One of my fifth grade students has been sharing her poetry with me. Nicole is a talented artist and now I’ve learned, poet. She has inspired me. (Do you notice how our topics differ?)
tree vines shiny, curly wavy, growing, reaching in the hot steamy air tree vines By Nicole back ache sitting up straight oh, my aching back hurts must lie down immediately back ache By Me
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Terje blogged about 50 Good Things in Life. Here are the first ones that come to mind:
50 Good Things in My Life
Terje blogged about 50 Good Things in Life.
50 Good Things in My Life
expecting to be climbing
scrambling over and under the boulders of the gunks known as the shawangunk ridge wearing boots, leather gloves and baseball caps over the past twenty-five years our family of five climbed here so many times before now we’re four sets of parents gathering in celebration of new memories for the next generation then… the unexpected a snow storm in the middle of march gusts of winds blowing white puffs everywhere snow covered tree branches, paths, rocks and icy lakes we strapped on bulky funny-shaped snowshoes henry and zachary sitting on their father’s shoulder saddles baby Anna snugly wrapped inside her mom's baby carrier gliding through the icy snow covered paths climbing tall towers as birds softly tweet hearing the rush of wind through the tree branches cuddling together by the roaring fire Leigh Anne invited us all to join her SLICER PARTY! I’ve read that Terge (Just for a Month) and Elizabeth Ellington (The Drigible Plum) have joined her writing retreat at a cabin tucked in the lush green fields surrounded by beautiful skies and perfect temperature. We’re asked to bring writing tools, food beverages and a quote. I once went to a writing retreat when I was writing my entries for the National Board about fifteen years ago. It was such a wonderful experience that I’d happily repeat. Writing Tools: Whenever I meet with writers to write they whip out their laptops as I begin to write in a marble notebook. I do all my typing on my desktop computer at home that sits inside an old wooden armoire that my husband created a pull-out draw inside of to hold my keypad. I have a chrome book from school, to be used only for school work. A few years back I finally gave in and bought an Apple laptop, which I shared with my daughter and it ended up becoming hers when she moved into her own house. Now, when I am not writing on my desktop computer, I use a trusty ol’ cheap marble notebook. I have a gazillion beautiful notebooks that I’ve gotten for gifts and even bought for myself, but I’m messy and feel guilty writing in a beautiful looking notebook. So, I’d need to go purchase a new laptop computer for the slicer writing party or just bring a stack of marble notebooks to write in. I love colorful pilot flairs. I use them to grade papers, write notes to students and they are so cheap and fun. I would have a few pencils, sharpened with erasers too. How can a writer not have a few pencils? Food beverage: I would bring a case of water and sparkling water. Something fancy, not just Poland Springs and definitely not some store brand! This way I’d have enough to share and always have one by me. I always promise myself to drink a lot of water and when I’m writing, I totally forget to even take a sip. I’d also bring a few boxes of tea bags of my favorite tea, Celestial’s Honey Vanilla Chamomile. I would throw in my bag a few bags of Smart Pop Popcorn too. Sometimes you just need to crunch. Quote: “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” George Elliot is known for this quote and as the years pass, this saying gives me hope that I'll somehow find the time and energy to accomplish what is (and what will) be important to me. Two-and-one-half-year-old Henry and I walked hand-in-hand down the colorful carpeted hallway
en route to join his parents in their hotel room. “Henry, what room are you in?” I inquire knowing that he is way too young to possibly know, let alone remember, the answer to my question. “Bubba, 211,” he proudly declares. I have trouble catching my breath. “Can you help me find the way to room 211?” I ask pretending to be casual. I’m shocked when this mini human in his rock climbing work boots and snowsuit overalls directs me down two different hallways and then suddenly stops. He points his little finger up at the door number sign four feet above him. I look and see the oval sign on the door that says “211.” Still in amazement, I ponder if toddlers today are taught to be more aware of their surroundings or if my little grandson is brilliant. After a split second I decided it was obvious that Henry is just brilliant. Slicer Book Dragon shared that a favorite author, Jarret Learner, once wrote," Describe your creative process in no more than five words." Challenge taken!
Absorb, reflect, write, rewrite, repeat. It’s over. Another year, another March 10th birthday. I usually dread this day because it means I’m getting older and life is slipping away. This year, for the first time, my mom wouldn’t be here, at least on this earth, with me. This year I decided I would have a positive attitude and embrace my birthday. Embrace the love, the friendship and be happy. This year, I smiled as my husband wished me a happy birthday after his alarm woke me up at 6 am. I quickly checked my mail and read the news on my ipad, but didn’t linger like I often do. I hopped out of bed, put on my exercise clothes, and ran downstairs to jump on the Peloton for a peppy country ride. I sang in the shower and didn’t get angry that my scale showed a higher number than I’d prefer. This year I picked out a fancy, colorful button-down silk shirt with pink flowers, meant more for spring than a snowy, rainy day that my daughters bought me for my birthday a few years back. This year I dressed fancy, which I never ever do on a school day, because it was my birthday after all. Loosely Inspired by “ On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins in Linda Rief’s Quickwrite Handbook Today is the celebration of the day I was born Like a deflated balloon The whole idea of it makes me feel Like my youth is fading Something worse than gaining ten pounds in a week Or noticing lines form across your brow You tell me that I have so much to look forward to Grandchildren who I’ll teach everything I know Traveling to Japan and Australia in retirement years ahead Time for yoga, Peloton, Pickleball, reading and writing You tell me it’s too early to be looking back Yet, I remember the years past When I fell in love, raised my girls, began to teach The tennis I played, the morning runs before the sun came up When I was somebody's daughter It’s only yesterday I use to believe That my energy was limitless That things would never change Yet, another birthday has arrived And the only constant is me Day 9
Inspired by “Excerpt from The Crossover” by Kwame Alexander in Linda Rief’s book, The Quickwrite Handbook. “Daughter, since you asked, I’ll tell you why I’m so hard on myself.” Because I have to prove to myself that I’m worthy. Because I always want to do better. Because as a young child I struggled in school and never felt smart. Because I notice the brilliance around me and feel the need to keep up. Because my parents taught me that hard work pays off. Because I take great pride when my actions help others to feel good. Because I look in the mirror and no longer see the youthful me. Because I wonder why I lost the friends I did along the way. Because my mother used to say, “This isn’t a dress rehearsal.” Because I want to make a difference in the one life I have. Inspired by “Excerpt from The Running Dream” by Wendlin Van Draanen in Linda Rief’s The Quickwrite Handbook.
I AM A NOTE TAKER constantly scribbling on tiny pieces of papers grabbing any old slice close by index cards, post-its, the back of pieces of mail, rectangular pads - the kind you get free in your mailbox from charities that hope they’ll guilt you to send a generous donation a gazillion loose pieces of papers all around me all the time beside my computer, covering the kitchen countertop, on my nightstand around my school desk, inside my rolling bag, stuck between pages where I scribble notes during faculty staff meetings, while preparing a lesson, taking notes on students, while on the phone important messages linger on my scraps of paper often misplacing important messages left on that tiny scrap if only I’d written in a black marble notebook then I wouldn’t have to have looked everywhere tonight for over an hour and a half, unsuccessfully, even the inside of the garbage can At this hour…
Inspiration for this Slice comes from Julieanne Harmatz, who inspired Ramona, Leigh Anne, and Elisabeth, Margaret and Patricia Halloway. At this hour Feeling my tooth throb as the novocaine begins to wear off Sitting on my hard chair while planning and typing Google slides for tomorrow’s literacy lesson Listening to the water running through the pipes as the laundry spins Smelling the chicken burning in the oven as I’ve lost track of time Watching a video of little Anna Rose on my iphone as she is completely covered in orange gob, laughing, making funny faces, as she grabs the spoon and places it near her mouth to eat mashed carrots for the very first time At this hour…
Inspiration for this Slice comes from Julieanne Harmatz, who inspired Ramona, Leigh Anne, and Elisabeth, Margaret and Patricia Halloway. At this hour Feeling my tooth throb as the novocaine begins to wear off Sitting on this hard, uncomfortable chair while planning and typing Google slides for tomorrow’s literacy lesson Listening to the water running through the pipes above me as the laundry spins Smelling the chicken burning in the oven as I’ve lost track of time...again Distracted by watching a video of little Anna Rose on my iphone as she is completely covered in orange gob, laughing, grabbing the spoon as she eats mashed carrots for the very first time I love the beach. The serenity. The blue sky. The crash of the waves. The soft, fine sand. My husband and I go to the beach in Montauk through the four seasons and winter is my favorite. We walk along the shore for miles as we collect sea glass and shells. In March we rarely see another person walking along the shore, which makes me feel like the big, expansive beach is all mine.
Even though today was a foggy, misty day my husband and I, my daughter and son-in-law and two grandchildren headed across the street, down the slanted wooden steps to the beach. Usually as soon as we hit the sand we head towards the shore and walk west for a few miles. As we started to head towards the shore, our two and a half year old grandson, Henry, had other plans. He found a piece of driftwood and dug it across the sand. He ran wildly up and down near the dunes. He desperately wanted to climb up the dunes. He knows that we usually stay away from the dunes for fear of ticks in summer and because the ground is not solid and rocks from above could possibly tumble down. Henry was insistent. He planted himself amongst the rocks and lovingly called for his Bubba to join him. In seconds I found myself sitting on a pile of rocks, covered in red dusty sand as Henry and I explored the ground and rocks. We piled the rocks up high and talked about the various shapes and colors of the rocks. He dug his hands in the dirt as his yellow pants became brown. Henry refused to go home when his four-month-old sister had had enough of the cold. Henry couldn’t understand why anyone would ever want to leave the beach. Slicer Angela Faulhaber wrote her slice (March 4th) based on Linda Rief's book titled, Quickwrites. This is based on the “Rambling Autobiography.”
Eva’s Rambling Autobiography I was born during a rare blizzard in the middle of March after my parents arrived by police escort to the hospital. I adore the aroma and flavor of coffee and chocolate. I satisfy my addiction by occasionally digging into the plastic tub of Guittard milk chocolate cooking chips I keep hidden in my freezer. I sometimes splurge on buying my favorite black Spendid t-shirts at Bloomingdales, which are ridiculously priced for a simple black t-shirt but I love how long and soft they are. I once stole a dairy which was a dare from mean spirited girlfriends from a local stationary store that was rumored to be owned by the mafia. (I lost a lot of sleep over that experience.) That was the same year I slapped a girl in day camp across the face and then got punched in the stomach because another mean group of girls thought it would be fun to start a fight. My favorite place to hide was the extra large, long closet in the bedroom I shared with my sister growing up that my dad had added to our house in Plainview, Long Island. There was a spare mattress stuck at the end and I would spend hours hiding in the dark space feeling like I was a million miles away. I can still smell my mother’s chicken soup simmering on the stove, radiating through the house. I went to the prom with a college boy who had graduated from my high school who exclaimed when he picked me up at my house, “I almost didn’t make it tonight because my grandmother just croked.” I was asked to drop the Aikido martial arts class my sister and I signed up for after I fainted during the first session. I gave birth to three beautiful daughters, who are now married and having children of their own. I once saw Billie Jean King in a restaurant when tennis was my life and when I bravely went to tell her how I admired her she was rather rude.. I am an elementary school teacher who loves teaching children to become lifelong learners. Taking Charge
I really wanted to use the app Kahoots to create a fun, engaging practice quiz of the vocabulary words from our Earth and Space science unit that we are quizzing our fifth graders on next week. For a long time our district stopped allowing teachers to use Kahoots. But, recently it was approved and I was beyond thrilled. The problem is that it’s changed and I have to reacquaint myself with the site. I expected to spend a part of my Sunday figuring out the site and creating the quiz. Jack, who sits near the front of the classroom, is a technical whiz. He loves to help me figure out the ins and outs of the Promethean board I am fortunate to have in my classroom. Today, I got smart. I asked Jack if he wanted to create the Kahoots quiz for the class. Oh boy, was he excited. As he prepared the questions sitting proudly on my for- teacher- only ball chair, using my desk computer, I could see how excited he was. I inquired, “Jack, would it be okay with you if I share your quiz with the other fifth grade classes?” “Of course!” he replied with a grin. I hadn’t planned on reviewing for the quiz today, but I couldn’t resist as Jack was coming out of his skin. The day ended in whoops and screams as students played Jack’s Khoot science vocabulary review. Somehow I have a strong feeling that Jack will ace the quiz next week! Today I visited my elementary school’s library to inquire if I could borrow a dictionary to use with my students as we read Tuck Everlasting. This novel has a ton of exciting words that my fifth graders have never encountered before. I used to have a set of dictionaries in my classroom but as space was tight they were boxed and either placed in the e deep, dark storage basement or possibly thrown away. I imagined my students reading and suddenly noticing a word they didn’t know. They’d reach for the dictionary and they’d squint as they looked up the word among the gazillion teeny tiny printed words on the same page. You can imagine my shock and dismay at learning that there wasn't one single dictionary in the library. None. Nada. I often see those photos on Facebook of objects from my childhood that are now relics, but it had never occurred to me that a dictionary is an antiquated object. A sadness overwhelmed me. All these elementary age students will never feel the ;weight of a huge dictionary that they can barely hold and need to quickly find a table to place it down upon. They will never be overwhelmed with the thousands upon thousands of words that cover each thin page from top to bottom. They will never think to question how it took linguistic researchers generations to gather all these words that have roots in languages and places of which many no longer exist. These young minds will never look up a word only to get caught noticing how similar so many words are. They won’t have the opportunity to notice how one single word can have multiple meanings and interpretations. They will never use a dictionary to learn the pronunciation of a word, or be confused about what parts of speech the word is when used in combination with others in a sentence. What a heart wrenching tremendous loss. Do you ever stop and think about the BIG things in your life that make you happy? I’m not talking about the fleeting moments of joy that surprise us throughout our days but the deep, soul searching, feeling of happiness that you get from an activity or action in your life. As I am getting older and thinking about how I want to spend my time, I have been soul searching for my answer. What really makes me happy? I’ve just begun to sort this out:
I’m exhausted just thinking about what makes me happy! How about you? little
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Eva KaplanSea glass, found on beaches, is naturally worn and smooth by tide and time,. As a wife, mother, Bubbe, teacher, reader & life-long learner, and of course, sea glass collector, I aspire to use writing to help me understand myself and the world around me. Archives
March 2024
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