March 2019 SOLC–Day 16
A huge thank you to Two Writing Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
http://www.twowritingteachers.org

As much as I was looking forward to the end of the week, I was dreading it as well. This will not be a weekend. It is already over-scheduled with school work (reading, scoring, writing comments, planning…), and I’ll be back at school on Monday having had no substantial time to refresh.

I also feel unhappy about the week behind me. As we all tried to adjust to the clock change, the trimester ground to a halt. We administered assessment after assessment. Everyone was tired and on top of it, I was stressed. That combination doesn’t lead to creative or patient teaching. Put simply, I haven’t been my best self.

Then, next week, we’re headed into state-mandated testing, so we’ve been prepping for that as well. I feel like a cog in a big ugly machine right now, running right over the children I’m supposed to be teaching, encouraging, supporting…bypassing their needs as I tend to the demands of the system.

At the end of the day Friday, I sat at my desk, discouraged, trying to find the energy to stuff everything I could possibly need into my bags. I contemplated the coming weekend, the past week, and the weeks to come. Every dormant herpes simplex cell in my body quivered at attention, happily feeding on the incoming stress, ready to blossom at the slightest encouragement. I had to “detox”, at least a little.

Finally, I picked up the phone.

“Hey, Kurt,” I said when he answered, “You know what I really want to do?”

“What?” he asked, somewhat hesitantly.

“I want to drive to Portland and go get a giant piece of cheese-dripping pizza at Slab. Maybe even two.”

He laughed. “You want to drive all the way to Portland to get a piece of pizza?” he asked.

“Yes!” I replied somewhat desperately, “A big cheesy piece of pizza! I need a break. If I go straight home I’m going to start writing or working, and I want to hang out with you. I really need to get away.” I paused, then continued, “Also, if I’m going to eat pizza, I want it to be really good pizza!”

After some discussion, Kurt, good guy that he is, agreed that, while pizza wouldn’t be his first choice of a meal if we were driving half an hour into the city, he was okay with it.

So, I packed up, hefted my bulging bags into the car, and drove home. Forty-five minutes later we were on our way.

We enjoyed ourselves.

The pizza was delicious.

And now it’s time to work.

March 2019 SOLC–Day 15
A huge thank you to Two Writing Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
http://www.twowritingteachers.org

I pulled in the driveway almost 12 hours after I’d pulled out. It had been another long day in a string of long days. Kurt’s car wasn’t there, so I knew I’d just missed him and that he’d already headed out to a meeting.

I walked up the snowy path, laden with bags and the weight of multiple unscored assessments, unwritten report card comments, and incomplete teaching plans. Sigh. The work day wasn’t over yet.

Walking in the door, I immediately smelled something. Kurt must have cooked dinner for himself before heading out. We have very different dietary preferences, so now that the kids have flown the nest, we rarely eat the same thing. I wondered what he’d made, and what I was going to make for my dinner. If anything. Even thinking about making dinner felt like a big effort. Cereal, maybe?

“Oh, that smells like baked potato,” I said out loud, walking further into the house. Then I thought (or maybe said aloud ’cause who knows these days!), “Oh! Now I want a baked potato. That sounds sooo good. Ooooh!  And I’m going to steam up some broccoli, too.” I started to feel enthusiasm for my dinner plans, pedestrian though they were, and I could feel my mood shifting and my energy level rising.

I dumped my gear in the family room, then headed into the kitchen, ready to start cooking. I walked over to the stove to turn it on.

Wait….what’s that?

There on the stovetop waiting for me, was one perfectly beautiful and still warm baked potato. Next to it, in a pot, was some freshly steamed broccoli. I stood and stared. Then a smile spread across my face.

Mood shift complete.

My husband.

My hero.

March 2019 SOLC–Day 14
A huge thank you to Two Writing Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
http://www.twowritingteachers.org

On a recent Friday we met the kindergartners in their classroom. The room was a buzz of activity. The little ones were working on lining up, each one clutching a piece of paper in his/her small hand. This was the day they were going to share their writing at the K-2 Assembly, and we had been invited to come along, to enjoy their final pieces and support them if necessary.

My fourth grade class has been reading with kindergarten buddies since early in the school year. Last month, the Kindergarten teacher and I decided to try having them write together. Both classes separately listened to a mentor text (Mel Evan’s the tiniest sound) and then came together to write their own response to the question “What is the tiniest sound?” The book is a lovely poetic piece, inspiring creative thought and interesting word choice. Fourth graders supported their buddies as they wrote, reminding them use their “sound power” to write down each sound they heard.

It was a delight to watch them work together. I saw one of my less-than-focused struggling readers try over and over to encourage her wiggly, wandering buddy.

“Ok, now say the word. Squeak. What sound do you hear at the beginning? S-s-s-s-s-squeak.”

She was determined and persistent, thoroughly engaged in this work with her small companion. He remained distracted, but she never gave up.

Then on Friday we walked into assembly and my fourth graders sat behind their buddies.

“I love this,” a teacher next to me stated. She gestured toward a kindergartner who was being quietly encouraged by his fourth grade partner to sit quietly. “He’s already been sitting for longer than he ever has at assembly!”

Soon the kindergartners were standing, facing the audience with my students beside them. Behind them, their responses were displayed on a large screen. Each child took the microphone, read his or her piece from their paper and then handed the microphone along. As they read, sometimes they hesitated. When necessary, my fourth graders bent down, encouraged and occasionally whispered the necessary words to them. Their support was perfect–subtle and positive.

“I just love this,” the teacher next to me commented again.

Me, too.