Poetry
Ahh, poetry, the economic use of words that have meaning and rhythm. I have always enjoyed writing poems as well as sharing my interest in poetry with kids. I've had the pleasure of exploring this genre with fourth graders at Willagillespie school, and I'd like to share some of their hard work. Feel free to comment, encourage and support these young writers.
First, I'd like to offer one of mine that I shared with the students as we created together. This poem was inspired by a recent trip on an airplane.
Perfume
Silently, it sneaks
into my nose,
hides there
then tiptoes
down to my mouth,
where it ties my tongue tightly
and robs my breath.
Happy New Year!
And a most happy and healthy New Year to all. 2011 was a very interesting and exciting year; I expect 2012 to be the same. A little calmer would be fine, but I'm not complaining. Not only did I get to travel last year (Idaho, central Oregon, San Diego), but I also had a book published (The Magic of A.C. Gilbert) in both print and electronic (my first) formats. 2012 is looking quite good, with two more books scheduled or release, and shortly, too.
Despite being highly focused on house-building matters, the writing life continues. Currently, I'm creating a display for the Eugene Public Library that will highlight the A.C. book. Hope to have it set up sometime this week. A Ferris wheel made from a 1960 Erector Set will be part of the display. If you live in the area, drop by the children's section of the library and check it out.
Vacation
Hiking with llamas
Of course, "mental vacations" are another matter for some writers, including me. So, during the week I proofread a middle-grade novel I am planning to submit. I also spent time jotting down ideas for other projects and planning marketing strategies for current books. It was a great time.
The Battle of Gettysburg
What do authors do when they're not writing books? They write other things, in this case a web album about the battle of Gettysburg. I had been to the battlefield as a kid on my eighth grade class trip in 1965. Forty-five years later I returned with a more "seasoned" interest. I developed this album as a way to make a personal connection to the place and the event. Check it out and feel free to use with your classes, or to partially satisfy your curiosity about one of the Civil War's most important battles.
Here's the link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/areswhy/Gettysburg?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP683KP06drCYg&feat=directlink
Happy June!
And a very happy June it is! Although rain and clouds dominate the Oregon skies, there is good in the air. My sixtieth birthday is creeping closer (the 9th) and I'm given to a bit of reflection. Having once said, "I can't ever imagine myself being thirty years old," in a week I'll be double that! How curious. I am absolutely amazed at how the time has passed so quickly. I can still remember sitting in high school wishing for time to go faster, wishing for my driver's license, wishing to go off to college, wishing for my own car. Fortunately, my wishing disease healed over time, and so I've chosen to make my adult life about "doing" rather than "wishing." Oh, there's been a lot of dreaming, but that's what often powers the "doing." I am grateful for the friends, family, and colleagues who continue to touch my life as the journey continues.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention another June happening. I'll be retiring at the end of the month. I have been working in education since graduating college in 1973. I've worked as a classroom teacher in grades 2 through 8 as well as a language arts staff development specialist and grant director. I'm pleased I chose the route of education, and I leave proud of the work I've done.
I won't be going far, though. I'll continue to do consulting work with schools around writing. I'll keep doing author visits, too. And make no mistake about it, I'll be writing as well. All the projects I've put "on hold" for past ___ years, I'll be pulling out of the files, evaluating them, and choosing to develop the ones in which I'm most interested. This will be hard. But, who said writing was supposed to be easy!
Is Your Teacher A…?
It's fun to wonder about the many mysteries about your teacher. If you're tired of alien, vampires, and other unbelievable possibilities, you might enjoy reading The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman by Ben H. Winters. Starting as an inquiry project (a great idea to get kids engaged) to "solve a mystery in your own life," seventh grader Bethesda Fielding uncovers a secret about the quiet, mousy music teacher: she used to be a rock 'n roll singer. This discovery sets off a whole series of events that affects her class, and then the entire school. This is a fun read, with lots of humor as well as twists and turns.
What's a mystery in your life that you would like to explore?
Pleasant Hill Writing Festival
Wow, what a great time in Pleasant Hill yesterday. Met with about 400 bright young writers. Questions filled the air, and that was good because questions form the basis for writing (and reading). Two really important questions we addressed were: "Why write?" and "What should I write about?"
When we did a lead activity, we saw that some students could write leads as good as the leads in published books. Not a big surprise given the expertise of Pleasant Hill students. When I told them about my very favorite book in the world - the dictionary, which contains all the books ever written, with the words rearranged - I saw some jaws drop, but enthusiasm crested when we did a dictionary activity to enhance their skills.
Not only did the students spend time with me during the day. They also attended workshops led by teachers and community volunteers, where they had the opportunity to learn more and become engaged with various types of writing. The afternoon was a celebration of student writing, during which they shared in small groups.
Writing Festivals: what a great way to inspire, motivate, and enhance students' writing skills. Many thanks to Jeanne Miller, who organized the event; to the community volunteers, who shared their enthusiasm for the written word; to the teachers, who prepared their students well; to principal Devery Stoneburg, for sharing the vision of students as writers; and to the students, whose interest, curiosity, and enthusiasm made for a grand time!
Chicken Challenge!
Okay Pleasant Hill kids. You've heard my rant about how much I disdain the word "nonfiction." You know my feelings about calling a word something that it is not. Don't make me use the boy/girl example again because it won't be pretty. So, here's your big chance to come up with a better term than nonf...
Post your ideas right here and the judge (me!) will select a winner next Friday, May 20th. If two people enter the same word, the first one posted will be considered.
Go ahead and stick out your neck. Who knows, you might just win the chicken!
Pleasant Hill or Bust!
I'm setting my sights south this week as I prepare to work with the writers of Pleasant Hill Elementary School in...you guessed it, Pleasant Hill, Oregon. The next best thing to the act of writing is the act of talking about writing. We'll do that, and we'll share writing, too. And, of course, there will be some surprises as well, including an ESP demonstration. That's Extra Sensory Perception, in case you didn't know.
Stay tuned for the summation...
April 15, 1865
At 7:22 a.m. on this day in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln died in a boardinghouse, across the street from Ford's Theater, where he had been shot by John Wilkes Booth.
I was curious about what Lincoln had in his pockets the night he was shot, so I started researching. Here's what I found out: http://www.history.com/videos/what-was-in-lincolns-pockets#what-was-in-lincolns-pockets.
What do you wonder about Abraham Lincoln?