My writing teacher, the late Donald Murray, once said that over time he found himself returning to the same topics. In his case, two of his topics were serving in WWII and the death of his adult daughter. His words drift into my mind as I notice I’m starting to write yet another blog about . . . Read More
We still have two months till the end of the school year, and already it feels like we’re in motion toward that ending. Lately I’ve witnessed multiple examples of growth toward mastery of skills practiced for, in some cases, years. Snippets of paper with invented spelling that a year ago was unreadable, now hold words . . . Read More
This morning I walked into school with one of our first graders. Yesterday we sat together and I helped her decipher what she’d written about her family dog. The words were mostly strung together and it was hard for her to remember what she wrote. Eventually we sorted it out as I had her tell . . . Read More
When I was a kid, May 1st was a day of connection. We’d make little baskets and fill them with lilacs, popcorn, and candy, then deliver them to friends’ front doors. It was a sweet way to remember close friends. It’s not a practice we see around here. And with social distancing in place, as . . . Read More
Our first and second graders are currently developing the practice of using a writer’s notebook. Each week I present them with a different way to use their notebooks. This week I gave them a random photo of a scene from our playground. I invited them to look at their photo and see what it reminds . . . Read More
I’ve intended to write this blog for awhile, since learning that Vivian Paley passed away last summer. We met in the late 1980s at a workshop hosted by a local teacher organization. The event was hosted at Awakening Seed, and Vivian and I made a connection right away. In addition to our common practices of . . . Read More
Since late August, I’ve worked with the 3rd/4th graders on their writing once a week. At the suggestion of their teacher, we jumped into a form of writing that was new to me with this age group, development of a fictional character and creating a story around that character. In the past, I generally stuck . . . Read More
On my way home the other day, I noticed a yellow sign next to the Circle K at the corner of 40th Street and Baseline. I hadn’t seen it before and realized it was a marker for something that had been near and dear to my heart years ago, the Japanese flower gardens. Long before . . . Read More
I can tell it’s spring, and it’s not just the weather. All kinds of blooming is happening at the Seed. I noticed dozens of pink and purple blossoms on our peach tree, and the apple tree has buds as well. Things are blooming inside the building, too, as was evident in the K-1 class last . . . Read More
It’s impossible for me to see wild geese and not think of Mary Oliver. High above the Platte River on a wintry Nebraska day or passing through the desert at the change of seasons, the wild geese are poetry in action. These words at the end of Oliver’s most famous poem, “Wild Geese,” have sustained me . . . Read More
As an alum of Arizona State University, I often receive ASU publications. One arrived last week that caught my eye. On the cover was a delightful photo of Alberto Ríos, an ASU professor, Arizona’s first poet laureate from 2013-15, and a former Seed parent. I read the engaging article about Alberto, his life, and his work . . . Read More
I’ve had a relationship with invented spelling since I started teaching in 1977. Particularly during the 1980s when writing workshop in schools was spreading all over the country, invented spelling has played a big role in the lives of Seed writers and teachers. “Invented spelling, sometimes referred to as inventive spelling, is the practice of . . . Read More
Our Seed writers are on fire. It’s a rebirth of the writer’s workshops that were prevalent at the Seed in the 80s and 90s. Although there have been threads of writing throughout the school’s history, we wanted to re-establish the depth and volume of the past. So every Wednesday of our summer program we met . . . Read More
On my walk this morning, I heard the writer Elizabeth Gilbert quote her mom in a podcast. She said, “The big picture is in the details.” She was talking about the way in which the bigger view of a situation can be revealed in the details of a story. It seemed applicable for this week . . . Read More
As I write this, teachers and parents are engaged already in midyear conferences. The amount of preparation that goes into these conferences is significant. Lead teachers do most of the work and there are additional layers of staff support that round out the process. It’s a major wave of stories documented and preserved for . . . Read More
Everything changed a month ago and I’m still regaining my footing. It hasn’t been easy and I know, in comparison to a vast majority of people on the planet, my life is blessed. I know the shift that needs to happen is within and that’s where my focus lies these days. Looking for inspiration last night . . . Read More
Thirty years ago I met a poet who changed my life. That poet, Georgia Heard, is still changing lives. Currently writing a book about heart maps, a technique developed to help young poets find poetry in their lives, Georgia asked if I’d be willing to try out heart maps with the Seed third and fourth graders. . . . Read More