Celebrating Choice in the New Year

I'm celebrating NOT spending days setting up my classroom.  I'm looking forward to school starting next Wednesday and meeting my new group of learners.

I am excited to share my reading life with my new readers. It's fun to xerox some of the covers of the books I read this summer. The minute my new students arrive they will know their teacher is a reader. I also include a few personal photos of my reading life and favorite places I like to read. 

For years, I spent hours getting my library ready. Not anymore last year's class organized this library. Mixing all of the books up leaving serval hints about how this new class could organize it.  One of my favorite conversations:

•  "Do you have this book?"  
• I reply, "I sure do in the library"
• "Where in the library?"
• I reply, "I don't know."

Conversations above lead us into a class discussion about how do you want to organize the library?  Thanks to Ruth for encouraging us to celebrate. 

My North Star Celebration

My blog has been quiet for a few months. The first several weeks I felt huge guilt.  As hours became days, days became weeks, weeks became months, I was able to release the guilt. I was always wondering did I have something to share on my blog?  The answers were consistently no. Thoughts would form, I would write them in my notebook, a few conversations would nag at me to be shared, or I would read something and be thankful that I was encouraged. It was more important that I left a comment to thank the author than write my own post. 

I celebrate the gift of friendship. Those who know me, love me, and best of all truly understand me.  We were able to talk on my back porch for three hours. I shared secrets that I hadn't told anyone, and my friend listened, discussed, helped me through my dilemmas about blogging.  She listened to new desires but wouldn't allow my passions to slip away.  After eight years of blogging, I realized it was important to reflect on the direction I want to head.  Asking what is my North Star?  Through our conversation and reflecting on my notebooks, I have found my North Star.     

• Passion for vocabulary - collecting words, thinking about word study
• Passion for reading so I am able to book talk throughout the school year
• Passion for being a quiet mentor
• Passion for shining the spotlight on others

I have always found celebration blogs posts  to lift me up and help connect with other friends. I am thankful for this community of readers. I hope everyone has a great week and if you are searching for your North Star I hope you find it. 

Compliment of Google Images
As I type this post, I realize quiet nights on our dock
have lead me to where I am today. 

Celebrating NOT Testing

Ahh state testing, anyone reading this blog understands what happens to the classroom environment during four weeks of testing.  2 math, 2 reading, 2 science and 2 MAP.  I am not celebrating that!  We had a state wide shut down on Wednesday with our state testing. All tests cancelled in the state of Ohio for the day. I had planned on two hours to complete the math test,  so what did we do when that happens?  Of course, more time to read, share books, play word games especially hangman and celebrate no testing.  10 years ago, probably 5 years ago, I would have jumped right back into instruction.  Not any more.  I'm celebrating hangman with my students and of course a little word study thinking integrated with my word choices.

Coming together with their snacks and sharing our class read aloud, Flying Solo.  This is a perfect time of the year as my fifth graders transition next year to a sixth grade building. I LOVE this story and most of all I LOVE the life lessons.  Conversations around the characters and their decisions and choices are powerful.  As we were reading Wednesday, EV noticed that that storyteller's name: Klof Selat meant folk tales?  These are the moments that learners will remember forever.  I am so thankful for the opportunity for my readers to connect with authors through twitter.  Thank you for celebrating this week with me.  

Celebrating: A NEW Path

Have you ever been lost as a writer, and then realized you weren't lost?  I haven't been lost. I am on a different course.  A new direction that I am choosing.  Choice is such a huge part of writing.  Audience is another huge piece of writing for me.  Who is my audience?  Am I writing for an audience?  Am I writing just for me?  All of these thoughts that have been ping ponging around in my brain this winter.

When I do feel the need to write for an audience larger than myself, I always choose my Saturday celebration family.  I've written before about "taking" and not "returning."  I have been taking a lot this winter by reading all of the Saturday celebrations and not returning by writing my own post.  Here is the link up for this week.  I am thrilled to be joining in with such supportive friends. 

 

My celebrations this week are from colleagues, friends and principals.  Those who don't know that I have been on an alternative route lately.  I am extremely thankful when someone takes the time to leave a kind note, inspirational email, tweet some kind words, leave a comment on my blog from a post written months ago or leaves a voicemail for my principal about a professional development that I lead this week.   

It doesn't take a lot of energy to be kind.  After all, we all know to Choose Kind  But the best part of kind is when you're not expecting it.  Those kind moments woven together reinforce that I am on the right track.  I am thankful for opportunities to quietly lead fellow teachers and volunteer in helping students who are struggling. It's strange when the current path leads me in a new directions, but I know the journey is perfect for me.

Celebrating: Her Heart Burst

I typically write my Saturday Celebrations during the week and have them finished to post early.  Come back later in the day to read everyones posts, and I always find a few posts that linger with me. Our community and how we comment and share our thoughts is so important to me as a teacher and a writer. 

This week was busy, and I did not get my post written.  It's Saturday morning. I'm looking at the snow on the ground, birds eating in our feeder, drinking my hot tea, and I'm ready to share my journey of becoming a teacher. 

The picture above is one of my greatest treasures. If the house were burning, I would want this. I need this.  It begins my story of becoming a teacher. Both my grandparents were well educated. My grandfather was a world renown pediatric surgeon. His career started in Boston and ended at Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. There is a library in the hospital dedicated to him.  My grandmother LOVED reading and words!  She shared with me some of my favorite books and taught me the love of writing thank you notes.  She continued into her 60's translating Russian documents for The Ohio State University. My grandmother gave my mother the statue above while she was still living. When she passed, my mother passed it on to me. 

Mothers are always our first teachers. My mom wanted to be a teacher and never had an opportunity. She became my teacher.  Weekly trips to the library, helping me choose books and puzzles, reading to me every night and sharing her favorite authors especially of poetry.  Opening my eyes to the gift of books and "how they allow you to travel anywhere."  

For me I played school in our basement as soon as I could walk down the stairs. I've written a little about this in past blogs, but I honestly believed I was a teacher everyday as I walked downstairs. Being an only child, I never felt alone because i had my students. My mom's friend, Kathy, who was a teacher gave me a few "teachery" things. My heart burst with my first real grade book at age 8. Remember they were red or green, spiral bound and smelled wonderful.

Fast forward to our daughter, Anna, who is teaching in South Carolina. She played in our basement, and I brought home "teachery" things for her to use. Her heart burst when I allowed her to grade real math papers. She believed she was a teacher playing in our basement. 

Yesterday I was pulling down anchor charts (they were becoming wallpaper) and I was going to throw them away. I remember having conversations with H. about playing school in her basement.  I asked her if she would like them to take home.  Her heart burst.  I believe it is our job to encourage younger teachers, open our classrooms and share with them.  H. will be getting every little "teachery" thing I can find for the for the rest of this year. 

I'm thankful for our Celebration Community.  I will be reflecting on Ruth's post today for a long time.  Thank you Ruth for writing about what your afraid of and sharing when you're ready. 

Three Celebrations All Rolled into One Day

I'm celebrating with our Saturday community. This week's celebration happened on Tuesday. The first celebration was a snow day on Monday. It was our first one in two years.  I LOVE snow days because they are unplanned and a huge gift to teachers & students. Our class was a buzz Tuesday morning as everyone entered.  Listening to their conversations and agreeing with everyone was so fun!  Several students replied, "Mrs. Caplin you are as excited and we are."  I replied, "Yes I am!"

Our next celebration was in word study-in case you don't already know I love word study! I am passionate about vocabulary and weaving in new words throughout the day.  Our focus this week is a Latin room "struct" which means to build.  After our mini lesson, I always encourage learners to search for other words with a similar pattern.  While they wrote them on the chart paper, I was as quiet as a mouse listening to the rich conversations. My final celebration is our student generated word list which is always better than the teacher made list - just saying :)

Super list of vocabulary words and rich conversations
about roots + suffixes leading us toward another conversation
about parts of speech.

I

Celebrating JOY

I recently heard Sheryl Sandburg speak with Oprah on her Super Soul Conversations.  I appreciated how candid Sheryl was about her husband’s death and how she no longer had an Option A, but she does have Option B.  I get entranced with speakers who are sharing their heart stories. I want to listen deeply; however,  I also want to write down key points in my notebook.  I chose to listen deeply, and I then proceeded to check her book out at the library.  I didn’t read it cover to cover, but certain chapters I read several times.  Poignant take away moments for me included, searching for JOY!  And when you’re searching for JOY, you find JOY because it’s there often times in the smallest moments.  

I automatically connected the idea of celebrating JOY with my #OLW gratitude. That little word changed my life in ways that I never saw coming. That is what #OLW are suppose to do; however, some years my word captures all of me and other years it flounders along beside me.  I had decided not to choose #OLW this year.  Nothing was sticking or knocking me over.  I still consider gratitude my lifetime #OLW.  JOY is lightly tapping on my shoulder asking me to consider it. 

Yesterday was one of my celebration of JOY!  I got an email before Thanksgiving from Jordan. I had her in fifth grade, and she is currently a Junior at The Ohio State University. She was very kind in her email and told me that her favorite grade was  fifth grade, and she decided that she wants to be a teacher.  She visited yesterday and spent the day with our class. I expressed to her that as an educator we are never sure when we will have a lasting impression on a students' life. It's such an honor to know that I've created a lifelong difference for her.  

Celebrations and our Saturday community help me find JOY, and I feel a huge sense of gratitude for our conversations.  When I'm leaning toward closing up and not blogging, I always reflect on those discussions which always lift me up. Happy New Year friends. 

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Celebrating The Story of Our Cross

Our daughter was married last Friday in Charleston, South Carolina on Johns Island.  She moved to SC immediately after graduating from Bowling Green State University. Her home is in SC, but I believe her heart is still at our home, 22 acres of country living. She asked her dad, Tom, 6 months ago if he could build her a cross for their wedding. My husband replied, "Yes," and he found the perfect walnut tree on our property.  My husband and son cut down the tree and placed in our barn to dry. 6 weeks prior to the wedding he took the tree to a mill in the small town next to where we live to get the bark trimmed "rough sawn" which was a new term for me.  When the gentlemen asked my husband what he was going to make out of the walnut tree, my husband replied, "A cross for my daughter's wedding."  The gentleman replied, " I don't charge for crosses. I hope you have a beautiful wedding."

Our friend, who is a master craftsman, offered to help my husband build the cross.  One of the biggest decisions was how big to build the cross since we had to transport it to SC in our truck. The decision was made 9 feet which make me nervous, but I trusted the two experts. After several meetings, Tom went to pick up the cross and again he heard,  " I don't charge for crosses. I hope you have a beautiful wedding."

It was a beautiful wedding, and as I sat in the front row with my husband watching our little girl walk down the aisle. I knew in my heart that the cross held our true story of love and family.  Marriage is a full circle moment for parents. Knowing that our daughter married her best friend with our cross watching over them, this will always be a lifetime celebration.

Four hours before the wedding. Anna sees her cross that came from Ohio

It's a celebration for me as I reflect on my memories only a week ago.  I always appreciate the posts when Ruth shares her intimate family stories.  I am honored to share our recent family story today on #celebratelu.