Don't blink

Man- where the heck did my first long summer in eight years go? It is now officially a bit of vapor. Gone. I can't say I didn't like it. I did. It was the perfect way to reconnect with my April daughter who graduated from high school this year. We "road tripped" for weeks. I caught up with friends and family all across the eastern seaboard remembering there IS time. I cleaned out the black holes of my home getting reacquainted with spaces and things I'd long forgotten. Personally, summer's been good to me.

Now I'm wondering how it will affect my professional life.

First...our school year has gone from a year round schedule to the more traditional schedule and I'm already missing the "intersession" between quarters that would give us time to breathe, look at students with a fresh eye and attitude, reflect, and prepare for the next round of objectives, lessons, creative teaching, behavior plans, and general all around clearing of the head.

But mostly, as a reading teacher I'm already thinking of how much our kids might have lost over a longer summer without daily reading. Many of our kids don't get read to, have libraries at home, or get to the library often. I'm wondering about administering beginning of year baseline assessments that we previously didn't have to do because students were only away from teachers, guided reading and books for five weeks. What's twelve weeks going to do to their processing? I'm wondering what that data's going to tell us and how we will work to get kids caught up.

Anticipating our longer summer, our librarian, administration, and a cadre of teachers who know the deal opened the library over the summer to give our neighborhood kids a good place to read and get a good read. These teachers lead book clubs, book talks, read aloud stories and gave time to keep the rhythms of reading in our kids' heads. Our PTA provided book bags for those treasures students got to check out and take home. It was a good move. Kids loved it, but is it enough?

Summer has gone by in a blink. When it comes to reading skills, sometimes a blink can be too long.

getting started and getting my stuff done

I love this time of year, the weeks just before the start of school. I love thinking about the possibilities for kid and teacher learning. I love sitting at my desk, pondering the work ahead. I love looking at the books. We are going to do such good stuff this year and I am going to so manage my time, stay focused and get stuff done.

I mean geez, I've located all my books and arranged the shelves just so with children's lit (isn't it really EVERYONE lit?) so it will be readily available. I've cleared my desk. I've stacked piles of stuff that I can't get to now for future sorting and filing. I am really prioritizing. Okay, now I think I'm ready to get to work.

Well, maybe I'll just sort through those papers one more time. Hmmm, filing a few more things would make it a lot easier to focus when I'm rereading "Choice Words" by Peter H. Johnston. Actually, I could work on my calendar for the first week so I'm really organized. Should I check my email again to be sure the schedule hasn't changed? Gosh, is it lunch already?

As I was taking "ten" to refocus and get a good start I came across this.

Right after I watched it, I really did get to work.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

I work in a modified calendar (i.e. year round) school. Today was the end of an era. After eight years, it was our last day of our optional intersession for our students and community. My colleague writes about it today in her blog "Elementary My Dear or Far From It."

Slice of Life

Thanks Stacy and Ruth for lending space on Two Writing Teachers for another month of slicing. Thanks slicers for another month of great reading. I'm late posting here but, sincere none the less. This month I looked forward to the few moments during the day or night when I could get a glimpse, I wouldn't have otherwise have had, into my virtual compadres' lives. Knowing we were all writing about the small, fleeting things in life affirmed the importance of recording and reflecting. I read wonderful vignettes about appointments, pets, children, writing, food, travel, relatives and how each of those topics written in one word seems sterile and empty, but with a bit of description and reflection forms something else... a meaningful part of our day.

I enjoyed taking a peek at my own day. Those small moments that you can't get back... unless you write a little.

Happy April, slicers. Well done.

Spin Doctor

The hills were killer today. Who knew when I got there, after checking my seat and adjusting my handlebars, after putting my towel and water bottle just so on my bike, that we'd be off on a climb in the Canary Islands. Sure,we started with a reasonable tilt and speed. But before long we made big adjustments. New positions. We rode a lot standing up. I guess if you're going 266 m. up a pleistocene grade you better stand up. What goes up then makes a drastic down. We not only push down on pedals on this climb, we drive them up and across on the way around as the foot circles, as we go up and down that grade. For this maturing athlete that was almost too many directions for maturing body parts. Sweat was beading up quickly on my brow.

Our spin doctor continued spinning. Words and wheels. She described the mountain scrub we'd notice if we weren't looking through a fog of sweat and visible breath. There was water in their somewhere. Something about the confluence of oceans and gulf streams and... well, I really didn't get the rest. She talked about the low cost of good wine (5,00 €), good rooms (100 €), the viable pure beauty, persuading us further that this climb was benefiting us. Driving us to distraction, molding the truth just so.

She's good. I needed the towel. Over a liter of water gone from my bottle. An hour gone by and the visit to the Canary mountains and spin class was over.

Dream girl

I dropped the budding actress with a small case of nerves off at the theater and waited in the parking lot for my date. Tonight was opening night of "Those Were The Days," but the curtain wasn't going up for an hour and a half. My husband picked me up and we headed off for a quick slice of wood fired pizza and a Peroni. Pizza was delicious but I was too conscious of the time to enjoy the great cheese and fresh herbs. I might have enjoyed the beer.

Boxed up the extra slices and headed to the theater to watch our April daughter in her first big theater performance outside school. Truthfully, she's only had a few performances in school; this seemed so much bigger. Real lights, tech people, upholstered seats, tickets, a stage. She told me once, when I urged her to try out for the freshman field hockey team because she had years of experience playing that game, "Mom, that's your dream, not mine." She played in every game that year. Tonight was her dream. She's always danced like Britney, sang to all the hits, pop, country, and rock, and had a knack for playing mean girls. Her role as Cindy, the cheerleader has a little of e) all of the above. Double dream.

I watched, my Thursday coffee friend on one side and my husband on the other and laughed at all the right times and often. The musical comedy was a bit about high school cliques and characters, complete with a principal who doesn't realize the students are running the school. Our star was a sassy, cheerleading star. No case of the nerves was evident. All lines were recited with comedic timing, and everyone fell together in a dance off at the end with all the right moves.

No easy feat for this ensemble formed seven months ago as the "Showcase" group for the Arlington Inclusive Theater Company. The actors on stage, save a few "mentors" happen to have intellectual disabilities. Ages range from 18-??? They are all young at heart and it's obvious they are all sharing this dream to perform.

I couldn't get over how far they'd come in a few months. I couldn't imagine how much work their directors and producers put into getting everyone to tonight. They had taken shy, quiet adults and had them looking out into a crowd with mischievous grins while they stood in the right spot on stage. Great show. It's going to have a good run.

yoga smooth

Wednesday is my day to stretch mind and body and quiet my thoughts with a few friends at school. Our principal set up a yoga class for teachers after school.

So, yesterday a half hour after contract hours, there on school grounds, we slipped into a "cottage" (read: trailer where P.E. is taught) with all its interior finery, threw down our mats and memories of the challenges of our day, took off our shoes and began to refocus as smooth, quiet music and a darkened room (trailer) helped the transition.

We transfered smoothly to another way of thinking, flowed smoothly as we reconfigured ourselves and listened to each instruction our teacher shared. The walls of the trailer with its verb vocabulary and "good sportsmanship" quotes were disappearing.

A tree pose and warrior pose later the walls were back. The after-school child care program brought their students to the playground. Right outside our very thin door. Our breathing grew smoother, and deeper and our stretching reached further as we quietly worked to bring our "studio" back into focus.