Mentor Text

Today my students and I looked at the book Saturdays and Teacakes with the purpose of what can I learn as a writer from this author. We discussed how when we read we can use a writer's eye and see what lessons we can learn from the author.  A few things we discovered that we want to work on this week

• our writing has meaning
• our writing should create mental images so our reader can picture it
• we write to remember
• we use similes, onomatopoeia, alliteration

Our  focus this week is realizing that our writing must have meaning for the writer and a message to the reader.   With small moment writing this is a key piece to the concept. The piece must have meaning.  Meaning is getting to the heart of the story. So I ask you, what message are you sending your readers today?  What is your idea to the world?

December Daily-Dec. 5

Papers and embellishment by Shabby Princess

December Daily-D4

Nighttime. Prayers. Reading books while laying under the warm covers snuggled up with Miss Emma is about as blissful as a perfect night can be. "Five little monkeys jumping on the bed" echoes in my brain. Emma's sweet giggles as I once again read that Momma Monkey had to call that doctor to help. As she turns the pages of her book, I continue to read. When I finish, she closes the books and asks to say her goodnight prayers. "God Bless, Nana, Papa, Gracie, Uncle Brandon, Mommy and Daddy. A-men." I grab her life size Elmo doll and "baby." Tuck them all in. "Mommy, Tiss pwease," she says. I lean in kiss her goodnight and go to turn out the light. "Sweet dreams, Mommy." "You too, baby girl."

These are the moments I cherish. These moments won't last forever, how I wish they would.

Moving In Time

Today I taught my group of writers the art of moving in time to help the reader understand the meaning of the piece (idea from Raising the Quality of Narrative Writing by Calkins). However, I used a fabulous text Sweet, Sweet Memory. I also timelined the book to show how the piece moved from the present to the past and to the future at different points.

Lesson Plan

My writer's are wrapping their third small moment by "Putting Said to Bed" tomorrow and then going through the final stages of writing onto publishing. Once again I have nothing but wonderful things to say about this process. When my piece is finished I will post here.

Saying Good Byes

A simple call
leads to numbness.

Life changes in a moment,
never to be the same.

Memories of our childhood,
flash in my mind
as I drive to the hospital
to say my good byes.

The smells,
the sounds.

Those reminders
of my other memories here.

I see my aunt
your mother.
How do you say good bye
to your child?

My heart fills with sorrow,
it aches.

My sobs echo down the hall,
they do not heal you.

You are not aware.
You are not there.
I love you.
I will miss you.

How do you say good bye?

My silent prayers,
Trying to erase the sorrow here,
You are broken,
You are hurt.

Why must we say good bye?

Our childhoods together,
Our smiles in the pictures,
You hid your pain,
You carried it alone.

I'm sorry.

Watch over us,
Watch over my babies,
May you feel love,
May you no longer ache with sorrow,
Watch over your mother,
She is burdened with the loss,
Watch over you father,
Who fought to keep you here,
May happiness find you now.

Good bye, my cousin.

Possible Small Moments

Last week when I was reading through some of my favorite blogs I ran across Ali Edwards' post about the 12 scrapbook layouts that define you. I immediately began to think the 12 stories that would show the reader a piece of me. What would they be? What would they cover for me? For my students? For my colleagues who are on this journey with me?

1. Christmas Treasure Hunt: Christmas is my favorite holiday and this one is etched in my memory. My parents surprised my brother and I with bikes for Christmas.

2. Loves Lost: Family members who have passed, friends who have gone on..

3. Impact: How I got to be the person I am today.

4. Creating: how this is a vital part of me as a person and how important I do this whether it is in my house, scrapbooking, or photography, or in my classroom.

5. My favorite things: What I love right now

6. My beautiful girls: trying hard to capture the "stuff" not just the perfect picture

7. My passions: teaching, special education, advocacy, being your authentic self

8. Motherhood: mother to a child with special needs and mother to a child who is strong willed. Realizing that each day is new and I should learn what the day is supposed to teach me.

Still contemplating the others....

Slice of Life~Can You Smell the Creativity?

"Hey, I am on my way home you want to check out the new Michael's?" I ask my mom as I walk to my car.

"Sure," she replies.

So I zoom, zoom to pick up my mom and off we go to the new Scrapbook Mecca.

When I walk in I gasp in awe and begin to giggle with glee as I see the aisles of perfectly themed crafts in Michael's. Aisle and aisle of creativity just itching to be put onto pages or crafts created for the perfect gift. Or to be honest for yourself. My heart stops as I look at the specialty papers. Oh, how I wish I didn't live on a budget.

As I began to walk up and down the aisles and into the themed corners I ran into my biggest temptation--bling. Oh the gorgeous bling; reds, pinks, emeralds green and of course the pink letters with yes...diamond bling. Oh, I could hear it saying to me the perfect picture is waiting to be taken for this embellishment. I cautiously walked up to the rack that held the blinged art. As I pulled it off the rack Just Say No echoed in my ears, but alas I couldn't resist. I must. I must have the bling. Secretly my inner bling demon says, "Score!" as the bling lands in my cart.

Ahhh, a great end to the day. The Bling Force is now subdued until....

Challenge #28~I sweet~

"Bath-y time!" I call to Emma and Grace as I ran the water and poured in the "fairy dust" aka bubble bath.

I quickly undressed and put the girls in. I love watching them play. They have a great time. Suddenly Gracie looks up at me and says, "I sweet, mahmah."

I giggle and say, "No, you're ornery!"

She laughed and said, "I ahn-ree!"

Nana laughed from the other room, "Did she say what I think she said?"

Gracie replied with, "Yeah, I ahn-ree!!"

My Gracie-sugar and sweet with a WHOLE LOT of SPICE!!

Challenge #25~Conversation~

"What do you mean you are purposely taking other laptops?" I asked my fifth grade students.

I could feel my blood pressure rising as I realized they only wanted to see what would happen if they crossed the line.

"Well, I suppose we should all put up the laptops and instead of taking the tutorial to study for our test we will complete a worksheet," I stated.

Worksheets in my room are the signal of death. The hush of the classroom deafened my ears. Their heads began to hang as I passed out the 4 page study guide over the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

After 20 minutes, I asked the students to put their pencils down and to come to the carpet for a meeting. Instead of reaming them out again we discussed a possible solution to the behavior that occurs during transition time. It took about 8 minutes from their recess, but we all felt better afterward.

Hoping tomorrow's transition between classes and subjects goes better, if not there is always ice cream to make the day better!

Challenge #20~Bedtime Saga~

"Amen," I say as I tuck Emma and Elmo into bed. I quickly put the guard rail up, double check the tucked in Emma, and kiss her good night.

"Wov you," she says as I shut the door.

"Love you too, baby girl," I whisper.

Not even one minute has gone by, Emma has thrown back the covers, grabbed her Pooh alphabet book, and opened her door. "Mommy?" she asks.

"Emma we are not doing this again!" I exclaim, "you must go to bed."

Two and half hours later I call my mother, "Mom, you were the master at getting a particular girl to stay in bed. I have tried everything."

"What about ignoring her?" She asks.

Okay, I think to myself I am desperate. I close my door and sure enough I hear Emma's door open. I know she is just standing in the hallway dragging Elmo looking around wandering where I am. But, I was wrong. Instead she went to the kitchen let Jazzy (her black cat) in from the garage and locked the door. Then she went back to the hall. I hear her talking with Jazzy. Then she starts saying my name louder, louder, and louder. Finally, after about 7 minutes I open my door and she is standing in the hall petting Jazzy. But, she has stripped of her cute, pink PJs and her diaper. I had no idea she was a streaker.

What is a mother to do in this situation? Get angry or laugh. Well, I chose not to react and put her back to bed. Then I went straight to my computer. Motherhood...funny, fascinating, and unforgettable.

Challenge 14~Shoe Shopping~

I have always thought that shoe shopping was a fun thing UNTIL I had children. Today I took the girls to Stride Rite to be fitted for new tennis shoes and Spring dress shoes. It was a mad house!! Babies crying, mommys wishing they could cry and the heat must have been cranked up to 80 degrees. Every time I requested a particular shoe they were always out of the girls' size. Exasperated the clerk said, "Look just get the more expensive shoes and be done with it! I know you want the sale shoes, but they don't have any in their size."

"Well, can I get a discount then?" I asked.

"Yes!" she exclaimed.

So 10 minutes later we were checking out leaving the crying, yelling and other chaos behind to enjoy some well deserved frosties and Wendy's.

Note to Self: Never be a kids shoe clerk.

Challenge #12~It's Raining!"

Today was Emma's first dental appointment so I took the day off. It started out marvelous because the girls slept in until 8 AM. As we got up and started to the kitchen Emma looked out the back glass door. "Momma, it's raining!" Emma yelled. I turned to look and those raindrops were actually fluffy white snowflakes. "That is called Snow Emma," I replied. We all ran to Emma's side to watch flakes fall on the grass. My heart warmed as my two girls hugged each other yelling, "It's raining!" Spring has obviously been put on hold, but it is warm with love in our house.

Challenge #9~Sighting Spring~

Zooming back from a quick run to the store, I pulled into the driveway. I noticed a small peek-a-boo of a yellow flower close to the brick of the house. My forsythia is blooming! I thought. Oh, spring is so near. I quickly parked the car, put up the groceries and grabbed my camera. All I could think was I must capture these flowers. Capture this moment. As I tried different angles to capture the perfect picture of the one bloom…I realized that my fuchsia blooms on the plum bush were just as gorgeous.

Really what I wanted was to capture the arrival of spring…it didn’t matter if the photo was perfect. What did matter? I ignored the busyness of the evening, and actually stopped to look at Spring. As I began to take pictures of the blooms, I quickly grabbed the garden angel and plopped her in the middle of them. When I snapped the next shot, I realized that was it. I had done it. Spring for me has started. It doesn’t matter that it is going to be 40 degrees in two days or that the dead leaves still haven’t been cleaned out of my flowerbeds…that doesn’t stop Spring. Nothing can. She has finally arrived.

Challenge #8~Write your heart~

As I glance back through my week, I realize that I have begun to look forward to the moment that I can sit, relax and write. Some days this week, as soon as something happened I knew when I got home I would write about that for my slice, but other days were more of a ruminating moment. Sitting, reflecting, drinking hot cider by the laptop figuring out what my heart was speaking to me about. And still other days I felt so rushed by the time I sat down that it seemed I had nothing to write, but still I wrote. As a result of this first week of slice, I realize the Slice is about stopping. Being Still. Listening. And writing from the heart. As quoted from a mighty fifth grader in my classroom during his student led conference on Thursday, "I will never stop writing; I will always write from my heart."

Challenge #7~Moment with Mom~

Why is it a 31 years old I still cherish those small moments with my mom? No grandchildren running around, no Dad to interrupt our conversation, or a brother asking a questions. I cherish these moments...just mom and me. The smell of garlic in the restaurant and the soft conversation around us as we talk...well I guess just mother daughter talk. Special. Heartfelt. Loved.

Challenge #6~Words of Wisdom~

Conferencing. Why is that I can conference with a child and not be nervous and know exactly what to say, but get a bunch of adults around me and I feel like a bumbling fool?

"Good evening. Welcome to our room!" I said as one of my students walked in with his mother and grandfather.

"I am so glad you came back," I announced to the grandfather.

"I wanted to see how he had improved," replied the grandfather of his grandson.

"Well, why don't you sit down. He will get his items to show you."

Wow! I thought. I can't believe his grandfather came back. He had attended his last conference because my student's parents were out of town. I quickly left them to help another student get his family situated for their student led conference.

"Excuse me young lady. May I speak with you? " the grandfather asked.

"Absolutely!" I walked over to them.Thrilled to be called young lady!

"I am quite impressed," he stated, "I have been listening and reviewing my grandson's writing and kudos to you for not giving into the demands of testing and diagramming sentences and filling entire workbooks of grammar pages."

I know my face must have been in shock because he began to chuckle. Then he smiled, folded his arms as he leaned back in the student chair and said, "I am a retired English professor and I wish my students could have come to me writing like this. You have done what many cannot do...create a class full of writers."

I quickly thanked him for his kind words and began to talk with him about the journey of writing and how important it is. I could have talked with him all day about writing, but I knew the student had worked hard at preparing his work to show and discuss with his family.

It is moments like these that make the long day rewarding. To him I say bless you.

Challenge #4~7 Minutes~

Seven minutes to work from house. Seven minutes of silence. No radio. No crying. No giggling. No, Ms. Snow! No-Nothing. For seven minutes every morning I am alone with my thoughts. Silence. It is as if my brain is saying, "Ahhh, a breather for a few moments." But, the moment I park my car, grab my bag, and walk through the 7:20 AM swarm of students heading to breakfast from the buses my mind is on my students. My seven minutes are over, but I am headed to a great day!

Challenge #2~Spring Fever~

Why is it in Oklahoma when Spring (my favorite season) begins to arrive I can hardly speak because of allergies? All day long today I heard, "Wow! What did you do to your voice or Get away from me you have the crud!" I would sigh and begin my explanation of how my yearning for Spring to arrive by working in my yard, punishes me by not allowing me to talk or see (my eyes usually swell shut)until after the trees blossom. So as I am walking down my hallway back from lunch today I cough (sounds much like smokers cough, but I have never inhaled one). A teacher began to make a comment and one of my students turns around and says, "Hey, haven't you ever heard of allergies?" The look of shock on the colleagues face was priceless. Moral of story: Don't mess with his teachers!

Challenge #1: Ornery Children

My mom and I were having a great conversation while eating our sub sandwiches this afternoon. Roughly 15 minutes later it dawned on me that my house was awfully quiet. Too quiet. Dangerously quiet for having a five year old and a two year old running around. I put up the dishes, threw away the trash, and walked down the hall.

"Emma? Gracie?" I asked as I walked into Gracie's doorway. I gasped.

"Oh, no!" I yelped. Post it notes were all over Gracie's room and Emma had a pencil from my scrapbook table. I ran into my scrapbook room scared of what I would find. The laptop open....my surprise matchbook notebooks that I made for students...destroyed. My heart sank. I was so excited to have those as a surprise for Monday for those that started the Slice of Life challenge. I bent to my knees and picked up the scraps of paper. I realized I would be able to salvage two of the notebooks. I sighed. Well, at least one student from each class can get a notebook.

As I threw away the scraps of paper, I noticed my laptop looked dirty. "Emma Lynne, what did you do to this?" I asked somewhat loudly.

"What?" she replied.

I couldn't believe my laptop was covered in pencil markings. What will I do with her? I thought.

"You know...Emma didn't know those notebooks were special for your students," my Mom said.

"I know," I replied, "but that isn't what I am upset about. She knows better than to do that to the laptop."

I was able to clean up the laptop and I put Emma in a chair and talked with her about the laptop. I asked her if she was sorry and she patted herself on the back and said, "Yes, mommy, sorry."

Then I got the biggest Emma hug.

Memoir Monday~River Rafting

“Come on!” exclaimed Brandon. “You’re on vacation! You’ve got to do this!”

“It is fun, Lynnelle,” my mother commented.

“Okay! Let’s go!” I replied.

We changed into our swimsuits and loaded the raft into the bed of our truck. We were off! We unloaded at the dam and walked down the tiny trail to the loading area.

Brandon began to explain to me how to get into the raft when I just “gracefully” rolled in. He laughed and jumped into the raft.

The moment we arrived in the middle of the river I noticed the silence. It seemed almost deafening. As we continued the birds sang and locusts buzzed. I could hear the water rippling around the edges of the boat. Suddenly, I hear water rapidly moving over rocks. Our raft dips and cold water splashes over my side of the boat. Then the deafening silence returns.

Brandon and I were just enjoying the quiet and nature sounds, when we felt this heat as if an oven had suddenly turned on. I looked and I could see “wind” coming. Our raft whipped around as dust flew across the river. Then just as the heat suddenly arrived, it was gone. We were once again left with our thoughts and nature.