But the truth is I’m mentally and physically exhausted. Where writing usually energizes me, I found it to be a daunting task. So I let myself take a break, and now I find it’s hard to get back into the flow. What do I write about? What uplifting story can I tell? I do not know.
Category: The Arts
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.Â
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.Â
Celebration in the Wonder Studio: Lunar New Year
This week, I added a box in the shape of a dragon’s head to celebrate Lunar New year. I quickly cut the box to look like a dragon with a wide pointed-tooth grin. The girls collected some found objects to make the dragon’s eyes, nostrils, and teeth. Then we all took turns collaging bright colored tissue paper all over the head in layers upon layers. Once completed, the dragon would be hung right outside their classrooms to celebrate Lunar New Year.
Inspiration and Handiwork
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.
Flowery Thoughts
Nature is always good medicine, and I seek to be among trees and flowers as much as I can. Nature makes me more mindful of the short time we have to enjoy this miraculous earth. It makes me grateful to be among the flowers.
Garden Harbor
On my summer travels, I found a garden of delight. To keep the memory I took a photo and wrote a poem.
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.
Embracing the Process
The process is the learning, and they are totally engaged and in the flow of creating. The key is to embrace the process.
Doors and Windows
When my husband and I take photo trips, whether near or far, I am often attracted to doors and windows. I like exploring small quaint towns that have been revived by artisans and documenting what I see.
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 