Slice of Life--The Best Laid Plans

Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers
host the Slice of Life every Tuesday.

Lately I have really been reflecting about the way life turns out.  It seems to me that life plans can come and go and they never seem to work out exactly as one had wanted.  My big life plan was to fall in love and get married young so that I could be married a few years before having kids, but still have at least one child before turning 30.  I made this plan in high school (never mind that I did not even have a boyfriend until the summer after I graduated).

My life plan started out well.  I met my husband while studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain and brought him home with me.  I was 22 on my wedding day.  Then came the next part in the plan.  My husband was not so sure he wanted kids at first, but I worked on it  and he came around to the idea.  It took us about six or seven years of being married to get through all the speed bumps in the road.  It is another story for a different post, but lets just say that it took a LOT of work for my husband to feel at home in this country and for the two of us to feel like our marriage was centered and strong.

After this amount of time, I was ready to try for kids.  After all, we had the strong relationship and had had multiple years to enjoy our time together before changing everything.  Now was the time...and I could still have a baby before turning 30 if we hurried it up.  So, we starting trying.  And trying.  And trying.  After four years of trying to get pregnant, we finally decided to investigate what was going on.  I am pretty sure that we waited so long because we didn't want to hear what we knew we would probably hear.  So two summers ago we obediently went through test after test and found out that the chances were awful for us to conceive.  I won't go into details, but we had some tough decisions to make and we are still trying to figure out our path.  It was devastating for me, and still is, to think that I may end up having to settle for being childless.  This was not my plan.

Another thing that was not in the plan?  Being an auntie before being a mother.  My stepbrother and his wife had a baby boy a little over two years ago.  I love getting to spend time with my nephew.  He is such a ham and we enjoy family dinners together.  Now that he is talking more, his personality is really shining through.

Showing off his artwork on the phone.

My nephew and my husband.

And now, as of May 1st, I am an auntie again. This time it has been more special for me because it was my sister who was pregnant.  I spent a lot of sleepless nights worrying about her since she was very sick throughout her pregnancy.  But now she is healthy and we have a new baby girl in the family.  I came out to California to visit and to help out when my sister goes back to work next week.

Me, the baby, and my sister.

 Looking at these amazing kids, I am so blessed to be an aunt.  I will shower these two children with love and loud toys that annoy their parents.  And I will hope that their parents have a chance to get back at my husband and me in the future.  But for now, no more plans.  Summertime is perfect for lazy days with no plan and fun hanging out with a baby.

Slice of Life: Teachers Write 6/18

Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers
host the Slice of Life every Tuesday.

This summer I am so excited to participate again in Teachers Write, an online writing camp for teachers.  Last summer, I signed up and jumped in with both feet because I knew that in order to be the best writing teacher I can be I needed to also be a writer.  I was also participating in a two-week summer institute through the National Writing Project and knew that I would be forced to write whether I wanted to or not.  I did write quite often last summer, but I didn't exactly make the commitment to writing daily or making the time for writing that I needed to make.  I obsessed over my summer #bookaday challenge and went a little bit nuts with the reading.  

This summer I again want to make time for writing and I am committing to making time daily to write.  If I could do it for the Slice of Life challenge in March, I can do it now.

Some great things came out of my participation with Teachers Write last summer.  First, I wrote more often on my blog this year.  Next, I got my students writing on their blogs more regularly and even set up some collaboration with students in another class.  Lastly, I learned about being vulnerable.  I really did not participate to the highest degree last summer because I did not find that great idea that was going to be the next Harry Potter...I am a perfectionist and it is really hard to admit that I am not going to write polished, amazing writing in the first draft.  I have some ideas for interesting characters and I will be throwing those around this summer as well as working on crafting some memoir short stories.

My participation in Teachers Write this summer will be focused on some concrete goals:

1. Create writing notebook pages using the bingo cards that I purchased from Corbett Harrison so that I can use these to show students what I expect them to do in writing.
2. Develop the idea that I have for a novel and do some word count goals to get a good start on the draft.
3. I did NaNoWriMo in my classroom last year and it was the best thing that I could have done. I was so pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm all of my students displayed for this activity.  I want to use the workbook from the NaNoWriMo website to work through pre-writing activities so that I have examples for my students when we do these exercises.
4. Post It's Monday! and Slice of Life posts on Mondays and Tuesdays.  Then post at least one other time in the week, most likely with reviews.  (Also, the quick write prompts and exercises from authors)
5. Play with my writing territories list and heart map ideas to come up with some memoir drafts and poems.  Do as I would expect my students to do and produce multiple pieces of writing in different genres.

I am expecting quite a commitment from myself because I expect a lot of writing from my students.  If I don't change my patterns and make time for writing, how can I realistically expect that from them?  If I can't go beyond my fears of failure, how can I expect my students to do this?

I hope that I can keep up with my goals and really make the time for writing that I plan to do.  I know that the more experience that I get with writing, the better it will be for my students.  Who knows? Maybe my story is just waiting to be found.

Slice of Life 6/11

Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers
host the Slice of Life every Tuesday.

     Today my 8th grade students will have their completion ceremony and move on their way to high school.  This time of year is always bittersweet for me.  I am happy for the students that they will move on to bigger and better things, and truthfully, I am ready for a break from them.  However, I always know that I will miss this group of kids and I always wish there were time for more.  I can never believe how quickly the last few weeks of school seem to go and I am caught by surprise as the year comes to a close.

    As I have worked to wrap up this school year with my students, I noticed that I did not feel as close with my students as I have in the past.  This bothered me. A lot.  Then, I started thinking about what was different and I figured it out.  This is the first year that I have had 8th grade students who have only had me for 8th grade.  All of the other exiting 8th grade classes have been classes in which students were part of my class in a former year.  I taught 1st grade for the first five years that I was at my school and then moved up to 4th and 5th grades.  Some of my students in former years were in my class three or four times throughout their time at Morgandale.  No wonder I felt like this years group was not as close to me.  Maybe this is what it should feel like...it has been so long since I had a class only for one year that I don't know.  I just know that this year feels really weird.

    Later this morning when I am watching all these young men and women hug each other and say farewell to our school, I know I will cry, just as I have cried every year that I have worked with 8th graders.  Some of these students have been at our school since K4 and now they will move on to high school.  It is a big change for them and many of them shed a few tears also.  All I can hope is that we have done the best job we can in preparing them for the future and giving them wings to fly.

     Some highlights from this school year with these 8th graders:

• We jumped in with both feet and did NaNoWriMo last November.  It was an awesome experience and most of my students told me it was their favorite writing activity this year.
• All students read at least 10 books.  This is not as many as I would have hoped they would have read, but I am proud of the fact that every one of my students, even the ones who scoffed and laughed when I introduced the 40 book challenge, has read multiple books and found books to love this year.  
• One of my students became a voracious reader...she didn't really read until December and then, BAM! She took off.  Here total at the end of the year was 82 books.  And she didn't count the long ones as two like I said they could.  She burned her way through series after series and now has a serious reading addiction.  I told her she had to stop to do chores though so she doesn't get yelled at on weekends.  
• Multiple students are writing books and stories constantly.  Many of them had not been doing this before this year.  I can't necessarily take credit for this one, but I think the extra encouragement has been helpful for them.  
• Many students made double or triple the gains that are expected in a year in math.  Although I am not always convinced by the standardized tests, I am excited that students were able to see that their hard work paid off and they felt success in understanding concepts that were difficult for them before.  
• Writing false apology poems and pi poems with students was so much fun.  It reminded me of the importance of introducing all types of writing and giving students the chance to be creative.  

Why I Stay--Slice of Life 4/16

Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers
host the Slice of Life every Tuesday.

A fellow blogger and Nerdy Book Club member, Beth Shaum,  recently put together a project about teacher retention.  She put out the call for submissions and I dropped the ball and didn't remember to write mine out and send it to her.

Then, a few days ago, I saw that the project had been completed.  I clicked on the link curious to find out how this project turned out and was amazed at this video.  What a powerful message and an important one for lawmakers and administrators to see.

In case you missed it:


You can go to the blog to continue the conversation here.


Why I Stay in education:

• Because I love my students and want to help them reach their potential
• Because it is the most challenging thing I have ever done...which also makes it the most rewarding
• Because each year I turn students into voracious readers that can't wait to share books with me
• Because I can help students learn to love math 
• Because I get to see amazing thoughts turned into thoughtful and well-crafted writing
• Because of the ah-ha moments and lightbulbs
• Because of the silence in the room when we read a particularly captivating book
• Because of the laughter from our attempts at humor and creativity
• Because every day I am reminded of how much hope I have for the future
• Because students need to have passionate teachers to guide them
• Because I get to help students learn how to get past intolerance to learn empathy and acceptance
• Because of the times that they take my ideas and make them better 
• Because of the learning that I get to do each and every day
• For the students who come back to tell me how much I influenced them
• For the students who come to school every day needing a hug or a smile 
• For the parents who love to see me when we bump into each other in the grocery store
• For the colleagues I can collaborate with in person and those in my PLN

I know this has been a popular subject today, but I can't think of another more important subject to write about than my passion for this wacky, challenging, infuriating, and amazing profession.  

  

Slice of Life: Easter 4/2

Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers
host the Slice of Life every Tuesday. 

When I was younger, Easter was probably my favorite holiday.  My mother dressed us up in matching dresses and sweaters that she knit for us.  I always got a new "Easter bonnet" and the day was filled with fun and family.

For us, the easter basket hunt began as soon as we woke up.  Would it be in the refrigerator?  the stove?  the cabinet?  maybe my closet?  My sister and I hunted for the baskets and inevitably I would find hers before I found mine.  Since I was five years older, mine was always a little more difficult to find.

My Easter basket was always a fun discovery.  My mother did not want us to just gorge ourselves on candy.  While there were always our favorites in the basket, most of the basket was filled with small presents.  The Easter bunny was very literate and I always got a few books that I had been asking for in my basket.  Aside from this, we usually got some socks, maybe a scarf or necklace, and some sort of cute little puzzle game.

After the Easter baskets were found, and sufficient time was spent exploring the treasures found there, it was time to get all dolled up for Easter Sunday church services.  This was one of the few Sundays a year that my father came to church with us.  I always felt so proud of my family.  We were all dressed up and looking quite spiffy.  The church service was always so festive with the music joyful.  Sometimes, we also had the treat of having my grandparents, my father's parents, visiting.  This was quite possibly my favorite church-going experience every year (a close second would be midnight mass on Christmas Eve).

Then, it was time to go home to Easter dinner.  We had ham and cheesy potatoes every year for sure.  Easter was also one of the few times in the year that I was allowed to have hard-boiled eggs.  My father had heart problems and had been placed on a strict low-cholesterol diet.  This meant very few eggs in our household---or at least few egg yolks.  I loved that we had our colored eggs to eat during this holiday and I savored the egg-salad sandwiches that we enjoyed for a few days after.

One of the things I miss the most about before my father died is the way holidays felt for us.  Yes, we still celebrate and try to have some fun, but it just isn't the same.  I know this would have changed naturally as we became adults and moved on to celebrate with our own families, but I miss that feeling of special family time.

Woods, Lake, and the Super Biffy

My sister and I at camp a few years back

     The creaky cabin door slams behind us and the smell of the pine woods follows us.  The cabin screens are protected with a tarp hanging outside which makes the inside of the cabin dark even in the bright sunlight.  There are four camp cots that have been improved over the years with slabs of wood under the cot mattress as opposed to the old springs.  The cabin smells like dirt and sand which is collecting on the floor and humidity that stays trapped inside.  It is rustic and perfect and more my home than any of my houses have ever been.

      If you talk to anyone who has never experienced camp, they cannot understand what the draw is.  We don't even actually camp as you would in a campground in tents.  There isn't much fishing happening, we don't always go for long hikes, but we always love our surroundings.  What we do have are an abundance of happy memories and a reminiscence that pops out around every corner.  This place fills us with a spiritual happiness and protects us from the rest of the world for a few days.  We have a vocabulary of words that only those of us that have experienced camp know: hopper, biffy, superbiffy, the real dining hall, and all the unit names that don't exist anymore but are forever burned into our minds and hearts.  We learned to wake up to the toll of the bell and show up throughout the day for meals summoned by that same bell.  We learned to walk through the woods with the help of a flashlight on nights with a new moon and without a flashlight on full moon nights.  We learned to build a campfire and enjoy staring into it well into the night.

My mother at the camp bell.  

     I literally owe my entire existence to this special place.  My parents were of the first generation to form ties to Camp Webb.  My father actually came up with his youth group and built many of the things that exist on the ground today.  Every time I take the steps down to the lakefront, I feel my dad with me.  He worked hard with the groundskeeper to maintain the camp property.  My mother came up to work at camp not through a church connection, but because my grandmother was friends with someone who was working there.  My parents met at camp and had a beautiful wedding in the outdoor chapel there (at least it looks beautiful from the pictures I've seen).  They continued to be friends with many of their camp friends and especially were close with the maintenance man and his wife.  It was through this connection that I came to know the camp as my home away from home even before I was old enough to be a camper.

The camp logo.

     My time as a camper holds many memories:

• The meals in the dining hall while Ruthie was still the cook were amazing.  My mouth waters just remembering the Ruthie rolls we used to eat.  
• The talent show each week in which the staff would put on these goofy skits for us.  
• The singing, I love the singing.  Camp songs for church and campfires alike and hilarious graces that made praying fun.  
• Lessons in the lake in swimming and sailing and canoeing.  
• Crafts in the arts and craft cabin.  
• And every Friday, for the end of the camp week, we had a dance.  

Every summer I went to camp for the week of my birthday.  I loved the goofy fun of being the center of attention at a camp meal for the few moments it took to sing happy birthday.  Each summer at camp, the place inched its way into my heart and soul a little more.

Little Hills Lake 

     My parents continued to be involved in the camp as well.  We went up to camp for family camping whenever we had the opportunity.  It became a yearly tradition to be up there in the same week in August almost every year.  We got to be there with the families of some of my parents' friends from camp and we all enjoyed this connection.  My father also served on the board of directors for a few years.  I was so proud of the fact that he was helping make some of the decisions that needed to be made for the future of camp.  The biggest way that we continued to be involved with camp is our frequent visits to the caretaker and his family.  We would drive the camper and later the motorhome up to camp and park it next to the house at the end of the driveway.  We spent countless weekends visiting our family friends and roaming camp land at will.  I got to know every inch of that beautiful space better than I would have if I just went there as a camper.

The steps my dad helped build.

   
     When my father died too young, his camp friends dedicated a cabin to his memory.  He had been such a big part of building the camp and I was able to feel his presence while on that land more than in any other space in the world.  The time I spent on the pier at night gazing up at the vast universe of stars, really helped me to grieve and to know that I would see my dad again in heaven.
     The summer I worked at camp, I felt my father's presence in everything that I did.  I enjoyed the goofy fun of camp as a staff person.  I led the music at camp and rejoiced in the way that I got to enjoy every shred of singing possible.  I basked in the sunshine and jumped in the puddles and lived a great life that summer at camp.  I made a whole new set of memories in this space that already held so many.
    And then, a few years ago, our diocese decided to sell camp.  We were frantic thinking about how this sacred space would become condos and lake houses instead of the campground we had learned to love.  We all went to camp to visit "one last time" and began to think about what life would be like without this special place to go to.  Luckily, the current owners came forward to buy the camp.  Although the space is now Camp Lakotah instead of Camp Webb, this is still our special place to go.
   Nowadays, I don't get up to camp very often, but when I do it is an awesome experience.  I recently returned from a women's retreat there at camp.  Being on that land is a peaceful and emotional experience for me.  The first breath of crisp pine air in that forest reminds me of a life connected to something bigger in this space.  Rejuvenated by my experience in the presence of memories, I return to my house thankful that this space that is "home" will be there for at least a while longer.

    Do you have a home away from home?  Did you experience camp as a kid?  Leave a comment below.

Andrea

   

My Life as a Book Nerd--A personal reflection

 

     I am not sure exactly when my love of reading started except to say that I was surrounded by books and literacy.  It was part of what we did in my household.  Some of my first memories are the weekly trips to the public library to pick out our picture books for the week.  I remember being upset because we had to narrow down our choices to fit within the strict 10 book limit.  From before I can remember, my mother had made it a point to read with us every night.  

     Then I started school at Crestwood Elementary School.  When I entered first grade, I had Mr. Szudy as my teacher.  I remember the magical read-aloud time and being introduced to Fudge and his hilarious adventures.  There was a loft in this classroom and it was so exciting when it was my turn to climb up into the loft and lose myself in a book.  At the time, I did not realize how lucky I was to be going to that school.  All over the country there were reading wars happening and I had lucked upon a whole language school that was going to let me feed my reading habit and devour books.  Over the years in school I was introduced to amazing literature and even got a chance to give feedback for the very first American Girl stories (the mother of a fellow third-grade classmate worked at the publishing company).  My school experiences certainly helped me to learn a love of reading.  

     Over the years, my reading was encouraged at home also.  In my house, reading was an essential part of life. My mother sped-read through all kinds of books, but mostly bestselling novels. My father always had a thick Stephen King thriller that he was making his way through. He stayed up way too late every night reading his books, even when he was sick and should have been sleeping more. For every holiday my most coveted presents were the new books that were sure to be in the pile. You loved the Easter candy in your basket? Well, the jokes on you because I got Anne of Green Gables in my basket, not those gross Peeps. There were books all over our house and I coveted and cared for my books as if they had feelings. Time for reading was treasured also. I loved bedtime because I got to lose myself in the world of my book for a few minutes before lights out. Then, once the lights were out and my mother was safely back downstairs, I would hang out of my bed just enough to catch the hallway light so I could sneak read. My mom knew enough to not let me have a flashlight anywhere near my bed, but she didn't know about this (or so I thought). I spent many nights staying up way too late to finish a book because I just had to know what happened to that character.

     My relationship with my grandparents had book love all over it also.  My grandpa was the type of person who read everything in sight.  You had to be careful what you left out on the table because he was not past picking up that piece of mail and reading through it.  He didn't mean to be prying, he just couldn't help it...if anyone was a reading addict it was him.  Although I didn't share the same taste in reading with him, my grandpa influenced my reading habits greatly.  He had shelves full of thick tomes about the Civil War and piles of old issues of The NewYorker and Vanity Fair lying around the house.  When I was there, he would read the newspaper every morning and always had a book around for those times when there was a lull in conversation.  My grandmother was just as much a reader as he was, but she influenced my reading habits in a much more direct way.  Grandma read with me and to me every time I was over at their house (which was most Friday nights--I used to call them up and invite myself over).  We had old favorites that we went back to again and again and she is the one who started me on my lifelong love of mysteries.  Grandma had read every Agatha Christie book there was and I made it a personal challenge to do the same.  I had great fun reading the books--I started when I was 10 and had read them all by the time I left high school.  Some of my fondest memories and most treasured possessions are books that I shared with Grandma.  

     I remember going to library used book sales and used book stores with my grandparents.  I would spend hours poring over the selection of books that were available as my grandparents went to their respective sections to look for treasures of their own.  When I was visiting them in Florida, we headed to the local used bookstore and bought a pile of Nancy Drew and Baby-Sitters Club books for me to read.  On a beach vacation that was what you did.  You got the trail mix ready, got in your swimsuit, and then proceeded to lie on the towel and read in the sun.  Yes, you might get up and swim once in a while, but then it was right back to reading for you.  

     Anne of Green Gables is one of my favorite books because of the special place it held in my relationship with my grandmother.  We spent many nights reading together from the books in the series and learning about Anne Shirley's adventures.  When PBS made the movies, my grandmother and I spent hours watching the telethons and experiencing the wacky adventures of Anne with an e.  We also delighted in The Adventures of Treehorn.  This was not a well-known book and I derived secret delight from the fact that we had a private treasure to share.  The book was illustrated by Edward Gorey so anytime I see his famous illustrations it makes me smile inside.  

    My love for reading did not stop in childhood.  In college, I decided to study engineering because I had always been good at math and science.  I knew I would have limited time and I did not want to give up reading, so I took literature classes as electives.  I loved it that my homework for those classes was to read good books.  I made my way through so many amazing classes with introductions to many great authors.  In fact, I took so many English classes that when I decided not to continue in Electrical Engineering my junior year of school, there were only three more English classes I needed to take to be finished with the major.  

     Now, as a teacher, I work hard to instill the same sense of wonder and enjoyment of reading in my students.  I read voraciously and make sure my students know this about me.  I read books that are written for middle grade students and young adults so that I can be sure to know what books to recommend to my students.  I eat, sleep, and dream reading.  There is never a night that I don't read at least a few pages before nodding off to sleep.  I share books with my mom and sister.  I even converted my husband from a person who never read to someone who I can share books with.  He even recommends books to me now.  My students know that when they want to talk books, I am the one to come to and I have taken pride in watching some students become the voracious readers that I hoped they would become.  The biggest compliment I have ever received as a teacher was when a parent gave me the credit for her daughter's love of reading and thanked me profusely for it.  

   Over the years I have found friends in books.  I spent many a stormy night with Meg and Charles Wallace.  I spent summer afternoons sluething with Nancy and Trixie.  I fell off the rooftop and into the lake with Anne.  I created a business with Claudia, Mary Anne, Stacey, Kristy and Dawn.  I traveled the Orient Express with Poirot.  I cried until my eyes could cry no more with Scarlett's heartbreak.  There have been many more friends and experiences along the way and I know there will be many more.  I continue to be astounded by the amazing talents of authors and will willingly transport myself to the many other worlds there are out there for as long as writers create those worlds.  

   To the nerdy book club bloggers and other teachers out there writing about their love of reading:  Thank you for giving inspiration to many to continue to raise readers.  I have been so inspired and re-energized by the amazing network of readers, writers, and teachers out there.