Today was a sunroof and sunglasses kind of day. My drive home from work was glorious! I ditched my jacket when I got to the car, and put on my sunglasses; I opened the sunroof, cranked up the radio, and let the cool breeze wash over me like a much needed elixir. Sixty four sensational degrees of sunshine.

Sights on the way home served as a hopeful tonic and helped elevate my mood. There were bicycles at every turn of a corner; riders from senior citizens to elementary school-aged kids were feeling the wind in their faces. Parents on street corners waiting for the arrival of the bus were without the jackets and coats needed the past several weeks.

I saw toddlers and siblings running and skipping on the sidewalks while the tiniest among them were happily being pushed in strollers. Neighbors emerged from their homes and were talking across driveways while kids played catch. What a wonderful way to end my school day.

I know that Mother Nature can be fickle especially here in southeast Pennsylvania. We may not have seen the last of the snow for the season, but I am going to relish this preview of Spring. It is good for my soul.

I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge for the month of March. I will be posting every day this month. It is sponsored by twowritingteachers.org. #SOL21

Today was tough. I left the house, and it was 34 degrees; when I left school it was 64 degrees. What’s so bad about that you’re wondering? When you are prone to migraines and sinus issues the sudden rise in the barometric pressure wreaks havoc in your head. During my first period prep, I stood up from my chair and felt so dizzy. I was hoping it was a one and done, but unfortuanately dizzy stayed with me all day and brought along its friend the sinus pressure headache. I took some sinus meds and willed dizzy and headache to pipe down. Like most children I know, they behaved themselves for as long as they could only to return to their bothersome ways, They thought they were going to ruin my day, but I got the last laugh.

After school I was checking my personal email and was pleasantly surprised. I attended a professional development day on Saturday via Zoom at my local Writing Project, PAWLP. Besides it being a wonderful morning of learning, I won a raffle prize – four books and a t-shirt. The only catch was that the books needed to be picked up at WCU which is about 45 minutes from my house. Lucky for me, Lynne Dorfman (a PAWLP colleague) volunteered her services, along with her husband, Ralph to drive out to West Chester, pick up the books, and deliver them to me. I had completely forgotten all about it until I saw the email from Lynne today informing me that she and Ralph would be dropping the books off this evening. What a nice surprise after the unpleasant surprise visit from dizzy and headache. I can’t wait to get these books into the hands of my students. Thanks, Lynne and Ralph!

I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge for the month of March. I will be posting every day this month. It is sponsored by twowritingteachers.org.

Tomorrow is the day that grades will close.
Are all assignments in – only heaven knows.

My eyes are crossing, my head starts to spin
Checking and rechecking to see if everything’s in.

Some of the students are always on time
Others I have to hunt down like they’ve committed a crime.

I am a patient person; that much is true,
But could you PLEASE turn your assignments in when they are due?

I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge for the month of March. I will be posting every day this month. It is sponsored by twowritingteachers.org.

This is a prayer for all of the people who have been on my mind today.

~ for those who are still suffering with Covid-19 – those who havve lost family and friends, who are still recovering, who live with long-term effects – physically, mentally, financially, spiritually. emotionally.

~ for my students who are struggling to to keep on top of their assignments, who are anxious, lost, or depressed, some of whom have too many responsibilites for a 13-year-old.

~ for my kids and grandkids whose hugs and kisses I miss more than anything else in the world.

~ for teachers who are working so hard this year, who are trying to balance work, life, and self-care. who are stuggling to keep juggling everything without dropping the ball on anything.

May each of you, of us, find what brings your peace this week.

I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge for the month of March. I will be posting every day this month. It is sponsored by twowritingteachers.org.

By the time Saturday rolls around I am ready to do nothing, or at least just what is necessary. During this very unusual school year, I have been working extra hard to make use of my time to get as much schoolwork done as I can each weekday, so I don’t have to bring much home on the weekends. Teachers know though there is no such thing as no schoolwork on the weekends.

Last night I remembered that I had signed up for PD through my Writing Project site – PAWLP. I was feeling so tired, and the thoughts of getting up and showered and ready for a 9:00 Zoom meeting did not excite me. However,, I am not a quiter. When I make a committment, I follow through unless there is an important reason I can’t. I am so glad that I didn’t skip out on the event.

Today’s theme was Decolonizing the Classroom, and the keynote speaker was Tiana Silvas. Tiana’s presentation was very thought-provoking and left me with many questions to consider as I take a critical look at my teaching practices. She spoke about the importance of multiple perspectives, the barriers facing teachers who have been teaching from a white-centered perspective, and call to critically think about our Euro-centric practices.

I also attended a breakout session entitled, Building Your Bookshelf facilitated by Dana Kramaroff and Alison Green-Meyers. They shared five picture books with us that can be paired with other readings to help students better understand the worlds of people who are different from themselves. The books were beautifully written and illustrated, and are now on my shopping wishlist. To top off the morning, I won books as a raffle prize, and another writing project colleague offered to pick them up for me at the university and deliver them to my home! What a wonderful way to “work” on the weekend.

But Saturday really has become a day for me to recoup physically from the grueling work week. I do manage to do a few things around the house, but if things don’t get done, I don’t beat myself up. So to that end, after I finished my PD, I ran one errand, spoke to my daughter via video chat, had lunch, and took a LONG nap. All in all, I think I employed my time well, so now it is off to read. Hope you had a wonderful Saturday.

I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge for the month of March. I will be posting every day this month. It is sponsored by twowritingteachers.org

I don’t know about you, but I am definitely a creature of habit. Take my commute to and from school each day and my choice of radio stations. On the way to school I listen to WRTI 90.1 which plays Classical music by day and Jazz music by night. My commute is accompanied by a mix of Renaissance, Baroque, Classical tunes with gentle commentary by the host.

In the afternoon, my station of choice is WHYY 90.9 which airs NPR (National Public Radio). Depending on the time I leave school, I either listen to Fresh Air hosted by Terry Gross or All Things Considered. These programs help me catch up on what is new and interesting. When I’ve had a rough day, or if I am out running occasional errands I turn up B101 which plays 80s and beyond – oldies by today’s standards!

After noticing my radio choices I began taking a look at the rest of my day and started noticing many of my other habitual behaviors. From my morning routine of showering, dressing, and eating breakfast to what I do as soon as I walk in the door after school, my life is a series of movements which do not require that much thought. I think it has gotten more pronounced since COVID.

This week I think I will try and change things up a bit. I don’t know how successful I will be, but I can’t change if I don’t try. Are you a creature of habit?

I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge for the month of March. I will be posting every day this month. It is sponsored by twowritingteachers.org

This morning I felt tired, sleep deprived tired, but thanks to my 7th graders, that feeling didn’t last long.

At the start of the week, my ELA classes began working on a writing piece as part of the wrap-up to our reading of Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad by Ann Petry. They respond to three prompts and found text evidence to support their responses. Next, they choose a prompt for their essay and created a rough outline of how they wanted to organize their writing. Yesterday they began writing.

Today was an indepedent work day, and boy did they work. They were writing more than I have seen them write all year, and I felt energized. One by one students came to me with their questions about thesis statements, topic sentences, paragraph breaks and more. What was the most exciting thing was that students were bringing their work back to show me their changes, some more than once.

This year has been tough on all of us in Room 208 with all the COVID protocols and some days focusing on work is the last thing anyone is able to do, but today my little corner of the world felt almost “normal.”

I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge for the month of March. I will be posting every day this month. It is sponsored by twowritingteachers.com.

Getting up and out of the house has just gotten a little easier. What’s my secret? The sunshine of course!

This winter has been a challenge for sure. On top ot the Covid restrictions that have kept us at home, the weather here in Southeastern Pennsylvania has been cold and snowy and rainy. We had a string of snowstorms the likes of which we haven’t seen in years. Snow days just aren’t as much fun for adults as they are for kids. They bring worries about who will clear our snow, how will the commute to work be, will we lose power, how long to I need to hear up the car and on and on and on.

Over the last couple of weeks I have noticed that it is lighter in the morning; I am no longer going to work in the dark, and if I leave at just the right time, I may even catch the sunrise. This new found brightness has me feeling more hopeful in the morning. It is a little easier to cast off some of the heavy thoughts that can crowd my mind and weigh me down.

I love living in an area of the country that truly experiences the change of seasons, and I appreciate them all, but I am never sad to see winter go. Spring brings sunnier days, increasing temperatures, and the chance to get outside. March is bringing brighter days closer to vaccines for all – closer to me getting back to the real sunshine of my life – my grandkids. Slowly but surely – each day better than the one before. In the meantime – bring on the sun.

I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge for the month of March. I will be posting every day this month. It is sponsored by twowritingteachers.com.

So yesterday I had a telehealth appointment after school. It was a yearly check-in, and I was meeting a new doctor for the first time. I made this appointment about a month or so ago, and the doctor’s name kept swirling around in my head. His name seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place it, so the Nancy Drew in me took over. (All names and specialties will remain anonymous to comply with HIPPA protocols…lol)

I searched the practice’s website where I found his first name and a picture. Now the name became more familiar, but I was in denial. I don’t know how I remembered, but I was almost certain I had taught a boy/young man early on in my career as a music teacher with this same name (it is not a common name). Well, I searched Facebook, but people change a lot over 30 years especially from childhood to adulthood. I still wasn’t sure.

I then remembered that he would be about the same age as the children of friends of mine whom I taught said school”. I messaged one of the “kids” (an adult with children of her own), and she confirmed my suspicion. This good doctor was in the same class as her older brother.

Now I wasn’t sure how I was going to insert my random question into the appointment, but I figured I would find the appropriate time. We exchanged pleasantries and Dr. H. asked me different questions and how things were going in life in general. I mentioned that I was teaching both in-person and virtually at the same time and how exhausting that situation could be, but how grateful I was to be in my classroom with students.

The appointment was about to wrap up when Dr. H. asked if he could ask a random question. I told him that it was probably the same random question I had for him. He asked, “Did you ever teach at St. James?” I replied that I did. He said, “I think you taught me music.” I replied, “I think you’re right!”

We chatted for a little while longer, and just as we were going to log off, Dr. H. said, “When I think of myself at that age and how I could have been in class with a music teacher – I wasn’t ‘that kid’ was I?” I laughed and replied, “Absolutely not!”

I am always happy to connect with former students even when the connection reminds me of just how old I am. What was special about yesterday was I didn’t have to ask my random question; he remembered me, and that felt good.

I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge for the month of March. I will be posting every day this month. It is sponsored by twowritingteachers.com.

There’s always a new challenge to keep you motivated.

Sean Connery

Motivation to write has been hard to find since COVID hit. This time last year we didn’t know the scope of what was before us or how difficult and different life would become. School buildings closed less than two weeks into the March Slice of Life Challenge. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to finish the challenge, but I am not a quitter.

Posting to SOL each day was one thing that remained “normal” during the start of what would become something unimaginable. I enjoyed reading and responding so many of the posts of other slicers as well as reading their responses to my posts. It took me away from the constant barrage of bad news.

I am so grateful to my writing communities for being a constant in an everchanging reality. I credit the following groups for helping me carve out time for writing and for holding me accountable: 100 Days of Writing and Beyond, Ethical ELA, Teach Write, and my PAWLP writing project community. Even though we are still in the midst of the pandemic, I am excited to start a new Slice of Life Challenge and find motivation to continue to write. I don’t know where I would be without my online writing connections.

I am participating in the Slice of Life writing challenge for the month of March. I will be posting every day this month. It is sponsored by twowritingteachers.com.