Exploring Curiosity, Imagination, and Wonder
For our 30th anniversary five years ago, my husband and I returned to our honeymoon site - Montreal. Since that time, we make sure we return to Montreal every summer, sometimes twice a summer. My husband found a wonderful boutique hotel in Old Montreal - Georges Marciano's L'Hotel. Marciano, the founder and designer of Guess? … Continue reading The Art of Cookies
My travels in Old Montreal, finding peace and mindfulness
I've been thinking a lot about beauty lately. This spring and summer I was tasked with finding an assisted living facility for my mother-in-law. It has proved to be an arduous journey fraught with near-hysteria, even with expert advice from A Place for Mom, which I cannot recommend more highly! But I digress. I want … Continue reading Something Beautiful
Back in February, I bought a slim volume of poetry because I loved the cover - a bright floral abstract and the title, Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay. I flipped to the first page - a poem about figs. Figs - my Grandpa Charlie's favorite and my favorite too. I often splurge and buy … Continue reading Poet Found: Ross Gay
I used to take long walks in the woods and a poem would pop into my head effortlessly. The flow of my steps would jog something in my brain and images and ideas would come to me almost like magic. Lately, my life has been filled up with mundane things: weddings, newborn babies, elderly relatives … Continue reading Write the Poem
I recently attended a teacher's workshop presented by Penny Kittle at Rutgers University sponsored by Rutgers Center for Literacy Development. I've seen Penny many times. Usually, she talks to teachers about creating reading and writing workshop spaces in high school classes. Penny was a high school English teacher in New Hampshire and her mentor was … Continue reading Write What You Notice
My colleagues worry about not having time enough to teach. They have so much content they need and want to cover. As a curriculum coordinator, I create tons of documents - benchmarks, scope & sequences, lists of standards by grade level to make sure we don't miss teaching one single skill or strategy. This is … Continue reading Being Present to Joy
This post centers around seeing students' possibilities instead of their deficits. When teachers and parents can do that, a student's motivation increases and they are able to become more successful, seeing themselves in a strong and positive light.
I don't know whether it's because my mom was a teacher or because I became a teacher and have been doing this for the last forty years... but I LOVE apples. I keep an apple collection: marble, ceramic, crystal, brass - all kinds of apples to remind me that school has just started and like … Continue reading A Time for Apples
For the first couple of weeks of school this year, I stared my work day in the Junior Pre-K with a vivacious group of three-year-olds. Those morning were filled with joy. This is my 40th year of teaching. My first six years in this profession was happily spent in a cooperative nursery school whose mission … Continue reading A Great Way to Start the Day
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 