Tag Archives: SOLC 2025

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SOLC Day 21: Dress Like a Teacher Day Revisited

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 21
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

Back on Tuesday, I wrote about my student, R, who dressed like me on Dress like a Teacher Day. You can click to read that post, or here’s the summary: She was planning how to look like me and after talking about hair, earrings, etc. suddenly, to my surprise, asked me if I “wear bras.” (I think it’s much funnier in the longer version!) Anyway, I happened to run into her mother today at school.

“Oh, how did you like R’s attempt to look like you on Dress Like a Teacher Day?” she asked.

“She was great!” I said, “I have to tell you what she asked me.”

“Oh my God,” the mom, said, interrupting, “I know! She told us! I almost wrote you an e-mail to apologize!”

I laughed. “It was fine,” I said, “and it definitely made me laugh later.” ( I did not feel that I should mention I’d written a blog post about it!)

The mom continued, “I was like ‘R, was there at least any context when you asked her?’ and she thought for a few seconds and then was like, ‘No’.”

“She’s so funny! There definitely was context. She was making her plan on the way out to the bus, talking about straightening her hair, wearing dangly earrings, etc.” I gestured at my as-always dangling earrings.

“Oh, I know all about the plan,” laughed the mom. “We had to figure it all out. But I told her she shouldn’t have asked you that and she just shrugged. Then she said, ‘I guess she’s just not a bra-wearing kind of girl!’ “

“What!?” I exclaimed.

“My husband and I were dying!” she said.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure how to respond in that moment. I wanted to protest “I didn’t tell her if I wore a bra or not!” but that seemed a bit ridiculous. And, just for the record, I didn’t respond to the original question, and I’m not quite sure how R made that determination. (The mind boggles.) But she’s a kid with strong opinions and no hesitation stating them.

“Well, good to see you,” I said, and hastily made my retreat.

Thank goodness spirit week ended today!

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SOLC Day 20: 5 Things I Did Instead of Writing My Slice

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 20
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 couldn’t wrap my head around creating a blog post draft last night and this morning wasn’t much better. Here’s a list of what I did instead of writing a blog post.

  1. I spent a lot of time repeatedly cursed the cat as she insisted quite vocally on going outside and coming inside. And going outside and coming inside. “Just ignore her!” I can hear some of you thinking. Well, you don’t know my cat. She’s deceptively cute, but if you do know her, she’s intimidating on a good day and scary on a bad one. When she’s inside and wants out, she starts prowling about and yowling. She’s been known to strike unprovoked. So I let her out. Good riddance! But, when she’s outside and wants in, she perches in the window and scratches horrifically at the glass. SCREEECH!!!! SCREEEEEEECH!!! There’s no winning this battle.
  2. I saw a new e-mail from Brad Montague in my Inbox. The title caught my eye: “A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to Being “Ready”: Revealing Who You Are Even When It is Embarrassing.” So I read that (and it’s well worth the read) and contemplated becoming a paid subscriber. I love his posts, but will I actually find the time to read them all?
    https://bradmontague.substack.com/p/a-funny-thing-happened-on-my-way?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1301215&post_id=159268976&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ys61&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
  3. Then I remembered Brad Montague’s short video story about Space Bear and spent five minutes or so trying to find it again so I could get a little hit of happy. Then I watched it multiple times. You can, too! (You’re welcome.)
    https://www.tiktok.com/@bradmontague/video/7368656853242219818
  4. Next, I remembered that somewhere on line, I’d stumbled upon a group called Big Night Maine yesterday. This group heads out in the spring to help amphibians survive road crossings. I checked out getting certified, joining a local volunteer in their “patch”, and overall, just spent way too much time investigating and looking at the map of nearby sites. I’m very tempted to do this…But heading out around 8 pm!? I need to consider carefully…
  5. Finally, I wrote a list of all the things I could have been slicing about and wasn’t. (Maybe I will later?) It’s funny how certain things feel like a good idea, but just don’t pull you to write about them in the moment. I mean, why haven’t I written about getting stuck in the car wash this month? Or about my serendipitous sighting of a woodcock yesterday? Or about the repeated notes from one of my students? It’s a mystery!

So, that’s what happened this morning instead of writing a slice. Except, I suddenly realized I could write about it and, more or less, turn it into a slice. Funny how that works!

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SOLC Day 19: Another Slice from Spirit Week

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 19
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 arrived at the cafeteria to pick up my class from lunch, and A. raced up to me. “G. has lost her voice!” she announced as dramatically as G. could have hoped. “She can’t talk at all!”

“Oh,” I responded, “Well, I’m sure she’ll be fine. Thank you for telling me. Find a spot in line.”

Inside of me, a small Hallelujah chorus erupted. 

A few moments later we were back in the classroom for Quiet Time and G. approached.

“Can A. go with me?” she asked, in a gruff whisper. 

“What do you mean?” I asked, suspecting I knew where this was might be heading.

“To the nurse,” she continued, “so she can explain about my voice. Since I can’t talk.”

Side note: I deserve an honorarium for the amount of time I spend deterring kids from visiting the nurse. I honestly do. My mantra is that you go to see our overworked nurse if you’re “broken, bleeding or barfing” and that’s about it. But, many second graders LOVE nurse visits and aren’t averse to wearing down teachers either.

“You don’t need to go to the nurse,” I reassured her. “This isn’t an emergency. Just make sure to drink plenty of water.”

G. looked at me. I looked back steadily. Slowly, she walked away. 

A few minutes later, she approached again with a note in hand. She handed the note to me and pointed repeatedly at her throat.

“I can bairly speek I basikly can’t! It is just getting worse!”

“G,” I said, struggling to keep a straight face, “the best thing you can do is to rest your voice. That’s what will make it better.” 

She slumped away, the very picture of dejection and misery. But fear not, as G. is unwavering in her pursuits, whatever they might be.

She approached soon afterward with an additional few sentences tagged on to her original note.

“It won’t worck it will just get worse plus I’ve already tryed resting it.”

“No, G,” I said gently. “You aren’t going to the nurse.”

Side note: Lest you think I’m heartless, please be aware that within 10 minutes of Quiet Time ending, G. was fully and verbally engaged in a collaborative drawing task with her group. It was a miraculous recovery!

And here’s a little more context….

Flash back to the beginning of the day, Day Two of Spirit Week, otherwise known as Dress Like a Teacher Day:

G. burst into the classroom.

“I’m Mr. L.” she announced happily. “See!” She pulled at a lanyard around her neck and pointed to the whistle hanging from it. 

Sidenote: Mr. L, our PE teacher, does not wear, and never has worn, a whistle on a lanyard around his neck. 

Additional side note: I immediately wondered if I had somehow offended her parents. 

G and I had a few discussions about the use of said whistle. Actually, it was pretty much just one conversation that sounded like: “If you blow that whistle again in the classroom, it will need to go into your bag and stay there until you’re back at home.” Honestly, after that, it went much better than I expected. I did notice it was often in her mouth (which kept me on my toes), but she didn’t blow it again.

Now, flash forward to the end of the day:

I was telling my colleague about G’s lost voice. 

“Oh!” she said, “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you!” She started laughing.

“What?” I asked.

“Well, at recess, G. blew her whistle. Mrs. M. told her she couldn’t use it any more. G. then began to screech loudly, apparently attempting to imitate the sound of her whistle. At full pitch. Over and over and over. Finally, she came up to me and told me that her throat hurt and she’d lost her voice. I explained that’s what happens when you try to sound like a whistle.”

We both laughed and shook our heads.

Spirit Week throws a wild card into the week. Tomorrow is Western Wednesday. I’m already wondering what that will bring into the classroom…

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SOLC Day 18: Spirit Week

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 18
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

Spirit Week used to be less frequent and I liked it more. Somehow it’s become a regular feature in our school calendar and like Ebeneezer, I sometimes want to say “Bah Humbug!” The kids, of course, love it and these days, it’s actually the Middle School Student Council who comes up with each plan.

Monday was easy as it was Green Day in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Today, Tuesday was Dress up like a Teacher Day. 

On Monday afternoon, R. was eyeing me oddly as we headed out to wait for the buses. 

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I’m going to be you tomorrow,” she announced.

“You are?” I asked.

“Yup,” she said, “I’m gonna straighten my hair and wear glasses. Oh, and I’m going to keep these dangly earrings in.”

“Well, I do love dangly earrings,” I replied, touching my finger to the ones I’d worn that day. 

“Or maybe I’ll wear hoops instead.”

“You know,” I said, “I don’t think I ever wear hoops. I might not even own a pair. The ones you have in now are pretty fun and dangly though.”

“Yup,” she continued, ignoring my contribution, “I’ll probably wear hoops.” 

We continued our walk down the hallway.

“Oh, and Mrs. Hogan?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you wear bras?”

(That sound you just heard was the echo of my jaw hitting the ground…from yesterday.)

“What?!” I asked, then continued, “R., that is not an appropriate question to ask someone.” 

She giggled. 

Another student piped up, “You know that inappropriate word that R. just used?”

I hastened to clarify, “It’s not an inappropriate word, it’s just not an appropriate question.”

“Well,” she said, blithely continuing, “I just call them spaghetti straps.”

Thankfully, by this time we’d reached the doors and I shooed both of them out toward the buses, my head still spinning. 

Today R skipped into class. Her hair was straightened. She was wearing big hoops (no big surprise!) and she had on a pair of lens-less glasses. She wore leggings and a turtleneck, which, let me assure you, is not my look.

“I’m a mini you!” she announced.

“Wow! You sure are,” I responded. 

Let me note for the record that I did not ask if she was wearing a bra! 

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SOLC Day 17: Fog

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 17
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 Sunday morning, I woke to fog. Air drenched with moisture. The world leached of color. All shadow and nuance.

The presence of fog creates absence. Fog suspends time, masking the advance of the day. It mutes the hum of distant traffic. Softens bird song. Fog is an audible hush. It creates a new space within existing space, blurring boundaries, circling inward. It poses questions about beginnings and endings. It elevates the ordinary into something more, something mystical. Fog prickles our senses. And, even as it blurs contours, fog brings the world into focus. Fog creates absence that opens up space for more presence.

So I left my desk, stepped out into the morning, and into the fog.

Who am I to deny an otherworldly invitation?

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SOLC Day 16: Cruising into the Weekend

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March 2025 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

We set off on our Weekend Cruise in our vessel, the Good Ship Subaru (GSS), with a packed itinerary. After embarking, our first port of call was breakfast with our children and various partners. We made good time and arrived to make festive, celebrating our middle child’s 30th birthday while consuming churros, huevos rancheros, etc. The sun burst forth to join in the fun, lighting up a forecasted grey and dismal day. Eventually, we hugged and waved as we all went our separate ways. What a lovely start to our voyage! It should be smooth sailing from here! 

The sun’s jaunty appearance enticed us to make an addition to our itinerary–an unplanned detour to the Land of Energetic Walkers. We joined these walkers and set off at a brisk pace on the 3½ mile loop around Back Cove, enjoying the local scenery and the wildlife. As we walked, the sun disappeared, the clouds moved in and the temperatures dropped. Our pace may have unbrisked a bit. Still, we completed the loop, a welcome addition to the day’s itinerary. 

We hopped back into the comfort and warmth of the GSS and set sail toward our home port. Once upon familiar ground, our stomachs still full and bodies now tired, we hit the Sea of Sloth. It lured us off course, and we were pulled into the Whirlpool of Afternoon Nap. After this unexpected detour, I awoke dizzied and disoriented, my companion still lost in the grips of the whirlpool. It was up to me to continue the journey!  

I glanced around. There, off in the distance was the Land Of My Significant Obligations (LOMSO). The most important destination of the day!  Far away, I could see the locals jumping about and waving. I could hear their disgruntled voices calling to me. They clamored for my attention. 

Determined to reach this destination, I righted my craft and headed to the Isle of Provisions to stock up for the journey. Upon returning, and after neatly stowing said provisions, I entirely lost my bearings! I somehow (rogue wave?) fell overboard into the Sea of Distractions, a body of water of vast proportions, filled with dazzling and fascinating creatures. By the time I finally wrested myself away from the tentacles of a tenacious wordy tome, night had fallen. Realizing it would be foolhardy to attempt the previously planned voyage in a state of fatigue and in the dark, I retreated.

Instead, I detoured to head to the Land of Slumber. Unfortunately, my voyage there was filled with uncomfortable tossing and turning. Throughout the attempted crossing, I swear I could hear voices of reproach and recrimination drifting over from LOMSO. Time and again, my vessel was nearly swamped with regrets. All in all, the visit to Slumber was not a great success. 

Upon abandoning the Island of Bed in the Land of Slumber this morning, I made plans to revise the day’s itinerary. The journey to LOMSO must happen! It is the PRIORITY! And soon! But the Sea of Distractions still beckons, and a dense fog has descended upon the land. Will I ever make my destination? Will I prevail?

Summary/Translation: I totally procrastinated yesterday on writing report card comments and sub plans and preparing for an IEP–not to mention general lesson planning. UGH!

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SOLC Day 15: A cherita

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March 2025 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

Blue skies and sunshine prevail

We head out for an afternoon walk
serenaded by chickadees and waxwings

We’re slipping back into the habit
of wrapping up each day
with a gift to ourselves

©Molly Hogan

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SOLC Day 14: Wordle-ing

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March 2025 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

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

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT read this if you haven’t played Wordle yet today!!!

I’m pretty sure there are many unrecognized psychological profiling “tells” in our daily lives. We’ve often joked at school that screeners should add a question about “takes shoes off in class”. (How many of you are nodding your heads right now?) Another one might be if you use the same word or different words each day when you play Wordle. I can see the point for each choice, but I do wonder what it says about us.

Wordle is an entrenched part of my morning routine. Full disclosure: I choose a different word every morning. I don’t know what the says about me, but I typically go with whatever feels right for that day, even if it doesn’t “feel” smart phonologically. Sometimes I’m trying to set a tone for the day. Sometimes I’m thinking about the weather. Sometimes a word just pops into my head. I’ve used the word “tired” a lot this year.

This morning I pulled up the screen. What should I start with?

I glanced at the almost-over lunar eclipse out my window, and regretted not rising in the wee hours to see if the clouds had dispersed. Oh, well. Moon is too short….moony? Nah, that’s not a word …Is it?

I hesitated, then moved on. Peace? That sounds good except the double e feels risky on a first guess.

“Clear” popped into my head. This one combined the unexpectedly clear skies, and also felt like a nice tone for the day.

I typed it in. C L E A R.

1 yellow and 1 green. Not too bad.

Next guess?

Here’s where more phonics comes into play.

I don’t think the “c” will come right before the e…that’s not too common…though “scene would work”… “c” is also probably not the last letter because that would need a vowel before it and the letter before that’s an e…does anything end in “eic”? It could end in “ect” though….erect? Oh, no, there’s no “r” in the word so that can’t be it. Eject? Elect? Either one of those would work. Hmmmm….I don’t think the Wordle makers want to touch on “elect” as anything with the whiff of politics feels deadly these days…although the word was “greed” the other day… I know someone I’d like to eject…

I type in E J E C T.

Ok, that yellow e must go at the end. What ends in “ece”? …Oh! I’ve got it!

I quickly type in P I E C E.

Yes! (Please note the irony that I did initially think of beginning with the word “peace”.)

Now the second layer of fun starts. On most days, I take my Wordle guesses and write a poem in my notebook. They often go in odd directions and lately tend to be bleak. (Surprise!) I don’t usually share them as they are very “drafty” and really just a fun exercise.

Here’s what happened today…

Batten Down the Hatches

Clear feels like a goal–
a nice lens for the day
Clear-headed implies level
clear sailing suggests an easy path
with clear skies ahead…

Ha! Eject that fantasy!
Storm clouds gather
unrelenting
in a tumult of turbulence
All eyes turn to the skies
Warning sirens sound louder and louder
ALARM ALARM ALARM
a constant background blare
inescapable

Everyone is uneasy
Is anything stable?
The winds howl
in a frenzy of acceleration
ALARM ALARM ALARM
What pieces of our lives
will be smashed and scattered?
What will transform unexpectedly
into the next deadly projectile?
Who knows how long the storm will last
Who knows what the toll will be
but surely it’s coming…

©Molly Hogan

So that’s what Wordle and Wordle poem-ing looked like this morning at my house. Do you play? Do you use the same first guess? Or even more interestingly, do you have any unrecognized psychological profiling “tells” to share?

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SOLC Day 13: Signs of Spring

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 13
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

Even though I’ve been feeling like Winter is still entrenched, there are signs of spring everywhere if you look. The temperatures climbed up to near 50˚F twice this week, and students immediately took that as an invitation to wear shorts. Even some staff were exposing their ankles. The first sight of those sun-deprived limbs always reminds me so much of seedlings first breaking through the earth…anemic and hopeful!

There are other signs of spring about as well. Bright orange “Frost heave” and “Bump!” signs have sprung up along the roads. There are daffodils for sale at the grocery store. Something has woken up and is now robbing my suet feeders and knocking down the seed feeders. I suspect raccoons but Kurt did see a possum by our house the other day, so the jury is still out. At any rate, the animals are stirring, too!

In the biggest recent change, Daylight Savings is now in place, and it’s still light when I get home from school. (We won’t talk about the dark when I leave bit right now, because this is supposed to be a relatively hopeful slice.)

“Hey, Kurt, want to go for a walk?” I asked as I came in the door earlier this week.

“No, but I will,” he said. On the mostly better side of a nasty, tenacious virus, his enthusiasm hadn’t quite bounced back into shape yet. Also, he’s sick of winter and cold and more than ready for spring.

.“It’s windy,” I warned, ” but really pretty. It feels good!”

He glanced at me and then outside a bit dubiously. “I probably need to put on long johns,” he Eeyored.

I checked my phone. “The feels-like temps are in the low 40s. Hey, that’s not too bad!” I pumped up the enthusiasm in my voice.

“Ok,” he conceded, “but I might want to turn back early.”

I didn’t really care. I just wanted to get outside and get back into the habit of our afternoon/evening walks. 

Soon, we were off. We chatted as we walked, and about a quarter mile down the street, we came across two more signs of spring’s advance: a flock of robins and numerous tapped maple trees. 

“Look at all these signs of spring,” I enthused.

He huddled into his coat.

We walked a bit longer, noticing the mounting evidence of pileated woodpeckers hard at work on some neighborhood trees. Kurt pointed up ahead, “Look! There it goes!” We watched it swoop away. The wind sent leaves skimming across the road in front of us.

“Doesn’t the sun feel great?” I PollyAnnaed a bit more. (Warming sun=yet another sign of spring!)

“It’d feel better if I weren’t cold,” he responded.

Kurt made a valiant effort, but called it at about a half mile from home. We turned and crossed the road to walk back. 

Before long, we both were surprised to see another sign of spring…sort of. By the side of the road lay a very fresh bunch of asparagus in a clear plastic bag. 

What?! 

“I wonder where that came from!” I said.

Kurt laughed. “I can just imagine some kid unrolling the window and tossing it out when his mother wasn’t looking.

‘Why’s the window down?’ she’d ask. 

‘I don’t know,’ he’d answer.”

“Right,” I continued, and once they got home, she’d be like, ‘Where in the world did that asparagus go? I swear I bought asparagus.’ ” 

We continued to riff on this the rest of the way home, fully entertaining ourselves with our imagined scenarios.

It was a good walk, and here’s hoping it’s the first of many.

I can’t help but wonder what we’ll see next time.

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SOLC Day 12: Not my finest hour, but can you relate?

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 12
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 e-mail arrived at 7:08 am.

“What time is O. available for testing?” the sender queried. 

I quickly hit reply and started typing, stating I’d work around whatever she figured out. I know how hard it is for testers to schedule their time with students. Then I added the specific (and limited) amount of time that O. is in my classroom. I suggested that she reach out to touch base with the Special Ed. teacher about the times when he receives SDI, but also noted those times and the times when he receives small group support with Ed Techs. Finally, I listed when we have morning recess, recess/lunch and Specials, and clicked send. 

It was 7:15 am and I felt very efficient.

Fast forward to 1:46 and another e-mail from the same person. “I guess the easiest thing is if you can tell me what times I CANNOT test O. Ex – snack, lunch, recess, specials.”

“But I already did that!” I wanted to wail. I double checked my first response, and sure enough, the information was there. I know the writer is a lovely person and VERY busy, but for some reason this irritated the heck out of me. Probably unreasonably. Or maybe a teeny bit reasonably, since I now had to respond with the same information, and who has time for that? 

I sat down to compose my response, probably hitting the keys with a bit more fervor than necessary.

If you had read my last e-mail…

Ugh…I couldn’t write that. Delete. Delete. Delete.

Like I wrote in response to your first e-mail…

No, that definitely didn’t work either. Delete. Delete. Delete.

I struggled with needing to write some form of I DID THAT ALREADY AND DID YOU EVEN READ MY E-MAIL! until I finally soundly chided myself for overreacting (Isn’t it all too easy to go from pseudo-calm to psych these days?!), talked myself off that limb and composed a very grounded, polite list of the requested times. Then I clicked send and sent it on its way. I guess, ultimately, I’d rather be thought of as inept than thought of as defensive or “rhymes with witchy.” (Although after reading this petty slice, you may have your own opinion on that now! lol)

Addendum: After sending the e-mail, I opened the door to my colleague’s room and said in a rush, “I just need you to know that I already sent the information in my first e-mail response but I can’t say that in my response now or I sound like a jerk. I know you have no idea what I’m talking about, but I feel the need to make sure someone knows.”

I expected her to laugh at me, but instead she jumped right on board. 

“Yes!” she practically shouted. “I just had something similar happen. There’s so much to do already, and then something that needs to be addressed pops up and we know that ALREADY DID it but we have to do it AGAIN! And it sounds ridiculous and defensive to explain how and when we already did do that! UGH!”

She shared her example. 

I elaborated on mine. 

We commiserated. 

We both felt seen. 

And now as I finish up typing this, I feel more than a bit ridiculous for my overreaction (even though I managed to curb its outward manifestation).

Is anyone else finding it harder to stay level these days?