Silver Linings Playbook #sol20

Silver Linings Playbook #sol20

April 7, 2020

The fact that it’s nearly noon, my hair is air-dried, and m just getting to my slice probably indicates a few things. Last night I baked cookies just to prove to myself that I still have a few skills. I need a little shoring up. I miss kids. I miss so much. I know you do too.

 

In a half-full, bright spots way, I’m going to try and reframe my thinking, not for the first time. Yesterday in my fourth or fifth google hangout of the day, a teacher said, that will be a benefit of this time.

What?? I thought. What is going to be a benefit of this crazy, hard time? And then I thought, what can we make into benefits?

There are a lot of personal perks if I look closer.  It’s nice to have lunch with Bob.  We have dinner at home every night. I can walk the dog at lunch, work outside if it’s nice.  I haven’t worn anything but casual clothes in weeks.  Today I made a video with wet hair and no make up.  

But I want to notice deeper things.  What are we doing/saying/thinking about our learning community…

Teachers are definitely becoming a part of home environments.  They see rooms, toys, siblings.  They talk about play, about dinner, about yards and families and chores.  We had these chats before, but now these lives are intertwined.  Most kids seem good and safe.  We are reaching almost all.  

We are drilling down to what’s most important.  Maslow before Bloom so to speak.  Daily check-ins on how everyone is doing.  Follow ups if someone is missing.  Shared snack and playtimes.  Jokes and sing-a-longs.  Everyone present, their paras, the counselor, our principal and assistant principal, the intervention teams.  All are rallying together, fully present.  

We are giving each other grace.  It’s ok to ask questions over again.  It’s ok to need help and ask for it.  It’s ok if the lesson, the chat, the technology is less than stellar.  Everyone’s learning… 

Speaking of technology,  I thought I was pretty tech savvy, but I’ve learned a lot over the past few weeks.  Not just about platforms and sharing, hanging out and hyperdocs, but also about a whole different definition of slowing down, wait time, and gradual release.  

We’ve talked a lot about content.  Considered a lot about what a lesson is, what we hope to accomplish, what we can let go.  These talks and considerations are much deeper than they have ever been before and they were strong in real life as well.  Now all the ways we build agency and independence are more important than they ever were and it shows in the way we talk, in the way we teach.  

How we work together has changed too.  How we don’t mind so much if other’s know what worries us.  Now we think less about the beauty of our lessons and more about the heart.  We feel connected… apart.  

Tomorrow #sol20

Today I finish my fourth Slice of Life 31 Day Writing Challenge with Two Writing Teachers and an amazing group of writers.  Today is day 31/31.  It is my 286th slice of life.  Every year on the last day,  I think about tomorrow…  

 

Tomorrow #sol20

March 31, 2020

Tomorrow I will wake up and while there might be words

I won’t rush to get them on the page and out the door.

Tomorrow I will read any number of things but they probably won’t be blogs that spill off the page and into my heart.

Tomorrow stories may fly into my brain and possibly my notebook, but they might not make it out into the world.

Tomorrow,  I won’t hear about Ari and Wren or Isabelle and Ari.

Tomorrow I’ll reflect on a month of writing.

Tomorrow I’ll be thinking about zooming and my writing cohort.

Tomorrow I’ll have coffee and make dinner, but the stories will still percolate.

Tomorrow will seem like a busy day in quarantine to most people

But to some people, a little something extra will be missing.

 

Comfort in Books #sol20

Last week, Elisabeth wrote about the books she returns to for comfort   As we end our month long writing,  this It’s Monday What are You Reading,  I write about what I am reading and also what I recommend to you.  I write in the community of writers brought together by Two Writing Teachers in our March 31 Day Writing Challenge.  This is slice 30/31. 

Comfort in Books #sol20

March 30, 2020

In the first days after school closed, before we developed our first phase of our distance plan, I came home and escaped into a book.  Books have always been a comfort to me in sadness, in change, in fatigue.  No matter what else might happen, books can be depended upon.  Since childhood,  I have gathered books around me and turned to them in transitions.

As many literacy coaches,  I have a very large to-be-read pile.  The first book on the pile was one I won in a Goodreads give-away,  Susan Wiggs’ The Oysterville Sewing Circle.  This is the kind of book my friend calls a ‘vacation book‘.  These books can be read in an afternoon, you’re relatively sure that every thing will turn out in the end, and you can fully escape into the setting, the characters, and the story arc.  This same friend reads a mystery at the beginning of the summer, Louise Penny, her author of choice,  to give her mind a rest.  That first book in the chaos of the first days was just a rest for my mind.  I have a stack of those book club books at home.  My former book club mate, now retired in Wisconsin, sends me her read book club books.  I have an unopened box in my library waiting that she sent last week. She keeps me up-to-date with current best sellers.

Coincidentally, I had been reading Reader Come Home about reading in the digital age when we were plunged into our virtual learning.  This book brings home the idea of how now more than ever, we must encourage lap reading for all of students and families, the opportunity to have family read alouds comes to mind.  Now is a wonderful time to get lost in a series together. Our local librarians is rereading all of the Harry Potter books.  One of my favorite teachers has started Sisters Grimm with her student, reading aloud a chapter on video each day for students to listen to after lunch.  So much comfort there.

Switch, Quiet Leadership, Dare to Lead, Atomic Habits, Leading Well and Mary Oliver  live in a basket in my bedroom to be picked up whenever needed.  These books, while diverse reads, are mentors for times of struggle, each in their own ways.  Treasured books,  in turn I reread from the beginning and other times, drop in to read a chapter or a dog-eared passage.  What books are ones that you return to as trusted mentors?

What books do I recommend over and over?  For respite, I often recommend a historical fiction or a fully quirky book that defies definition.  In historic fiction, recently (last summer) I  liked The Gown and The Editor.  In the quirky category, a book I’ve been sharing is Sourdough. (read Robin Sloan’s other book too, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore) I also have favorite long time authors.  From my own young mother book club days,  I still read every book Elizabeth Berg ever writes.  Not challenging, these books tell a tale of persevering and are as familiar as a favorite sweater. Likewise,  I am loyal to Erica Bauermeister (before Reese Witherspoon) whose recent book Home Lessons is in my queue at Amazon and Libby.  Who are those authors whose work you always read?

The act of reading itself is comforting.  I love to read books recommended by adult friends and child friends.  Currently, I am reading Breakout recommended by humbleswede.   This middle grade novels tells a story in letters, text messages, and drawings of students developing a time capsule in a small town when a disruption changes their every day lives. Slipping seamlessly into the reality of a book gives us a respite from our current reality whatever that might be.  Since childhood, books have always been my constant companion and comfort.  They aren’t disappointing me now.

 

What I’ve Learned This Month #sol20

This month I have been writing in the Slice of Life Community 31 Day Challenge created by Two Writing Teachers.  While I always learn from my writing companions in this group, this month has been particularly poignant.  This is Day 29/31

What I’ve Learned this Month #sol20

March 29, 2020

Writing thirty one days and commenting on others writing always teaches me so much.  I learn different writing styles, different approaches to the same subject, other writer’s processes.  I also learn about their lives, their hopes, their frustrations, their fears and… they learn about mine.

I haven’t counted the total number of writers in our writing group, but I admire and cherish them all.   During the year, I write on Tuesday each week and follow many writers all the time and other writers much of the time.  I usually read and comment on over a dozen blogs each week. Each of them is inspiring to both my own writing and my coaching.  They are some of my greatest teachers.

During our March challenge, my blog is followed and read by many other writers. They offer me advice, suggestions, encouragement, and humor through their comments.  I personally follow 20 blogs every day, read and comment on between 15-20 each day.  I’ve had the opportunity to read a great deal of writing and learn so much about writing and so much more.

From one far flung slicer,  I gained so much advice about managing this new world of distance teaching.  She explained how to set it up, where the difficulties lie,  how to maintain self-care and how easy it is to overextend.  She even showed me how cleaning out my refrigerator could be an act of meditation.  Her practical advice,  her pragmatic nature, and her calm spirit displayed in her writing will stay with me for a long time. I hope we will stay in touch.

From other slicers,   I admire community,  all the things they are doing together and separately to maintain their school’s writing heart and community purpose.  They lovingly refer to each other in their blogs and graciously build each other up in their comments.  They comment on many, many other blogs as well as give practical advice for navigating the world of literacy in elementary school.  They are beacons to me in their practice, in their generosity, and in their connectivity.

Elisabeth always pushes me to think more, to consider other mentors, to consider my own practice, and to try new things.  Last year, she convinced me through her blog to write poetry for the month of April after our slice challenge was complete.  This year, she made me consider what books comfort me, how I decide what to read next, where I am creating my space at home, and what is keeping me moving forward.

I have the pleasure of being a welcomer to some new to the slice challenge.  From one of them, I learned to look to our past relationships and situations for lessons for the present.  Her powerful observation skills will be ones I continue to search for in my own writing.  From another new slicer,  I learned about her practice of confronting her advantages and working toward social justice in her learning, in her writing, and in her practice.  I strive to be brave like she is. One of my followed slicers was all about connections,  since this is my OLW for this year, her writing and her thinking drew me to consider the connections I am making and maintaining in this new frontier.  One of my new slicing buddies shared her day to day successes and struggles with heart and a fresh writing perspective.  Her comments were kind and supportive and I hope to read a lot more about her practice and thoughts in the future.  This year more than others, these blogs feel like new friendships.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the sustaining friendships this group affords me.  My friend, Clare, who first encouraged me to write about my work. Brian, my welcome wagon slicer those years ago continues to inspire me with his concise writing and quick witted comments.  My good friends in the group now who speak to me like old friends in their comments are so often encouragers-in-chief,  commiserators, teachers, mentors, and so much more.

Lanny, Stacey, Melanie, Kelsey, Beth,   I don’t think I have the words to express what your hard work in maintaining this community has meant to me and so many others.  As Clare said the other day,  in times of difficulty we turned to the folks who have sustained us all along.  You and Two Writing Teachers has certainly been that place now more than ever.

As we approach the twilight of this March Challenge,  I am grateful for this time, these writers, and this challenge.  This month, I believed it is what sustained me.

Comfortable Part 1 #sol20

I write this month of March in community with Two Writing Teachers and my fellow slicer, who have become especially in this time, my friends.  This week,  Elisabeth Ellington wrote about comfort in books.  That post is coming… but today,  I took the day to get comfortable and this is what I realized.  

Lily getting comforted by her latest toy… even the part she bit off

Comfortable Part 1 #sol20

March 28, 2020

What Makes Me Comfortable Right Now (a short list)

• Early shopping…                                        the first and perhaps only perk of being sixty
• Our local wine store                                 seeing the owner; buying wine; wishing him                                                                         well; signing up for a virtual wine tasting                                                                               this week
• our writing group                                      daily writing about daily lives of people I                                                                                I know and who understand my life right                                                                              now
• my home library                                        creating a remote literacy center
• all the books I brought home                   touching them; having them here to work                                                                              with; reading them
• friends & colleagues meet up                   those chats (heart emoji) so good to see                                                                                  your face
• touches of spring                                        those daffodils & crocus, the forsythia, the                                                                              perennials, a peek of chives
• my snoring dog                                           always underfoot as if she knows I need her
• daily calls from family                             checking in; telling silly stories, teasing,                                                                                   playing games
• walks in the woods                                    me & Lily smelling spring, noticing green
• bird songs                                                   through the window the birds sing
• neighborhood wildlife                             of the fauna kind, foxes, turkeys passing by
• netflix… cooking                                        binge watching The Chef Show, Ugly                                                                                         Delicious, Restaurant on the Edge
• home                                                             laundry; bedmaking; the view

Spending the weekend away from the screen. Hope you are finding comfort too. 

A Needed Distraction #sol20

I am participating in the Slice of Life March Challenge with my fellow slicers at Two Writing Teachers.  This is day 27.  I’m getting a little anxious about the end of this month of sharing together our experiences.  In the last week,  I try to focus on other slices as mentors, here is my slice in response to Aggie Kesler’s Keeping Busy because I definitely needed a distraction yesterday.  (shout to Darin’s hashtags as well)

A Needed Distraction #sol20

March 27, 2020

Like all of us, I have been spending much more time that usual sitting in front of a screen.  The result of which is a lethal combination of anxiousness, fatigue, and neck ache.

#orderedastandupdesktoday

Aggie’s advice to clean my refrigerator had been rattling around inside my head for a few days, so after my morning meeting yesterday, I decided to take a break in an effort to prepare myself to go to the grocery store and clean the refrigerator and the pantry.

#whydoesthegroceryscaremenow

So… I began cleaning   eating my way through the frig.  First I found a nearly empty bag of bagels, some cream cheese and a dab of jelly.  Sounds like a terrific breakfast.  I pause to toast a bagel as I contemplate which shelf to begin with.  Let’s start in the door. How did coffee grounds and rubber bands get into the egg holder? Ahh,  whole foods’ bands, but coffee?  Why are there 10 packages of yeast?  Cosmic message to bake break, perhaps?

#dontjudge

I move on to the butter “dish”,.  Why do I have so many packages of cream cheese? I begin to make a list of ‘interesting’ ingredients.  Perhaps I can google search ingredients and find recipes.  I am determined to use as much as I can and limited going to the grocery store. (see # above). I put butter on my grocery list.  Always need butter. 

#freerangebutter

What next?  Do I still feel hungry? There is one slice of cinnamon bread in this bag.  I’ll just finish that off by toasting it with the bagel.  So now, a bagel in the toaster and I just eat the piece of cinnamon bread.  Save the twist tie in the drawer and the plastic bag to the bag of bags. Cleaning by eating.  It’s a thing…

#thiseatingisdangerous

Finish up the door in a jiffy.  Only five kinds of salad dressing.  Looking good.  I move on to the shelves. Why are there SOOO many yogurts in here?  Get the yogurts organized by flavors.  Mine v. Mr. K’s.   Questions arise.  Artichoke hearts?  Two jars of pickles?  Key Lime Juice?  A pie crust?   It wasn’t too scary.  Looking good.

#yogurtforlunch

I move on to the freezer.  Did you know I have a secret stash of Maine blueberries?

#eightpintsbutwhoscounting

The pantry is a testament to neglect.  Two jars of mayo, three bottles of Balsamic Vinegar.  Do I not ever check before I go to the grocery store?

#ithoughtidid

In the end, Aggie was totally correct.  My head was cleared.  I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment.  I made some cooking plans.  For a couple of hours, no worries.

#exceptthatgrocerything

Yesterday… a History #sol20

I am slicing every day in March along with my fellow writer in our community organized by Two Writing Teachers.  Today I use at Lanny’s suggestion, Brittany Butler’s clever Browser Mystery as a mentor text.

Yesterday… a History #sol20

March 26, 2020

The idea of tracing back how my mind worked over a course of an evening through my browser history sounded hilarious,  so this morning I thought I would make that trip myself.  First problem,  I was on three different devices yesterday searching, not to mention the random questions I call out to our Google Home.  For example, I asked the Google Assistant how old Chaka Khan was yesterday… she’s 67 in case you were wondering.  This random question brought to you by The Masked Singer.

First thing yesterday,  I looked up the Sourdough Starter recipe from King Arthur.  Since the classroom teacher I was working on the fungus project with retained custody of our starter,  I’ve been trying to get one going here at home using ‘wild yeast’.  It’s not going so well.  I hear our starter at his house is lonely too.

When I read an article about difficulties that restaurants are having now, so I looked up all the local restaurants that I could think of and their take out menus and hours.  Do I dare take-out?  I can barely go to the grocery store.

After beginning to watch Tiger King on Netflix (Yikes!) on the recommendation of older son,  I started wondering about tigers in these crazy home-grown ‘zoos’.  Did you know that there about three times as many tigers in these ‘zoos’ just in the US than are in the wild?!?!  That made me think of Siegfried and Roy.  While they don’t perform anymore, they still have tiger in a Secret Garden in Las Vegas.   This internet search stops here.

These all are just ‘after work’.

Considering what to make for dinner, I checked on a meatloaf recipe, just make sure I was going down the right road.  I ended up putting in whatever I wanted anyway, a recipe is just a suggestions, right?  You know some breadcrumbs, an egg, ketchup, spices, the usual.  Comfort food at its best.  I checked on some spaghetti squash recipes too,  Maybe that will make it onto tomorrow’s menu.

I have about 15 tabs open on my laptop right now related to work, but let’s leave them there for now… or just clear all.