Find an old notebook
any will do
composition notebooks
more forgiving
than fancy sketchbooks
listen to music
Helen Jane Long
and piano is lovely
or David Nevue
dip a brush in some color
sweep it across
the width of the page
extra water
brings some light
to the darkness
let it dry
blow on it if you must
draw some letters
start with the alphabet
do it again
and again
if you like
you don't have to
if you don't want to
write one sentence
with letters you like
any sentence will do
whatever comes to mind
doodle some flowers
colored daisies are nice
use a marker
instead of a brush
any color is fine
there
now you've made
a pretty picture
all ready
for the first day
of spring
and there will be
light
i promise
Shari Daniels draft
I am participating in the 14th Annual SOL 2021 March challenge. For 31 days, I will attempt to write and share a small slice of life from my days. If you’d like to read more of today’s slices from other teacher-writers, please head over to twowritingteachers, who have also committed to this challenge.
I’m also participating in Poetry Friday this week. If you’d like to immerse yourself in poetry in this weekend, Linda at Teacherdance is hosting the party. Stop by and read some poetry or add your own!
I’ve been trying to pay attention to the National Holidays calendar this year just to add some variety to my days. I have odd methods for my own personal entertainment. My husband and I celebrated National Popcorn Day on January 19th and National Homemade Soup Day on February 4th. Sadly, I missed National Handwriting Day on January 23rd and National Library Shelfie Day on January 27th. I certainly could have used a reason to reorganize my book shelves.
It’s also National Barbie Day, Crabmeat Day and Meatball Day.
Pick one, I tell myself – of course Barbie and Meatballs would be easy, but I’m not so much fond of Barbie these days and I just made meatballs last week. Crabmeat? No. This is Minnesota. The words Get Over It seemed to stand out in bold print, which is what happens when I need to pay attention to something.
I took this to my notebook.
“Get Over It” on the surface can mean two things, I’m thinking. I’m sure there’s more, but I’m going with two for the sake of notebook time. The obvious, is in letting something go. A grudge, a narrative we believe in that might be keeping us from growing, or maybe a resistance towards something. Perhaps I need to get over my fixation on my husband’s piles of stuff throughout the house and move to action – or reshift my attention to my own piles of stuff. Why are we hanging on to so much stuff?
But, I wonder if there isn’t another “Get Over It” meaning, one I’m leaning towards.
Have you ever seen that video of the woman breaking a world record in the high jump? I can’t find it now and if I keep looking I’ll be in Rabbit hole Mind and I want to refrain from going there. Anyway, this video clip, if you find it, is quite thrilling to watch. I viewed it a dozen times and I felt more empowered with each view.
This woman breaking a high-jumping record is the essence of “Get Over It”.
What it must have taken her to accomplish this feat I can’t imagine. I did the high jump in high school track and I was pretty happy with 5 feet. This is not any kind of record. Maybe I didn’t jump 5 feet even. Maybe that was wishful thinking. I can’t remember. Yet today, I can barely jump over a mud puddle.
It takes commitment, discipline, devotion and daily practice to “Get Over It” – to get that thing we want to accomplish. Routine, rituals, and habits help you get there. Saying no to other things. Soon, this bar can be reached and it becomes a part of who we are. It’s woven into the fabric of our genius and becomes effortless.
That’s the “Get Over It” I”m choosing on this National Get Over It holiday.
For me, right now, at this very point in time, that bar is: sugar.
Pandemic pounds have crept upward on top of the menopausal pounds and I so tire of my achy breaky whining in my notebook about how my body feels. I know that to get over this, I need to get over sugar. It’s an all or nothing kind of relationship. Even 99% no sugar would open a tiny crack for 1% to completely steamroll the whole enterprise. It’s all gotta go. That’s it. I’m not being dramatic here.
So, I’m on Day 2 of no sugar. Adding more steps in my days. And, moments of wonder, writing and dreaming about who I will become without sugar.
Note to Self: Commitment, discipline and constant awareness will be necessary, I know. I’ll imagine the beauty of jumping over the high bar on this “Get Over It” day to celebrate.
I am participating in the 14th Annual SOL 2021 March challenge. For 31 days, I will attempt to write and share a small slice of life from my days. If you’d like to read more of today’s slices from other teacher-writers, please head over to twowritingteachers, who have also committed to this challenge.
A writing practice can be a means of “gaining a perspective on where you are in the movement of your life” and be a medium to “explore the possibilities of your future in the context of your whole life.” ~ Ira Progoff
Sometimes, I can capture a moment with more specificity by drawing doodles than in writing a descriptive micro-memoir. Speech and thought bubbles lend to inferences that can portray my characters more than I could in describing them in words. And, it’s quicker.
It can become a curse, however, as you start to see everything as a graphic novel, visualizing a scene or overheard dialogue as cartoon snippets. You can’t get down things fast enough as once you start, you’ve activated the launching sequence. Then, you begin asking yourself what becomes “story-catching worthy”. I’ve come to believe that everything is “story-catching worthy”, and if we don’t capture it, it’s gone forever, and sometimes we don’t know a story’s worth until years later.
Being an introvert, I can quietly observe my extrovert family members and their witty conversations. They don’t realize I’m taking it all in. Actually, my husband does. He sometimes says, “Did you get that, hon? Can you put that in your notebook?”
His life is much more “story-catching worthy” than mine.
Books and people inspire me to rethink the practices I hold on to in my reading and writing workshops. The Readers Notebook is a tool my students and I use that I do not think I will ever let go of. However, my thinking is changing on how to best use this tool.
Last year, I discovered that most of the third graders in my classroom were extremely creative. They loved to draw. So, I taught them how to Zentangle. We scoured You Tube videos and Pinterest on our ipads to find new patterns to learn and practice. We made anchor charts of the designs we wanted to remember.
I then realized that we are all, including myself, are drawn to visual learning.
I wanted some of that in my Readers Notebooks.
My burning question became:
“How can I make the Readers Notebooks more engaging, user-friendly and fun? And, enhance our learning at the same time?”
My third graders were not always that excited about writing down their thoughts in the notebook at the end of our reading workshop – if only for 5 minutes. They worked diligently on their weekly letters to me – but honestly, they were doing this for me.
We looked at other options to share their evidence of understandings from the books they read. Fountas and Pinnell’s Teaching for Comprehension and Fluency suggests many ways to teach students to do this, of course, each strategy needs to be explicitly modeled first. A few ideas are: webs, character trait charts, chapter summary grids, T-charts, etc. We added these to our repertoire of options, yet I still did not see the enthusiasm I wished for.
But this summer, I followed Debby Ridpath Ohi (@inkyelbows on Twitter) and anxiously awaited her visual displays of the books she was reading for Donalyn Miller’s Book A day Challenge. I’d read some of the books she shared, so I was excited to see what elements she decided to jot down and put on the page. Here are some of her examples:
and. . .
Here are some things Debbie did:
*She added an image of the book and the author. Visual Stuff. Artsy. A collage kind of thing. I like this because I art journal and cutting and glueing and arranging things on paper are a love of mine.
*She adds what she’d like to find out more about by going to an author’s blog. She notes the blog.
*She drew a few sketches about how the book changed her life – just one thing!
Another inspirationalist I follow on Twitter is Leah O’ Donnell. Oh, I can’t keep up with this lady! I sizzle with energy every time I see what she is up to. She also does some doodling of the books she reads. Here are a couple of examples:
What did Leah do?
*She lifted quotes from the book that she felt were important.
*She wrote down some questions that prompted her to think more deeply about her own life.
*She added some of her own thoughts about the book.
*Of course, she added her own little doodles and sketches and used lots of color.
“Could I do this? Could I integrate this into our Readers Notebooks?” I wondered.
Surely, it’s been done in some shape or form. But, I wondered what it might look like in third grade – the integrating of doodles, zentangles, collage and words to share our understandings about the books we read.
Now, you may be thinking, as I often do,
“But, I don’t want my kids spending so much time drawing and wasting time doodling. They need to be reading and writing!”
This kind of work supports so many standards and best practices about teaching, I can’t even begin to list them all. But, I have to, because I am a “Why should I do this?” and “Where is the research in this?” kind of person. We need to know our “Whys”. Our practice purposes can never be, “Because the kids like it,” or “It’s the new shiny sparkly thing.” Even though the kids probably will like it and ultimately that’s what we hope to achieve.
Here are a couple of Big Why’s:
“A doodler is engaging in a deep and necessary information processing. A doodler is connecting neurological pathways with previously disconnected pathways. A doodler is concentrating intently, sifting through information, conscious and otherwise generating insights.” ~Sonni Brown The Doodle Revolution
“By using repetitive patterns with deliberate strokes, one becomes engrossed in each stroke and a shift of focus, a heightened awareness in which your mind, instincts, and knowledge all work together quickly, effortlessly and accurately can occur.” ~Roberts and Thomas (the orgins of Zentangle) One Zentangle A Dayby Beckah Krahula
A personal thought is also that we rush kids through books and do not give them enough time to let a book marinate in their souls long enough. We need to let books linger for a while, just like soup. It always tastes better after it’s been simmering all day. New thoughts and ideas keep bubbling up the longer we allow a book to stay with us.
Like anything new we teach to students, we’d need to start small and with what students already know. I’m thinking we’ll do some visual notes on a couple of class read alouds first and go from there – adding various doodles and sketch note strategies little by little. Or perhaps they could do a visual page of who they are, an identy project to help us all learn more about one another. However we choose to introduce this, anchor charts will be a must.
And most importantly, if we are expecting our kids to do it, we need to walk the walk alongside of them, and do it as well.
So, I had a go. . .
Here are a couple of my attempts from some of my summer reads:
I knew I could do better. . .
Oh yes ~~~~ this one was much more fun. 🙂
The possiblities are endless here. And, I love to live in a classroom where anything is possible.
The other day, I came across a facebook post by an artist I adore, Rachel Caringella. She wrote about how there are people on social media that we follow, read their words and are deeply inspired by. It’s almost like we can feel a connectedness to them, as if we were best friends. We share common passions, feelings and thoughts. To be honest, we are like-minded-souls. We may comment or message them, but really, many of them have no idea that we even exist.
In my mind, that is perfectly okay, if it makes us happy.
I need to share out more who these amazing people are that inspire and energize me. They need to know of their healing powers. And, I just need to say thank you. Thanking them for the work that they do, for putting their words out there. They nourish both the heart and soul of others. They feed the mind. It is my obligation to say thank you.
It knocked me out of my chair because I am supposed to be working on a project for one of my doctoral classes that is due tomorrow. I can’t get the words out that I want on to paper, so I keep revising my plan. I sheepishly peered by behind me. Was there someone watching me? Seriously?
“Who is this lady?” I asked my laptop. I had to know.
It’s pretty easy to do investigative work online. You just keep clicking on the links. It turns out, she is children’s author, illustrator, reader, Donalyn Miller fan, and even shares (for free, mind you) teacher resources for readers.
I dove into her site and tweets, marveled by her illustrations and creative work. Her words so encouraging.
Struck by her found art, I discovered her you tube video to share with my third graders this week for art workshop. Her instagram page is just too much.
“My biggest piece of creativity advice for writers & illustrators (all ages): make time to PLAY.”
Ummmm. . . yeah. That was it. I forgot to play before digging into my work. I know this. Why can’t I remember it? It would open the flow. I know.
I pulled out my notebook, printed some images, grabbed my paper tapes (oh, how I love my paper tape), scissors, glue stick, markers and did some playing. 20 minutes later. . .
It surely was a Happiness Day for me. Thank you Debbie for inspiring me and reminding me to play. Your influence will spill over this week when I introduce you to my kids at school. And, hopefully, to others who read my words thanking you.
This week, my slices are showcasing the inspirationalists I call my friends on social media. They don’t really know me, but, I am letting them all know that what they do matters.
Who are your secret social media inspirationalists?
Shari 🙂
I’m participating in twowritingteachers March Challenge of posting a blog post every day for the month of March. While I’ve missed a few days, I’m still in it for the long haul! To check out other writers, visit here.
Our district went 1:1 three years ago, which means each of my third graders has their own ipad. Even though I recognize the benefits of integrating technology into our teaching and learning, I have reservations as well. My biggest struggle has been finding tools on our ipads that we can use every day (or not) that are not gamified. My kids are a distractable group. When the ipads come out, it’s tenfold.
Well, thanks to my colleagues, I think I have finally been introduced to the most effective app so far. It’s called Seesaw and it’s free. Yes, free. Here’s the nitty gritty on it:
What is it? It’s a portfolio to house student work. It’s a way for kids to show evidence of their learning. It’s a communication tool between myself and my students. It’s a way for parents to see what their child is doing in school.
Why do I like it so much? Well, it’s free. Did I say that? It’s also so crazy easy to figure out – even for me – and I can’t run the remote for my tv at home. We don’t do many worksheets in school – we are reading and we have authentic writing going on. I often feel parents do not know what the daily happenings in our room are. Now they can. And, they can even give their child feedback.
But here is the best thing ~
Tonight, I had to make sub plans for tomorrow (yuck) and I could actually write my kids a note on SeeSaw, give them directions for lessons and even give them links for some art videos I want them to watch on their ipads tomorrow. My kids love to draw and several of them are writing graphic novels during writing workshop (Jeff Kinny fans), so I thought some drawing lessons were in order. Here is what I wrote them:
Dear Artists,
Today for Art Workshop, you will have some drawing lessons. Please watch these art videos with Mr. P. and he will give you some wonderful lessons on drawing characters with shapes. Then, get some paper and try making your own characters using some of his ideas!! Have fun!! I can’t wait to come back on Monday and see what you have done!
I could begin this as my boo-hoo tale of how my coffee spilled all over my writing desk ruining papers, a binder and several books. But, there is great light in this dark tale. The coffee stained desk was parked in my bedroom, the “winter writing space”. Today, as the temperature climbed to near 50 degrees, the mess on my desk pushed me to clean up and migrate up to my three season Sanctuary above the garage.
The space heater was hauled in to warm it up a tad and then the move was on. A few hours later, my soul welled up. I sat, savoring the gratefulness I have for my husband who made sure that when we added on to our house, I’d have my own space. Love that man.
Let me tell you about my Sanctuary.
My writing desk is really just one of those cheap white tables that fold up – you’ve used them for graduations and garage sales. Straight from Walmart. I need lots of space on my desk to spread out as I tend to need several books at hand when I write. I cover the table with a quilt, hand stitched years ago when my children were small. Scraps of fabric found their way into this quilt from some of the dresses I made my girls when they were small. Yeah. Heart stuff here.
Atop the quilt sits a statue of my guardian angel who reminds me to be fearless. I discovered her years ago in a thrift shop. There’s a story. Feathers are also here – reminders of angels surrounding me. Quotes and pictures of family adorn my bulletin board for inspiration and to fill my heart with joy. I have a flower pot filled with fodder (quips and clippings) from random places that I can pull to prompt writing – my hatching station. I need to write about that.
In the corner is my personal library and my comfy chair I bought myself for my birthday last year. When you turn 50, you can buy yourself presents. Note to self: write about the library.
Behind my writing table is my art journaling table. If I am stuck for writing, I scoot over to art journal. This clears my mind and always, something appears that needs to be written down. Like magic. It’s the angels, I know.
I didn’t even show you my sewing corner. It’s a mess over there. 🙂
The Doodle Revolution arrived on my doorstep a few weeks ago and I’m kinda hooked on doodling my to-do lists, school notes, and reflections on my day. It seems the visuals stick in my head a little more than just written text.
So, this morning, I doodled a flow chart doodle of how I would LIKE my day to go – of course this is all speculation and open to diversions. Like lesson plans, we must leave room for intuitive moments of flow that nudge us down a different path. As enjoyable as side trips are, eventually, we need to get back on course in order to accomplish what we intend to accomplish.
After reflecting on my intended plans for the day, I probably would have had time to complete all of my tasks, but, the house was quiet, so my bed called me over for a nap (I forgot to draw that in – it’s really not a productive event though). I also got lost commenting on Slice of Life stories for a tad bit of time (so many inspirational pieces out there). Oh, and I researched Donald Trump for a bit to affirm my belief of why he should not be president. (This was easy work.) I also spent some time digging around for snacks and trying to decide if I should bake something but I didn’t because I figured I’d eat it all because no one else is home. So, I ate chocolate chips.
Waking up this morning, a day off after a 12 hour day of parent teacher conferences, a slight bit of gloom weighs heavy on me. As an introvert, so much people time depletes my energy reserves and I need days of aloneness to restore and renew my supply.
My husband, chipper as a five year old on Christmas, skipped out this morning with buddies – an ice fishing trip until Monday. I have the house to myself for three whole days. Yet, every room of the house begs for my attention; dishes, laundry, bills, school work. I burrow into my bed a little longer than usual until our yellow lab, Sandy, comes into my bedroom and finds my elbow to lick.
After coffee, my notebook is pulled out. A few morning pages and then some creating is in store. A little doodling is all it takes to start refilling the well. Sometimes, I cut and glue and paint and design art journal pages on a Saturday morning, but today, a pen is all that is needed.
There is no end product in mind, just a process of doodling. Sometimes zentangle designs come up, sometimes it’s faces filled with a variety of expressions. I giggle a bit after each face as some characters come alive – or I come to the realization that I know that face in real life.
When I don’t know where to start, drawing what I’m wearing, including the emotions I might be carrying gets me going down the doodling path and stokes the fires a bit. My pen takes over with a mind of it’s own and I just follow it. An hour or so later, some heaviness is lifted and I feel ready to dig into my day.
Some people start their day with prayer. Some with writing (me, too) Some exercise. Others create their to-do lists. On my weekends, I start with art.
How about you? How do you restock the well?
Shari 🙂
I am participating in theSlice of Life challenge to write and publish a post every day in March.
Slice of Life is hosted by Two Writing Teachers. I thank them for the community they provide. Read more slices here.
Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Islands of My Soul 