Roses are red
Violets are blue
I don’t feel like writing
Sorry, but it’s true
There once was a writer who was tired
She wasn’t feeling at all inspired
But it was the month to write
So she didn’t fight
She just sat down and did what was required
In six words, I am done.
I’m writing every day of March for the Slice of Life Challenge at Two Writing Teachers
In the first book I ever read, Ernie and Bert cleaned their room
I remember the pictures of the room getting tidier and tidier
a preschool Home Edit!
There was also Harold
and his purple crayon
and his imagination
all those pies
the way the moon was always in his window
Every time I go to the beach, I think about this book I had
about going to the ocean for the day
and the kids’ adventure of shells and a tidepool
Oh, and Sam!
He collected donuts and then used them to save a woman from a coffee flood
Who needs donuts? They asked
When you’ve got love?
Dooley battled that snortsnoot
once he was tall enough.
My shelf was full
I can picture the books, the stories
part of me
and I find myself hoping today
that as the pendulum swings and teachers hold on for dear life,
kids will still find themselves in the pages
Today was a learning day
a long day
a listening day
Today was a win-a-raffle day
a wonder-what-the-doctor-will-say day
a wait, what? day
Today was a travel day
a talk-to-college-daughter day
a tell-me-more-about-it day
Today was a a sit-all-day-long day
a surprise dinner with my boys day
a special-day-we-don’t-celebrate-any-more day
Today was a hump day Wednesday
a heavy day
a hello-glass-of-wine day
Today was
as they say,
a day
Sometimes a day that has a new haircut also has a trip to urgent care.
Sometimes a day with a lot of stories has none.
Sometimes bedtime comes earlier.
I hope.
I’m writing every day of March for the Slice of Life Challenge at Two Writing Teachers
We were preparing for our poetry garden in Writers’ Club today, by painting some rocks with pictures. Soon we will write our poetry words on rocks, but today was about decorating a few to leave our mark.
There were just a couple paint markers that still needed to be shaken and pressed, so I did that as I monitored the painting and talked with the kids. Then I started to realize I should be writing down what they were saying. There always seems to be a story or poem hiding in the things kids say.
Rock Painting with Elementary Kids:
I need to go over all of this-the colors are very dull
My marker is too juicy
OOPS! I didn’t mean to do that.
I think I’m done
Do you have anything to add? Because this is an amazing blue.
This is one day only!
I should have done a sugar cookie
There’s interference in the universe causing problems
My dad would say “Where’s the coral?” He’s a coral scientist
What are you doing?
I’m writing things everyone says – a found poem story!
…Ugh! Teachers!
It’s a portal to another universe
A new dimension
I’m serious
This is so juicy
I want the markers so bad
I’m not saying I’m asking for one. . . but I am.
Yesterday I admitted that I’m not really so good at puzzles.
“You mean you don’t DO puzzles,” they said.
And that’s true. (And sounded just like what my mom says…)
“What do you do instead?” They asked me.
“Instead of puzzles?” I confirmed. Because “What do you do instead?” Is an amazing question.
What do I do instead?
I write.
I try to embroider.
Sometimes I play the piano.
I watch movies.
I read.
What do you do instead?
there were pancakes this morning
a walk
and the sun is pouring in the window as I write
I went to Lowes
which I hate
and got cleaning supplies which I used
it’s a good Saturday
with friends later
and even though I don’t want to, I miss you
I’m writing every day of March for the Slice of Life Challenge at Two Writing Teachers
Not to complain, but this morning I reached my hand into a pocket of my backpack , right as I was about to leave the house, and I really shouldn’t have done that. The top to my bright pink lip gloss had gotten off somehow. Magenta gloss dripped off of pens and post-its, and an old mask and mini-notebook. As I tried to wipe things off my cat jumped up and started investigating. Finally, I just decided to put everything into a grocery bag, stuff a paper towel into that pocket and go.
Not to complain, but it was raining on my dog walk this afternoon, and also I wondered why my dog’s poop was green. Then I noticed the lego. So I guess it’s nice that he didn’t complain. But, he really shouldn’t be eating legos.
Not to complain, but there were 4 jelly beans left, until one dropped to the floor and that same dog chased after it and grabbed it before I could even see where it landed.
And that’s just the kind of day – well week this has been.
I mean, not to complain.
I’m writing every day of March for the Slice of Life Challenge at Two Writing Teachers
My Day: An inside Haiku
No-window meeting
warm sun outside but inside
sitting on hard chairs
When I walked into a classroom today to meet with a teacher, her kids were finishing cleaning up, heading to lunch and the lyrics to “It’s not easy being Green” were projected. Years ago I shared a bunch of different Slice of Life prompts and lessons with teachers. The prompts float around now, and I always get a kick out of seeing kids writing from them.
This one transported me back to my sixth-grade classroom. Somehow that song had come up in conversation, not so unusual in sixth-grade, actually. I decided we needed to use it as a mentor text to slice. We closely read the lyrics, and then decided what we would need to keep if we wanted to have our slices sound like Kermit.
My sixth graders wrote and wrote. They wrote beautifully. There are a lot of things that aren’t easy about being in middle school.
One of the third graders was still in the room and I asked her, “Are you doing It’s not that easy being slice of life?”
She nodded her head and said “Yea. It’s…It’s…” and I wasn’t sure if she was upset about the writing or not.
She tried to say, “Nevermind,” but I said,
“Do you like it?”
“Yea,” she told me, “It really helps to get a lot of stuff out.
I guess third graders have a lot of things that aren’t easy too.
The teacher said I had to read some of her kids’ slices of life, and showed me a few.
I had to tell her that I remember making that prompt, and she smiled.
“One of the kids said to me today when we did this, ‘I know where you got this idea from! You must have gotten this from Ms. Gabriel!’”
the musings of a high school science teacher
Tales of a Doc student's readings
erratic thoughts too loud for lines
Small slices of my life, in one place!
Celebrating the Randomness of Life
On a Thought 