As a Learning Specialist, my job is to monitor and support learning in early childhood through fifth-grade classes. This is the place of my ultimate joy and satisfaction - seeing children grow, witnessing their struggles, and their hard-fought accomplishments. The daily struggles seem like small roadblocks to adults, but to children, struggles loom large. And if you have a learning difference, struggles can seem overwhelming. We do all in our power to motivate and encourage the young minds in our charge. Sometimes these efforts work right away, sometimes it takes a long time to see the fruits of our labor.
Tag: Writing
Art Spa: Handmade Restorative Practice
A few weeks ago, during a full-day professional development session, I facilitated an Art Spa event. I was amazed when twenty-five people signed up—I actually had to add more spaces! Seeing that level of engagement gave me hope; it confirmed that creating a dedicated space for creativity isn't just an "extra"—it's critical.
Book. Memory. Promise: Never Forget
I am encouraged and so thankful that Lois Lowry has written Tree. Table. Book. The octogenarian author of Number the Stars and The Giver, Ms. Lowry is an expert storyteller and isn’t afraid to take on controversial subjects. She is a master at presenting hard situations and ethical problems to a young audience. This most recent book spans generations and shows how stories can connect rather than tear people apart. With story and memory, we can build bonds and begin to understand each other. This connection between the old and young is crucial; it is the sticky hope that will ensure “never forget” leads to the promise of “never again.”
Making the Broken, Beautiful
When I read "Broken" by X. Fang and thought about a memory of something broken, I immediately thought about a glass jar that held cigars tightly packed in concentric circles. This jar was not something that I broke. No. But I can see it vividly even though this memory is close to 60 years old. I thought the glass container was so beautiful, encircled by a red satin ribbon, holding something my father enjoyed – cigars. When I saw it in the store, I knew I had to buy it for him for Father’s Day. I was so pleased with myself and knew he would be proud of me.
Working in the Wonder Studio: Setting the Stage
This month, it is the 3rd grade’s turn in the Wonder Studio. I usually have a packed crowd waiting to create, but this group is a little reticent, and I have had only 3 to 6 students come to form. However, what they lack in volume, they make up for in collaborative creativity.
Reveling in Winter White: Cloud Dancer
This morning, the snow called for me to breathe, slow my pace, and put my mind in order. It opened up a space for me to write and wonder, to dream and create. I definitely have a deficit in those areas. I don’t think I have attention deficit; I think I have intention deficit. I get so involved in so many day-to-day comings and goings that I forget what is most important to me. Thank goodness, nature has a way of reminding me, bringing back, pulling me into its healing sphere.
A Grateful Writer
Thanksgiving gave me time to pause, time to reflect on the changes happening in my own life and all around me. It made stop and think about what I truly hold as important. Blogging for the past five years, has given me the space in which I form and share ideas. I write about books, art, people, and concepts that intrigue me, that I want to learn more about. By writing, I come to understand things at a much deeper level.
Put Learning in Their Hands
I’m at a point in my life when I look back and reflect on my decisions, I think about all the steps (and missteps) I’ve made that brought me this far. The one thing that stands out for me is how working with my hands has been a major theme throughout my childhood, teenage years, and all the decades of my adult life.
The Serene Art of Forest Bathing
The muted, burnished colors reflected in the mountain pools were so incredibly soothing. They blended together in wavy lines. The trees, the leaves, the water became one, and I wanted to plunge in and cover myself in autumnal splendor. It is in these moments that the real and the imagined join forces and cast a magical energy.
Daily Dose of Joy
I put down my briefcase, sat carefully down on a small chair, and introduced myself to a table of three-year-old girls. I started my teaching career working with three-year-olds. I remember days of play, imagination, and song so fondly.
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 