Slice of Life - Readers & Writers

Remember my 13 year old niece that I have mentioned in previous Slice posts? Her name is Jax and she decided this summer to write a novel. Unlike adults, she doesn't have daily word totals to meet or a deadline.  She has created character profiles, a general outline, and what type of weapons her characters would use in a battle.  Jax has also discovered that you can fall in love with your characters and they can surprise you with what they do.   

Recently, Jax let me read her WIP.  As I read, I noticed that her writing clearly marks her as a reader.  Throughout the pages of dialogue and action and even descriptive language, I can see the influence of the books that she has read.  The adventure, fantasy, and dystopian novels that she has devoured over the years act as unofficial mentor texts for her writing.  I wonder how aware she is about this, or if the stories are so embedded in the fabric of who she is as both a reader and a writer that it has become a natural extension?

Today, I had lunch with a teacher colleague and friend.  She has a daughter who is a couple of years younger than Jax but also a voracious reader. As we were talking about some literacy projects for the fall, she told me about entering her daughter's room the other day.  When she walked in, her daughter Andy was surrounded by books and she too was writing her own novel.  Andy explained to her mom that she wasn't copying from the books because that would be plagiarism but that she was using them to learn about the elements she would need in her novel. Smart kid. 

I had to smile because neither of these girls probably even know the term "mentor texts", yet both of them are more aware of how the writing of others influence their writing. What an amazing testimony to the power of books on a child's academic and personal life.

As I think about returning to work and training and coaching teachers to improve reading and writing instruction, I want for all our students what I see in Jax and Andy. I want them to love reading. I want to see that whether they are native language speakers or acquiring a new language that books can be a gateway for learning that goes beyond what can happen solely in the classroom.  And I want them to never doubt that they are both readers and writers.   

Slice of Life - Summer Fun

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Squeals of delight drifted in through the open windows while sounds of rushing water melded together for a summer soundtrack for childhood play. As I listened to the ecstatic shrieks, I was drawn back in time to my own childhood when water and heat and friends were the perfect recipe for entertainment.  For a moment, I wondered where my own sense of unabashed enthusiasm had gone.   

As I looked around my living room and the piles of books and other things that I was organizing, I knew that joining in was impossible but the longing was still there. Maybe I wasn't going to be able to be carefree and embrace the moment but my eye landed on my camera.  I could capture it.  I snuck outside with my camera to where the girls were fully engaged in their play.  

I nearly burst out in laughter when I saw the older one using the cooler as a makeshift water tub while drinking from the hose. Before long, she had turned the hose on her sister.  The spray of cold water shocking her as it shot out from the hose causing her to turn away. 

Oh to be young and carefree and fully in the moment.  I am glad I captured this slice on camera.

Slice of Life - Summer Goals

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Summer goals are different than New Year's Resolutions.  First, I don't think I ever manage to maintain any of my New Year's Resolutions.  However, with summer goals, I usually do a pretty decent job completing them. 

Some of these goals or activties are things that I look forward to doing each year because the schedule in the summer is so different. Other items are things that I want to learn but have difficulty making time for during the school year.  All of them provide a sense of structure for my summer.  

This summer, I am looking forward to the following things...

1. 

#Bookaday Challenge

- This will be my fourth year participating in Donalyn Miller's

#bookaday challenge

.  I have met so many amazing teachers and librarians who have become a significant part of my

tribe

through this challenge.  They have all made me a better educator and thinker.

2. 

Presentations, Conferences, and Trainings

- From June to July, I will be doing a couple of presentations, attending the American Library Association Annual Conference, and also a training on Project-Based Learning.

3.

Teachers Write!

-

Kate Messner

,

Jen Vincent

, and

Gae Polisner

started this as a virtual writing camp a few years ago.  I have always been a bit afraid to participate, but after doing this year's March Slice Challenge, I think I am ready.  I may have to keep saying this to myself so I won't lose courage, but it's my goal for now.

4. 

Mock-Newbery Club

- One of my favorite Indie Bookstores is

Once Upon a Time in Montrose

.  I will be helping out one of the staff lead a Mock-Newbery Club with students ages 9 to 12.  I have been working on a list of books to share with them and we have some special surprises.

5. 

Reading & Writing Project

- Based on all of my recent work, particularly with first graders, I will be planning for a series of workshops and trainings that I will be leading.  Additionally, I want to set up a space on our District's website for providing resources for the teachers that I am working with.  I have wanted to do this during the school year but unfortunately, kept running out of time.  Additionally, I would like to play with some apps that might benefit teachers as they work on reading comprehension and writing with students.

Finally, on the personal end of things...I have two simple goals...to get back into a regular exercise routine, and tackle a few household organization projects.

With summer vacation nearly upon us, I would love to hear what others are planning on doing?

Slice of Life - A Scattered Stream of Consciousness

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In March, I did a #slice14 challenge post that was just

random thoughts

.  Someone suggested that I pick one thing and write about it.  Now that suggestion might have worked on that day.  My brain did not feel scattered.  Unfortunately, today, I am scattered.  Here's a glimpse at my evening...

I read a picture book that arrived in my mail today, and log it into GoodReads.

I check twitter. I post to twitter. I get caught up in a conversation on twitter.

I do the same on Facebook.  It seems that everyone I know is celebrating their NCTE '14 proposal news. I am not complaining. I am celebrating too, since I will be presenting with two wonderful teacher/librarians,

Cynthia Alaniz

and

Lisa Morris-Wilkey

. 

One of my best friends lives next door.  While I stop in to drop off some books for her youngest daughter, I soon find my friend demanding the follow up to

Cinder

by Marissa Meyers. I warned her it ended on a cliff-hanger of sorts. As I am sitting around, I tell the middle child that I was invited to a screening of

The Fault in Our Stars

. She received a copy of the book for her 13th birthday and read and loved it. Before she can be too annoyed that I am going to the screening, she switches over to telling me about

This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl

.  Somehow we get onto talking about

Unwind

and trying to convince her mom to read it.  When I head home, she follows me back so she can search my bookshelves for more books by Green. I think I have created a

nerdfighter

. As typical for my evening, I am missing my copy of

Scarlet

, but we did find

Cress

and several John Green books. I send Jax back with the stack and a promise to look at my bookshelves at work for

Scarlet

.

Once I am settled again at my laptop, I go back to several rounds of checking email, responding to emails, checking twitter, checking facebook.  I should be writing this post, or working on a project for tomorrow.  I am restless and can't settle down.  I head down rabbit holes as I look for a link or see an alert pop up on my screen.

Somehow, I manage to write something down.  Though I won't call it my best writing, I will say it is coherent, which is better than I could hope for at the moment.  And before I find another rabbit hole to follow, I am going to end this crazy ramble.

How many days until summer break?

Slice of Life - You Can't Exit Real Life

Slice of Life is hosted by

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on Tuesdays.  Join us each week and come to love this awesome writing community.

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 Last night, I was hanging with my roommate and also trying to figure out what to write about.  She is a big fan of the TV show 24 and of course wanted to watch the new season opener.  At one point, she picks up the remote and clicks it as if to "exit" the show. I looked up at her and said "You can't exit real life."  What I really meant was you can't hit the exit button on a TV program that is being aired.  The remote option only works when we are watching a program that we recorded. 

We both got a chuckle out it, but then I thought about it and realized it was a perfect topic for a slice. Do you ever wish that life was a little bit like a recorded TV movie?  When commercials come on, you can fast-forward back to the action.  The phone rings, or someone knocks on your door, or the timer for that pot on the stove goes off and we can pause what we are watching and deal with it and then come back without missing anything.  Or a scene is too boring, or scary, or just not what we want to see, and we can just skip it altogether. Wouldn't that be nice thing to do in a meeting when things slow down too much? And best yet, save an episode of life for when you have time to deal with whatever is being aired.

Instead of exiting life, we must live it.  And truly living it means dealing with interruptions, with boring times and times that are just plain scary.  It also means that those really special moments like when a toddler gets so excited to see you at pick up time or you are hanging together as a family and no one is arguing won't be recorded for multiple viewings and there will be no instant replays. Those moments need to be lived in at the time they are happening and committed to our memory for the human kind of replay.  

Maybe staying in life and truly living it is much more exciting than hitting the exit button.