Uncategorized – Soapbox: The Way I see Things

Slice of Life Tuesday: Family Story

Last week, I shared how fun it was to write with my students online. I can’t wait for later this month when we reunite! I also promised I’d share my writing. I chose the prompt of writing a family story that’s often told, and I was surprised by the way it chose to present itself.Continue reading “Slice of Life Tuesday: Family Story”

Slice of Life Tuesday: No Guilt

School is officially out for me! I’ve been looking forward to this time since…well, spring of 2024, to be honest. And of course, around school the conversation at this time of year is, “So…what are you doing this summer?” My response? As LITTLE as POSSIBLE. Ideally, I’d do more weightlifting, but my back is notContinue reading “Slice of Life Tuesday: No Guilt”

Poetry Month Day 5: Scars

A notebook that reads "Ridiculously Good Ideas"

Today’s poem is a challenge on #VerseLove to write a poem about a scar. I chose to write about my scars as tourist destinations…

Slice of Life Day 19: Stuck

Writing is like ice skating: As soon as you think you look cool, that’s when you fall on your keyster.

Today was one of those humbling days.

Slice of Life Day 11: A Story, A Story

A brown dog and a black dog standing together on a deck

The last few days, I’ve shared a draft story, along with my fourth graders’ responses to it. Today, I’ve got my revisions ready to go. The biggest changes I’ve made: Once upon a time there was a family of squirrels. They lived in the black walnut tree nestled at the corner of a backyard ofContinue reading “Slice of Life Day 11: A Story, A Story”

One Little Word for 2025

It’s that time of year where I boycott resolutions, and set an intention instead. Little did I know that my chiropractor would be the one to hand me my One Little Word for the year.

Rambling Autobiography, Vol. 2

A little while ago, I started a teacher writing circle at school.

We decided we wanted a prompt, and I happened upon an idea I’d done before. It’s a series of sentence starters that reveal an autobiography of sorts. Here goes!

Slice of Life Tuesday: Give it a Go

This week on the Two Writing Teachers site, I posted about a strategy I tried with my students: Give it a Go.

I introduced the idea today, so I thought I’d share what I wrote alongside them. Here’s my (admittedly autobiographical) contribution…

Slice of Life Tuesday: Sharing the Wealth

I’m on a mission. I believe that kids really aren’t going to care about essay structure, or grammar, or spelling, or mechanics, or writer’s craft, if they don’t see a point to writing. Because I believe that if kids don’t think they have something to say, or that nobody is going to listen, there reallyContinue reading “Slice of Life Tuesday: Sharing the Wealth”

Slice of Life Day 12: Time Capsule

Here we are at Day 12 of the Slice of Life Challenge. We’re almost halfway through, friends! I’m not much of a Facebooker anymore. I used to be on there often, commenting and posting and what-not. Now, I’m there to do two things: 1) lurk around a little bit, and 2) look back over atContinue reading “Slice of Life Day 12: Time Capsule”