Category Archives: celebrating

Muir Woods: a Photoessay

Nestled in a valley not far from the knotted web of Bay Area traffic and coursing flow of humanity is a space dedicated to showcasing some of nature’s treasures.

The majesty of redwoods is best experienced in person. These giants are not only tall, but also express such personality. Each tree is unique from the next one. They seem to grow in families, clustered as if to offer support and companionship to one another.

I found myself intrigued by the light and shadows. At two in the afternoon, the sun struggled to penetrate these amazing tall trees. Occasionally we would see the soft glow of light where the sun found its way through the canopy.

I love the way this forest demonstrates how it sustains itself. Trees that have fallen and died, teem with live as decomposers work at recycling…returning the tree trunks to the soil to feed new life. As I paid close attention, I noticed these mushrooms growing from a broken trunk.

And as I continued walking I spied these beauties growing along the edge of the trail in with the clovers.

The stream was pretty shallow… After all, summer has just ended and the rainy season has not yet begun. I worked to capture the water’s movement…and to my surprise I captured the reflection of the trees above in the water!

And as a southern Californian who has to search for fall colors in trees, I noticed the leaves of the deciduous trees in my adventures today. There were no reds and oranges evident, but this yellow caught my eye.

Walking through the woods today was refreshing. The fresh, fragrant air and the natural beauty of the trees felt like a massage…relaxing and energizing.

What do you do to relax and rejuvenate? What amazing places do you have the opportunity Ito explore?

A Writing Kind of Day

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Today was a writing kind of day.

On Friday we began celebrating the National Day on Writing with a field trip and a puzzle piece that I wrote about here.

But today was the cherry on top of the writing sundae.

Our morning began with a version of a chalk talk. My teaching partner taped white butcher paper to the wall ball court and posted a few questions for students at our school to respond to: How do you use writing to connect? Where do you like to write? and Who are your favorite authors or what are you favorite books?

With markers in hand, our students started writing.

They wrote about places they love to write: writing on couches, on the beach, and in libraries. They love Shel Silverstein, Beverly Cleary, Roald Dahl, and J.K. Rowling. They write letters, texts, emails, books, notes and more.

They wrote and wrote and wrote. And when they weren’t writing, they were reading the writing of their classmates on the wall.

Our school-wide puzzle was also on display in the wall ball court today.

And students enjoyed reading what other classes at our school wrote for their puzzle piece (and finding their own and reading it again!).

And then we went on with our regular classroom activities…and more writing! Our students have been drafting a just-for-fun piece of writing about an animal of their choice. And they were applying what they have been learning about using figurative language (similes), specific and interesting verbs, and sensory imagery (sound, movement) to write a “moment” featuring their animal. Today they took some time to give their writing a “check up” (you know like the doctor does to make sure you are healthy). They reread their writing and looked for the features mentioned above…and then went back to their writing to make it even better.

And the best part of the day was that these writers enjoyed writing, sharing writing about their writing on Twitter, and even revising their writing…because they are writers. And today was all about writing.

Write2Connect!

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People all over the nation are celebrating the power of writing this week and next. October 20th is the National Day on Writing…and with it falling on a Sunday, there are even more days to celebrate writing.

We’ve planned for multiple parts to our celebration of writing…in our classroom, at our school, in our district…and beyond. And with the theme, write2connect, we’ve focused on how writing connects.

In our district every class has worked to create a puzzle piece highlighting student writing…that interconnects with the other puzzle pieces to create a collage of writing at each school site. For our pieces (we have two since our class has two teachers and twice as many students) each student has a puzzle piece that interconnects to create the larger puzzle piece. In their individual puzzle piece each student answers the question, how does writing connect us? They included answers like writing letters to grandparents, sending emails, writing books and notes, and connecting with teachers in their Homework Writer’s Notebooks.

Our school-wide puzzle will be unveiled on Monday…stay tuned!

Today we also physically connected with older students at our other school to write together. Nearly 100 students in grades one through five spent the morning playing with writing. Using the Common Core text types as broad categories, they explored writing about the same topic in three different ways. This whirlwind of writing was such fun…and successful. Students wrote an amazing amount–and such variety, they wrote about soccer and horses and books and clubs and so much more. In our last few minutes at the end of our allotted time, a few students read their writing aloud while the others guessed whether the writing was primarily narrative, informational, or opinion in nature.

I love watching writers at work! They were so focused and engaged as they scribbled ideas into their writer’s notebooks. They all wrote and wrote and wrote…and we didn’t have nearly enough time to hear all who wanted to share!

And we have more in store on Monday! We will be participating in a large-scale “chalk talk” posted in our wall ball courts…and admiring our puzzles of connected writing. We also plan to initiate our class twitter account and share some of the amazing and thoughtful ideas students are writing! Check out the #write2connect hashtag on twitter!

How are you celebrating the National Day on Writing?

Remixing and the Cardiff Kook

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Tomorrow my class is traveling up the hill (a mile or so) to the other school in our district to write with the older students in the other multiage class (many of whom were in our class a year or two ago). We’re doing this to celebrate writing and the National Day on Writing and this year’s theme: write2connect.

In the spirit of connection and Jim Gray (the founder of the National Writing Project) and even the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), we will “try on” writing about the same topic in three different ways. While the CCSS text types (narrative, informational, opinion/argument) will constitute our broad categories, students will be able to fuse and mold the writing to fit their own interests and purposes.

So…to get students started thinking about opinion/argument, this post will be my attempt to create an opinion piece focused on the Cardiff Kook. The Cardiff Kook, a piece of public sculpture officially named “Magic Carpet Ride,” has been the center of mischief and controversy in the small coastal town where I teach.

So here I go:

Love it or hate it, the Cardiff Kook has become an iconic image in the seaside town of Cardiff-by-the-Sea. Guerrilla artists creep up to the statue originally named “Magic Carpet Ride” in the dark of night to creatively adorn the controversial surfer in any number of theatrical props. It has been transformed into Oprah in celebration of the last Oprah show, engulfed in the jaws of a great white shark, and carried off by a prehistoric flying creature. I love the Cardiff Kook. It’s a great ambassador for Cardiff, bringing in tourists from all over and creating opportunities for community building within the town.

It’s fun to see the kook all dressed up. There is never a time when I drive by the statue at the intersection of 101 and Chesterfield Drive when I don’t slow down to take a look to see if there is a new creation. For a while, a couple of years ago, the kook was transformed regularly and extravagantly. Lately that has slowed down and most days it looks like it did today when I took the photo in this post. I love to take out-of-town guests and family members by to take a look at the statue…always hoping that it might be dressed up in some interesting way.

I recently read that images of the kook are now copyrighted and will be licensed to fund the upkeep of a public garden across the train tracks from the statue. I’m guessing that was the thinking behind the Cardiff Kook calendar and maybe even the annual Cardiff Kook Run. These kinds of products and events can bring a community together as we all connect through our experiences with the kook.

Mostly, though, I just think the kook is fun. I think the point of public art is to create conversation. Some people will like some pieces and some won’t. But the conversations and arguments and conflict make us all think and engage and pay attention. Not liking the original surfer sculpture resulted in creative and playful ways to re-envision this piece of public art. And most of the time it remains unadorned as the sculptor created it…but every once in a while others add their own spin to the art, remixing the original artist’s vision with their own to create something new, different, interesting…and create a new conversation. And for me, that is much more valuable than looking at a static, unchanging piece of art day after day, year after year. The Cardiff Kook reminds us to be playful, to have fun…and to connect with each other.

What do you think?

Celebrating 100 Posts!

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I never would have believed when I started this blog way back in July that I would get to 100 posts…and except for one day a week or so ago, all those posts were consecutive days! So to celebrate, here are some thoughts on the value of blogging…and writing every day. (And a silly picture of a balloon I saw at the grocery store)

1. Writing every day gives me authenticity as a writer. I’m not just talking about the value of writing–I am “walking the walk” of a writer. As my friend Janis stated in her blog post yesterday,

We must write when we are inspired, and we must write when we are not. We need to feel the joy and the pain of the process in order to understand what our students experience.

I work through my own blocks and figure out ways to find topics to write about and put words on the page. I am also more aware of the writing of others and notice how they put words together.

2. As a blogger, I have joined a community of other writers. I would never have believed that I would have 99 followers to my blog…most of whom I have never met. And yet these new friends encourage my writing and my photography by their mere presence. And I’ve come to realize that people read my blog even when they don’t make their presence known. I get little hints now and then from an unexpected reader and I realize again that my audience stretches beyond me.

3. Blogging has taught me the value of commenting on other people’s blog posts. I have definitely been guilty of reading blog post after blog post…and never commenting. As a blogger myself, I know that comments can push my thinking and increase my motivation to write. I now take the time to comment on a regular basis and I read blogs differently–always looking for the ways bloggers make connections and create energy around their posts.

4. Blogging pushes me as a writer and as a photographer. My photography inspires my writing and my writing inspires my photography. Both practices encourage me to look closely at my world and pay attention to the little things. And both have become regular practices in my life…habits! (The good kind!)

5. Blogging connects me. I am producing content on the web as well as consuming content. I am more connected to other educators…all over the world, and more conscious of sharing ideas and resources. I join in with challenges that other bloggers post, linking my blog posts to theirs…and inspiring some different kinds of writing that I might not undertake on my own. I continue to look for ways to connect, to learn from others, and to share with others. That is the heart of being a connected educator.

The timing couldn’t be more perfect. I am celebrating my 100th blog post in the middle of Connected Educator’s month!

Are you thinking about blogging? Start small…and keep at it. I’d love to know what you find valuable about blogging.

Celebrating the Ordinary

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I wasn’t going to post today…and if you’ve been following me you will know that is significant. In the last 98 days I have only not posted on one day, and the practice of writing and posting each day has become very important, so when I decide not to post it feels like a major decision. And then I got a tweet from my friend Janis (check out her blog!) pointing me to Ruth Ayres’ Saturday Celebrations (this is the practice week).

This week I have been celebrating the ordinary. You can see it in my blog posts here and here. And today was a blissfully ordinary day. I slept in, spent a quiet morning puttering about, ran a few errands, had lunch with my hubby, ran a few more errands…and bought a new book. Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo. The first few chapters are promising… elements of graphic novels right in the novel itself! It will be my bedtime reading tonight.

This month for #sdawpphotovoices we are using writing as our photo prompt. And while writing is valuable to me…creating interesting photographs that reflect writing has been challenging. How do you make something ordinary, like writing, look like art? I’ve been experimenting with cropping and filters to get some new and different effects. Here is collage of a few of of my photos from this month.

So thanks, Janis, for the nudge to think about what I have to celebrate this week…and for the nudge to write and post today.

What are you celebrating this week?