Tag Archives: SOLC 2025

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SOLC Day 31: With Thanks

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 31
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 just finished reading “The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year” by Margaret Renkl. It’s been my companion for weeks and weeks now. It was my “breakfast book”–the one I read every day before school while I’m eating my cereal. Knowing I could turn to Margaret Renkl’s eloquent words each morning was a gift, and I turned the last page with thanks and sorrow. I will miss it.

Finishing Renkl’s book on the last day of the challenge feels particularly appropriate, as participating in the challenge has been a gift as well. This has been a year when being a part of a supportive community has felt more necessary than ever. At times, it’s been like putting on an oxygen mask. I know I can come here and breathe.

This was my eleventh year participating, and I always have such mixed feelings when the month ends. To be honest, first there’s a rush of relief. Oh, no slice to ponder over today! But then there’s regret–I wish I’d read more, commented more, had time to linger and learn. Each post I’ve read has enriched me in some way or another. Sometimes it’s a turn of phrase, or a new perspective. Sometimes it’s a shared feeling or a new connection. And I know, even as I celebrate its end, that I will miss it, too.

As I read “The Comfort of Crows”, I highlighted and underlined along the way. Sometimes I simply wrote “Yes! This whole chapter!” (It really is fabulous, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.) Renkl ends her book with these words: “I am far from feeling any confidence in the future, but when I look at the busy tableau before me, something flutters inside — something that feels just a little bit like hope.”

Obviously, she was not referring to writing in the Slice of Life Challenge, but those words sum it up for me quite nicely. Looking at this tablueau–at all of you, at all of us, sharing our lives, our highs, our lows, our dreams and our sorrows in this community– is, ultimately, hopeful. In a time of division and schism, we’ve opted to take the time to make connections. Right now, that truly is priceless.

Margaret Renkl also wrote, “If you never close your thumb around your fingers, you will make of your hand a sanctuary. You will make of your hand safe passage to the world.” Her reference was the natural world, but it occurs to me, that as we type or write with pen or pencil, our hands are cupped or open. There are no fists here.

So, thanks to all of you for building this community and a heartfelt thanks to TWT for the opportunity to do so. It’s been a privilege to write alongside all of you this month. I hope I’ll see you on some upcoming Tuesdays (although maybe not tomorrow! lol). Be well and thank you.

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SOLC Day 30: Every Drop Counts

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 30
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

The first drop, the one that started the whole thing, was a slice.

Earlier this month Mary Lee Hahn wrote about a book, The Little Hummingbird. Based on her recommendation, I ordered it for my classroom. When it arrived, I texted her and here’s what happened next (read left column and then right):

Then, late one afternoon, after conferring with the art teacher and gathering supplies, I settled down on the rug, book in hand, students gathered around me, and started reading. They were rapt.

After I closed the book, talk bubbled up.

“I liked that,” one kid volunteered.

“It’s kinda like a cliffhanger,” J said, a bit disgruntled by the ending. “I kinda want to write the author and ask him to write another one.” She frowned.

“It’s not gonna work,” said V., referring to the hummingbird’s actions.

“Well, maybe if the other animals see the hummingbird getting water, they will, too, and then it will make a difference,” H. volunteered.

“Maybe the author can write a series,” J. persisted. “I don’t like cliffhangers.”

M. added her two cents, “I think it’s saying that you should just always do what you can do.”

“Well, there was a lot of emotion,” another student said, “and that made me interested in it.”

After our conversation died off, I explained that, inspired by the book, Mary Lee had made some prints and she had sent some to us so that we could paint them. The kids cheered. I showed them the prints and pointed out the small words under the design, “Every drop counts.”

They were practically delirious with excitement.

“What!? We get to paint!”

Soon enough painting was underway, and the room was a hum of happy voices and activity. It reminded me, painfully, how rarely I incorporate art or any type of extension activity into the classroom. I get so caught up in the demands of the curriculum, that there’s no bandwidth left to plan and organize these type of enriching activities. This one only happened because Mary Lee dropped it neatly into my lap. I was simultaneously delighted by the interactions and activity around me, and slightly depressed.

The principal happened to be in my room later that afternoon, and saw all the prints drying. He asked about it and I gave him the Cliff Notes version. “These are great!” he said. I agreed and said something about how I wish we could do more things like this.

The next day he stopped back to touch base about a student before heading into a meeting. He gestured to the prints. “There isn’t time to talk about it now, but I want to circle back to what you said about not having time to do these kinds of things,” he said. “They really are important in elementary education, and I’d like to talk about what’s getting in the way. Let’s have a conversation about this later.”

We’ll see what happens, but I love that it all started with a slice.

Thanks again, Mary Lee, for so generously sharing your recommendation and your creativity.

Every drop counts.

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SOLC Day 29: Uninvited Guests

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 29
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 like winter, really I do, but I’ve been having to remind myself of that lately. I haven’t been too convincing either, so this weekend’s Winter Weather Advisory was uninvited and unwelcome. Sort of like when someone announces they’re stopping by your house to visit. There’s no graceful way to bow out. No escape. Ready or not, here they come! (This, of course, is a purely hypothetical example.)

So, I grumbled and complained more than once on Friday, along with most of my colleagues (except for one, who offered to send me happy photos of her skiing with her family. I declined). But as I left work, chatting with a different colleague, she made a good point. She noted that it was probably one of the last weekends of enforced down time –which is one of my favorite things about winter. Any pressing yard work that had been uncovered during the recent thaw would just have to wait, she said. That thought stuck.

This morning, when I woke up around 4 am, I knew I couldn’t go out and about sunrise-wandering, so I rolled over and fell back asleep. At 5 am, I did it again. And then again at 5:30. Ultimately, I finally slid out of bed around 6 am (crazy late for me!) and meandered downstairs to start the day.

In my pre-storm grumpiness, I’d forgotten that the birds always make a showing at the feeders during snowstorms: During spring-ish snow storms, there’s even a wider variety of visitors. By the time I’d had a couple of cups of coffee and filled the feeders, the birds were out in full force in a constant flutter and flash outside the windows. There were juncos, nuthatches, titmice, mourning doves, cardinals, my beloved Carolina wren, blue jays, house finches, goldfinches, chickadees, and downy woodpeckers. There were fox sparrows, song sparrows and other sparrows I can’t even begin to identify. (My husband and I call them LBJs, or little brown jobs.) Then a flock of red-winged blackbirds flew in, and a few starlings came by as well. Oh! The male and female bluebirds kept stopping by, too. Every time I started to get something done (like writing a slice!), the avian show enticed me away from productivity and into presence.

Here are a few photos from this morning. Most of them were taken through the windows. The birds don’t love it when I linger outside, and, for some reason, my husband doesn’t love it when I open the windows in winter to take pictures. Go figure! (I try to wait until he leaves the room, but he’s been annoyingly present this morning. lol )

All in all, It’s been a lovely, leisurely morning. Sometimes, I guess, uninvited guests (of any variety) can turn out to be exactly what you need. The show is still going on here, and my attention keeps getting pulled outside. What was that? What was that? What was that? lol Soon I’ll make some lunch and brew up a cappuccino, and then I’ll settle in with a book. I’m sure the birds will continue to entertain me throughout the day.

Ahhhhh….Why was I even complaining?

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SOLC Day 28: The Weather is NOT cooperating!

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 28
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

After practically sleepwalking through yesterday (sleepless from 2 am on), I woke feeling refreshed and upbeat this morning. Woot! It’s Friday!!!

It’s been a doozy of a week! Several times I’ve almost used the 6 word memoir format for my posts–something along the lines of :

Conference week. Moving slower every day.

(Or some other grim alternatives that came to mind, but I hesitated to share here due to concerns with who might be reading my blog and what might skirt into the personally identifiable information zone. It’s such a balancing act of creation and curation, isn’t it?)

But it’s Friday now, and no matter that next week is already looking equally challenging (rescheduled conferences from our snowstorm last Monday, several after school meetings, etc.), I’m excited for the weekend. I’m yearning to get down to the marsh or the beach for some sunrise wandering, photography and general rejuvenation. The past few weekends it’s either been dicey driving (ice, snow), free-falling feels-like temps with howling winds, or just an overwhelming volume of work. I am so ready to get out there!

I pick up my phone and see the headline, “Accumulating snow in Maine Saturday with more wintry mix behind it…”

What!? Oh, no! My spirits fall. I try to rally. Well, maybe the snow will arrive later in the day and I can still get out in the morning?

I click on the link and scan the forecast rapidly. My spirits sink. Ugh…


Clearly I need to recalibrate my weekend plans. Sigh…

Well, at least it’s still Friday!

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SOLC Day 27 and PF: Fun With Collective Nouns

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 27
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

This post also serves as a Poetry Friday piece today. If you’re interested in checking out what’s on offer poetically, Marcie Flinchum Atkins is hosting the Roundup at her blog.

I’m a big fan of words and I’m especially delighted by collective nouns. Collective nouns for birds always tickle my fancy. I know that there’s a parliament of owls, a charm of goldfinches and a murder of crows. Then I discovered this winter that a group of titmice is called a banditry. How cool is that?

Just now I googled a group of butterflies. It can be called a swarm, or ….are you ready? …a kaleidoscope! Ah-mazing! I love that so much!

It’s 100% fun to make up your own collective nouns though, and I highly recommend it. I will warn you though–it’s addictive! How about a gift of bluebirds? A cacophany of students? Or a plague of houseguests? Oh! Maybe a hemorrhoid of houseguests? lol See what I mean!? Collective nouns can also express some deep and darker emotions. How about these: a complicity of judges? a cesspool of Senators? a hypocrisy of evangelists? an abdication of Republicans?

As I’ve been jotting down ideas, I thought it might be fun to write some small poems with created collective nouns. I have inadvertently gone with a flower theme. Maybe it’s my yearning for the arrival of spring? Anyway, they might not all work, but it’s been fun playing!

from drab winter debris
a chorus of crocuses
rises and sings

©Molly Hogan

a dizziness of daisies
spins across the field
the day tilts to joy

©Molly Hogan

a pride of dandelions
runs rampant across the lawn
seeding future wishes

©Molly Hogan

Can you add a favorite collective noun to the mix? A known one, or one that you’ve created? I’d love to see it in the comments!

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SOLC Day 26: Fun With Phonics

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 26
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

We were examining the ways to spell the “cher” sound, with the aim of introducing the “ture” ending. Students were contributing lots of ideas and we had a running list on the board, in two columns:

“ture”
nature
future
adventure
creature
picture

“cher”
teacher
bleacher
pitcher
catcher

Our list was longer, but this gives you an idea. Toward the end of our word gathering, a student called out, “What about amateur?”

“Yes! That definitely has the “cher” sound,” I said. “It comes from a French word, I think, so it’s spelled a different way. I’m not positive how to spell it,” I confessed, “but let me try and see if it looks right.”

amateur

I wrote it on the board and looked at it. “Hmmmm….I think that’s right.”

At that point, another teacher entered the room. We immediately consulted her, and happily she confirmed my spelling. As she left with a few students, I asked the remaining kids, including the student who’d volunteered the word, “Do you know what amateur means?”

They did not, so I explained that an amateur is someone who doesn’t get paid for what they are doing. They usually do it a lot and enjoy it, but aren’t paid. We talked about a professional versus an amateur in sports. The kids nodded sagely.

The next job was for them to write silly tongue twisters on sentence strips using as many words with the “cher” sound as they could. They had a fantastic, giggling time writing things like: “Don’t take a picture of my teacher in a bleacher.” or “The creature in the bleacher took a picture of my teacher.”

Toward the end of our work time, C. came up to me and proudly showed me his creation. It was only then that I realized I hadn’t fully explained the meaning of the word “amateur.” I forgot to include the second part of the definition: “a person who is incompetent or inept at a particular activity.”

I’m still not certain if his sentence was a subtle insult to me, or an indictment of the teacher pay scale. I’m pretty sure, though, that it was just an innocent misunderstanding. Either way it’s hanging on my classroom wall with all the others, loudly proclaiming to all visitors:

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SOLC Day 25: Whiplash Weather

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 25
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

Friday:
It was a rainy, raw day and we spent both recesses inside, a rare thing indeed. As we were cleaning up from lunch recess, a student shouted, “Hey! It’s snowing!” A tidal wave of kids rushed to the windows to watch, oohing and aahing over the sight. Even in Maine, where snow is a frequent occurrence, the wonder of it never ceases. 

We returned from lunch to even larger flakes tumbling from leaden skies. Big clumps of snow exerting another large gravitational pull to the windows.

“Those aren’t snowflakes! They’re snowpuffs!” L declared. A few students giggled.

“Yeah! Snowpuffs!” they repeated. 

“The snowpuffs descended to heaven,” L stated dramatically. He’s not one to play with words, so this was an unexpected, if a little confusing, delight.  

His peers were certainly impressed with his wordplay.

Saturday:

Walking in the yard, listening to the birds, I stumbled upon a purple jubilation of crocuses in the front garden. A burst of glorious color.  I knelt to admire them, my heart lifting. A small moment of promise and hope.

Sunday:

The day dawned fair and bright. It was so lovely that the winds came out to play, tossing the trees about and sending clouds scudding across the skies. “Feels-like” temperatures feel into the teens….along with my inclination to go for a hike.

Monday:

The day began with worry. Would there be a snow day? An early release? They were calling for snow to begin in the late morning. Would we be able to go on our field trip? 

Happily, the weather cooperated (at least momentarily), and we did manage to squeak in the trip to see a top-notch production of “A Year with Frog and Toad”. 

After we returned to school, the flakes began to fall almost immediately . By the end of the day, all after school events, including the first night of Parent Teacher conferences, had been cancelled. The drive home was white-knuckled and extended.

I later learned that two of our school buses were involved in accidents. Thankfully no one was injured, but I’m sure there were some seriously frightened students. 

Spring in Maine is quite an adventure. Who knows what today will bring!

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SOLC Day 24: Personality Insights?

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 24
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

Earlier this month humbleswede mentioned something about his Myers-Briggs type. Hey, I’ve got one of those, too, I thought. I dimly remembered a long ago session of completing the survey, and discussing the results. I had absolutely no recall for what they were though. 

Motivated to unravel the secrets of my personality (since apparently I didn’t pay enough attention the first time around), I got up and started digging. First, I looked in a likely spot (the file box) and within minutes (Wonder of wonders! Miracle of miracles!), there was a drab looking manila folder, neatly labeled Myers-Briggs, in my hand. 

I opened it up and pulled out a pile of papers. The top one, slightly yellowed and crisp, read: “Your results from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.(MBTI)” My eyes skimmed quickly down the page, looking for the big reveal. Ah….there it was! “YOUR TYPE CAME OUT INTJ.”

Clearly, I didn’t pay much attention when this was revealed to me back in (I take a quick peek) 2004, because I really can’t remember what any of that means, except I’m pretty sure the “I” means introvert. And that tracks.

So I start to look a little deeper. There’s a handy summary on the back, titled, “Brief Descriptions of the 16 Types.” INTJ reads: 

“Logical, critical, decisive INNOVATOR of ideas; serious, intent, highly independent, concerned with organization, determined and often stubborn.” 

I sit with that for a minute. It doesn’t feel quite right. I’m not so sure about that “innovator of ideas” thing or the “highly independent.” Also, anyone who ventures into my classroom, might legitimately question the organization part of this. I will agree with stubborn –as will my husband. And my fourth grade teacher. (Maybe I should write a slice about how that teacher commented that I could be as stubborn as a mule…on my report card! In his defense, he’d first written about how he’d had a really good dream of having a class full of students just like me, and how wonderful that would be… It now occurs to me that my recently composed report card comments were a little bland.)

I flip back over to the front page. It states that the MBTI  it reports a “person’s preferred ways of attending to the world and making decisions.” There are four scales with pairs of opposite preferences: Extraversion and Introversion, Sensing and Intuition, Thinking and Feeling, and Judgment and Perception. Each has a quick explanation, and the examiner had marked where my preference lay. For example, on the Extraversion-Introversion scale, I had a clear preference for Introversion. Like I said, that tracks.

But as I continued examining this page, here’s the most interesting thing I noticed. Next to each completed scale, the “examiner” had noted how many questions I’d omitted answering. Overall, I’d chosen not to answer 16 questions. What!?? How many questions were there? How accurate could these results be? Also, isn’t that very fact perhaps the most telling personality characteristic of all? Ironically, I’d omitted the most questions on the scale that ended up marking me as showing a clear preference for Judgment, which in part is defined by “acting by organizing, planning, deciding”. 

Well, I guess I’m going to have to look to other sources for the definitive insights into my personality. Can I get a redo of the MBTI? Or maybe I’ll try Enneagram? Any other ideas out there?

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SOLC Day 23: Tuning in

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 23
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

click click click

The sound pulls me out of my notebook. Is that a bird call of sorts or a bird rebuke? Do I need to fill the feeders?

I tune in. The Carolina wren doesn’t disappoint, releasing its buoyant call, and seemingly within moments, bird song erupts from all over the yard. It crescendos and soon there is a full chorus of song. A burst of trills and calls before the sun has even cleared the horizon. This joyous morning spring chorus never fails to make me smile.

I take the hint and move outside to fill the feeders, then remain outside to watch the wren. It perches atop the tangle of wisteria vines. Periodically, it tilts its head back and sings, a full feathered vibration from head to tail, its entire body engaged in song making. (Click on the photo if you want to hear its song!)

Every morning I have a front row seat to a free symphony. All I have to do these days is tune in. So I stay outside, in my robe and slippers, and let the bird song wash over me–my shoulders relax and shift downward. The omnipresent weight of stress lightens and drifts away. I listen to the wren, and watch the aerial parade of birds–cardinals, jays, mourning doves, titmice, juncos, chickadees, nuthatches, house finches, and more! Beneath the feeders, the gorgeous russet fox sparrows scratch through the leaf litter. I thrill at the sight of these infrequent visitors.

Then, through the trees, I see a flash of white and a muscular pulse of large wings. Is that an eagle? I walk slowly over to the side yard and Yes! It is! I watch a bald eagle settle into the top of a nearby pine. Standing there, I hear the call of geese, now winging northward, and watch their V fly overhead through a crisscross of overhead branches.

Eventually I wander out back and see a flash of blue. Oh! A bluebird is at the birdhouse. Will he nest? He pokes his head in and out, scoping out its potential. I marvel at his indigo feathers and warm rusty chest.

A quick glance reveals that the eagle departed while I wasn’t watching. Meanwhile, the Carolina wren continues to sing. It’s changed its location, but I can still hear it, and the red bellied woodpecker calls repeatedly from the tall trees in the front yard. I can’t see either of them now amidst the tangle of trunks and branches. Still, the knowledge of their presence, and their song, is a gift. When I take the time to listen.

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SOLC Day 22: Jersey Day

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 22
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

My hands remain empty.

It’s a small thing, right? Nothing to get upset about. My Patriots shirt is a poor substitute, but it could work. Even if it’s not what I want.

But where can it be? 

I yank the clothes off my closet shelves, quickly sorting, refolding, searching. 

Where is it?

Where did I go?

It’s bright blue. It shouldn’t be hard to find. 

I wrack my brain trying to figure out where I put it. It has to be here somewhere.

In his obituary it stated, “a lifelong and frustrated fan of Detroit sports teams.” And I’m sure I wrote a poem once, in gratitude to the Lions for the distraction they offered him as he wasted away.

Kurt surprised me with this jersey the Christmas after he died. This jersey I can’t find. I sobbed when I pulled it out of the box.

Giving up my search as time runs out, I quickly search for that poem on my computer (I know I wrote one! Is that lost, too?), and somehow his obituary pops up.

And suddenly…there’s his face.

Oh.

My hand lifts as if to touch the screen.

“I miss you Dad,” I whisper.

Later, I step into the rainy morning wearing the Patriots t-shirt. But what’s missing weighs me down.

All. Day. Long.