Reflections on the Teche

Comforting Silence

May 28, 2015 by margaretsmn

Join the Spiritual Thursday round up at Reading, Teaching, Learning.

“In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.”

― Mother Teresa, In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories and Prayers

Ah, the silence of summer. Days full of nothing. The older I get the more I appreciate silence. Sometimes silence is awkward, so we try to fill it up with sound. We turn on the TV or radio. We make a phone call. In the car, I rarely ride without the radio on. At home, I turn on the TV.

Over and over I am reminded that God comes in silence. When I take the time to turn off the devices and just listen, I hear joy in the songs of the birds. I hear the whisper of wind. I hear the quiet voice of God.

I took a walk to the park and did not take my phone. I walked alone. I was amazed at the noisiness of the birds, especially the mockingbird. I recorded one high in a tree. During the recording you can hear me say good morning to another walker. Listen and count the number of tunes the mockingbird sings.

When you are most at ease with another person, silence isn’t awkward. We stop trying to fill the open void with chatter. Notice this with your closest loved ones. With them, silence is golden. That’s how it is with God. Quiet moments given to prayer and meditation. Don’t chatter. Let your thoughts flit away like a moth. Ride the silent wave to an ultimate closeness with your creator.

Silence is a source of great strength

Posted in Poetry, Spiritual Growth, Writing | Tagged meditation, silence, Spiritual poetry | 7 Comments »

DigiLit Challenge

May 24, 2015 by margaretsmn

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

Summer has started for me. I can sleep later (haven’t yet, but the opportunity is there). I can read or write whenever I want to. My days are open to possibilities.

Today on the Two Writing Teachers blog, Betsy Hubbard reminds us to think about our One Little Word. My word is Reach. I would like to Reach for more teacher/bloggers to join DigiLit Sunday. I have no idea how to do that. So I am calling on my readers to help me.

I tend to be someone who rises to a challenge. Last summer I joined in CLMOOC and plan to again this summer. I will probably do Teachers Write with Kate Messner and many other awesome authors again for the 4th year.

There are new challenges every day in this community. Reaching out to create my own challenge is a bit scary. What if no one comes? I will stay true to my OLW and just do it. For the next four weeks, I’ll post a challenge on DigiLit Sunday. If you choose to do it, you can post it however you feel most comfortable, Twitter, Facebook, Blog, or GooglePlus. I’ll collect the links and post them the following week on DigiLit Sunday. Use #digilitchallenge. Be sure to tag me. (@MargaretGSimon on Twitter, @MargaretGibsonSimon on Facebook, and Margaret Simon on Google+)

Challenge this week: Turn an image of nature into a work of art: #photoart

For my photo, I used Waterlogue app on my phone. Then uploaded it to PicMonkey to add the haiku.

Reaching new challenges. Playing with digital literacies. Pass it on.

Link up your DigiLit Sunday posts or DigiLit Challenge here:

Posted in Blogging, Digital Learning | Tagged Digilitchallenge, digital literacy, OLW, photo art, Reach | 27 Comments »

Celebration Saturday

May 23, 2015 by margaretsmn

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

I heard from a colleague that her student’s mom was battling cancer. I made a prayer shawl and gave it to the little girl at school. Two days later I got this text.

A miracle to Celebrate!

The end of the school year is such a bittersweet time. I receive notes from students and parents that lift me up and make me cry. I celebrate the connections in my lives with my students and their families.

Magic Matt is learning to make balloon animals for his act. Love these!

My letter from Matthew included this awesome line, “To say I’ll miss you would be like saying you kind of like poetry.”

And from his mom, “You are so much more than Matthew’s teacher. You are his mentor, his confidante, his cheerleader, and one of his biggest supporters!”

Some students, like Emily, I will teach again next year. I am so lucky!

Mimi is always waiting for me to come home.

Summer is here! Those long-stretched-out-open days full of possibility. I celebrate the possibilities.

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Gratitude, Teaching, Writing | Tagged Prayer Shawl Ministry, students writing | 12 Comments »

Early Chalkabration

May 22, 2015 by margaretsmn

Matt is hosting today at Radio, Rhythm, & Rhyme.

Yesterday was our last day of school. I decided what better way to celebrate and send off the year than to write chalk poems. I only could round up three of my students (all boys). We started as usual by discussing a theme. Here is where my students always surprise me. I’m thinking the usual topics such as summer, end of school, May. Well, not these guys. They had outer space on their minds. So outer space it was. We each chose a topic out loud: black holes, Mars, galaxies, and stars. I couldn’t find paper (all packed up), so I pulled out sticky notes and some pens from my purse. We wrote, shared, then headed outside to chalk it up!

And to top it off, it was Betsy Hubbard’s birthday! Do you know who she is? She’s the inventor of Chalkabration. So my students added a birthday wish. Betsy usually posts a roundup of Chalkabration on the last day of the month. We’re early, but it was the last day. Check out her site on May 31st.

Galaxies by Tyler
Never ending
billions of stars
lighting up the night
different styles
amaze mankind.

Stars by Mrs. Simon

Mars by Jacob Mars is red And the only red planet Red planet Super cold!

Why did God create
this destructive force
that eats galaxies?
Why did God create
black holes?
by Matthew

Creating chalkabration
We appreciate that a lot
Happy B-day,
Mrs. Betsy!

More Poetry Goodness:

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is gathering notebook ideas for summer. I sent in two, one from me here, and the other from my student Tyler here.

Michelle Hendrick Barnes put out a ditty challenge from Nikki Grimes. My poem was featured here.

Posted in Chalk-a-bration, Poetry Friday, Writing | Tagged Betsy Hubbard, chalkabration, space poems | 8 Comments »

May: The End

May 21, 2015 by margaretsmn

Join the Spiritual Thursday round up at Reading, Teaching, Learning.

December, May, and August are the most difficult months for me. December for the obvious reasons, end-of-the-year holiday madness. August is the month of my birthday as well as the beginning of school.

May is a tough month for us teachers. We are faced with so many things to get done, packing up the year, and moving students on. Saying goodbye is stressful. How do you do it? With just a hug? With a card? A letter? A video of the year? I am not a “regular” teacher. I am not showing videos. I am not organizing games. I am not having end-of-the-year parties. Some of these things I try to squeeze in to our last days, but attendance is not reliable. Of all the months and days of the school year, these last ones are when I am least comfortable. I am tired. I am sad. I eat a lot of chocolate.

Do you know the story by Sandra Cisneros, Eleven? “What they don’t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. And when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don’t. You open your eyes and everything’s just like yesterday, only it’s today. And you don’t feel eleven at all. You feel like you’re still ten. And you
are –underneath the year that makes you eleven.”

What they don’t understand about school years and what they never tell you is when you’re in 6th grade, you’re also a 5th grader, and a 4th grader, and a 3rd grader, and a 2nd grader, and a 1st grader. When you walk to class on the first day of 6th grade, you expect to feel different, but you don’t. You open your eyes and everything’s just like last year, only it’s a new school. And you don’t feel like a sixth grader at all. You feel like you’re starting first grade all over again. And you are –underneath the year that makes you a 6th grader.

Like some days you may say something stupid, and that’s like you’re still in first grade, and you aren’t sure where the bathroom is yet. Or some days, you may look into your lunchbox and cry, thinking of your mother’s hands making your sandwich and how she’s waiting for you to tell her all about your day. And you want to make her happy and make her feel like you are growing up and ready to face the world of middle school, but you’re not. You wish you could curl up under your desk on a springy red mat with a towel that smells like home and take a nap. That is the part that makes you feel like you are still in kindergarten. Your teacher smiles at you and understands. Because, inside, she’s a sixth grader, too.

Dedicated to Matthew who is leaving me to go on to middle school at a private school. I know he is ready. I know I have prepared him for this day, but I also know that inside he will still be 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

–Margaret Simon, after Sandra Cisneros

Posted in Spiritual Growth, Teaching | Tagged Eleven, End of school year, May, Sandra Cisneros | 7 Comments »

Packing the Classroom: a List Poem

May 19, 2015 by margaretsmn

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

Twenty-eight years of teaching,
Three years in the same classroom,
Relocation notification from B-hall to A-hall.
5,878 steps
Boxes, bins, games,
VCR tapes, cassette tapes,
masking tape, Scotch tape,
scissors, glue,
hot glue gun, glue sticks,
paint, paint, paint, paintbrushes.
Two sets of Encyclopedias!
Books, books, books!
Boxcar Children, Magic Tree House,
Harry Potter (fills a whole box)
Professional books: Aimee Buckner, Ralph Fletcher,
Donalyn Miller, and Georgia Heard.
Yellow, pink, blue sticky notes: thumbs up!
The Easy button,
our sacred writing bell,
pillows, a blanket,
two painted author’s chairs.
Pencils, pens, erasers, markers, crayons,
Letters, cards, “I Love you, Mrs. Simon”
“Your (never you’re) the best teacher ever!”
Mugs, vases, photos,
stories, memories,
voices of many children,
the heart of one teacher.

My poet friend, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater and blogging friend, Kimberley Moran, have teamed up on Sharing our Notebooks to get us ready for summer writing. Head over there and see my post about found/black-out poetry. You are welcome to contribute a Try This as well. Here’s the link to Amy’s Google doc.

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching | Tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, list poem, school, Sharing our Notebooks, summer writing, The Poem Farm | 18 Comments »

Celebrating Digital Connections

May 17, 2015 by margaretsmn

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

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

Today I am combining posts, Celebration Saturday and DigiLit Sunday. This was a weird week because my students sporadically attended class due to all the end-of-the year stuff. This was my last official week with my students. This next week with be half days, splash days, awards days. I’ll spend time packing my room to move to another classroom. Such a bittersweet time of year, saying goodbye and taking inventory.

What I want to celebrate is connections.

Connections to the Community: Our 6th grade gifted students created a display at our local museum showing the wonders of Iberia Parish in art and poetry.

Mr. Al art and poems on display at the Bayou Teche Museum.

Connections to the World: On Monday, the local newspaper featured the 6th grade project and invited everyone to view the YouTube video.

Connections to parents: Some teachers hesitate to use Facebook to connect with parents. I am not friends with all of my parents, but the ones I am connected to appreciate and celebrate our connection. I’ve never had a parent abuse this venue.

Connections with other educators: I am not on Twitter much. I find it a bit overwhelming. But I have a small community of educators who tweet with each other. When someone tags my name, I feel delighted. The notification comes in on my phone. Like a text between friends.

Connections through blogging: Some days I don’t feel like writing. But knowing there is an audience waiting, I push myself to sit in the chair and “Just Do It.” Someone is always there to read, comment, and connect.

Cathy Mere and Julie Johnson led a Digital Makers Playground. The classes are over, but the connections continue. I’ve borrowed Carolyn Carr’s graphic she made about all the ways she connects digitally.

Digital Connections by Carolyn Carr

Connect with others about Digital Literacy:

Posted in Blogging, Celebration Saturday, Digital Learning, Teaching, Writing | 7 Comments »

Sometimes on the Lake

May 15, 2015 by margaretsmn

Sometimes on the lake in June
white pelicans fly in together
and you get out the camera.
Then they turn as a drumline in step,
swim away swiftly in a cloud.

Sometimes on the lake in June
a lone blue heron fishes.
Sly step, long beak held high,
drinking in the sunlight.
A small boat passes by
lines thrown out,
catching nothing.

Sometimes on the lake in June,
I wake before dawn,
put the coffee on,
Sometimes Dad will join me
silent, reading the daily news.
Mom comes in pleased to have fresh coffee.
We sit on the porch, quiet
content to be together
on the lake in June.

My parents live on a lake in Mississippi. I am anticipating my annual visit in June. This poetry exercise can be found in Kate Messner’s 59 Reasons to Write.

Diane is hosting today at Random Noodling.

Posted in Poetry Friday | Tagged lake, Mississippi, poetry | 18 Comments »

A Speck of Dust

May 14, 2015 by margaretsmn

Join the Spiritual Thursday round up at Reading, Teaching, Learning.

Holly Mueller invites you and me to contemplate our spiritual journey each week. This week she tweeted the theme: “Hypocrisy based on Matthew 7:1-5.” This verse is the one about taking the log out of your own eye before you notice the speck in someone else’s. Since I am already pretty good at beating myself up over the tiniest speck, I wasn’t looking forward to dealing with the proverbial plank.

I subscribe to a few inspiration emails. One is the Ennea-thought of the day which asks me to pay attention to the faults of my personality type. Some days this email just makes me mad. Others, I say “Oh, yeah, that,” and others days I carry the inspiration around with me. Especially when it is affirming. I liked May 11: “Remember, that at your best, you are profoundly creative and self-revealing.”

This one was not as affirming. “Remember that your key motivations are to be yourself, to find the meaning of your life, and to take care of your emotional needs before attending to anything else.” I like that I want to be myself and find meaning, but to meet my own emotional needs before anyone else’s seems a bit selfish. The speck is growing.

Then there’s this wonderful gift called Grace. God wants to be with us at every moment of the day. We cannot see this gift when our vision is clouded by specks. So I must not only be true to myself, but I must also be aware when myself is getting in the way of grace.

Holidays tend to be particularly difficult for my overly emotional self. I wallow in the should haves. Mother’s Day was becoming a sad day for me, and with no rhyme or reason. I am a mother of three beautiful young women. I have a mother who is healthy and wise and loving. I have a mother-in-law who claims me as her daughter and wants to spend time with me.

In the midst of my self-imposed sadness, I got a phone call from a friend who I haven’t talked to in a while. She’s been having a rough time. She lost her only son years ago and is currently going through a divorce. And here she was, calling me to wish me a happy Mother’s Day. I said, “This must be a tough day for you.”

She responded completely opposite of what I expected. (Who was I to call attention to that little speck?) She told me she was blessed to have been chosen to be a mother for 21 years. She was not mourning. She was rejoicing in God’s gift. May I be so wise as to rejoice in God’s ever-present grace each and every day.

From Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation

Posted in Spiritual Growth, Writing | Tagged Enneagram, Matthew 7:1-5, Richard Rohr, spiritual reflection | 5 Comments »

May Funk

May 12, 2015 by margaretsmn

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

I’ve been in a funk for the last few days, and I’m not sure why.

It could be that the temperatures are warmer, so it’s time to turn on the A/C and close the windows.

Maybe it was the book I was reading. All the Bright Places drew me in. I was reading anytime I had a few moments to grab. I was taken in by Finch and Violet and then… Well I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say the end could put one in a funk.

The weeds were bugging me, so on Saturday, I got after them. Weeding, mulching, making my front yard look nice. The funk was still there.

This is not the kind of funk that makes me cry. Actually, on the outside I’ve been keeping a pretty cheery disposition. Until Sunday. My choir director and friend said, “You must be happy that school is almost out.”

No. Not at all. Then I ranted about all the things I hate about the end of the school year. But the biggest, glaring thing for me was I will miss my kids. Some of my students will return to me next year. Some will not. These last few weeks are full of activities that draw my students away from my class. This is the time of year I become well aware that I am not a regular teacher. Between field trips and reward activities, game days, splash days, award days, I fall to the bottom of the totem pole. And I’m in a funk about it. There is nothing to be done, so I need to just let it go and enjoy the time we do have with each other.

This weekend a former student got in touch with me through Facebook. She messaged me, and we started a conversation about what we were both doing now. She’s a wife, mother, a personal chef and fitness instructor. She wrote, “I know this is gushy but you were such a strong part of my childhood because I was so close to the school and church and you were such a strong, caring teacher. I have told my children about you on numerous occasions. If you ever wonder how you have touched the lives of your students– you give such warmth and caring and belief. I am so glad God called you to teach and that you were part of my life! And I am so grateful that I can tell you that now.” Tears. Heartbeat. Breathe. Funk lifted.

Posted in Slice of Life, Teaching | Tagged end of year, teaching, touching lives | 18 Comments »

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