My workshops were a bit of ping pong, because I wanted them to see how I block out pictures in my head to craft a vignette about my life in 5th grade. I wrote five stanzas and pointed out that they were like blocks, only described with words. I had an ulterior motive, however, as I wanted to see if a piece I was working on was effective with late elementary and early middle school readers. Lucky for me, they laughed, asked question, and applauded the story. I guess it might be ready for submission if it was a hit for the readers an upcoming book is aiming for.
This Sunday, our Write Out begins at Lordship House with local politicians, school board members, administrators, Fairfield University Stratford residents, and CWP-Fairfield teachers. Our goal is to get students to submit entries for possible publication in the 2027 14th edition of Power of Words, our annual book featuring Connecticut teachers and their students.
As I expected, Grant Snider's work captivated the readers and helped me to quickly turn into writers. They all begin with making comics to introduce themselves to me in 4 squares. This turned in a model of how we take our mind pictures and turn them into paragraphs for others to read.
I laughed when kids came up afterwards asking me to autograph the narrative about my 5th grade experience with them. They were fascinated by Christa Mccaullife and the story of space shuttle. They also were mesmerized that my 5th grade teacher was in a wheelchair and rewarded us with opportunities to coast around the school when we modeled classroom leadership.
I also loved working with a veteran classroom teacher who matched me note for note for the two-hour workshop. Actually, every teaching in this particular school is out of this world. I've never see such fabulous teaching and care for kids in my life. I know it is because of the leadership, as the principal is an ol' student of mine and one of the best listeners. She took NWP best practices for writing and has transformed three schools now, I love with leaders of schools get it.
I spent last night at a very stressful volleyball match, as St. Peters came to play and had outstanding communication and teamwork. Although the first two sets were no-brainer Fairfield wins, St. Peters took the 2nd two sets as if they were a completely different team. They simply were hot and in it to win it. Fairfield, however, came back in the 5th with many more strategic decisions. It did push me to the edge, though, as I didn't know which way the last set would go. I felt better when Fairfield took, and maintained, control.
It's Saturday. I'm back at it for Write Out and getting items ready for Sunday. I am looking forward to the 11th-25 simply for the prompts and challenge to get outside for two weeks (which I already do, but now there will be intentionality for it).
