May | 2016 | Reflections on the Teche

Archive for May, 2016

DigiLit Sunday: Refresh

Posted in Blogging, Digital Learning, Gifted Education, tagged digital literacy, Kidblog, student blogging on May 15, 2016| 9 Comments »

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I have three days left of school. That statement gets stuck in my throat. I’m not ready. In my position as a gifted teacher, I have the privilege of teaching my students year after year. But the sixth graders move on to middle school. This will be a week of goodbyes.

My students wrote their final blog posts for the year. Our space on Kidblog has become a meaningful, safe place for writing. I asked a 5th grader last week to do a graph of our blog posts this year. The most blog posts went to 6th grader, Kielan, with 139! We’ve written a total of 1121 posts this year!

Here is a sample of a few goodbye posts. I am proud to read that they feel like writers.

Sorry everyone, but this is the last week of GT. Soak it in while you can. Good-bye blankets, read aloud, parties, and GT and Mrs. Simon in general.

We have all learned so much from past writings to now. We have learned grammar (by force, AKA Grammarly), we have learned phrases and metaphors and similes, we have learned everything a poet and writer must know in life. Tobie

Today is the last day of Gt and I will miss Mrs. Simon and GT. I have learned many new forms of poems, like Abecedarian and Diamante. What I will hate about summer is summer reading. I will miss all the art projects and the forts and the pillows and read aloud, but I will not miss the Sol’s. Andrew

This site has let me talk to Mrs.Simon about problems that I had when I couldn’t talk to her face to face. This site has given me ideas from my classmates and connections. This site has let me share my life story with the world. This site has made me who I am today. This site has let me give ideas to my classmates and connections. This site has made my day or made me want to scream. But this site has so many memories that I hold so close to my heart. Erin

It is time to hit the refresh button, time for winding down, relaxing, reading, and reflecting. I have books ready for my summer reading. Here are a few of the books I’ve got waiting for me.

How will you hit the refresh button? Please join our conversation by leaving your blog link below.

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Celebration Saturday

Posted in Celebration Saturday, tagged Mother's Day, teacher appreciation on May 14, 2016| 12 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

This weekly habit of celebrating is so good for me. By Saturday, I’m tired and inclined to think the worst about my week. And yet, to prepare a celebration post, I look back at my photos. There I see so much to celebrate. Take a photo journey through my week.

Mother’s Day with daughters #1 and #3.

Gardenia, my favorite scent, a gift from my daughter from her boyfriend’s yard. I wish it were scratch and sniff.

A field trip to the beautiful and magical Avery Island. Click the image to read more.

This note means more to me than the Starbucks card attached. (I do love vanilla lattes.)

Students play strategic games at Gifted by Nature Day.

I celebrate a week of love, flowers, kindness, beauty, and games. As my school year comes to a close, I need to focus more on these things.

A praise report!! My friend Amy got a scan this week that shows her cancer is “resolved.” No new spots. No light-ups! All clear! Wow, in just 5 months. Thank God!

quotesgram.com

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Poetry Friday: Making Masks, Making Poems

Posted in Creativity, Gifted Education, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged Gifted by Nature Day, mask poems on May 13, 2016| 11 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up with Violet. Click here to read more posts.

The end of the school year is coming to a close. One fun day that our gifted students look forward to every year is Gifted by Nature Day. We hold it in City Park and all the elementary gifted students in our parish attend. The day is full of games, art, and writing.

This year middle school gifted students (who fondly remember their own Gifted by Nature Days) led this year’s art activity. They presented a skit about endangered animals. Then our kids were encouraged to freely create their own favorite animal, real or imaginary.

I led a poetry writing activity as a response to the mask activity. And what better poetic form to use than a mask poem? The directions were simple: Write a poem from the point of view of your mask. Use your creature’s name as the title. Use I statements. We read a few mentor poems from Irene Latham”s Dear Wandering Wildebeest and Patricia MacLachlan’s Cat Talk.

The students were primed for creative thinking after making their masks. I am sharing some of the masks and poems here.

This is Erin as a narwhal, of course.

Call me watercat.
I am guard.
I am smart and curious.
I run very quickly through
prickly vines.
I am big.
I am blue.
I am sneaky.
I am fluffy.
I am strong.
I am a watercat.
by Madison, 2nd grade

How adorable is this puppy mask with a bow on its chin!

Dis-Grace
I am a disgrace.
I am a mess of an animal.
I am rainbow.
I have three sets of ears.
My mouth stays open.
My nose is green.
People come around me and say “whoo.”
They must hate me.
Then I hear people say, “That’s cool.”
Maybe I’m not a Dis-Grace after all.
by Emily, 5th grade

Shadow, by Jacob, 2nd grade

I was born in a magic cloud.
Then I flew all day.
I made a lot of friends
and we played in the Milky Way.
Then we found a top hat,
black and a very light gray.
I put it on and then I had the power
to always save the day. Jaci, 5th grade

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Avery Island, Jungle Gardens, and Tabasco

Posted in Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged Avery Island, field trip on May 10, 2016| 7 Comments »

At one of my schools, I coordinate a leadership organization called “Paw Pride.” Students are nominated by their teachers to be in this group. Throughout the year, we participate in service-oriented projects.

Yesterday we took an end-of-the-year field trip to Avery Island, home of Tabasco sauce. I love field trips. Yes, they exhaust me, but the kids are so excited and can’t wait to learn and play. This group worked hard and raised enough money for this treat. Avery Island is in our own backyard. We should know and learn about the products of our own area.

3D map

“Are we here?”

“Look! There’s the warehouse!”

Seeing the overall, big picture on a 3D map intrigues the students.

salt barrels

The mash from the peppers are aged for three years. Salt covers the tops of the barrels, slowly spicing the aging peppers. At the factory store, students sampled different Tabasco flavors and even Tabasco ice cream.

bird city 3

In 1895, the snowy egret was nearly wiped out by plume hunters. E. A. McIlhenny created Bird City, a nesting ground for these majestic birds. I took this picture from the high look-out deck. It was a nice climb but worth it for this view.

Paw Pride with Buddha

E. A. McIlhenny acquired a gift of an ancient Buddha statue in 1936. The statue is surrounded by authentic Asian flora. Visiting the Buddha is a highlight of any Avery Island field trip.

Jungle gardens

Jungle Gardens is often used for wedding photos, and you can see why. This is a beautiful setting just beyond the Buddha statue in Jungle Gardens. At this point, the students had disappeared into a wooded area. I sent a parent chaperone after them. The magic of this place drew them in. A wonderful way to celebrate May, these students were able to spend a day outside of the classroom learning about a locally made product as well as enjoying the beauty of nature.

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DigiLit Sunday: Curves

Posted in Digital Learning, Teaching, Writing, tagged #nwpianthology, curves, Kim Douillard, photo essay on May 8, 2016| 6 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

I follow Kim Douillard’s blog, Thinking Through my Lens, and she posts a weekly photo challenge. Yesterday the challenge word was Curves. She wrote, “When your week throws you curves…take photos of them!” And I thought, if your week throws you curves, write about it. So I am going to combine the two, DigiLit and Photo Challenge.

May is a stressful time for me as I’m sure it is for most teachers. As I thought about this month and the many stresses, I realized I needed a new perspective.

There is a large old oak in my front yard. I look at it every day. Yet this image shows a new perspective, looking between the branches.

If I turn my perspective to the curve between the branches, I can see a new design. The branch that was trimmed has new growth. Some curves may be tough to take, but later allow for new growth.

On a walk with my dog, we came upon this snail in the grass. Small and slow, the snail curved his slick body, stretching out as far as he could go, lugging along his shell. When we stopped to look, Charlie didn’t see it, so he stepped on it. The snail retreated back into his shell.

When I complain about May, my wise husband says, “May is followed by June.” So I can make it. I can stretch out and lug along because I am heading toward a safe harbor, a time of renewal, “the big weekend!”

The curves of a single rose fascinate me. These are my Mother’s Day flowers. They remind me that I am in this with others. I am not alone. I can turn to colleagues and friends. They will listen to my rants and my complaints and tell me that all will be well. And it will be.

Please consider joining the Digital Literacy conversation. Place your link by clicking the button.

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Celebrating Messes

Posted in Celebration Saturday on May 7, 2016| 9 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

After more than a week of testing, my students and I needed to relax and make art. Rather than plopping in a movie like many of my colleagues, I decided we should make a complete mess with gel printing. They loved it! I celebrate messiness today.

My hands were printed along with the paper.

May is a stressful time, but one of the lights of the month is Teacher Appreciation Week. I think I gained 5 pounds eating all the goodies in the lounge. Wonderful meals and amazing desserts! I celebrate the weeklong lighthearted laughter in the lounge.

To celebrate our year of writing, my students and I are making repurposed books. I’ve written about them on this blog a few times: here and here.

My students are enjoying collecting their favorite pieces of writing in a “real” book.

A page of Emily’s book: A poem about A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord.

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Poetry Friday: Beannacht

Posted in Gratitude, Poetry Friday, tagged John O'Donohue on May 6, 2016| 12 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up with Sylvia at Poetry for Children. Click here.

Whatever it was that led me back to the poem Beannacht by John O’Donohue, I must thank the Universe. The world has only to listen to his dear Gaelic voice to feel at peace and to know all will be well.

I strive to look for the blessings of a day.

Black-eyed Susans line the drive-thru at CC’s….

The cardinal will not stop tweeting!

My fingers are full of paint.
The classroom floor has paint splatters.
Even my blow dryer is splattered with paint.
I’m painting end-of-the year projects with messy kids.

My daughter is outside reading a magazine
soaking up sun, Vitamin D and Vitamin R (relaxing).

Along with John O’Donohue, I bless you.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.

Happy Friday!
Happy Spring!
Happy May!

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Creativity and Vulnerability

Posted in Creativity, Teaching, tagged Big Magic, Creativity, Elizabeth Gilbert, vulnerability on May 5, 2016| 7 Comments »

I thought I might give blogging a rest. But in this wild world of social media, I have made connections. Irene Latham is a poet/blogger and the kind of person I will do almost anything for. She tweeted yesterday.

Hey, SJT peeps @MargaretGSimon @dorireads @cvarsalona @Mhaseltine @b_a_taylor Join me tomorrow in talking about Creativity & Vulnerability?

— Irene Latham (@Irene_Latham) May 4, 2016

Here I am again because this is a subject I live with every day.
Be creative.
Be vulnerable.
These two walk together with me as I wander this writing terrain.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert speaks to me. She writes for 272 pages about “Creative Living Beyond Fear.” The reason this book has taken on such popularity is we are all battling this dualistic problem: creativity and fear. On Goodreads, there are 333 quotes from Big Magic. I could pick any one of them to make my point here. That creativity and fear (or vulnerability) walk hand in hand.

With my students this week, I have been creating an altered book. We have taken books that were discarded from the library for repurposing as a collection of writing from this school year. For the most part, we’ve been making a mess. But in the midst of the mess, creativity is evolving.

A favorite page using gel printed paper, collage, and a poem.

This is the freest I have felt about painting and creating in a long time. I’m just doing it. I don’t expect anyone but me to ever care about this book, so there is no fear. And since I feel absolutely safe creating alongside my students, I am not vulnerable either.

When I write for others to read, the stakes become higher. And yet, in this blog space, I have found a safety net. I have a group of people I belong to. I’ve gotten to know you by reading your blogs. You know me, and you leave encouraging comments. I may not know your face, dear reader, but I trust you.

Vulnerability is lessened by safety, community, and camaraderie.

Creativity breeds creativity. Endeavoring to express yourself artistically whether with a paintbrush, a musical instrument, or a pen exposes you to failure. Yet creating makes us human, and creativity is meant to be shared.

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Slice of Life: Saturated

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Annie Dillard, Bayou Teche, nature poem on May 3, 2016| 18 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

Emerging from 30 days of poetry, words eluded me. I looked outside for inspiration. With my camera in hand, I captured the natural meaning of the word saturated.

Reflections in the flood by Margaret Simon

After three days of incessant rain, I am saturated.
The ground below is just a shadow.
My words are hiding there.

Resurrection Fern by Margaret Simon

Fern glistens in the emerging sun.
Beauty finds me
speechless.

Lizard face-off
by Margaret Simon

Like these lizards,
face to face
puff up and show their true colors,
I dive back in,
searching for the light.

Bayou Sunspot
by Margaret Simon

When I am not even trying, poetry finds me. In reflection of her month-long poem-a-day writing, Violet Nesdoly posted this quote from Annie Dillard.

Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes. – Annie Dillard

I turn to poetry when I feel inadequate. When I’m not sure what to write, creating a verse moves me forward. So here I am again, no challenge, no poem-a-day, just me, opening the page, and giving freely, so my writing will not turn to ashes.

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DigiLit Sunday: Function

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Teaching, tagged function, standardized testing on May 1, 2016| 6 Comments »

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Last week for DigiLit Sunday, I wrote about form. I was pretty deep into teaching and writing poetry, grappling with form or no form. Julianne suggested that we follow form with function this week. When I googled function, the images suggested one right answer. That answer leads to points on a graph. Points on a graph remind me of testing.

Testing is the necessary evil, in my book. I teach gifted kids, and for the most part, the reason they are in my class is they can take tests well. They’ve figured out the function, so to speak.

So my question is how do I further my students learning beyond what the standardized test is going to require? My students are outside-of-the-box thinkers. I have to find ways to keep them thinking this way while, at the same time, capable of going back into the box come test time.

There is much grumbling in my class about testing. I have had students enjoy this time because it is quiet, and they get to read for long stretches. But one student complained that her teacher-proctor punished her for recess because she finished the session in 20 minutes. I’m sure the logic was “There is no way you can get all the answers right in 20 minutes.” That very well may be true, but my thinking tells me this teacher did not know this child.

The function of a teacher is to know her students. If you were to ask me about any of my students, I could tell you their favorite books, what genre they prefer to write, and their favorite activity to do outside of school.

The only thing about my kids that I could plot on a graph would be their reading levels. Yet their reading levels say nothing about their interest levels. And interest is everything when it comes to reading.

I take my function seriously, but I will never function to produce a right answer or a point on a graph. I strive to make my classroom one of discovery and development, creativity and caring.

How do you interpret function as it pertains to literacy? Be sure to leave a link to your own blog post today.

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