I saw the tweets, Facebook posts, and blog posts from Michelle Haseltine, and I said, “No!” I don’t need another group to join, another challenge to conquer, anything else to do! Just. Say. No.
That “no” lasted a few days, but the more posts I saw, the more I realized that this was the perfect thing to rejuvenate writing in my life and in my classroom.
Last year at NCTE 2018, I attended a notebooking workshop (wrote about it here) with Michelle and others. I came home inspired to make a commitment to notebooking in my classroom. At the end of the year on a field trip bus, I overheard one of my students talk to another one from a different school. She said, “I love notebook writing. Do you?”
Somehow things got in the way this school year. So the #100daysofnotebooking was just the thing I needed to bring out the notebooks again. We wrote every day last week.
I printed out this page, so we could keep a count of the days.
The notebook writing takes about 20 minutes in each of my three classes. I begin with some sort of prompt. We write to the Insight Timer set to 7 minutes. Then we share. Some of my students post their writing on our class blog, but this is not required.
Watching the Facebook page is inspiring (or daunting, depending on your point of view as some posts are very creative), but there is room for every type of notebooker. I’m enjoying trying out collage, writing to poetry, and word collecting.
As we continue, I’ll know more about how my students are growing their writing skills. Right now the routine of it is working. They look forward to the time to write, the time to draw, and the time to be themselves on the page.
Here’s a gallery walk of some of our pages:
Reflections on the Teche 
Thanks for a peek into the notebooks. I love the energy they generate in you!
It is wonderful to have time set aside for students “to be themselves on the page” Great line, Margaret. (This is a good way of thinking about writing for adults, too.)
I agree that some of the posts are daunting. (Please just let me write! as my prayer.) And yet the daily writing has been a plus for my need to have routines in my life! ❤
This is fantastic! I’m so glad you got just what you needed from this challenge. Looks like it is already going so well!
Love that you’re doing it with students. The pages you shared from their notebooks are inspiring.
Your passion is shining through to your students – especially that kindness poem. Awesome!
What a great challenge! I’m glad you said yes. I agree that students need time to write, to do the rehearsal, to practice. Writing time is sacred stuff! Thanks for the reminder and I love your student’s line “paper…holds your happy”. Says it all.
It is enlightening and moving reading what kids write, to see the honesty and sensitivity of young people. To introduce them to writing is such a gift.
Not surprised that you’d rise to a writing challenge – or that you’d bring the students along with you! What a creative exploration those notebooks contain – every one a marvel, as unique as fingerprints.
Wow, what a great idea and great responses! Thank you for sharing the idea! You are a great teacher and a gift to your students.
I so love that you have brought your students along on your notebooking journey, Margaret. For me, there are days when just a few words are forced out, and others when the words spill out onto the page so easily.