Houston, We have a problem…..

Ahh, the joys of technology.  It's 1:30 in the afternoon and the webinar is about to start.  It's a discussion about how to use nonfiction notebooks with author Aimee Buckner.  I'm going to catch what I can of the webinar while my students are at music and then I can look at the recorded chat at my leisure.

This is the what I love about technology.  I get my own personal professional development.  I choose what I'm interested in, what moves me, things that I notice that I need to help me or my teaching to grow.

Choice

I love the ability to be interactive, to type in my questions, to see what questions others have from around the world! 

Social, diverse, immediate feedback

I'm so excited, I have my headphones on, and notebook at the ready.  The powerpoint starts and Aimee is introduced and begins presenting and answering questions that we already had the opportunity to send in to her earlier in the week.

Relevent and current 

Aimee?  I can't hear her.  I check my sound.  It's good.  The last thing I heard Aimee say was, "Houston, we have a problem and then… silence.  ACK!  The host of the webinar and Aimee made a few more attempts but could not get her back to stay.  Canceled, to be continued….

Perspective and Age

Things that were important to me when I was young, no longer hold that place of importance in my life.  I want to give this advice to my daughters that are in their twenty's right now.  Don't worry about that, don't stress, because it will seem inconsequential some day.  But I don't, because, just like me, they will find their own meaning of what's important and what lasts.

Before, I would be really upset with myself for not Acing that math final and going out with my friends instead.  Now, I appreciate that time spent with friends, much more than any math grade.

Before, I just wanted some time to myself, some peace and quiet.  Now, I would appreciate some noise and a few interruptions.

Before, I couldn't wait until my child could walk, talk and was potty trained.  Now, I appreciate the times that we rocked, read books and napped together.

Before, I would quickly clean off any smears of little hands on my windows.  Now, I understand why my mother left those little handprints of her grandchildren on the windows until the next visit.

My perspective has changed with age.

Monday Hopes

I live alone, children grown and on their own.  I'm lucky because they are healthy and happy and call me often.  But, the house still echoes and I can hear the floor creak when I walk.  It's so quiet at times.

I was thinking in the shower (I do some very deep and reflective thinking there) thinking about  Monday.  I don't have Monday "blahs" I just realized. Nice.. smiling to myself and thumbing through my closet.  Thoughts of what should I wear, mixed with thoughts of what will l learn today and what will I share.  It's been a long quiet weekend and I'm excited to be out amongst the students and my colleagues.  Monday hopes of making a difference today…
                                         Monday….
                                         here I……..
                                         come………

Corny Winter Poem

I'm having so much fun writing with the Two Writing Teachers March challenge.  It's only day two and I'm feeling a release of tension and having a blast!  The weather seems to be on everyone's mind and it's been on mine also.  Here we go……

Breaking Winter

Crystals forming on my door

I don't want to see them anymore

Snow is falling on my walk

I'd rather not shovel, but have a nice talk

Birds are shivering in a tree

I'm sure glad that it's not me

Fog, wind and ice abound

I can't wait 'til it's not around

Please spring, will you hurry up?

Because then, I can just drink snow in a cup!

My Front Door this Morning!

Escaping Back to Summer 2012

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwelling

Looking outside my white wintery world in Wyoming this morning, I decided to take a mini-daydream and escape, back to the summer of 2012. -Swooooooosh-

"Hey Vanessa!  I have a year pass to the national parks that expires in August," my friend told me, "What do you think?"

"What do I think?  I think it sounds like an adventure and I'm in!"  I insisted that our first stop be at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.  It's a place that I'd been wanting to explore for over 5 years.  A place of history, mystique and architectural wonder.

It was finally summer and we were off! I'll skip the adventure of the trip down there.  That's another story!

We pulled into the campsite at about 11:00 p.m.  There were no lights, but it didn't matter because the stars and moon lit up the night sky more enticingly and brilliant than any 4th of July fireworks display.



Luckily, there was one last campsite left.  Well, more like half a campsite.  No matter, we told each other, we'll find a better one in the morning when people start leaving.  Keep in mind, the campsite is dead quiet.  No one was stirring… (okay, I won't go there).  We were trying to set up our tent, air up our air mattress and settle in as quietly as we could. Shhh  I'll apologize to our neighbors in the morning I thought, as I laid down my heard trying to sleep and wondering what Indian lore, legends and insights I would learn about tomorrow.

-Swoooooosh -Would love to be there right now, on a warm summer night, under the rays of  starlight and moonlight.  The whole summer of adventures ahead of me.  But for now, I'll do a mini-daydream and escape for a few memories.

Share Your Slice of Life Here!

Reading and My Dad

Some of my fondest and earliest memories of my dad are sitting on the arm of the living room chair right before bedtime and begging him to read just one more chapter. I was young, maybe as young as 6 or 7.  My sister was a year and a half younger than me.  She sat either in his lap or on the other arm of the chair.  

Every night before bed my dad would read to us.  As I said, we were young, yet he did not read books that were at our "level" to us. He would read the classics at the time with expression and passion.  He would pause and talk and answer our questions and explain what he understood about the book and what he was thinking about as he read.  The books he read to us are still on my list of favorite books of all time.  The Secret Garden and The Little Princess, by Francis Hodgson Burnett and Just So Stories, written by Rudyard Kipling were three of the books he read to us and that I continue to love to this day. 

I'm not sure if he understood what he was doing, but he instilled in me a love of lifelong reading and learning.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about reading.  I love to read and must admit that I'm a bit of a book hoarder.  My dream house would have one of those huge libraries that has a ladder with wheels to help access all the books!  The questions I've been thinking about is why?  Why do I love books so much?  How do I replicate and share that love of books with my students?  How do I instill that love of lifelong reading and learning?

One of the answers, for me, is my dad.  He shared with me his love of reading and his love for me. 

Mindset

What kind of student are you?  Bad at math? Struggling reader? Love science?  What you believe about yourself and how you learn makes a difference in your ability to learn.  I recently finished reading a nonfiction book by Carol Dweck called Mindset.  It's an excellent book with a very simple premise.  In her book she talks about the two different types of mindsets.  Fixed mindset vs. Growth mindset  

It made me wonder about the damage we do to our students when we label them with a "disability".  Sometimes that label defines them, even though that is not our intention.

I hear it all the time.  I'm not good at math or I'm not a cook, I don't write well, or I just don't do (fill in the blank)  and that's the end of it.  It's said in a way that it will never change and that's just that.   

We don't want our kids to get stuck in a fixed mindset!  Let's keep encouraging our kids to work and put effort towards the things that they have a passion to do.

I love this quote from Patricia Polacco that I heard this weekend at the Colorado reading conference (CCIRA)  this  week.  "We are all gifted, we just don't all open the present at the same time."

If you're interested in this thought changing book by Carol Dweck, check it out and the interview by NPR.

NPR - Interview with Carol Dweck

Great website!