A Happy Birthday Party 1989

Dad wearing the shirt I bought him

Today it is 26 years since my father passed away. I decided to do something a little different to commemorate the day. I pulled out pictures from his 60th birthday party my mom organized at their house. I remember that day. The weather was perfect. A lot of family was there. My dad was having the time of his life. The photos pick up the flavor of the day. I am grateful for this memory.

Dad freshening the water so Kim could play

Emily getting ready for the water attack

She got Jim

She got me

Martin the grill master

Margie, me, mom, Jim

John & Cheryl

The cake

His new baseball mitt

Dad being dad!

 

Hard to believe it's been 26 years.

 

I miss this man with every cell of my being.

I'm thinking...

This is a Natalie Goldberg prompt I used in combination with color tiles during a Creative Writing Club meeting on March 14, 2023. I just now found the poem, and decided it was worth publishing!

I'm thinking of simple sorrow

    in sugarplum blue

I'm thinking of Mojave desert

    in surges of gold

I'm thinking of every doorway

    where everything begins

I'm thinking I'm too weak to fly

    but I can walk in the stony brook

I'm thinking of beating on the walls

    slowly and unafraid

I'm thinking I need toys of desperation

I'm thinking of how light moves into

    an unknown sea

I'm thinking of running down the road in a fringed jacket

    laughing and playful

sprouting my true colors

jazzy zigzags and singing

    songs not yet sung

 

 

Struggles & Successes (7 Lines/7 Days #106)

 #108Weeks

May 22-28, 2022

 

Cannot believe we are winding down.

My learners have given me some good directions to consider for next year.

I noticed that when my kids were struggling with an activity, they were sticking to it, not giving up. This is HUGE.

There was a lot of devastating news this week, both nationally and personally.

I am pulling together a ton of ideas I think can work next year.

The kids had a blast with the Annual Snowball Battle. 11th period dumped the bag of balls on me, kind of like Gatorade on the coach!

The last full week is complete. 3 more days with kids.

(Shared this video this week. At first it was like, "oh, this is old school." But then they hung on every word!)

 

62. Perfect Song

 #66Challenge

 

Today I found this line from Joy Harjo in her poetry collection Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings:

What kept me going was that perfect song I kept hearing, just beyond the field of perceptible sound.

 

I related so well, I immediately wrote this:

 

Coming down off the most difficult

and rewarding school year ever,

I read Joy's words and I know

that this is true for me -- that I

kept hearing a "perfect song" off

in the distance, and I knew it

was for me...I knew I would

eventually capture the lyrics enough

to make them come alive inside, 

then through joy and playfulness

and creativity and love, that song

would become a full reality on the 

outside and spur me on in ways I have 

attempted in the past, but never achieved.

 

And now I know the day has come.

And I am grateful for the struggle.

 

Like everything in life: grieve, release, begin anew. 

61. An Oldie But Goodie

 #66Challenge

This week I pulled out one of my favorite activities to do with young people. If it has a name, I don’t recall it. Furthermore, I don’t even know where I first learned of it. 

First, 4 students volunteer, and then they are asked to wait outside the door in the hallway. I ask the class who out of the four is the worst artist. They usually know! 

We call the “worst” artist in, and I show them this picture and tell the to draw it on the chart paper I have displayed. 

I took pictures of the results from my 11th period. 

Here is the first drawing. Not that bad! 

The next student has to draw theirs from the first student’s version. They never see the original.  Here is #2:

And it continues that way

#3 drawn from #2:

#4 from #3:

This one we called the “cat-rat.”

After everyone gets a good laugh, and the first person realizes in horror they were designated “worst artist,” we have a serious (but short) discussion on how this represents gossip and the spreading of rumors. 

The next thing that happens is the kids want to do it again, but I always resist. I remind them once they know the game, it isn’t going to work as well because the surprise is gone. 

Here is my 2nd period enjoying the process:

We had fun this week! 

59. Shakespeare & Hip Hop

 #66Challenge

Today I pulled out and oldie but goodie—lines from Shakespeare’s plays and lyrics from hip hop songs.  This is something from the Folger Shakespeare Library, and was squirreled away in a free kit I got from them many years ago. Our school is currently participating in One Book, One School, and the text this year is Shakespeare’s Secret, so it gives us opportunities to do some Shakespeare-related activities.

The process works like this: learners get a stack of strips with the lines. They randomly choose 10 to make a found poem. When done, they use the leftovers to form more purposeful poems. 

Here is a random:

(Take note: the bold lines are Shakespeare, the regular text strips are from hip hop songs.)

Here are a few more created “on purpose” today:

The kids were surprised at how these random lines could actually “make sense.”  Perhaps we took a short step to helping them not be afraid of the language of Shakespeare. Even if that did not happen, this tactile activity had them smiling! 

Spectacular (7 Lines/7 Days #102)

 #108Weeks

April 24-30, 2022

I am keeping up on my reading goals.

I am moving forward on my surging ideas.

I am happily busy and creatively playful.

I am impressed by my learners' growth.

I can see their changes -- at the beginning of the year they didn't even know how to be students. Now they are striving & thriving.

I can feel their involvement.

I can make the last 23 days together spectacular!

Playfulness (7 Lines/7 Days #101)

 #108Weeks

April 17-23, 2022

Easter included a lovely brunch with Pam and family at Lexington Country Club.

Every day I pray for our country.

Decided to bring more playfulness to the last 30 days with the kids.

I'm already organizing a plan for next year and using the rest of this year to experiment.

My learners are definitely showing strength and know-how.

Got my first pedicure in months. Felt so good!

Spent Saturday early hours planning poetry activities. 

I'm alive with ideas that are not just useful, 

but PLAYFUL, too!