Only then, did I start to put the traumatic pieces together and how his trauma became my trauma, not on the beaches of Okinawa, but in the suburbs of New Jersey. When my father was a soldier, PTSD was not a known disorder, and there was no help or treatment for World War II veterans.
Category: Uncategorized
Harvesting Pumpkin Time
Gold, red, and orange abound to cheer up the dreary chilly days in the northeast. They offer solace to the bare branches and the November wind.
Poet’s Notebook: White Mountain Color
I started thinking about how to capture what I saw with my camera and how to put words to the beauty I was witnessing. I focused on color and played with ways to express the fall foliage in a new way.
Fall Flow: Haiku for Autumn
This week, I entered a 4th grade classroom to see students at their desks silently moving their lips and quietly tapping their fingers. I heard a hum, “5-7-5... 5,7,5...” and then tapping, clapping, and snapping. I knew immediately what they were busy creating. They were constructing haiku. In the last two weeks, the teacher introduced … Continue reading Fall Flow: Haiku for Autumn
The Gift of Grandmothers
This week, I came across two picture books that reminded me about how important grandmothers are in the lives of children. Grandmothers are wise leaders and mentors. They have gentle and guiding hands. They offer solace for scraped knees, dented feelings, and broken hearts. They can set the world right again. In my own life, … Continue reading The Gift of Grandmothers
Learning Alongside Children: Math, Craft, & Curious Cats!
It is a typical Monday. I sip on a cup of French vanilla coffee, inhale the rich soothing aroma, then head off to my first class of the week. Every morning for about two and a half hours, I observe and support young children from three to ten years old. Many people might find this job daunting, but the more I do it, the more I realize I was born to do this. I love solving problems. I love connecting with kids. I guess that’s why I have been able to teach for over forty years without feeling burned out and uninspired. The kids always find a way to kindle my curiosity.
The Art of Assessment
In schools across the country and probably across the world, September means assessments. We give all kinds of assessments to get to know our students, or should I say to get to know their academic strengths and weaknesses. I don’t think assessments have anything to do with getting to know our students.
A Fresh Look at Lists
I reluctantly shift away from summer – the beach, the mountains, my independent reading time, the sun. And slowly I enter September already weary from thoughts of all I have to do, all I must do, all the little things that await me.
Where Were You?
This past week many people have been reflecting on where they were on 911. And also, now after twenty years, many young people have no memory or understanding of that day. The words: Flight 11; Flight 93; Shanksville, Pennsylvania; Twin Towers; ”Let’s roll!,” have no connection for them. For me, those words still make my heart race and bring me back to that beautiful blue-sky morning – September 11, 2001. That
Mainely Summer
Mainely Summer - Every year except for the last COVID year, my husband and I spend a week each summer photographing Acadia National Park and the Down East Maine Coast.
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 