My Blessed Little Life

Wow!  I made it. Thirty-one days of writing on this little blog.  I am so proud of myself for finishing the Slice of Life challenge, hosted by Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers.  I don't think that I could have imagined that I would finish a month of blogging. A month of writing.  I have truly enjoyed this challenge.  I remember why I love writing.  I have been able to try new styles of writing.  I have also been able to read some really powerful posts from some really terrific writers.  I have learned more about the subject that I teach.  I have come across great ideas for my classroom.  I have laughed and cried with others from around the world.  Thirty-one days may be a short blip in time, but thirty-one days has helped me to become a stronger writer.  Thank you to all the people who have read and commented.  That has meant a great deal to me.  I have grown to love the community of writers who support and e...

On Monday, my students and I had a discussion about slicing.  I offered my students the chance to slice this month, and am very pleased that a few took me up on it (offering prizes must have helped!)  I had a couple turn in their slices because they had finished 31 entries and felt they were done.  I myself have scheduled slices to go out a few days ahead when I felt inspiration hit and could write more than one entry in a day.  But is that cheating?  That was the question. I don't think it is cheating to write and schedule ahead.  For me, I feel much more at ease to write my posts and know that they are done for the day.  I can log in and link up my slice before school, and then I know that I can go about my day without worrying about getting it done.  I also have started a post, and then felt I needed to step away for a day or two.  Sometimes having that little break brings clarity. I can refocus what I was trying to say.  So...

  20 of 31 for the Slice of Life Challenge from Two Writing Teachers Yesterday I traveled to Warrensburg, MO with my oldest to the Literature Festival.  She was so proud that she made it again this year...and was the first in our school to read all of the required books to qualify to go!  As a language arts teacher, I usually try to read as many of the Mark Twain award nominees as possible so I can recommend them to students, but I have really slacked this year for some reason. Finding time to read anything is difficult, even though I love curling up with a book (or Nook or my tablet) to read. I have truly appreciated the many slicers who have posted reading recommendations, and my pile of books to read has grown exponentially. John Green is my current go-to author-- A Fault in our Stars . Next up is Paper Towns or Looking for Alaska. I love his use of vocabulary and writes with humor and wit, which I appreciate. I hope my students would appreciate that as well....

16 of 31 for the Slice of Life Challenge from Two Writing Teachers Today is my 41st post for this blog.  When I started this a few years ago, I don't think I could have imagined where I am now.  Teaching again, Trying to get fit.  Juggling three teen/preteens and work and just life in general.  I know I couldn't have imagined that I would join a writing challenge that asked me to write everyday for a month.  I am sure that that Sarah would have just laughed, and said "Yeah, right!"  But here I am, on my 16th day of blogging consistently, writing my 41st post.  While I'm sure this achievement is a drop in the bucket for some, I am choosing to see this as a good starting point.  A place that I realized that I can write, even if my audience is pretty tiny.  I am making a start, and that is a pretty cool thing.

  10 of 31 for the Slice of Life Challenge from Two Writing Teachers Ten days of blogging for the Slice of Life challenge have passed.  I have really enjoyed the challenge so far.  It has made me really think about what is happening in my life and how I can put it into words.    I have always loved to write, but have never really considered myself that good at it.  I have so many ideas running in my head, but when I go to actually put those ideas onto paper nothing seems to work.  I write sentences, only to erase them over and over because they don't sound right or they don't really explain the feeling I want them to.  I explain to my students all the time that writing is really about the revision process. That is where the real work takes place, and it is really true.  It is where the frustration lies for me as well.  Self doubt plays the biggest role here, I think. That nagging thought that no one will want to read what I have to...

I recently had a professional development day for my school district and was able to hear Ruth Ayres speak about teaching writing.  She mentioned her blog, Two Writing Teachers, and a challenge that she sponsors every year called the Slice of Life.   To complete the challenge, the idea is to write every day in the month of March.  I was really intrigued by the idea, and began to think about really doing this.  She also mentioned that they were beginning a classroom challenge this year for the first time.  Could I really write every day for a month?  I've had this blog established for quite a while now and sadly have only posted 20 times...so writing every day is a little lot daunting for me to even consider.  But the more I really thought about it, the more intrigued I became.  I really need to practice what I preach I guess, and I should show my students that I am a writer too.  I can't really expect them to do this and then not follow ...