Gratitude | Reflections on the Teche

Archive for the ‘Gratitude’ Category

This Peace

Posted in Gratitude, Poetry, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged nature poem, spiritual journey on October 16, 2014| 5 Comments »

Click here to read more #spiritualjourney posts. Thanks Holly for hosting this roundup!

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of His son Jesus Christ our Lord.

This peace
cannot be understood,
creeps in my heart
when the sun rises
throwing a beam upon the oak,
her arms spread wide to welcome the light.

This peace comes from knowing
a creator who makes the heron fly
on wings breaking dawn
with stealth and strength.

This peace is a chant I sing,
your name over and over
while the yarn draws over and under
this golden G hook.

This peace transforms holy spirit
into sprays of fresh water
as close to me
as tears.

This peace as fragile as the hug of a child,
egg in a robin’s nest,
sweet scent of your clean skin.

This peace eases my breath
like child’s pose
letting go
letting out
letting in.

This peace
centered in words
prayerfully spoken,
I am here.

Read Full Post »

Gumbo, Family, and Fun!

Posted in Gratitude, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged BeauSoliel, Festival Acadiens, Geno Delafose, Michael Doucet, World Championship Gumbo Festival and Cookoff on October 14, 2014| 10 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

A selfie with my friend Sarah as we eat beignets at Festival Acadiens.

This was a weekend to embrace the culture of South Louisiana, along with the crazy heat. I’m not sure if we set records, but the temperatures were blazing while my husband and I introduced friends from Houston to the music and food of our home town. Two festivals complete with Cajun and Zydeco music, gumbo, beignets, and shrimp po-boys. We danced (and ate) all weekend. Our favorite bands are BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet and Geno Delafose and the French Rockin Boogie. Family was part of the fun, two daughters, a sister-in-law, mother-in-law, and a niece.

I have been going to these festivals for years, but dancing has only been part of them for the last three and a half. Dancing makes all the difference. I feel like I am part of the music, not just a by-stander listener. I am sore and tired, but the kind of sore and tired when you have done something vigorous, life-giving, like hiking or completing a marathon. The music is still playing in my mind.

Maggie, Katherine, and niece Claire pose at the Gumbo Cookoff.

I made a video about dancing this weekend. My husband is the handsome dancer. Be warned: there is one clip where the music comes on suddenly loud.

Read Full Post »

Dreams. Hope.

Posted in Gratitude, Spiritual Growth, tagged hope, spiritual journey on October 9, 2014| 8 Comments »

Click here to read more #spiritualjourney posts. Thanks Holly for hosting this roundup!

I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
–W.B. Yeats

We teachers have dreams laid at our feet. We should be careful. We need to remember to step with a light foot, like a feather brushing by, a slight wind to give direction, an uplifting to the wings of our tiny birds.

Ann Voskamp

Hope holds us together.

Hope is the thing, the one with feathers,

the thing we all wish for

in the darkest night of despair

when our hearts are breaking.

Hope holds on

to the thin line of your mouth when you smile,

to the circles under your eyes,

the sparkle of tears on your cheek; Hope paints a rainbow there.

Plant hope in the hole in your heart.

Open to the sound of His song–

the hoot of the owl, the cry of the hawk.

His voice carries

across wild fields

over storm clouds

into your hands.

Get ready.

Open your palms when you pray.

Original photo (iPhonography) by Margaret Simon taken at Sugar Mill Pond, Youngsville, LA.

Read Full Post »

Celebrating Hi Sugar!

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Gratitude, Teaching, Writing, tagged Berry Queens, Donald Graves Award, Sugarcane Festival on September 27, 2014| 5 Comments »

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

Sugarcane tractor on display at school.

It’s Sugarcane Festival, y’all! This is the annual celebration in New Iberia to open the harvest season. I love this season. The cane is getting tall. The air is getting cooler. And there are parades galore.

I am involved in The Berry Queens, so named because New Iberia is sometimes called “Da Berry.” Last night we inaugurated our very first Candy Toss Parade. About 30 golf carts were blinged up with lights, decorations, and shiny Berry Queens. What a fun time! Here are a few pictures.

I’m still basking in the glory of the NCTE Donald Graves Award. My local paper did a feature article that appeared on the front page on Friday. I’ve had so many wonderful congrats from our community– The local parks director grabbed me in the parade, a neighbor yelled from his car while I was walking Charlie, and a longtime teacher friend came to my front door this morning. I am impressed by the number of people who are taking the time to read my essay. I have pretty strong convictions about the teaching of writing. I am humbled that my own beliefs are touching so many.

Read Full Post »

Celebrating Honors

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Gratitude, Poetry, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, Donald Graves Award, healing poetry, NCTE, The Poem Farm on September 20, 2014| 13 Comments »

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

I am pleased, honored, amazed to announce that I am the 2014 recipient of the NCTE Donald Graves Award for the teaching of writing. The award will be presented to me on Thursday, Nov. 20th in Washington, D.C. at the Elementary Section Get-Together during the annual convention. Follow this link to see my name in lights and a link to my reflective essay. I owe a huge shout out to all of my blogging friends who have supported me in the development of my teaching philosophy. I am so blessed to be a part of this supportive community.

Minga, my mother-in-law, sent me flowers to celebrate the Donald Graves Award.

I want to celebrate the outpouring of love and compassion from the kidlit blogosphere in expressing sympathy for my student Emily’s loss of her mother this week. I will be attending the funeral today and sharing with Emily your messages. Amy VanDerwater of The Poem Farm shared a poem yesterday that was inspired by my post about Emily. Emily and I are both touched by this kindness. Visit Amy’s site to read her special poem of empathy.

Read Full Post »

Celebration in Action

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Gifted Education, Gratitude, Writing, tagged apple peeler, birthdays, student poetry on August 30, 2014| 10 Comments »

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

What a wonderful week with students! It’s our second week together, and we worked hard. I am requiring three blog posts each week: It’s Monday: What are you Reading?, Tuesday Slice of Life, and Poetry Friday. I thought it might be too much, but so far, my students are meeting the challenge. I am more and more convinced that blogging is the way to get students writing. You can read their writing here. I want to share one of the fingerprint poems. I posted the lesson on Poetry Friday.

Unique Fingerprint

I am the expert: you are the rookie.
You will never see my treasure,
Invisible to you but
Everything to me.
My print shines bright like a diamond,
As beautiful as a bow.
My treasure is one thing I love more than gold.
Maybe one day you will see my unique design,
But for now you have to classify your own.
by Kielan, all rights reserved

I love to celebrate birthdays with my students. For her birthday celebration, Kielan wanted me to bring the apple peeler and apples. She remembered how much fun it was from last year. The kids loved it!

Kim Douillard’s photo challenge this week was action. I did a video of the apple peeler in action. At the very end of the video, you can hear Emily say, “You’re about the best teacher in the universe.”

We also celebrated Andrew’s birthday. Look at the lovely cupcake his talented mother made!

Emily brought me a special gift this week, a happiness box. She gave it to me on Monday which segued perfectly into a discussion of tone. She had turned my irritable mood into joy!