Tag Archives: clmooc

Malasadas Still Life: NPM 2019 Day 14

Today I took inspiration from Go Poems, and decided to try a still life poem. I went in a little different direction than was suggested–moving away from items of regular use, and had some fun playing around with the idea of a still life poem.

Although I’m back home from my vacation, my mind is still in the islands. So here’s a bit of island flavor in the form of a still life poem.

Malasadas: Still Life

Nestled in a pink box

round balls of dough

rolled in sparkling crystals

of sugar wait.

Tropical creams…

mango, guava, coconut

peek out, hinting at the goodness within.

I take a bite and my mouth fills

with sweetness

that transports me to the sunfilled beaches

and the gentle breezes of tropical trade winds.

Memories of island paradise

fill my belly

all rolled up

in a delicious

Leonard’s malasada.

©Douillard

Weekly Photo Challenge: Moments

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One of my favorite things about taking photos is that even without my camera in hand, the act of photography helps me pay attention to moments. I find myself looking for light, looking for expressions, looking for color…and that moment of time that the click of the shutter freezes.

Not every photo comes out as an amazing work of art, but even the “failed” images teach me something. Sometimes I learn about photography, sometimes about light and shadow, and frequently I learn about patience…and about seizing the moment when I have the chance.

Last weekend my husband ran in the Carlsbad 5000, a race of a bit over three miles through the streets of the village of Carlsbad. It’s a beautiful setting, not far front the sea. There were lots of runners, very early in the morning, going through their own pre-race routines. As the start neared, I walked to the front where the fastest runners were poised for the start, the morning sunshine pouring in behind them.

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After watching my husband go by (not near the front…he’s a recreational runner, not a racer), I walked toward the finish line where I could watch runners as they had completed the course. It was fun to watch the fastest of the runners who seemed to have sprinted from start to finish (this was the over 40 men’s race), finishing in just over 15 minutes. And I think it’s fun that racers get to take home a medal for their participation, a reminder of the moments of the race. (My husband had a respectable finish, one that he was pleased with, and that’s a fun moment too!)

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Sometimes when my week is busy, I forget to appreciate the little things, blaming no time as my excuse. But I took time on Tuesday to stop to watch the sun set. I guess my late meeting was a bit of a blessing, bringing me near home as the sun was dipping into the ocean. I pulled off the freeway and found a parking spot near Torrey Pines State Beach just in time to watch the sun as it set behind the lifeguard tower. The colors were pretty, the wind cool on my cheeks, and the white noise of the waves washed worries to the side. I did enhance the colors with a filter, bringing the vibrance and energy of the sunset to the forefront of the image.

And on the day that going anywhere other than straight home just seemed too much of a chore, I remembered that I needed to turn the sprinklers on in the back yard. I ducked in for my camera and when I came back out I noticed the bees around the lavender. I crouched, patiently waiting for the bees to come into my shot. I love the way the light sits in the background while the flower and bee are more shaded. I also love the moment of action, the bee frozen midair.

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Somedays I’m glad to have a bit of sunshine indoors…like these yellow tulips in a vase on my dining room table. Trader Joe’s offers such a nice assortment of not-too-pricy cut flowers that I feel like I can splurge and bring into the house pretty regularly. On this day I was able to catch the moment when the afternoon sun shined on the table, illuminating the sturdy yellow blossoms.

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What moments will you catch as you slow down with your camera in hand? Look carefully, perhaps even staying still for a few minutes to notice all that is happening in your view.

You can post your photo alone or along with some words: commentary, a story, a poem…maybe even a song! I love to study the photographs that others’ take and think about how I can use a technique, an angle, or their inspiration to try something new in my own photography. (I love a great mentor text…or mentor photo, in this case!) I share my photography and writing on social media. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter using @kd0602. If you share your photos and writing on social media too, please let me know so I can follow and see what you are doing. To help our Weekly Photo community find each other, use the hashtag #moments for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

Set off in search of some moments…and share them with the rest of us!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Down to the Ground

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This week’s challenge intersects with #digiwrimo, popping up with leadership from #clmooc-ers, encouraging some collaborative digital play. Last year we created a collaborative photo album called Our Eyes on the Sky, which turned out to be a world tour through skies. To switch it up this year, the theme is Down to the Ground and we’re hoping to create another around the world tour!

With the ground theme in mind, I have also had my eyes to the ground. The tide has been low this week–right after school, so I have had walking opportunities before heading home. With the tide way out, nature’s textures become evident, rippling the sand as the water pools around it.

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Walking at low tide means that rocks and shells are revealed…and my favorite, tiny pieces of tumbled glass. I have found many treasures this week by keeping my eyes to the ground. Here’s my haul from Wednesday.

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Even though dogs are not allowed on the beach, at this time of year it’s not unusual to see a dog or two. (I guess the rules are less stringent in the off season) I noticed these paw prints as I walked the other day.

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I love the light as the sun is setting, and yesterday was no exception. I caught this golden glow with a solitary seagull silhouetted as the sun sunk into the sea. I love the sense of stillness and solitude that comes with walks on the beach–especially in the off season in the early evening. It is really the perfect antidote to everyday stresses.

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Today as I walked, I noticed the seagulls gathered, basking in the warmth of the setting sun. As people walked near, they began to fly–high enough to feel safe, but not high at all. They simply skimmed the ground, flying less than a foot from the surface of the sand. I always love when I can catch the wings in a perfect flying formation (and the shadow is a bonus!).

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And believe it or not, I don’t spend my life at the beach. I spend most of every day in my classroom surrounded by children. In preparation for a field trip next week, we headed to our school library to practice taking inspiration from our surroundings…and the words we found on book spines. I found this student sprawled on the ground, focused on writing, inspired by her surroundings! I can’t wait to head off to the Children’s Museum to see how play and art will inspire our students’ writing!

My grandsons (can you believe they are 9 months old already?) will arrive at my house right after Christmas…I can’t wait! In preparation (and because the car can’t hold all the equipment the twins will need), baby things are arriving. Phil and Jack (our cats) moved right into this huge box that held a couple of pack and plays.

So, this is your week to get down the ground and explore those things that are low and close to the earth (or the floor). You are welcome to share in the usual ways…and feel free to add your image to our collaborative photo album (you can find the link above).

You can post your photo alone or along with some words: commentary, a story, a poem…maybe even a song! I love to study the photographs that others’ take and think about how I can use a technique, an angle, or their inspiration to try something new in my own photography. (I love a great mentor text…or mentor photo, in this case!) I share my photography and writing on social media. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter using @kd0602. If you share your photos and writing on social media too, please let me know so I can follow and see what you are doing. To help our Weekly Photo community find each other, use the hashtag #downtotheground for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

So look down…and all around. What will you find when your eyes are down to the ground?

Objectify

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The word #object has come up a few times in the last week or so. First I heard about composing with things…and started thinking about how “things”…particularly photographs help me with my writing. And then Annelise Wunderlich at KQED offered a Do Now focused on selecting an ordinary object, experience, or material to represent or inspire you. (You can join in by posting yours on Twitter, Google+, Instagram, or Facebook using the #donowobject and #clmooc tags)

A number of ideas came to mind when I fhought about how I might objectify myself. Dandelions and other weeds come to mind…I love the way they thrive wherever they find themselves, rather than being dependent on others for ideal growth conditions.

But I think glass is the object I will pick. Geoff and I have been looking for beach glass on all of our beach walks over the last year. This glass on the beach is pretty rare–probably due to the ban on glass on the beach over the last decade. But we do find it–and that search for treasure on the shore has helped me to pay close attention the the interesting qualities of the glass.

Beach glass is not transparent. Unlike a window, it is not easy to look inside or through. Time and tumbling have created an opaque quality, no longer shiny and clear but instead the surface suggests a history hidden in the sanded surface.

My favorite pieces of beach glass are smooth to the touch and feel good in your hand. They are worn and rounded rather than sharp and angular. We often categorize the pieces of glass as we pick them up…some are young and sharp, juveniles in the glass world. But it’s the pieces worn smooth that are prizes in the glass game.

And beach glass plays well with others. It mingles with rocks and shells, sea creatures and seaweed. It hides in the sand, gets tossed in the tide, and reveals itself only when you take time to look.

Beach glass is my choice as an object of inspiration and representation.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Celebrate

ABCs of Summer: June’s Photo-a-Day Challenge

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Unofficially summer has begun, and even though school is still in for many in this part of the world…summer is on the brain. Ironically, the weather is cool and gloomy…it’s definitely not the atmosphere to inspire beach going or outdoor sports, so let’s hope that this month’s photo-a-day challenge will put you in the mood for summer!

Let’s let the alphabet guide us this month…with a word prompt for each letter (a few extra to add up to the 30 we need for June).

After you shoot, post a photo each day with the hashtag #sdawpphotovoices to Twitter, Instagram, Flicker, Google+ and/or Facebook (the more the better!), so that we can all enjoy the posts. If you are game for some more playfulness, compose a blog post about a photo, a week’s worth of photos, write a photo essay, make a video or slideshow or try a learning walk! (More about learning walks here and here) You are invited to create a pingback by linking to this url or post your blog address in the comment section. It’s fun for me to see what others are doing with the same prompts I am using!

Here’s the list:

1. awkward

2. beach

I love the beach…in all seasons! There is something about the interplay of the sky and water and sand that creates interesting images.

3. blue

4. curious

5. develop

I’m working to develop my photography skills. Here is an attempt at night photography. I like some things about this image even though it is blurry. I need to do a lot more experimenting with shooting at night…you’ll likely see some of my trials this month!

6. explore

7. friends

8. green

You can go literal–like this green succulent–or perhaps more figurative like green with envy or environmentally aware!

9. hot

10. honor

Love that this parking lot employs the honor system for charging for parking. You slide your cash in a locked metal tube and depend on your own integrity to follow the intention. (The Julian catholic church owns the lot and the proceeds supports people in need in the community.)

11. idle

12. jump

13. keep

14. lost

15. mmmmm

16. nature

17. observe

18. pause

We paused to take a look at these electrical towers…and then found ourselves thinking about where towers like this are found. Are there any in your neighborhood?

19. play

20. quench

21. relax

I love the aroma of lavender…and the beauty of the plant. I wish I could get it to grow this beautifully in my yard!

22. savor

23. travel

24. time

25. unexpected

26. vary

27. water

28. excite

29. yell

30. zen

Our goal is to explore, share with each other, and learn from each other as we shoot our own photos and study the photos others shoot. Every day of the month includes a word prompt to inspire and challenge you to create beautiful photos. You are welcome to follow them in order, mix them up, or throw in a new word prompt for the rest of us to try. You can post every day, once a week, or even sporadically throughout the month…whatever works in your life. Be sure to share and tag your photos with #sdawpphotovoices so we can find them!

So let your photography get you in the summer frame of mind…and share those frames with us!

Getting Ready for #CLMOOC

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While I haven’t participated in #rhizo15, I have been intrigued by the ideas behind rhizomatic learning and the thinking that learners can direct themselves, learn from one another, and transform learning in the process. (If I have that wrong…someone please correct me!) And the Connected Learning MOOC, known as the #CLMOOC (massive open online collaboration) is starting up in a few weeks!

So instead of cleaning my house or working on report cards last week, I started playing with some photo apps, creating some photo art. And then yesterday Margaret Simon initiated a #digilit challenge…with the first week being focused on creating #photoart. How could I resist?

So I started with the image I had created using the app Waterlogue, creating a watercolor version of the photo I had taken. Then, because Margaret modeled adding poetry to hers, I decided to create a haiku to express why I had stopped and snapped the photo in the first place. I shared this image with her on Facebook yesterday.

And then today I decided to do some exploring and mess around with Thinglink to add some other media to the image. I started by adding a link to the original photo I had taken before turning it into a watercolor painting. I also decided to add a favorite piece of music, so I linked a YouTube video of Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World. And then, just for fun, I added the link to Margaret’s Pinterest page where there are examples of other’s #photoart. Here’s my result:

https://www.thinglink.com/scene/659592420828119042

I hope you will also join in the fun…create some #photoart…and join us at the CLMOOC starting in June!

Once Upon a Time…Photos That Tell Stories: November’s Photo-a-Day Challenge

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Stories are a way of understanding the world, making sense of our experience, and connecting with the experiences of others.

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” – Joan Didion

And even when we experience an event in common, our story of it varies. (I notice that my sister and I have very different stories of our childhood, even though we grew up in the same house, in the same neighborhood, with the same parents!)

“It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story.” – Native American saying

We often think of stories as made of words…but images tell stories too. There are the fairy stories of life among the mushrooms and delicate petals of flowers.

Stories are elaborated by the teller, based on their own experiences and background knowledge. A single image can result in innumerable stories…this image could be an innocent flower bud, a ravenous man-eating plant, or even a robot designed to grab intruders as they enter the grounds.

In some photos we recognize the heroine and anticipate the plot twists. At other times the story shifts and the unexpected happens.

Does this image depict the narrative of professional development, teachers working together to solve problems and provide support to students?

Sometimes a setting alone can create mood and tone for the story about to unfold like this sunshine through the fall foliage.

Action can be shown in subtle ways…in hands to the face, tools strewn around, even the position of the feet.

And light and reflection can also add to the action, foreshadowing events yet to come…

Sometimes the image suggests the music you can hear in the background, in this case a happy, upbeat song of youthful energy.

Others bring tension, that sense that something is coming. Will the doctor diagnose a terminal illness or is this a skeleton that will reach out and grab someone?

What photos have you taken that tell stories? Here’s a list of prompts to help you think about stories and consider as you take photos this month.

1. Character

2. Plot

3. Setting

4. Foreshadowing

5. Suspense

6. Words

7. Narrative

8. Point of view

9. Fantasy

10. Fairy tale

11. Mystery

12. Science Fiction

13. Music

14. Symbolism

15. Narrator

16. Action

17. Humor

18. Hyperbole

19. Happy Ending

20. Heroine or Hero

21. Fable

22. Drama

23. Mood

24. Memoir

25. Fiction

26. Nonfiction

27. Journalism

28. Moral

29. Tension

30. Villain

So go out and take photos that tell a story and then post a photo each day with the hashtag #sdawpphotovoices to Twitter, Instagram, Flicker, Google+ and/or Facebook (the more the better!), so that we can all enjoy the posts. If you are game for some more playfulness, write the story that the photo tells, compose a blog post about a photo, a week’s worth of photos, write a photo essay, or make a video or slideshow. You are invited to create a pingback by linking to this url or post your blog address in the comment section. It’s fun for me to see what others are doing with the same prompts I am using!

Be on the lookout for stories this month…in a single photo or in a series. (You might even try a 5-image story.) You can post every day, once a week, or even sporadically throughout the month…whatever works in your life. You can play this game by posting your pictures in the order of the prompts or post the one you find on the day you find it. You get to make your own rules! Be sure to share and tag your photos with #sdawpphotovoices so we can find them! So go out and use you lens as a story telling tool. I can’t wait for you to share the stories you find through your lens!

Developing Endurance

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There’s nothing easy about the beginning of school. As exciting as new beginnings are, they are also filled with uncertainty and maybe even a bit of fear of the unknown…on the part of the teacher, but also on the part of students and their parents. Even in a class like mine where two-thirds of our students return each year, it takes some time to get back into the rhythms of learning together as a community.

And then there is the need to shift from the habits of summer…staying up late, sleeping in late, playing and vacationing, visiting with family and friends…back to the routines of the school year. Further complicating the transition, it still feels like summer when school starts here. It has been unseasonably warm (downright miserably hot in our non-air conditioned school), the kind of weather where the beach and the pool sound so much better than the classroom, for both teachers and students!

(This portable air conditioning unit was delivered Tuesday afternoon…the day of the peak highs! It helps, but its range and capacity do not match the size of the classroom! Luckily, we should be near the end of unbearably hot weather.)

There’s also endurance that has to be developed; the ability to sustain focus for the work of school and learning that emerges alongside fluency, confidence, and stamina. As a teacher I see this endurance grow as the school year progresses, especially in the area of writing.

Our writers are already surprising us this year, only weeks into the school year, with their endurance, creativity, and willingness to take risks.

With our returning writers, we see evidence of the layers of mentor texts and writing lessons they experienced last year, and for the third graders, the year before, along with the richness of stories they have read and listened to in their lives. The first graders seem inspired by their older classmates, and are willing to put their emerging writing skills to use as they work through the challenges of transforming their thoughts and ideas into words on a page.

We’ve been writing in all areas of the curriculum…to learn, to think, to remember, to express. We write indoors and outdoors…

and we are working on revising to improve our writing too. (You can take a peek at a collaborative piece of writing we did in honor of International Dot Day on our class blog. (Our students always welcome comments!)

We often think about endurance when it comes to physical tasks…and there are those that definitely require endurance. I’m still working on improving my hiking endurance–increasing my mileage and speed and capacity to hike up steep inclines and setting a pace that allows me to continue to improve over time.

I’ve definitely learned over the years that endurance comes with repeated opportunities to do something that you actually want to do. It takes time and we don’t all progress at the same rate. It helps to notice your strengths and focus attention on areas where you want to grow and improve…and it always seem to help to learn in a community of supportive others who are also learning too. The writers and learners in my class are developing endurance…there’s nothing easy about the beginning of school, but then again, things worth doing are seldom easy!

Summer Manifesto

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There’s nothing like the CLMOOC to get the creative juices flowing…and the inspiration turned up high. Ideas are arriving–pouring in fact–in flash flood proportions. So I’m working hard to use the inspiration and not let the flood of ideas overwhelm and distract me.

This Summer Manifesto was posted this weekend…and I knew I would take it up and create one of my own–early in the summer, before my work pushes the good intentions from my priority list. I hope this manifesto will be something I can return to throughout the summer to help remind me of my intentions.

So here goes:

Summer Manifesto

Spend time outdoors every day: exploring with my camera, walking/hiking for exercise, enjoying the sun and sea breezes…

Explore with my camera: try new strategies and techniques, go places in my community I haven’t yet visited, and see familiar places in new ways

Celebrate moments: take the time to breathe and laugh in the moment, even when they are squeezed between obligations and obstacles

Play: find the playful moments in everything I do…I even want to make brushing my teeth more like play!

Make stuff: digitally and physically, and keep trying even if it isn’t beautiful…and even share those “makes” that don’t quite turn out

Try something new: even if it’s scary!

And most of all, enjoy my family, quiet time, and a bit of adventure!

Welcome summer!

(I originally composed this manifesto in Noteography in my attempt to tty something new and make it more beautiful. It offered Twitter as a way to publish it…and here’s my first try at embedding a Tweet on my blog post. If you know a better way to use Noteography or some other application for similar purposes…I’d love to learn from you!)

Summer Manifesto https://t.co/HyrbMgaYnX pic.twitter.com/VJoKpYEmkD

— Kim Douillard (@kd0602) June 17, 2014