#celebratelu

It's been such a lovely week at the lake. The weather, for the most part, has been lovely. Chloe and I have been able to be outside, playing and taking lots of walks. If I'm not playing with Chloe, then I can sit outside, read and stare at the lake.

There have been afternoon naps, golf with friends, lunch with friends, dinner with friends.

You're getting the theme here, right?

My husband got back to the lake yesterday and got to join in the fun. While being alone is nice sometimes, I'm glad he's back. Things are just more fun with him around. After a busy week at work, he's more than ready for some lake fun.

I'm looking forward to heading home for a few days though. I've got some friends to check in with back there!

{solsc} 10/31 #sol18 Of Hope and Celebration

Combining Jennifer Laffin's Word of the Day Hope, which also showed up in Ruth Ayers' Celebrate  post today. Two words that definitely go together.

One of the things I hoped when I started subbing this fall, was that teachers I wasn't particularly close to would want me in their classroom. I knew my friends did, but what about the others?  And the kids. Although I knew MY kids would be glad to see me once in awhile, but I hoped that those I didn't have relationships with would give me a chance. Irrational fears, but fears just the same.

Tuesday helped put these irrational fears to rest. I came in to sub for the Ag teacher (Agriculture, Horticulture, FFA Leadership, Ag mechanics, etc). I really know nothing about these classes and was a little nervous. As I was walking down to his classroom, the Ag teacher was walking my way.

"Are you coming down to my room?" he asked.

"Yep."

"Oh good. When I saw you coming I hoped it was for me and not someone else! It's going to be a crazy day with a two hour late start and messed up schedule, plus the pep assembly for the girls. I was hoping I would get someone who could be flexible and go with the flow."

And there it was. That's what I hoped for when I started subbing. Teachers like me in their rooms because I take care of THEIR kids. 

                                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Other Celebrations this week:

• Morning hugs from my kids at school (Yep. Some high school kids still want a hug)
• Comments like, "You should just come back to work Mrs. Day. You're here a lot anyway."
• The power of story: Listening to the stories of Arlo Guthrie this week reminded me of the importance of keeping those family stories alive.
• Friends who go out of their way to make you feel welcome in their home. 
• Daylight Savings Time starts 
• Snow Days ( I still like them and treat them like I did when I worked full time) and the best part is, I don't have to make them up !
• Our Girls Basketball team won the 3A basketball championship last Saturday, setting several records in the process. Three of the girls also made the All-Tournament team. It was an exciting ride!
• I don't have to give standardized tests anymore!

Ok. That's it for this week.  What are YOU celebrating?

Celebrate: Life in Rural Area

There was a tragic, fatal car accident in our area this week. Five brothers and sisters were driving to school. The girls were killed, the boys injured. I didn't know them and they aren't from my hometown. Obviously, this is not what I celebrate.

It is the aftermath.

Around here, you drive an hour to a mall, so neighbors help neighbors.  Sometimes, even when you don't know them. And you never know who is related to who. You never know who counts who as "friendamily". And you never know who is going to step up and have your back.

It is the aftermath.

And it's always the gestures of teenagers that make me cry and give me hope for the future.

Because life goes on, even when you think it won't. There was a basketball game played the other night. And the fans and team of the opposing team showed up in the school colors of the school the girls attended. In fact, the boys varsity basketball team wore warm-up shirts that read "Mabel-Canton Strong".

But it's what they did before the game started that brings tears to my eyes and hope to my heart.

In case you don't want to watch the video or read the article, the boys took off the warm-up shirts and presented them to the Mabel-Canton team.  Such a simple gesture. But it's a "we've got your back moment". It's a "there's more to life than basketball" and "we understand" moment. 

In this day and age of Tide Pod challenges and government officials behaving in ways that make me cringe, it's nice to have this small moment bring hope for the future. 

Celebrate and Discover

Sometimes as teachers, we really don't know if we have made a difference. Students leave us, and we may never hear from them again. But some we stay in touch with, and it is those students--my "forever kids", that gave me so much to celebrate this week.

As I wrote on Tuesday, I've decided to take the district's early retirement package this year. It's a bittersweet decision.  But it's what happened after I shared my news that I celebrate. The outpouring of love was amazing. Former students, parents, colleagues, all with words of love.  I'll admit to screenshotting my Facebook post, so I will have all that love to wrap myself in when I'm feeling blue.

Just a few of many (Teacher confession--it feels like bragging to share these. I'm not, really. I am actually so humbled by all the comments...)

But it was the comment by a former colleague that made this all OK and connects right with Ruth's post about giving love away. He said to me, "Could you think of it as giving another person a chance to have all the great experiences you had? It makes it easier, in a way."

And, you know what? It does.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This week's DISCOVER

Love comes back to you if you put it out in the world 

Celebrate: Silly Kids

My favorite part of teaching comes from interactions with kids. I love their enthusiasm, creativity and downright craziness (although, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have written those words at 3:30 Friday afternoon). This week's celebrations come from those little moments.

For years I posted silly student quotes on a wall in my room. You know the ones. Kids say and do things in class all the time that just make you laugh. For some reason, I haven't written them down in awhile, but several students think I should start again. And I may. But this little snippet would be too long for the quote wall. It deserves to be shared.

My College Prep Lit class is a small (10) group of great kids. Three gifted and talented sophomores, the rest juniors and seniors. I've had them all in class before and they get along fabulously. They are not afraid to admit when they don't know or don't understand something. And they are not afraid to fact check me.

We started our reading of Elie Wiesel's Night this week. After some background discussion, I assigned the Preface and the Forward for the night's reading. There was some whispering, some giggling, coming from the sophomore girls. 

"I thought it was pronounced pree-face."

I laughed. 

From the rest of the room, came the giggles of agreement. 

The next day a senior girl told me it was her word of the day. She told everyone she knew how to pronounce the word. 

But, a couple of them did admit to fact checking. Thank Heavens Google agreed with me!

And then there's these guys....

Leftover props from a Drama assignment. "They mysteriously" move about my room throughout the day.  It took some time for most students to notice them and longer to notice that they move.

But now. 

It's a new game. Every day I have a few students who come in the room and see how fast they can spot them. The corn is getting better at hiding, so sometimes it takes a bit. I guess it really is the little things that keep us entertained.


My last celebration is me. I'm writing more again and that's a good thing. My  notebook sits beside me so I can jot down little pieces that maybe will become bigger pieces. And maybe not. But at least I'm writing!

{solsc} 19/31 #sol16 Celebrate! It's All About the Basketball

Every Saturday Ruth Ayres invites us to celebrate the little moments in our lives that bring us joy.  Whether from the classroom or our own lives, it's important to focus on those things that make us smile.... Or as Ruth said in a post the other day,

"When I choose to celebrate, I no longer have space for complaining."

I  love March Madness.  Watching college basketball gets me through the winter. I follow the ups and downs of lots of teams, so when March comes around, I am in 7th heaven. I read ESPN and CBS articles. Follow lots of people on Twitter who are in the know and I fill out brackets everywhere. The tournament is fun to watch, but this year, there is a lot to cheer for! All three Iowa teams made the tournament AND won their first round game---two of them on last second shots.

My birthday was Thursday, so that brought many, many little moments to celebrate.

• Facebook wishes that went on for days
• An early morning phone call from my granddaughter
• Being sung Happy Birthday by a high school class
• Dinner out
• Basketball started :)

My hubby really wanted to do something this weekend and kept making suggestions. When I suggested something for him to do that didn't include me, he looked at me and said, "You just want to watch basketball all weekend, don't you?"  

Yes. Yes, I do. I've been working ten hour days and many weekends with speech. I need to nest this weekend. And it's how I want to celebrate my birthday. 

So I am. It's why I love my husband--he gets me. He might not always like it, but he understands my need to nest periodically.  So today I will putz around my house--repotting plants, rearranging things, cleaning upstairs, playing with Chloe 

and watching basketball.

{solsc} 5/31 #sol16 Celebrating MOMENTS

My favorite day of the week. Celebration Saturday.  I was celebrating my week before Ruth started her Celebration link-up, but I love that now I can celebrate with others.  Once you start finding the JOY in your week, those little MOMENTS help BALANCE out your life.

I've been more intentional about celebrating MOMENTS this year since I joined Ali Edwards One Little Word class this year.  I'm not sure what actually prompted me to do it, but I'm happy about it. I'm more conscious of taking little MOMENTS just for me, of keeping track of those MOMENTS in my notebook and, sometimes, just enjoying them.

This week I celebrate:

• Our family message chat:  We have a group chat on Facebook that just makes me smile. I never know when a silly picture, a news article link, or just a check-in will pop up. We visit and call when we can, but those mid-week connections just make my day.
• Kids who trust and respect you. I wrote about a group of them the other day, but I can't help but give them all a shout-out today.  
• Chocolate. Unexpected gifts of it. From a student. Enough said
• Chloe hugs. Someday we will have to record a Chloe greeting when we've been gone for awhile (and five minutes is a while).  She gives the best hugs ever.
• Time to finish a book. Last night I made Friday night mine. I finished an escape book, had a glass of wine, and watched fun TV. A perfect night.
• I work with amazing educators. People who care about students and the state of education. We work hard to improve, to do our best for kids.  
• Today we will head north and visit with old friends.  There's nothing better.

I'm sure there is more, but that's all I've got this morning.  Enjoy your weekend. Celebrate the MOMENTS.  

ALOHA

Celebrate

It was student led conference week, district speech week, and the end of February. Chaos and Craziness reigned. And while I thought I didn't have anything to write about when I opened up my blog this morning (really, I think I was just being lazy. I am really tired this morning), when I look through my Twitter and Facebook feeds, I realized just how great of a week it was, even if I didn't remember it all.

I'm changing up Creative Writing a bit this semester because I have a student teacher starting next week (and that is a celebration!  I can't wait to work with her). So this week, we spent playing with words and stories. It's my "Making Writing Fun Again" plan.  It's silly little group writing activities that move my high schoolers to be more creative.  They had a blast!

I also graded this little gem of Expressive/Reflective writing this week. A high school senior, ending his wrestling career, wrote this. Modeled after Kobe Bryant's Dear Basketball, he said goodbye to the sport he loves.  

My speech class presented their radio broadcasts and many are among the best I've ever had presented. I love that I now have new examples to share with upcoming classes.  I'd share one of those, but unfortunately, they are housed on my school computer, which, of course, is at school today.

Yesterday was district speech competition for individual events. There were so many great moments. We're sending 17 out of 31 events on to state in two weeks. One of my students performed her own poetry piece. She wrote it in Creative Writing last semester as a blog post. Then worked on it and created a digital storytelling piece with it. She worked on it again to use for Speech this year. It's amazing. I can't share it here {yet} because it's very personal. Her moment yesterday was when she heard the judge say, "She wrote that herself? Wow!"  I'm so happy she is moving on with this piece.

Conferences went well. All but two students in my advisory group had parents come for conferences. And even though many parents say that they talk about school with their kids all the time, they come to these conferences anyway. And I believe, they all go home with a little more knowledge, a little more respect, for what their child is doing in school.

So there it is. A crazy, chaotic week full of celebration.

Today's celebration will be pajama pants, my chair and blanket, and a well-deserved nap!

Celebrating Snow, School and Friends

1. Celebrating Snow Days
Is it wrong to celebrate two snow days and a two-hour late start?  I'm going to. There's something about an old-fashioned blizzard that's just kind of fun. Well, not fun for my husband. He had to go out and blow the driveway (I did help a little).  I snuggled in comfy clothes and a blanket the whole first day. I read and wrote. I dozed in my chair. When Greg came in after clearing out the driveway the first time, we binged watched half of the first season of The House of Cards on Netflix.  We are now officially addicted to this show.

The second day, I did do a little grading and planning, but still found time to read and write.

2. Celebrating School
It was nice to get back to school and see my kids. Lots of fun discussions about what everyone did on their days off.  I keep telling students that as the oldest teacher in the district, it is my job to decide if school is called off, so I was thanked a lot for the midweek vacation.

3. Celebrating Writing
I have been writing EVERY DAY.  Since discovering the #Edtime2wrt hashtag on Twitter, I've been committed. Most days I share the page in my notebook and what I've written. Even if I haven't shared, I've written.  I've noticed the more I write, the more I have to write about. Hmmmm. All I have to do is

4. Celebrating Students

I am teaching a credit recovery English class this semester. Five kids who have failed English previously.  They are working hard!  They don't think they are, though.  They are showing up. They read, write and discuss daily, with a minimum of griping. We're reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which they have deemed "not too bad". High praise from kids who admit to never reading and doing homework!

5. Celebrating Friends

Greg and I spent time with lake friends last weekend and it was much needed.  I love my school friends, but most are younger and not at the same point in life I am at. It was nice to talk to others who understood my indecision on retiring, thinking about instructional coaching, or staying where I'm at. They know the tiredness I talk about and the needing to be re-energized by something. Indecision is my middle name right now. I have to make a decision in the next couple of weeks, though, so I need to figure out where I'm headed.

Well, that's the highlights this week.  Stay tuned. I've got a couple of blog posts in progress!

I Just Can't Stop Smiling

Click here and celebrate with us

About 9:30 yesterday morning a Facebook message put a smile on my face and a happy tear in my eye. I haven't stopped smiling since. I'm not trying to be cryptic, but it's not my story to share, not really. So I'll keep my mouth shut, my keyboarding fingers quiet, a smile on my face and wait til it's OK to share. 

But after that good news, the day just kept getting better.

I finished grading my Creative Writing students' Digital Storytelling projects. Wow. Most of the kids did an amazing job. Some are heartbreaking. Some are disturbing.  And I'm not going to sugarcoat it, some are awful.  Well, not awful really. They just didn't spend the time on the assignment that it required, and what they ended up with was just incomplete. I'm sharing out more of them on our Facebook page and through Twitter #CWFierce if you'd like to see some more.

Here's one of my favorites:

Then I got home and checked my personal email. A letter for Chloe from Sam and a note from Ruth made my smile even bigger.  We're finally going to meet face to face! At NCTE! Next week! For Lunch! Ruth is one of my bucket list people, you know. I feel like we've been great friends for awhile, we just haven't sat down face to face.  And if meeting Ruth is anything like meeting Christy, well, we'll talk like we've known each other forever!

There are others on my bucket list also--and I've started connecting with them through Twitter and Facebook. I hope I have enough time to go to sessions!

NCTE.  It's this coming week, you know. And this old,  experienced teacher is going to be attending her very first one.  Sometimes, it seems like a waste for me to attend. I've only a year or two left before I retire. Maybe someone else should go. But then I think how much it excites me just to think about it and I know that this experience will rejuvenate me.  So I'll be spending the next few days scouring the program, scratching down sessions, crossing them off, scratching down new ones and waiting impatiently for the app to be released.

I've got my list of things to pack. I've extra boxes in the car to bring books home. I've got a rolling bag to drag through the convention (though that may be overkill). I've got the author signing list in my folder, books to take for the swap on Sunday, comfortable shoes (and I am shopping today just in case I need some new ones). I've read all the blogs I've found for navigating NCTE. Followed advice on Twitter. I am ready.

Can it be Thursday already?

Small Moments

Sometimes,

when your world seems to be

crashing

in around you

when the universe 

throws so much at you that 

your JOY,

your ALOHA,

can't BALANCE things out,

you need to relish 

the small moments.

Beautiful morning mists 

hovering just above the corn

Unexpected gifts

just because they thought of you

Sharing the unshareable

with those who do not judge.

Facebook family messages

that make us laugh and smile

through tears for others.

These small moments

remind us how 

Grateful

we are for those who have

come into our life.

Celebrate the Lake

Want to celebrate with us? Click the icon above and head on over to Ruth's blog!

This week, I'm celebrating the lake.

My happy place.

I seldom leave school as quickly as I did Friday. My husband couldn't believe it when I pulled in the driveway....and I already had half the car packed since I loaded a few things before school. That of course, got Chloe all worked up. She knew something was going on.

We arrived about 7 and had plenty of time to turn on the water and check for leaks before I went down to the beach to catch my first sunset of the season.

Sunset is almost a sacred time at Sandbar. Most of us stop whatever we are doing and just breathe it in.

Then, it was enough with the chores that could be done later (or even tomorrow), we headed out to find the friends we have missed all winter. We spent a couple of weekends with them since we closed last fall, but it's not the same as just sitting and enjoying each other, even if we don't talk.

As we sat on a friend's deck and watched the last of the sun, I just smiled, thinking how lucky I am to have this.

Saturday was warm, but cloudy. Chloe and I took advantage of the nice morning and walked with a friend up the "lake road" as I call it. It's a beautiful walk along the lake with lots for Chloe to check out. We spent a little time before we headed out watching this guy fish along the shore in front of the cabins.


Our oldest and his family came out during the afternoon (we weren't the only ones anxious for us to open the cabin). It rained off and on, but even that didn't dampen our spirits.  It was good to be together.



All in all, it was a day to celebrate. Chloe agrees!

Celebrating Balance

Head on over to Ruth Ayres Write and celebrate with us!

This week I'm celebrating FAILURE, of a sort...

• I didn't finish the March blogging challenge
• I didn't write a celebration last week
• I didn't clean my house until yesterday
• I didn't walk every day
• I didn't do a lot of things I probably should have

But really. I'm celebrating balance, which of course is my OLW for 2015. 

I'm celebrating the student I wrote about yesterday. The balance between technology and "old school" is a delicate one. You have to meet students where they are. Once I got him off his computer and just got him to think about his writing, he soared. 

I'm celebrating myself. Learning the difference between the "I really have to have this done tomorrow" and "This isn't a priority and I can do it later".  I'm celebrating myself making time for family and friends and not using school work as an excuse for not getting together and enjoying their company.

I'm celebrating Chloe. Who makes me walk and get outside and enjoy moments of breathing as we head into the last few weeks of school.

I'm celebrating my speech kids, who gave me an amazing day at All-State speech on Monday. A day full of celebrating what we do and how far we have come. And silly reasons to laugh.





I'm celebrating grandkids
and a husband
and friends
all those people who need more me.
Who have gently nudged me into this balancing act.

And I want to share this link to the Huffington Post. Because it reminded me of the BALANCE I need in my life. I love the combination of photos and writing and how they celebrate life.  I think I'm going to try this. Once a week. A picture and some writing. And it might go along with Christy's 30 day challenge (which I haven't started yet, but I'm going to)

And what are you celebrating this week?

{#sol15} 7/31 Celebrating the Weekend

Join us at Two Writing Teachers
for the March Slice of Life challenge.
Share your stories!

Someone said to me yesterday, the first Friday of the month, that they only saw one high school student wear their #CadetNation shirt. Our district, one that is widespread and in different buildings, tries to create community by designating the first Friday of the month by all of wearing shirts that share our story. 

And she was right. They didn't. 

BUT many of the spent the last weekend in February cheering our six wrestlers who were competing for state titles

THEN the next week, they cheered our girls basketball team as they worked their way to another state tournament. 

THEN Monday night, many of them drove two hours away to cheer our boys basketball team as they tried to make the state tournament.

THEN they spent this week celebrating and cheering on our girls basketball team as they played in the state tournament. They drove three hours away to fill our sections, they rode pep busses, they watched the live stream.

And in the midst of all that, many found time to wish my speech kids good luck as they participated in District speech last Saturday.

So, I guess I'm OK that they didn't wear the shirt.

Speaking of my speech kids....

They performed fantastically last Saturday. And of the 36 events that we entered at districts, 22 of them are moving on to State competition next Saturday. I was so proud of them.  But not as proud as I was Friday after school, when everyone wants to practice and I am trying to get things ready. They just practice and help each other. I'll be slicing about this next Friday.

Speech season is exhausting for me. And as much as I look forward to the start of it and enjoy doing it, by this time of year, I am ready for it to be done. But before it is, a special shout out to my husband. I can't thank him enough for doing the simple thing of making dinner. Most days he is the cook of the family. It's awesome to come home and find something in the crock pot or a note on the fridge about what's for supper. He's been a life saver.

Celebrating Speech and the Alumni

I started a poem on the bus to contest today, thinking it would be my celebration. It was cozy and warm and full of love for my speech kids.

We had a great day. Good performances. Half of the groups are moving on to state competition.

Great day.

As always, I posted pictures on our Facebook page

When we first started the Facebook page, it was private and only the current students could join it. Once they graduated, I would delete them.

And then I quit that. I decided to leave graduates part of the group because, really, they are still part of us. They are our foundation. And I like that they will post comments supporting those who are still there even if they don't know who some of them are.

And tonight, as I was sitting here telling my husband what a great day we had and how much I love my speech kids. And how proud of them I am. And all the great moments we had. I received this Facebook message from an alumni

I cried. 

Honestly, as I write this, I still am.

Because as teachers, we always want to know that we made a difference. That we mattered. 

And this message from alumni proves that, somehow, I did. I mattered.

How can I not celebrate that?

Celebrating the Best Monday Ever...

And the rest of the week wasn't so bad, either....

Celebrate with us!

I was out of the classroom both Thursday and Friday last week. And you know how it goes when you are gone for a couple of days. Kids can think the rules  expectations are gone too. So I was a little apprehensive heading to school Monday morning.

Imagine my glee when I read the note from my sub telling me how he liked my room and how kids handle the freedom. 

What a great way to start a Monday.  It proved that kids can be independent learners. That they can handle the freedom my room allows, even when I'm not there. Did all of them get lots of work done? Nope. But most of them did. Some of them watched videos on their computers and spent a lot of time on Facebook. They talked and messed around JUST LIKE THEY DO WHEN I AM THERE. But they know when the work is due and will have to get it done on their own time. 

Then, second hour Monday, at the beginning of Creative Writing, a senior girl asked me to find her a book to read. Her words, "Do you have a book I could read? I feel stupider because I haven't been reading." 

Do I have a book????? 

Really? Do I have a book you can read?  

So, I started grabbing books off the shelves. I'm sure she was thinking to herself I only want one, but I handed her a pile to choose from. 

And then a funny, amazing, wonderful, thing happened. The other girls at her table started looking at the books. And the boys in the back of the room said, "Yea. Will you find me one too?" And other kids in the room shared, "Ooo. That's a good one. I read it last year." And before I knew it, books were flying off the shelves. 

And it didn't end. 

At the beginning of the next class, a senior who I don't even have in class this semester came to see me. Her request? To find her a book. 

I am getting daily updates from her on her reading. 

She doesn't have to do a book project or a reading log or even tell me about it. 

She's just reading.

And isn't that the point?

And the rest of the week also was worth celebrating

• Monday and Thursday nights were Parent-Teacher conferences
• Genius Time with my #Crazy8s
• MacBeth performances in College Prep Lit
• Funny speeches from kids who don't think they are funny
• A parent finding me Thursday night to ask if I would contact their child about being in speech
• Chloe cuddles
• A husband who cooks and plans dinners
• A restful weekend at home

Sometimes...

Sometimes, in the middle of life

there isn't time to 

WRITE

about the celebration

because you are 

too busy 

LIVING

it.

You are sharing a 

FIRST BIG GAME

 with grandkids

Sometimes

You put your money

where your mouth is 

and take students

on a trip you hope will

GIVE THEM VOICE

And 

Sometimes

in the midst of grading chaos

and messy houses

and the rest of the

"I should be doings"

You take a weekend 

to RELAX

to REFUEL

to REINVIGORATE

yourself

Because, even though 

there are lots and lots of 

"I should be doings"

Life is meant to be 

ENJOYED

and CELEBRATED

Celebrating Teaching

I've been celebrating teaching and JOY in my life for a couple of years now. Concentrating on the good things in my life has changed my attitude in many ways.  I shared out Friday Favorites for awhile, and then Ruth started this lovely little community of celebration.  How much fun is it to spend a few moments with others and celebrating those little moments (and sometimes some big ones!).

So this month, I've decided to join a month long "Attitude of Gratitude" blogging challenge. I love that they have questions for every day of the challenge. I looked them over and already have some great ideas for writing (always a good thing!). And on the plus side, it fits right in with Celebration Saturdays and my OLW: ALOHA

Because yesterday my husband and I celebrated our youngest son's birthday with him at a Hawkeye football game, I'm going to combine two days in one. I think they go well together....

Nov 1 What are the best aspects of being a teacher?

Nov 2 What is one small delight in the day that you always look forward to?

Being a teacher is part of my soul. It's who I am. And the best part of it--my students, of course.

I love talking with them, connecting with them, and helping them become their best. Take A, for instance. Tall and skinny, head perpetually down so that his hair sometimes hides his face, he walks into my room most days and I can almost hear "Dead Man Walking" in the distance.  My class is his nightmare, his hell on earth. But he must have it to graduate. He's been doing his speeches for me out in the hall, away from the stares of his classmates. The last one he did, his best. He looked up at me, didn't stop when another teacher stopped in the hall and listened, and genuinely gave a good speech. We're working on his delivery one step at a time. Will he ever give a speech to the class? I don't know. But just getting him to look me in the eye is a major step.

My #Crazy8s are starting genius time in class.  These eighth graders are really smart. Most things come easy to them. My goal this quarter is to challenge them, their ideas and their learning.  Genius time is a start. I still have some who want to take the easy way out, but they're getting there.

This is also the class who groaned at personal narratives. So, we are writing "This I Believe" essays. And now they are groaning because these are HARD for them to write!  It's OK though. We're taking our time. Writing together. And seeing where this prompt takes us.

You know the moments of the day I love the most (and, admittedly, don't always get)?
These:

Those moments in your room where everything is clicking and the students don't really "need" me. They are working hard, learning on their own and with each other.

One other little delight I always look forward to...walking into my room in the morning.  I love my room, it's my home away from home. It's comfortable for all of us. There are lots of different work areas--a place for everyone.

But the real little delights of my day. The little pop-in visits from students. Whether they come during my prep or after school or during a class. I love kids just stopping in to say hi.

Sometimes the conversations are longer. Juniors and seniors with open time drop in during my first hour prep because they know they can eat breakfast and get a little work done. Sometimes we don't talk, other times we chat about the inconsequential. It's quiet and peaceful and I love to start my day like this.

Others stop in to say hi after school and 45 minutes later, it's time to say good-bye. We talk about families, friends, school drama, and even politics. It's loud and giggly or sometimes quiet and somber, but always a reminder about what's important about my job.

My kids.