I was walking by a favorite lily pond and happened upon this mother-daughter reading team lounging in a nearby meadow. The mother was reading with much gusto, taking on the voices of each character. I don’t know what book it was that she was reading, but her young daughter was totally entranced by the story. “Surely,” I thought to myself, “this child will grow up to be a fearless, wild reader.” They brought a smile to my face and joy to my old teacher heart.
Category: reading
Forest Bathing
I need this time to relax, heal, and ease my pain. I am so grateful for this place. As soon as I see the Green Mountains in the distance, I breathe deeply and feel something release inside of me.
Power in our Words
As I reflect on how I can become a positive voice in my school community, I have been reading Paula Denton’s book, The Power of Our Words. It gives concrete advice to teachers on how to reflect on how they speak to create a positive classroom climate.
Alone by the Sea
It’s June. I live in New Jersey. It’s time to “go down the shore,” as we Garden State residents say. It’s beach time!
Be the Flower
I went searching for solace this week. I went hunting for answers. I found them in the form of flowers and poetry. Once destroyed, lives cannot be put back together. Some things cannot be made whole again. But I believe that the solution for violence must be in a turn towards nature, towards beauty, towards the preciousness of life. Consider the flower.
May Posies
Early spring showers have turned the landscape green with dots of pinks, yellows, and lavenders. My corner of the world is alive with flowers, and I am immersing myself in their glory and hopefulness. This year more than any other I need flowers and the promise of spring. I need something to celebrate. I am in search for beauty.
Happy Haiku to You!
It’s spring. The first graders are trying their hand at poetry. They scribble and draw and make images - some silly, some that will take your breath away. That is the beauty of first graders – the child-mind at work not afraid of making mistakes.
April Poem #30: And I, too
When I read the prompt and some samples of other poets' work, I immediately thought of Langston Hughes' poem I, too. I used the form of Hughes' poem to construct my own poem. I have always loved the way Hughes could lay out a strong message in a few words. I thought I would practice this, using his structure as a scaffold.
April Poem #29: This Poem is Not…
I took an old poem that was sitting there in a pile minding its own business, doing nothing. I grabbed it, shook it up, and turned it into something new. My advice is never throw out anything you’ve written. You never know what it could turn into. It could be in its chrysalis stage waiting to fly free. This past month of writing a poem every day has taught me to take risks, to play with possibility, and to be unafraid with the outcome. Playing with poetry was just what I needed. It was necessary.
April Poem #28: When I’m by Myself
I enjoy the childlike qualities of poetry. Playing with rhythm and rhyme often spark the imagination. With this poem, I did have to ponder deep questions, I could just play with the language and imagery. It was fun to do, and poetry most definitely should be fun. Once I wrote the first stanza, I felt it wasn’t quite complete, so I decided to reverse it and make a second stanza. When I’m by myself, I write poetry and make myself happy.