My latest spark of inspiration comes from Adam Zucker who blogs at Artfully Learning. Last week, Adam wrote about Black Mountain College in North Carolina and its founders, teachers, and alumni. He wrote about the life and art of Ruth Asawa.
Category: reading
Crafting Kindness
Children need a strong, clear foundation of kindness and consideration, so they can appreciate other points of view and become fully functional, productive citizens. Slowing down, listening to students’ needs and concerns, and building in time for communication can make classrooms a model for a civil society.
Halloween Magical Read Alouds
This is one of my favorite times of year. The leaves burst into flaming colors, and the air has just a hint of chill in it. It is time for sweaters, warm drinks, apples, pumpkins, and Halloween.
Reading in Wildness
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.
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.
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 