Today, I borrowed a SPARK from Paula Bourque who blogs at LitCoachLady and whose latest book, SPARK!, focuses on quickwrites in the elementary classroom. If you’re stuck for a writing idea, be sure to visit Paula’s blog where she is sharing a different prompt every day in March. Here’s today’s prompt: A simple quick write SPARK to…
I always have lots of plans for summer writing. Stacks of new notebooks and the only pens I can write with. A couple of free professional development writing opportunities that should keep me in writing ideas and inspirations (#100DOSW18, Teachers Write). A lack of other obligations and time commitments that makes writing sound appealing and…
I have never been the kind of writer who finishes a notebook in a month or two–until now. I filled an entire notebook in March and April! I have been keeping notebooks all of my adult life–sometimes sporadically, sometimes with daily dedication. But I fill them slowly. I like to write about my notebooks. In…
Hard cover provides sturdy base Spiral binding opens 360 degrees Your pages never come loose. Toothy paper slows down hand that moves too fast Unlined pages catch writing sketches lists in all directions I turn you this way and that write sideways and upside down. Sometimes, I consider trying something new: Different binding different color…
My son. Page after page trying to capture this personality, this conversation, this moment. Being a mom, parenting. Trauma. Learning and understanding. Researching. Healing. PTSD, secondary trauma, compassion fatigue. Myself. All the ways I get stuck in my own mind, fretting. Anxieties and angst. The gerbil on its wheel, going round and round. Coffee shops.…
Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows that I have a wee obsession with Deborah Freedman’s picture book, The Story of Fish & Snail. The art is crazy good, but it’s the message that makes it a favorite title to share with pre-service teachers: Be brave. Leap. Or, in the words of the wonderful Deborah Freedman,…
I am working with a couple of new teachers who are trying to implement writing workshops in their middle-school classrooms, so I thought I would put together a few posts to collect my thinking and favorite resources about writing workshop and to invite my readers to chime in. If you’ve written a blog post about…
I left my writer’s notebook at work on Wednesday night. And I won’t be back at work again until Tuesday (though I didn’t know that on Wednesday–ended up needing a sick day yesterday; I work from home on Fridays and most Mondays). So my notebook and I are going to be separated for almost a…
Michelle at One Grateful Teacher is kindly hosting a weekly round-up of #Nerdlution check-in posts, so do visit her blog and check out this week’s check-ins. Writing for 10 minutes daily in my writer’s notebook: The first couple of days of writing again were hard. I had nothing to write about. I spent a lot…
It’s time for Round 2 of #Nerdlution! Well, technically, it’s the third day of Round 2 of #Nerdlution, but I’ve been dithering about my goals. For Round 1 of #Nerdlution, I kept it simple: read one poem a day. Most days, I read far more than one. I wanted to find more poetry that I…
the dirigible plum 