Being open to possibility is the key to life-long learning, and life-long learning, I believe, is the key to happiness. It gives one purpose, and a sense of purpose is what keeps us humans strong and resilient.
Category: Learning Differences
Mentoring Gifted Readers
As Parker Palmer says, “Teaching is a daily exercise in vulnerability.” Sharing my struggles and successes with students help them to take a risk and share what is easy and difficult for them. Then, together we plan next steps to reach our goals.
Working in the Wonder Studio: Finding Our Dreams & Voices
This month, the 4th graders have taken over the studio. Some of them are painting on small canvases, some are making spring wreaths, some are learning to sew pillows, and a few of them are exploring how to turn boxes and tubes into working machines.
Writing Alongside Children
This week, I began working with two fifth grade girls on writing. I created digital notebooks so they could more easily type their thoughts and ideas. I also wrote alongside them. We talked, we shared our writing, and we laughed. My intention was to build a small community of writers...
A Measure of Success
Since I was a child, I’ve measured my success by all the small moments I’ve had connecting to people through personal interactions and poetry. Connection to me equaled success. Oh sure, I had thoughts of fame and money but that all fell away as I matured. It’s not that I lost my ambition, it’s just … Continue reading A Measure of Success
Working in the Wonder Studio: Self-Reliance
I know people sometimes look at the things the Wonder Studio makers have created and see just a mess of paint and glue and cardboard. But I see treasure, pure childlike imaginative treasure. And in that treasure, I see creativity, determination, and resourcefulness, which will stay with them a lifetime. And that makes all the difference!
Joy-filled Reading
Learning to read is difficult work. There are 26 letters, each having one or more sounds. Reading is blending the sounds into words to make meaning. It is a long and slow process. And I recall many faces filled with joy as they read their first words and sentences It was a complete light of satisfaction upon young faces.
How I’d Like to be Remembered
As I grow older, I often think about how I want to be remembered: for the art I make, for the poems I write, for the work I’ve done for over four decades. Yes, all of that. But this past weekend I was reminded about what is most important to me.
Sew Easy: Lessons in Perseverance
There are three rites of passage in the Wonder Studio: using the hot glue gun, working a hack saw, and learning to sew. The joyful expressions on students’ faces as they learn these skills are salve for my weary teacher’s soul.
Inside the Wonder Studio: Life in Miniature
This month in the Wonder Studio, the 5th graders have been working on a small scale. No one mandated that they do so. They all just started making tiny projects.
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 