Skip to main content

Showing Up to Find Out

Today is the first day after the last day of  #SOL17.
I'm missing it already.
Writing every day.
Making sure I linked my blog to the Two Writing Teachers website before the midnight deadline on the East Coast.

So, about three-fourths of the way through slicing in March, I promised myself that I would continue to write every day.
That I would blog every day.
No.
Matter.
What.

Well, here I am.
Even I can't believe I made it!
Writing. Blogging. Thinking. Relishing every moment.

But, this is my weekend for writing progress reports.
Shouldn't I be doing that instead of writing rambling thoughts?

 And, as I think about writing every day, how will I come up with a fresh new writing idea for each day of the year? That's 365 days of ideas! More to the point, where will I find the time and energy to keep writing every single day? I have a full-time job.

But, this is the old me speaking. I feel different. I am different.

Normally, I spend a lot of time thinking about what I need to do and precious little time actually doing it. This is a pattern that I know only too well. After I've made my lists - on sticky notes, on Google Keep, on my Notes app, or even on my Google Calendar - I am exhausted. There is so much to do!! Before I know it, I am overwhelmed. And, instead of getting busy doing, I find myself procrastinating. Not getting anything done. Finishing precious little.

It's the self-discipline that I crave. Writing every day may be the way to develop a habit of starting and finishing personal- and work-related projects.
At least, that is my hope.
And, I'm showing up to find out.

Happy writing everyone!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Partner Reading and Content, Too Routine (PRC2)

I'm a hoarder. There, I've said it. I try to deny that I'm a hoarder but it comes back to haunt me every time I move houses, or pack up my classroom at the end of the school year. I have old articles, lesson plans, handouts, folders brimming with teaching ideas, past issues of profesional journals. I hardly throw anything out though I've learned to be more selective over the years. My one rule of thumb, and I really try to stick to this, is that if I haven't used or referred to something in a year, then it's time to toss it into the recycle bin. One exception to this rule (you knew this was coming, didn't you?) is past issues of journals from professional organizations. However, with the ability to locate articles online through my professional memberships, even this exception is becoming less and less useful, which brings me to the topic of this blog post. I am currently reading a copy of The Reading Teacher from 2010. I've clipped a cou...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Reading Strategies Book - Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension

The strategy lessons highlighted in Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension, in The Reading Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo are critical to students’ engagement and comprehension, as well as their ability to write literary essays, or even book reviews, summaries and reflective pieces about books. If students aren’t able to talk about books in a way that is invigorating and joyful, they will be less likely to develop an interest in growing ideas for writing about books. In her introduction to this chapter, Jennifer Serravallo, reminds us that when conversations go well, children are inspired by what they read and are motivated to keep reading. However, when conversations fall flat, then kids get bored and tune out. How do we avoid this situation and teach kids to  have  focused conversations about books?  The answer is easy: teach kids  strategies to help them develop effective conversa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Are we listening?

A child sits alone with a ripped worksheet packet on his desk. He appears to be singing or subvocalizing something though no one hears him. Or, perhaps they're ignoring him. The teacher stands at the front of the room teaching on the SmartBoard. The children follow along in their worksheets. Except the child sitting alone. He is in his own world. No one engages him and he engages no one. My heart aches for this child. He is physically and emotionally removed from the class. I ask him why his paper is ripped. (It's not an accidental rip.) He says he did that on a different day. When he had been frustrated about the work. He tells me that he sometimes sits by himself because the work is too hard for him. He later tells me that he sits by himself because the teacher thinks he talks too much during the lesson.  He says he does that because he wants to find out about the "lives of the other children". My first impulse is to rescue him from the wrongheade...
10 comments
Read more