Moyan Brenn

In 40 days, my husband and I will be landing in Istanbul and I will see my daughter for the first time since September.  My heart aches to have her in my arms.

I can't wait...

to touch her, kiss her, and smell her...just like when she was a baby.  (That may sound a little weird...maybe it's a mom thing).

  Two days later, Sana, our daughter from India will be joining us in Istanbul and the four of us will tour Turkey together.  We haven't seen Sana in two years since she ended her youth exchange year with us.

Again, I can't wait...

to hug that girl.  I can already hear the incessant laughter and chatter that will be coming from the two girls.  I am going to love every minute of it.

I can't wait...

We're already planning Annie's Welcome Home Party.  When I asked her what she wanted me to make she replied:

It's a good thing I like to cook.  

There are so many more things to look forward to this summer...

My son's job working with inner city kids at summer camp...it will be a good experience for him and those kids are so lucky to get to spend time with my boy.

My oldest daughter travels back to San Francisco for a summer internship in design.  It's a wonderful feeling to sit back and watch her be successful and happy.  The good thing is it's just for the summer and then she's back close to home.

I'm teaching a digital writing class with 2 exceptional educators and friends for the Columbus Area Writing Project.

I'm hoping to catch up with friends who I don't see very often, read some great books, bike on Ohio's Rails to Trails, garden and try some new recipes.

It's going to be a wonderful, wonderful summer.

I can't wait!

What are you looking forward to doing this summer?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Thank you to Kellee and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts for hosting It's Monday!  What Are You Reading?  You can check out their blog for some great ideas for new reads.  I'm so glad to be back into joining this wonderful group.
Since I have some time on my hands due to a little surgery, my "books read" list has grown quite a bit.  At the same time, I've been adding to my "to be read" list.  I forgot what it was like to have space in my day to enjoy a good book.  :)  I've read some phenomenal middle grade books the last two weeks (as well as some books that are just for me).

The Center of Everything by Linda Urban was wonderful!  In this story, Ruby Pepperdine deals with the death of her grandma, messing up her friendship with her best friend Lucy, and a budding new friendship with Nero.  The story takes place in one day, with flashbacks to fill in the gaps.  This touching story does not make light of the worries of students in this age group.

A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff was another great story.  Franki Sibberson introduced me to Lisa Graff, and I'm so glad she did.  This book is full of quirky characters, my favorite kind, who are all connected together in a giant web of life's experiences.

Hold Fast by Blue Balliett was powerful!  The story tells about the harsh realities of homelessness, with a twist of mystery.  I talked to a few colleagues about using this book as a read aloud with my fourth graders.  Some of the images portrayed in the homeless shelter will be very foreign to my students.  However, I think that this book would be perfect to use to talk about empathy, helping others, perseverance, etc.  This book is a must read.

Who Do You Appreciate?

As I was meandering through Choice Literacy's "Thank You Teachers Facebook Series," I began to think about my own teachers who had the most impact on my learning.   My mom tells me that I became a teacher the day my sister was born.  I guess I was a natural from the beginning....holding school with first my sisters, then later the neighbors...anyone I could corral into paying attention to me.  As a bonus, I could also fill in as a priest or nun (based on my experience at St. Patrick's Elementary School grades 1 - 8).  To say the least, I knew from an early age, that education was in my future.

Of course my first teachers were my parents. Books filled our house; we didn't go to bed without at least one bedtime story.  We cooked with my mom and used our own money to buy candy at Sterlings, the local market where Mom could pick up a gallon of milk.

My first encounter at public school introduced me to Mrs. Motter, my kindergarten teacher.  Mrs. Motter was young and smart and beautiful and I thought she was wonderful.  (I still do).  I loved going to school:  learning so many different things, coloring carefully in the lines, playing in the housekeeping center, having a snack break (chocolate milk was $.03), and taking a nap.  Mrs. Motter read wonderful stories to us and she made us laugh.  She taught me early on that learning was joyful.  From her classroom, I received a strong foundation on which my entire education was built.  I still remember her invitation to have a Coke with her that summer after school was out (and yes, she kept the date).   At 5 years old, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher like Mrs. Motter.

When I was in first grade, and going to parochial school, we moved out into the country. Guess who my new neighbor was...Mrs. Motter.  I was lucky to now have her as my neighbor and see her out of school.  When she and her husband had children, I babysat.  I no longer had to call her Mrs. Motter, but could then call her Sue.  My dream of being a teacher like Sue never wavered.  If anything, my conviction became even stronger.

I often wonder if Mrs. Motter has any idea of the influence she had on me.  Her love of children and love of learning keep me going even today, all these years later.  (Oh my gosh...that was 45 years ago!) I want my students to look at me the way I looked at her.  I want my students to know that I feel privileged  to spend my days with them, helping them  move toward their dreams.  And so to Mrs. Motter (my friend Sue), I say, "Thank you for launching me forward.  Thank you for helping me to build my dreams.  Thank you for everything you did to help me be who I am today.  Thank you."

Receiving and Accepting the Gift of Time Slice of Life Tuesday

I am not a very good patient. I have a hard time sitting still and being quiet, even though I know it's good for me. I've been absent from blogging since SOLC ended over a month ago for a couple of reasons. Graduate school and my health put a little detour in my plans. The last 2 months have been crazy busy...I worried and sweated through writing my first academic papers...I don't think they were up to par, but they were my first and I'll get better. (At least that's what I tell myself). I also said good-bye to my fourth graders for the school year because I had to have surgery last week, which meant getting lesson plans done for 5 weeks and 24 reading assessments completed before I left.

Thankfully, everything is fine and I'm healing well, but like I said above, I'm not very good at being still. So for the next four weeks, I have to take it easy. I can take short walks (and the weather is perfect for that), go for short drives (ice cream anyone?), and of course, I will have time to read and write. Oh, heavens! I am so looking forward to blogging (I have a bunch of things I've been wanting to blog about) and reading. 

My Kindle is loaded up, my iced tea is brewed, and I am ready.  Some of the books I'm looking forward to reading are: 

This came in the mail today.  Thank you Penny Kittle!

You can preview this online at http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewprd.asp?idProduct=9717

And I've already read and LOVED:

You can see I have a variety of personal reads and professional reads.  And I haven't gotten anything yet to help me get ready for our trip to Turkey in June.  :)  I really am looking forward to this time for renewal, reflection, and peace.  I will accept this time as a gift and make the most of every moment.

Thank you to Ruth and Stacey for hosting Slice of Live Tuesdays. You can read more posts at their blog.

Huh? Slice of Life 2013

Now that the Slice of Life Challenge is over, I am going to work very hard at posting a SOL piece every Tuesday.  Thanks to Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers for hosting.

You know those AT&T commercials with the kids sitting around a table or on the floor?  A man in a suit and tie sit with them and ask them questions and the kids just take off with their answers.  I laugh out loud at these commercials.  My friend and I are pretty sure that these conversations are unrehearsed.  They just sound too much like what kids would say.









 Today, I felt like I was in one of those commercials.  We were doing a science experiment on the conservation of matter.  Kids had balances with brass weights at their table groups along with balls of clay and an observation sheet.  Before they started the activity, I asked them a question to get them thinking.

"Make a prediction.  Will the weight of a ball of clay stay the same if you flatten the ball into a pancake shape?  Explain your thinking."

I got a variety of answers.  Many students thought that the weight would increase because the piece of clay would take up more space and the therefore, the weight would increase.

Others thought that the weight would stay the same.  There is no matter being added or taken away, so there shouldn't be a difference.

I walked around checking in with each group and jotting notes about each child's understanding of the concept.

I got to the 5th group and stopped to check in.  2 of the boys thought the weight would increase when the clay was flattened and one thought the weight would stay the same.  Then I came to N.  He said, "I think the clay will get lighter."

Hmmm...he was the first one to answer that way.  "Explain your thinking to me," I asked him.

He very confidently replied, "Well you know, the pancake is going to be thinner and skinnier.  It's not going to be as thick when you flatten it.  So, you know, it's skinnier.  You know when people get skinnier, they weigh less.  And it's the same with cows.  When cows get skinnier, they don't weigh as much either."

Cows?  I had to pause for a bit as my mind immediately went to the AT&T man sitting in the circle with a group of small children. I kept a serious look on my face as I thanked him for sharing his thinking.

Cows.  I'm not sure how the concept of cows came into this thinking, but somehow they did.  I was reminded once again that I never know for sure what is going to come up in conversation when I'm talking with a 10 year-old.

The End of the Challenge #31 of 30

Today ends the Slice of Life Challenge, which makes me a little sad and gives me a bit of relief too.  I have so enjoyed reading the many different stories that people have posted and I've gotten to know some new folks too.  It's always amazing to me the community that forms when writers get together.

I'm anxious to see my students and talk with them about the challenge.  We've been on spring break, so they've had to be on their own to finish the challenge.  A few of them blogged their slices, and I was able to keep up with them.  But for the most part, the kids chose to write in their journals.  I look forward to reading them when I return back to school.  I learn so much about my students when we do the SOL challenge.

I plan on continuing with Tuesday slicers. I fell off the wagon last year after a month or so.  This year, I will try it again and hopefully, I'll stay on the wagon.  :)  I so love this community of writers and appreciate the support I receive.

Thank you so much to Ruth and Stacey for hosting the Slice of Life Challenge.  It's been a great month of writing, reading, and learning with so many wonderful people.

Better Baking Slice of Life Challenge 2013 #30 of 31

I love baking and I especially love baking with friends.  There's something about working closely with someone to create something delicious.  Kate and I teach together and we planned a baking day for Spring Break.  Kate likes to bake as much as I do and she is a wonderful cook.  So, I knew we were up to try something a bit challenging.  I've been wanting to make French Macarons forever.  When I suggested that we make these, Kate agreed.  I should probably tell you that Kate always says, "yes" when I suggest a project at school (and I say yes to her ideas too).  However, sometimes Kate regrets saying yes to my ideas because they often get a little complicated.  I was hoping she wouldn't regret macaron making.

She arrived early Friday morning with a bag of ingredients, ready to go.  I had spent the previous evening reading up on the art of macarons.  This baking day was not going to be a back-of-the-bag recipe adventure. We reread the directions, decided who was going to do what, and got started.  We measured, weighed, whipped, and folded ingredients.  Then came piping the dough onto the parchment paper.  Sticky, almondy goo oozed all over our hands.  We laughed over and over again through our trials and errors.  As we worked,  Kate discovered that the combination of my affinity to cooksillustrated.com and my addiction to Amazon.com has afforded me some neat kitchen gadgets.  She started a wish list of things to get for her kitchen.  Then she saw my basket filled with an assortment of baking chips.  (I have quite the assortment.)  I know she thinks I'm a little crazy to have so many.  In my defense, I can pretty much whip up any kind of cookie without having to run to the grocery first.

Next step:  filling the cookies. We made vanilla cookies with lemon buttercream and chocolate with coffee buttercream.  (I know, YUM, right?)  Then we were ready to do the taste test.  They didn't look exactly like they were supposed to, but the taste was exceptional.  We decided that we make a good baking team.

Later in the evening, friends converged upon my house laden with food and beverages.  Kate and I arranged our macarons on a platter and added them to the bounty.  They were a hit with everyone!  We spent the evening telling stories, laughing, reminiscing, and of course, eating.  It was the perfect way to end the day. There's nothing better than spending time with good friends who are always there for each other no matter what.

You can read Kate's blog post here and get her perspective on the day.  Her class is participating in the Slice of Life Challenge too.

Thanks to Ruth and Stacey for hosting Slice of Life Challenge.  You can view other slices at their site.