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Archive for March, 2014

Big Words

Posted in Poetry Friday, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged , , on March 21, 2014| 10 Comments »

Slice of Life Day 21. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Slice of Life Day 21. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Poetry Friday Round-up is at The Drift Record

Poetry Friday Round-up is at The Drift Record

I am constantly amazed by my gifted students. They can process and learn at such a rapid rate. I love words. That’s no secret. They know it. So we often spend time talking about words.

Vannisa, a 4th grader, and I are reading A Snicker of Magic together. (Actually, she has passed me up.) I asked her to put some of the magical words on the board. She made a list including felicity, serendipity, paradigm, gargantuan, spendiddly, snicker-doodle, lickety-split. Aren’t these great words?

I pulled up a poem that Katie Muhtaris posted on her blog Coffee Fueled Musings to show her students how to use strong verbs. Her poem, Oreos, inspired Vannisa to write about cookies.

Chewy Cookies

Stretching for the red box it slumbers in,
peel off the wrapper
decant a glass of milk into the tall transparent cup.
Let the flow of white water dive into the pool of air.
Snatch a crispy golden cookie.
Devour the serendipity.
Taste the felicity of the snicker-doodle.

–Vannisa, age 10

Matthew, otherwise known as Magic Matt on our class blog, took a break from his magic tricks to write a poem. He didn’t know it was good. He told me, “Don’t post this anyWHERE.” Then I read it and said, “Wow!”

Matt said, “Mrs. Simon, did you just say Wow about one of my poems?”

I think you will say Wow! too.

Felicity

Felicity fills my soul,
warming my heart like a gargantuan fire.
Isolated mountains dot the Earth
like looking through a kaleidoscope.
A paradigm of God’s grandest creation meeting reality.

–Matthew, age 10

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Getting Ready for a Party

Posted in Slice of Life, tagged , on March 20, 2014| 4 Comments »

Slice of Life Day 20. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Slice of Life Day 20. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

There’s nothing like getting ready for a party that makes you look at your home with a critical eye. There are things you put off doing until a party is coming. My daughter is having an engagement party for her best friend, Katie. We are getting ready. This weekend we threw out all the dead plants from the extreme winter and planted new ones around the deck. It’s so nice and fresh.

deck plants

We hired a carpenter/ handyman to come paint the ceiling where there were stains from long ago leaking. (The roof was changed two years ago) While he was up on the scaffolding, (our ceiling is 17 feet high) I asked him to clean the light fixtures and change the bulbs. Well, that didn’t go as planned and the light fixture broke. A trip to Home Depot to find a quick fix. I think new lights will move up the line on our renovation list. (Renovation is constant in a 40+ year old house.)

Today, I cleaned the fire place. This is something I rarely do. The ashes smell like a camp fire every time I pass by. While I love that scent, I thought for a party, it should be clean.

Why is it that I never notice the build up of dust in the corners until now? My list grows.

The preparations continue. My daughter is doing most of them, arranging for the food, ordering the cake, making a play list, and hiring a bar tender. I am enjoying being a part of her gift for her friend.

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A Poet with my Name

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing, tagged , , on March 19, 2014| 8 Comments »

Slice of Life Day 19. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Slice of Life Day 19. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

I subscribe to The American Academy of Poets Poem a Day email blast, so every day I get a poem. Sometimes they pile up in my inbox. I really hate to just delete them, but I don’t often have time to read them when I am checking my email. But this morning, the poet’s name caught my eye, Margaret Gibson.

When you’ve lived the first 20 something years of your life with a name, you get to know it, so imagine how surprised I was to find out I was a poet. At least I like to think of myself as a poet, but in actuality, I haven’t published much poetry. And truth be told, I use my married name more often now. But still, I was taken aback.

Of course, I didn’t write the poem. Another Margaret-Gibson-named poet did. I can only dream of being published by LSU Press. This namesake of mine lives in Connecticut, not Louisiana. I googled her. She is older than me (good). She is attractive (also good). I actually think we would like each other a lot.

Margaret Gibson, the poet. Not me.

Margaret Gibson, the poet. Not me.

Here are some lovely quotes by Margaret Gibson:

Poetry is really an act of taking things that come to you, a scarlet tanager or an act of war — whatever takes your attention, you study it for yourself, but you also take it into that part of yourself where you test things. You look out and you look in.

You realize everything is personal and everything is impersonal. We’re all part of one enormous, sometimes painful, sometimes joyful experience.

One of the things I think we’re here to do is to find the things that are broken and to mend them. Or to find where there is fracture or division and create a wholeness.

from Grace: A Magazine for Women

Margaret has a new book coming out in September entitled The Broken Cup which includes poems about life with her husband, author David McKain who has Alzheimer’s. The poem I received in my email is Losing it, speaking so frankly and eloquently about the loss of things.

What little I know, I hold closer,
more dear, especially now
that I take the daily
reinvention of loss as my teacher.

Read the whole poem here.

Funny thing, this daily writing practice. I had no idea what I was going to write about when I sat down at my computer. My avoidance strategy was to read my emails. What a gift I received today from a woman with my name!

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Bird

Posted in Books, Slice of Life, tagged , , , , on March 18, 2014| 10 Comments »

Slice of Life Day 18. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Slice of Life Day 18. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Bird

I follow middle grade authors on Facebook, Twitter, and on their blogs. Recently, Caroline Starr Rose, author of May B, posted a book give-away on her blog for Crystal Chan’s book Bird. And I won! The book arrived with a sweet note from Crystal Chan. Her note said, “Please tell about it–that’s the best way to give Bird a strong tail wind for its first flight.” Already I knew I would love this book. Then I read the first line, “My grandpa stopped speaking the day he killed my brother.”

I have not written book reviews, ever. I hate to admit this. I’m supposed to be a writer. For some reason, this kind of writing has intimidated me. But when I got this book and Crystal’s note, I knew I had to give it a try. I talked to my student Vannisa about this review. She read Bird. I told her we would write the review together. There is a sense of safety in collaborative writing, and Vannisa had some good insights about the theme that I hadn’t even thought of.

Vannisa googled writing book reviews and made a list of steps for us to follow. She checked them off as we completed each one. I love how we had a role reversal here. Now she wants to read A Snicker of Magic with me. So maybe we will write more reviews together.

I posted this review on Goodreads, my first! I want to publicly thank Crystal Chan for this wonderful gift, her words, her character Jewel, and her touching story.

Crystal Chan has successfully written the saddest first page ever. She draws us in to the life of 12 year old Jewel who was born on the day her brother died. So her birthday is always a day of grief for her parents and grandpa. Jewel has never heard her grandpa speak because he stopped talking on that fateful day.

Jewel’s life changes the day she meets a boy in a tree. His name is John just like her late brother. Coincidence or not?

Crystal Chan leads us on a journey of action and emotion. I felt like I had been betrayed as Jewel overhears her parents arguing.

“I was never wanted. Not even the moment I was coming into the world.”

Jewel’s friendship with John may be a coincidence or a sign. Her grandfather believes it is a curse on her family, but Jewel believes it is good luck. Jewel sees a bit of herself in John. They both dream about their future; Jewel wants to be a geologist and John wants to be an astronaut. Mixed in this enchanting story are facts about the Jamaican culture and the universe.

You just want to read Bird again, to climb trees again, and to dream of a better life.

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Full Ides (of March) Moon

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged , , , on March 17, 2014| 9 Comments »

Slice of Life Day 17. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Slice of Life Day 17. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

I have a tree-hugging naturalist friend who sends out an email every month around the time of the full moon. His email is called Full Moon Alert or FMA.

One of the methods of writing I enjoy is erasure poetry or found poetry. I often find a poem in Jim’s FMA.

flower tree

Full Ides (of March) Moon

Full moon rises Sunday at sunset.
Spring officially starts Friday,
Buds swelling,
swamp red maples coming into bloom,
thangs were moving y’all.

Sky reverberates
with the smudge of cranes.
I love you little.
I love you big.

My ladies are working hard already.
European honey bees are an all-girl operation,
and these are happy dancing
their butter butts, like the warblers
catching Crane flies.

A pair of raptors dive spectacularly,
two lovers celebrating newfound love
in this the season of love.

Happy spring y’all!

Get out and enjoy the fine spring weather.
Get out and stand there with your mouth open
watching that moonrise and sunset with loved ones.
What a gift! And bring some little ones along.

–Margaret Simon, found from Possum Foret’s FMA March 15, 2014

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Celebrate. Open. Build.

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Gifted Education, Slice of Life, tagged , , , on March 15, 2014| 7 Comments »

Discover. Play. Build.
Slice of Life Day 15. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Slice of Life Day 15. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Celebration Saturday is here. I love Saturdays! I can sleep a little longer. I take a walk with my dog. I feel refreshed. And Ruth Ayres encourages us to reflect on our week and celebrate.

1. Earlier in the week I posted “Ten Things Right Now.” There I mentioned that my uncle had died. I was not able to go to his funeral, but my mother blessed me with a copy of my cousin’s homily. In the latter part of his life, my uncle ran a B&B with his wife on Tybee Island in Georgia. Sadly, I never visited. (Sigh, regrets) Stinson speaks to my OLW OPEN. Every life leaves us with a lesson.

I’m not much of a theologian, but it seems like one of the big points Jesus was trying to get through our heads is that the foundation of evangelism is hospitality … Opening our hearts starts with opening our arms. Opening our doors. Opening our homes.
Seems like, in a way, my Dad lived the vocation we’re all called to.
–Stinson Liles

2. The elementary gifted teachers in our parish are working once a month with a group of sixth graders. Our service project includes a bridge opening ceremony for a bridge in town that has been closed for 3 years for renovation. We are working to get sponsors for our t-shirts. My principal gave me permission to take my 5 morning students on a field trip to solicit donations. We met with the VP of Musson Patout Automotive Group. Here they are receiving his generous donation. They felt so important and proud.

Students with Bart Romero of Musson Patout

Students with Bart Romero of Musson Patout

3. I have commissioned a friend to build us a coffee table. She sent pictures of the process. I can’t wait to get this beautiful art work into my home. The best part is she is having a great time building it. We all have our different passions. Hers is wood.

clamps on tabletable top

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.
–Dalai Lama

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Mother Nature

Posted in Poetry Friday, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged , , on March 14, 2014| 10 Comments »

Slice of Life Day 14. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Slice of Life Day 14. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.


Join the Poetry Friday Round up at Rogue Anthropologist

Join the Poetry Friday Round up at Rogue Anthropologist

Today, I am featuring a new and upcoming poet, Kaylie. She was my student for 3 years. This year she is in middle school, but she has joined the class as we participate in the Slice of Life Story Classroom Challenge. Her mother teaches across the hall from me. She came in one day earlier this week and said, “Thank you.” She told me that Kaylie has not been writing much at school this year, and she forgot how much she loves it. She now comes home every day and goes straight to the computer to write her Slice of the day. Kaylie is a poet. She has an amazing sense of language for her 13 years.

Now she has returned in spirit as a leader to the others. She is lifting lines and writing poems. In her slice yesterday, she wrote, “I don’t know why I am ADDICTED to writing lift a lines. I guess this is just a great way to make someone else feel good because you like their writing.” Kevin Hodgson has started something. He stopped by yesterday and left a poem response. And, yes, as Kaylie said, “It made me feel good.”

Wordle made by Kaylie

Wordle made by Kaylie

Her feelings come and go
As quickly as leaves fall
In the brisk autumn months.
Her spirit will always be with the earth.

If you are quiet, you can hear her heart thumping, thumping,
Dancing to the beat of the cicada song,
Steady and slow, on time
You can see her eyes, the stars

That glitter in the twilight,
Inconsistent as the moon.
She is restless,
In the ocean that crashes toward shore,

Always there, always churning
To the gull’s cry, to the burning sand,
She is present.

In the winter, her heart is cold as ice
Her heart thumps slow, quiet, soft
The snow falls, her whispers
Her secrets that we catch on our tongue
Only to be melted away.

In the spring, she is generous.
It is a time for life and rebirth,
She lets her children frolic among the daisies
In the sweet breeze she blows.
She is everywhere, she is invisible.
She is the Earth.

–Kaylie

See more of my students’ Slice of Life writing (Maybe even steal a line.): http://kidblog.org/SliceofLifeChallenge/

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I want to stay

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged , , , on March 13, 2014| 9 Comments »

Slice of Life Day 13. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Slice of Life Day 13. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

I want to stay here
in deep meditation
focusing on one word,
letting light dance in my eyes,
letting go of stress.
Let me stay a little longer.

I want to stay here
in this warm shower
with scents of fresh herbs, a hint of rose
rubbing my itching scalp.
Steam wraps me in comfort.
Let me stay a little longer.

I want to stay here
reading in my teacher chair
while kids are spotted all around
with noses in their books.
I stop to read a favorite line.
Can I stay here a little longer?

I want to stay here
in shavasana, toes pointing to heaven,
holding my color focal point
melting away the day,
bowing in namaste,
Please let me stay.

photo by Pierce Martin, labeled for reuse on Flickr

photo by Pierce Martin, labeled for reuse on Flickr

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Precious Metal

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing, tagged , on March 12, 2014| 7 Comments »

Slice of Life Day 12. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Slice of Life Day 12. Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

My One Little Word for 2014 is Open. This little word has led me to try many different creative things. I have learned about Gelli Plate printing. I have written with improv actors. I have even begun to meditate. So when an opportunity presented itself (Living Social, to be exact) to take a Precious Metal Clay class with an artist I have wanted to work with, I grabbed it.

I am so proud of the pieces I made. I have worn them every day. The process is a long one. The workshop started at noon and ended at 5 PM. There are many steps. First we started with a small ball of clay. Paula assured me there were particles of silver in the clay. We pressed it onto a rubber stamp to get a texture. Then cut to the shape I wanted. I loved the leaf shapes.

Once I had made the shapes I liked, Paula showed me how to make the twirly holder (I can’t remember the official name for it.) This part looked so complicated, but it was simple. Make a snake with the clay and twirl it around a straw. Who knew?

The clay had to dry. Paula used a vegetable dehydrator. Then the clay is like wood and sharp edges can be filed off. The longest step for the pendant was firing in the kiln. While it fired, we torched the earrings with a Crème brûlée torch. A little frightening but fun. Then the miracle happened. When we polished the piece, voila! Silver jewelry!

Precious metal

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