Celebrating Good Things

Thanks to Ruth Ayres, we can Celebrate each week together! Tweet at CelebrateLu  Link up here!

     "There are exactly as many celebrations in life as we choose to celebrate." Robert Brault.  

         I've often said my mother and I had a long distance/telephone relationship. We lived far apart, and I couldn't see her more than twice a year. I talked with her nearly every day when she was alive, and I miss the conversations. She gave me a magnet a long time ago and every time I see it, of course I think of her. It says: "Barn's burnt down...now I can see the moon." So I celebrate my mother and her upbeat attitude that I learned.

         And I must then celebrate my daughter, because now we talk nearly every day, and that too makes my life joyful. I don't visit as often, but usually weekly there's a call from my grandson and son; catching up the week and checking in is always a delight.

family phone calls 

news hums over the wires

words like hugs

Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved

We were so happy when we finally had a phone with color!

         It was a good week of being in the classroom. Have I shared that the teacher with whom I'm working was my assistant the final two years in the classroom? We had a great week together, and I felt even more a part of the group. I enjoyed working with the students individually, I taught a lesson about questioning, trying to enhance their knowledge in narrowing the broad question into something more specific. I started a book group that's reading Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. It's a re-read for me, and what a pleasure again to enjoy this story, and Gaiman's superb writing. The book is a wonderful book for discussing detail and words used that set mood. The students, this time fourth and fifth grade boys, love finding the juicy words used, like scabbed and scuttled. I celebrate their eagerness to find brilliant passages to share, and today one posed a question I had not ever considered! Exciting stuff!

         There is a group of teachers called "core" teachers who are the teachers in charge of each classroom, five primary, five intermediate, and three advanced school teachers. Other teachers have differing jobs at the school, but these thirteen teachers are the ones who are the classroom teachers. Each month this year I've led one meeting with this core group, discussing various parts of teaching as I see connecting with the calendar. Thursday I facilitated a discussion about teaching (can it be taught?) grit. It was a good discussion, leading to more questions as we shared what is happening now, differences in approaches among the ages, and more. Key points, if you are interested, were "slowing down enough to allow and foster habits of reflection is critical for improvement," "encouraging growth mindsets instead of fixed ones-per Peter Johnston," and "finding the 'right' words that fit each student," like "who is the one in charge here? It was difficult to stop.

          Other days were filled with granddaughters swimming, finishing most of my dental work, and writing my line for Irene Latham's Progressive Poem on Thursday. See the sidebar for all those participating. Take the time to jump to the latest post so you can read the whole poem, completed on April 30th, next Wednesday! And as you see on the list, Tara Smith of A Teaching Life is the poet who will wrap it all up. 

          The week was good!

photo credit: Mark Sardella via photopin cc