Category Archives: Writing

Fall, leaves, and walking Ivy

Fog hugs the ground as the sunrises on a cool morning in early October.
Fog hugs the ground as the sunrises on a cool morning in early October.

It has been fall for over three weeks now. The autumnal equinox has come and gone. September 22nd marked the official start of autumn in the northern hemisphere and relatively equal day and night across the globe. That day, three weeks ago, we had twelve hours and eight minutes of daylight counting the daylight between sunrise and sunset. Today, we had eleven hours and six minutes and each evening and when the sunsets, we will have even less. Fall is here and we are on our way into winter. Continue reading Fall, leaves, and walking Ivy

The moon, the stars, and Ivy

I woke up late this morning, relatively. It was 5:30 and I would have preferred to wake earlier say 4:00 or 4:30, but I was awake. Over the years, I have learned to get up earlier and get a start on the day. Never the less, it gave me an opportunity to take Ivy for a short walk  in the crisp autumn air. The weather has turned cooler and we even had a mild frost yesterday morning. Though, I expect cooler and frostier mornings ahead. Continue reading The moon, the stars, and Ivy

Free Write Friday

My cutout and character for the class wall, the kids will appear next week

Every Friday in Language Arts is Free Write Friday or rather was…. I write in Free Write Friday, at least try to write most Friday’s, to model the practice. Yesterday, I used the computer and typed instead of using my notebook. Below is what I wrote for Free Write Friday…. 

I walked in this morning, late. I really need to work on this. I have not been sleeping well and it is affecting me in so many ways. I am tired and not as effective as I could be in any of the areas of my life – father, husband, son, or teacher. Continue reading Free Write Friday

Week 4: Being Amazing and Brilliant – Part 2

The American flag flies on 9/11 in front of our home.

It is hard to believe, but I am seventeen days into the school year with 155 remaining. Mind you, I am not counting them, but rather working to make them count. In my last post, I referenced Mawi’s Unstoppable Blog: A blog for unstoppable educators & anyone who wants to be inspired. I had stumbled across his post and shared it with my students last Friday – over a week ago. Over the course of the week, I have reflected back to that moment in class when I challenged my seventh graders to be amazing and brilliant. At the same time, I challenged myself to do the same. Continue reading Week 4: Being Amazing and Brilliant – Part 2