SOL #24 Reeling Out the Line

"Put down your phone," I told myself "and take it all in." My little babies are becoming slowly more independent.  It is the little things that they can do for themselves.  Liam finally learned to swing high on the swings today.  Sean pushed those little legs round and round on his bike, up the hill that separates us from the school and the playground. And then, I was able to sit and watch.  Liam made it across the monkey bars and Sean climbed to the top of the playscape. All I had to do was sit and watch.
"Yes. I see.  You did it! Wow! I see you! I am so proud of you."
Little by little, they are conquering the world.  I get to witness these accomplishments as I slowly let go. Like a flyer, I slowly release my string and watch the wind catch my beautiful, soaring kites.
Facebook memories make me miss the chubby babies that clung to me. I clung back as we learned the new world of family together.  I sometimes want to go back to those days but I remember the isolation and tether to the home.
Now we experience a bit of freedom both together and apart.  Our areas are increasing. My boys explore their perimeters as I watch from the center.  I let out a little more line knowing there is still time to reel back my kites away from the wind and bring them home.

SOL #23 Laser Mom

Tonight I played laser tag!!  What a blast! Ha! I showed no mercy to those seven and eight-year-old boys and girls.  Yup! I was the crazy mom that joined in.  My husband and I were the only volunteers to suit up.  My boys insisted I be on their team.  We made Daddy join the other team.  My team won the first game and the other team won the second game.  I did, however, have the second highest score, which was higher than my husband', so that is really the only thing that counts.

"You got me!!!!  Aghh! 

One little boy kept telling me he found a new base for us to hide in.  

Two evil girls with black light teeth kept chasing me and delighted in shooting me.  

There were times I was surrounded by small people with vengeance in their eyes but smiles on their faces.  All were yelling lines they must have learned from TV or movies.

"FBI!!  We're coming in!"

"Cover me!"

"Retreat! Retreat!!"

The room was hot, smelled like kitty litter and I was sweating my Mommy butt off but we had the best time.

Pepsi and ice cream cake never was so refreshing.


Tomorrow..... Dodge ball!!!!

SOL #22 Inside Out

So today I met my student observer.  It has been a while since I had a student teacher or observer.  It is so weird having someone watch you all day.  I caught myself.  Am I being natural enough? Wow, I should have planned that better.  

Knowing that she was there made me a better teacher.  Not that I was showing off or anything but I definitely was more reflective.  I was forever monitoring the effectiveness of my planning, my take aways.  What would I do differently the next day or next year?  And now I'm writing about my reflectiveness.  I'm so inward thinking I'm about to turn inside out.
Hmm.  Whenever my boys are getting changed and putting their dirty laundry in the hamper, I yell, "Outside Out!" to remind them to turn out their clothes.  Outside Out. That is the kind of person I don't want to be.  I don't want my outside to be the only thing that is showing.  I want to be the kind of person who wears their heart on their sleeve but it is the sleeve that is turned inside out.

SOL #21 The Quietest Part of My Day

How lovely!
Some time for myself.
I sit here with my thoughts in peace and quiet.
 I've been running all day and I finally have some time to relax and just be with the still of my brain. My brain has been a constant motion of decisions and questions and requestioning.
This peace is such a delight.  A reprieve from the constant barrage of noise and demands. What a gift just to be still and anonymous.  Nobody here needs my approval or food or supplies or butt wiping.
It is just me.
Quiet.
Relaxed.
Me time.

Gotta go they just called me in for my dental cleaning.

SOL #20 Old Math New Math

For some reason, I was thinking of my seventh-grade math teacher, Dr Bird, on my way home from work.  I did not like his class nor did I like him.  He was a big, socially awkward, age-spotted bald man.  His lips slapped together as he lectured math.  I was in accelerated math at that time but I found him dry. He found me irritating.  I soon found myself out of accelerated math.
Math is one of my favorite things to teach now.  It is exploration and storytelling, finding patterns and making connections.  Today we made models of different groups of sea turtles in order to determine which fraction of the groups of sea turtles were more affected by pollution. Then we played math games.  My stomach turns when I hear, "I don't get this new math." It is the same math, same properties.  We just want mathematicians to be able to discover.
I wish I had the opportunity to discover.  Maybe Dr Bird would have discovered I wasn't so irritating.

SOL #19 Just A Volunteer From The Audience

Oh no.  All their little faces are looking at me.  OK OK.  I'm going.  I have just volunteered to be in the Brain Challenge Assembly! I wade through the pretzel legged sea of students to the front of the cafetorium. I have already embarrassed myself by falling on my back in the Tug a War.  I pray that I know the answers. 
Man! That fifth-grade teacher sure does know her trivia.  She is going to be hard to beat.
Oh missed that one. 
Is my buzzer working?
Of forget buzzing in for that question. Lord knows I can't spell.
"Potomac!" Fifth Grade Teach yells.
Poop! I should have known that one.
"What hot cereal is also known as porridge?" 
Buzz!!!!
It's me!
Oatmeal for sure? Right? But wait I think. It could be farina. Cream of wheat?  Oh I can't lose on a question about cereal.
Oatmeal!
Correct!!!!!
I don't know Potomac but I know Oatmeal.
Why is my heart beating so fast?  This is crazy!!!
Buzz!!!!
Me Again
"Washington."
Washington....?"
"Washington DC!"
YES
Buzz!!!! 
Me again!!!
"District of Columbia!"
RED TEAM WINS!!!
Thank goodness.  I only have to walk back across the floor without falling and I'm safe.

SOL #18 By George, I Think She's Got It

Today some of my writers were working on #DWHabit, some were working on research for a project and some were working on their independent writing.  I sat with Lillian today and we looked through her quick writes.  I noted that she wrote some really nice summaries of some nice moments that could become stories.  I referred to the post by Beth Moore to help me help Lillian figure out what her next steps were.  Lillian decided that she would like to add more dialogue and inner monologue after she looked at some of my posts.  After she read my Follow that Weiner post she said "Oh. I can make the characters talk." We tied her writing back to the reading strategies that we have been studying.  We know that readers learn about characters by what they say and think.  As writers, we need to give our readers that same opportunity. We later shared with the class what she was working on.  When she shared she was using my story Follow That Weiner as her mentor text. Alex said, "That one is my favorite too."   Holy cow!!  I'm a mentor author!!
Other students shared some of their notebooks. After all these years of teaching, I now see the importance of the notebook.  Yes, it is a place for gathering ideas and for writing daily. More importantly, it was something to bring to your writing community.  Students shared their entries but then they needed to tell us what next.  Where did they think this idea could go?  What project do they think they can make?  Classmates offered suggestions about what it needed.  One student is easily able to write clearly, creatively and lengthy notebook entries.  When he shared his entry, the class enjoyed his humor and format.  When we posed the, "What next?" question, he realized that this writing wasn't finished, it was just the beginning.
Being part of this challenge has been such a powerful learning experience for me. I see the power of the notebook, the beauty of writing daily and wonder of a writing community.  Thank you Slice of Life!!!