Celebrate: Genius Hour

At six o’clock Friday night my principal walked in my classroom to return Brown Girl Dreaming.  “Jackie Woodson speaks to me! How did I not know about her!?” she gushed. We go on to talk about the book and about all the good that happened this week. I’m so fortunate to be in a school with passionate colleagues that are energized by books and education. After that conversation, more celebrations for the week were clear.

This week students reached the end of a five-week Genius Hour/Passion Project Cycle.  My only constraint in this work is that students stay within the week’s theme.

 

 

We started the year with an hour once a week. Due to scheduling problems, the time started to move from an hour once a week to shorter segments across the whole week. Now genius “time” happens in 10 to 15 minutes segments at the end of each day. Many stay to continue working during recess or after school so the time stretches out even longer. At this point, with this group of students, I like the change. They need to get to work quickly and they don’t loose touch with their work.

Students love genius time. They can’t wait. As a teacher you are a consultant, an observer, and a supporter of their learning. Students work in teams of their own creation, on work they direct, completely. They find like minded souls and talk. During all the noise you might wonder: is this time well spent?

After this week of presentations, I am sold on the power of this work.  Students created their own questions, they read content they found, they wrote and planned their presentations. They clearly demonstrated learning and more importantly the process of learning.

The endangered sea animal group did extensive work that will continue though the next cycle. They plan to find ways to raise funds to help .

There was a lively debate between two students on who was the better soccer player Ronaldo or Messi. They went back and forth with reasons and evidence and at the end they turned to the students saying you decide!

I learned a lot about the history of basketball. Who knew women played in 1892. Less than a year after it was invented!

Three students inspired by Alex’s Lemonade Stand raised $60 over President’s Day weekend for kids with cancer.

This week I celebrate students’ learning. I celebrate the process and their agency. I celebrate their abilities. I celebrate genius time that allows students to find and use their genius.

Thanks to Ruth Ayers Saturday link up that provides the wonderful practice of celebrating the week! Read more celebrations here.

Celebrate: The Power of Assessments, Part 2

Time to Celebrate this Week with Ruth Ayers.

It has been a long, short week. So much was packed into four days.

First…

This week was filled with reading and writing assessments. Assessments keep me up at night for many reasons. I wrote about the pain of inappropriate assessments on Tuesday.  But on the flip side, results of assessments, when viewed with understanding and as a marker of growth on a continuum of learning, are reason to celebrate. 

This week I saw my students’ thinking as they wrote about their reading. I saw how each student approached the text. I saw growth and meeting of benchmarks. This matters. Students need to see their growth. But more importantly, teachers need to find next steps for students. So I record their scores to track their progress, and set that aside. What I spend time with and celebrate this weekend are the areas of need, the next step for each child and the puzzle of how to get there.

Second...

Our informational writing unit came to an end and students celebrated by commenting on each other’s posts.  Students tend to notice the mistake rather than the strength or comment so generally it means very little.  I wanted them to not only comment in a positive way, but to learn something in the process. Taking a tip from Melanie Meehan, I cut up our TCRWP checklists and put them on cards .

Then, I invited students to find something a student did well that was on a card and complement them, by identifying what they did as a writer. After working on these for a while I found myself calling them “complement cards.” I started to ask students, have you written a complement or a connection to a post. Inadvertently I had renamed our work. This week I celebrate the renaming of comments. We no longer comment on posts, we complement or make connections.

Third…

At the end of any writing unit I ask students to write an on demand piece.  I invited them to write about any topic they felt they are an expert in. Their only constraint was the time, 45 minutes. Without prompting, many pulled out their genius hour notebooks, filled with notes on their passion projects. One student asked, can we put this on the blog? Never have I had a student ask to put an assessment on the blog. This week I celebrate the power of genius hour learning: time students choose what they want to learn. Given opportunity, resources and choice students can create their own learning.

And finally...

All this week my students wrote about their one little words. So much has come out in this process. Their posts are raw, exposed. The choices they make are so telling.

The reason why I choose powerful is because if I do something hard I could look at my word, then it will tell me that I am brave and that nothing is going to take me down. It will also tell me that I am brave and I won’t back down and if I struggle a lot I can look at the muscle and that means I am strong and I am very powerful. So that’s why I picked it because sometimes I struggle a lot, so that’s why I picked the word, so it will make me brave and my word. I know some people struggle with stuff and adults also struggle a lot, so I picked it because I knew it would help me and make me better when I am working. And if I get stuck I can look at it and it tells me I am strong I can beat any hard stuff and it will make me confident.  Now I like the word and I love the word😊 because I know it will help me throughout the year of elementary so yay👍.

So yay and happy weekend!

 

 

Slice of Life: Genius Hour Revisited

We had Genius Hour yesterday.

During our Genius Hour time I don’t direct the work, the students do. I operate as a consultant and resource. I’ve been a big proponent of this work, because of the agency it builds. That doesn’t mean I don’t question the work and watch, try to guide and counsel on as needed basis. Yesterday was a day I questioned their work.

Our focus this year has been to research or follow your passion or what bothers you, and find a way to help make a difference in the world.

I encourage individual work, but many students gravitate toward group work. The trouble with groups is the possible reduction in personal agency and that strong personalities can dominate the group. Some kids get excluded. You know that kid: the kid who is “annoying,” the kid that doesn’t fit in.  This year, it seemed that students were working well together.

Ironically, trouble started in the “kindness project” group. I heard talk that was far from kind. They were saying and doing things that were exactly what they were preaching against.  This talk led me to stop the class half way through our time.

I asked students to put their work aside and write, persuade me, prove to me that Genius Hour time was worthwhile. All you could hear was the tapping of pens on the desk.

As an aside, they can write argument when it’s something they have a strong opinion about. Three reasons why with supporting evidence, introductions, conclusions and a fair amount of begging could be found in most letters. All done in ten minutes with no planning, prompts, charts or talk preceding their writing. Here’s a sampling of their big ideas:

It makes us feel like we are in charge; playing but working at the same time

I want to teach myself and share my thinking

It helps me with problems – I learn new things

I want to show others that we are geniuses and help other people

It inspires us to do more

We work hard on these projects, inside and outside the classroom

We are able to study things we want to learn in this world

It helps us learn things we didn’t know and helps us spread ideas to the world

It is a time for us to express our genius and stand up for what we believe in

The responses shined a light on why this is valuable time for students.  When I think back on what I have observed I note the troubles and the strengths. Some struggle to find focus and have switched projects. A lot of the work is done outside of class. Some of it was socializing and messy and loud. The trouble in groups happened, but the majority showed great team work and dedication to their work.

Reading through the responses, one piece stood out with a contrary and sobering point of view. “N” liked the time, but she also had the strength to stand up and say the opposite of the group:

I honestly don’t think we need to continue. I don’t know. I’m like, can we just read? I don’t like a loud room and I have things I like to do, but I think that most just want to be with friends.

At the bottom of the page, “N” wrote and then scratched out: “so I think if we do the Genius project….”  I wonder she had in mind.

This one student’s voice is true and indicative of something that needs to change. And maybe not just for her, but for others who need more quiet, focused and personally responsive time.

Providing students with Genius Hour time when time is in short supply, might be a dangerous move. It is not safe. It is possible that the majority are just saying what they think I want to hear to continue in this rather unstructured school time. With that said, I know there is thinking, reading and writing inspired by Genius Hour that has continued outside the classroom time. This is the type of work  we want our students to engage in. Independent, self propelled learning that is done for their own interests and not because a teacher told them to do it.

Genius Hour might  have times that are less than perfect, but it has gotten students to do work they otherwise wouldn’t have done.  The fact that my students feel they have “genius and stand up for what [they] believe in” is big. And that is exactly what “N” did when she apologized for not liking the noise and wanting to just read.

We have things to work out with our Genius Hour time, but isn’t that true for all things we do in the classroom. Things need to be worked on to meet the needs of all. Luckily the room is filled with genius, so it’s not all on me.

Thank you Anna, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Stacey and Tara at Two Writing Teachers for providing a space to share these slices of teaching life. A space to work out it out. Sometimes we just need to write. Read more slices here.

 

Slice of Life: Am I asking too much?

Today I had someone observing reading workshop. Afterwards, she said what I’m doing is challenging or maybe she said difficult. This made me wonder, am I asking too much?

Walking out to my car, I’m still thinking about this and start to kick myself for asking too much of students. More than they can do right now.

Then I remember the beginning of the day. “D” in the front looks back at his friend, and then points at the board.

What?  I look at the board.

He smiles and whispers, “Look, Genius Hour.”

“Yes!” whispers “C’ from behind.

I smile.

Genius Hour. They love it. In this one hour, students have the opportunity to create their own learning. The only constraint I give them is that their project needs to make a difference in the world. I tell them that they have an obligation to the world and themselves to give back and this is their time to do this work. That’s the major criteria. And students amaze me.

One group of students have taken up a passion project about bullying. I shared a few things I found on blogs, (thanks Michelle Haseltine and Pernille Ripp) and they were off and running. Kids I’d never imagine working together have become teammates, deciding tasks and carrying them out.

After class, “P” tells me she is writing letters to all the teachers, “Okay, Mrs. Harmatz?” And to think this coming from the girl who hates to write.

Lunchtime rolls around and I have a classroom full of students all working on their projects.  There is the endangered animal project, the Minecraft contingent and a group of passionate artists.  One student is researching why students don’t like to read (she does). I get fed a new fact or strategy on a daily basis. Honestly, she is really making me think.

Students come after school and stay as long as they can. They take the work home to work more on it. They blog about it. They think about it. They don’t forget the work at home. They greet me the next day with their findings and ask my opinion about next steps.

They are reading, writing, speaking, creating things that matter to them. If only every day could be Genius Hour day.

Is that asking too much?  If only school could bring out this passion everyday, then I couldn’t possibly ask too much.

Thank you to Anna, Beth, Betsy, Dana, Stacey and Tara at Two Writing Teachers Blog for hosting Slice of Life Tuesdays. Submit your own slice or read more slices here.

 

Celebrate: Fridays, Fresh and Clean, and a Bit of Nudging

A few quick celebrations today with Ruth Ayers and friends. Find more celebrations here.

1. Friday Netflix.

We don’t have television, only online streaming and videos. Shamefully, I love binging on a good series or several movies on a Friday night. I came home after a week of very long days and fell on the couch.  My husband is in charge of finding the entertainment. I watched/dozed through two dystopian movies and woke up for the romantic comedy.  A good way to end the night and start the weekend.

2. Clean car.

We had a smattering of rain recently. This combined with parking outside made for a very dirty car. I normally don’t notice or really care too much about this kind of thing, but when I am afraid to brush against it for fear of getting my clothes dirty, it’s time. Now it sits, bright and shinny in the garage.

3. Blue skies. See the blue reflecting in the window? Los Angeles is hot and desert-like these days. That is our reality. But sometimes we get very blue skies. Something to notice and celebrate.

4. New notebooks.

Our first semester ended yesterday.  The majority of students have almost filled the Reader’s Notebooks they got fifteen weeks ago. That in and of itself is worth celebrating. I used to give students new notebooks as they filled them, but this year so many are almost filled and most are really, really worn/torn, I figured let’s start out the new semester fresh with clean slates, new goals and beautiful notebooks.

5. Focused Genius Hour projects.

This is my second year of genius hour and I have learned a bit about nudging students in their work. Some students have problems finding ideas, others give up on ideas. While I don’t/can’t direct their work I try to steer it in ways I hope will work out for them. This year I wanted it to be passion based but directed at making the world a better place.  This has focused a lot of the work. When they come to me with their ideas I say, great. Now how will this help the world.  They have to think about that. How can their passion, be it video games, art, reading, or gymnastics, help someone other than themselves. Makes them think, research and plan.

Here’s one example of a group of Minecrafting students who are looking to teach us teachers how we can use it in our classrooms to help students learn. Really cool. Not sure what will come of it, but we all will be learning.

Happy weekend and to finding celebrations.

Celebrate: Possiblities

Celebrate this Week with Ruth Ayers is a ritual that I look forward to and for all week.  This process didn’t come naturally. I am one who tends to focus on the student I don’t reach, rather than the student I do.  So thank you Ruth for making me more attuned to celebrations, big and small. Read more celebrations here.

Today I celebrate possibilities.

First

“B” loves to read. It’s her passion. Her Genius Hour project is a to find out why do some kids not like to read. She researches, reads and takes notes. With each new finding she reports to me:

Mrs. Harmatz did you know…

…some kids’ brains develop differently and they have learning disabiiities

…40% of students struggle to read

…if a student is not reading on grade level by third grade, they may never catch up.  Mrs. Harmatz my brother is in 3rd grade!

But Mrs. Harmatz there are strategies I’ve found strategies!

…if you read aloud to your child

…if you have them write emails

…if you have them read books they love and then talk about the characters and their motivations

I have strategies Mrs. Harmatz!

Her passion is huge.

She tells me, I love to read about strategies to help kids learn to read.

I tell her, you love to read anything and everything.

I tell her, you need to share your learning.

She tells me, I want to be a teacher, Mrs. Harmatz.

It’s not hard to celebrate this student and her passion and hope she brings.

Second

Kind, hard working, inquisitive, and the ability to do the right thing when it wasn’t an easy choice are the qualities that come to mind when I think of this former student. He was in the 60%, a reader. I was not surprised to hear this week he is applying to college, and seeking a recommendation for his application to Harvard. Regardless of whether or not he gets accepted, this is huge. I celebrate this student who goes big.  Who reaches to places that I would not have dared as a 17-year old. For him there are no limits.

Third

“S” is struggling. His life is difficult. He has failed academically his entire life. He’s in that 40% that “B” is trying to understand. If I was to put a label on his disability I’d say dyslexic. But it’s not just that, there are other things that are in his way. Not sure what exactly, but we keep trying to find a way, “a strategy” to reach him. If I were to label the other part of his problem I’d say fear. Trying is scary. Why try and fail, again. He’s become an expert at trying for a little while and then giving up. Teachers get worn out, they have a whole classroom other than him. He’s learned that. A neat way to get around the painful process of trying. On Thursday we tried again. We created a plan and got what I thought was buy in.  He seemed excited, but the day one results were far less than I’d hoped for. Day two, I prompted a bit more and there was some improvement. While it is still far from what I know he can do, the improvement is there.  I celebrate this student’s tiny step towards trying.

 Four

A former student, now a seventh grader, stopped by on Wednesday. In fifth grade she was the poster girl for “YET.” Smart, sensitive, and learning disabled. She is in the 40% who struggle. I remember her saying, “reading is so hard, Mrs. Harmatz.” And it wasn’t just reading. Writing, and math were very hard. But she worked and she improved, but by the end of fifth grade she wasn’t there, yet. She gave one of our culmination speeches that year and in it she said, “reading is like a puzzle — you just have to put the pieces together.” This former student handed us a piece of writing on Wednesday that was shattering in content and form.Those pieces are clearly coming together, beautifully. Her YET is becoming NOW. I celebrate this student who has worked hard, been brave, and beaten the odds. She gives me hope for “S.”

It’s easy to see the bright futures for those in the 60%. But what about the 40%. The ones that might not catch up. There are times when it doesn’t seem possible. The road blocks are too big, too difficult to overcome. But when a former student comes back and shows you that yes it can be done, how can I doubt, or stop believing in possibilities, or stop trying. Today I’m learning from and looking up to my students who take take scary steps, have passion and belief, work hard against the odds, and dream big.

Celebrate: Five Things This Week

Celebrating this week with Ruth Ayres is a weekly ritual. Last week I missed it.  So here’s to catching up with five things to celebrate this week. Find more celebrations here.

ONE — My daughter passed her driving test. This means she is driving me to school, rather than the other way around. Strangely the added bonus here is time to catch up and have time with her. She appreciates the car and I appreciate the time. A good deal for both of us.

TWO — Our classroom Scholastic News magazine has finally come in and we are loving the weekly informational read. I can’t recommend this magazine enough. It does cost, but the high interest content and well designed articles adds up to perfect for informational text reading and mentor text for writing.

THREE — Student blogging is a huge bonus to our writing workshop. Students reading students’ writing makes the writing real and responsive. My students have been so fortunate to connect to the classroom blogs of teachers Erin Varley, Margaret Simon and Michelle Haseltine. So much learning going on and they love it!

@Mhaseltine @erinvarley @jarhartz My Ss are going to love this. They feel so famous.

— Margaret Simon (@MargaretGSimon) October 7, 2014

@Mhaseltine @jarhartz @MargaretGSimon From 1 of mySs,"miss varley, we NEED to find their blogs to write back" I totally agree-Keep us posted

— Erin Varley (@erinvarley) October 7, 2014

FOUR — Thursday Genius Hour time has become the place we work on passion projects: what we are passionate about or frustrated with. Many students are bothered by people being “mean” or “just not right.” This applies to people, animals, and their community.

One boy, who is usually very social, was sitting by himself during Genius Hour time. I walked over to him and asked what he was working on. He said it really bothered him how people act better than others. “It makes me feel bad.” To fight this he came up with the “Awesome Project” or how to make people feel awesome. He’s not quite sure how to do this but I love the idea.

Another group is writing a play to about bullying. Another group wants to fund a camp for kids who have challenges (they aren’t sure what challenges or how to fund it but that’s part of the process). There are groups that want to improve on Mindcraft, perhaps letters to the developer.

Many thanks to Joy Kirr and her genius hour treasure trove of resources. If you have any interest in doing this kind of work, click here.

FIVE — Parent conferences are in full swing.   While there is so much to cover and it is stressful, today I want to celebrate the huge value these conferences bring to teachers. Hearing parents’ concerns and students thoughts offer a surprising opportunity for assessment. In one conference I asked,

Me -So tell us about your reading.

S – Half and half.

Me – So what’s one half?

S – I half struggle and half get it.

Me – Say more.

S – In Huck Finn I got it, it was good. But in Tuck Everlasting I struggled.

In the end, we talked about what the struggle was specifically, how often this happens and what to do about this. Just like teaching, I’m realizing my whole positioning on parent conferences need to be reorganized in my brain: less on me telling more on me listening.

Happy weekend!

 

 

 

Celebrating the First Two Weeks of School: Wild Reading and Writing Genius

Time to celebrate the week with Ruth Ayres! Link up and celebrate your week here.

The second week of school is done and i have to admit my mind is a little scrambled by the process of sorting out my two classrooms. Getting to know them is a crazy process. Honoring each person for who they are, and then understanding how they all fit together with you is a challenge, but at the same time quite wonderful. So first I must celebrate that process. With all of it’s messiness, the stories I’m learning and the stories we are creating.

We started Genius Hour work on Thursday. First we defined genius as the act of solving a problem in a way that no one has done before. That a genius looks at something that others are stuck on, and gets the world unstuck. How we all have an obligation to share our gifts and genius with the world. To “mine” our genius we listed what we love, something we could do forever never get bored. Then we listed what bothered us, things that we saw around us that just weren’t right in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Such an interesting way to find out what matters and what troubles them. It’s also a fantastic way to activate the idea that they can and they need to take charge of their lives; that they can do something and create their lives.  Today I celebrate my 59 geniuses and Joy Kirr’s amazing resources that helped me introduce this thinking. Find the link here.

This week we started setting up reading partnerships. When I say we, I really should say “they.” I started conversations with individuals asking about their reading lives that included their partnership history. Most have a keen knowledge of who was a good partner for them, so I let them lead me to the beginnings of this work in our classroom. It takes time. More time than some were willing to tolerate. Wednesday morning, in between reading conferences, I looked around the classroom and noticed students (who haven’t been officially partnered up) sitting beside each other with same books.  Tired of waiting for their turn with me they just did it.  I celebrate these wild readers taking charge of their reading lives.

I want to celebrate 15 minutes of just writing. Every day, at the beginning of our day,  we just write. There are no rules except to write. It’s now a practice.  After writing we share our strategies and our growth we found while writing. Here are a few ways we find our writing:

Reflect on yesterday

Notice what is around us

Find ideas in our writing to write more about

Wonder why

Be inspired by other’s writing

Draw, doodle

Finally, I celebrate Saturday mornings that allow the time to collect the pieces of the week that are truly wonderful.

 

Celebrating Choice!

Time to celebrate the week with Ruth Ayers! Thank you Ruth for this great ritual. Read more and contribute your celebration here.

This week I am celebrating choice. All year we have worked to include as much choice as possible into the school day. There really isn’t much choice for kids. Teachers and parents control their lives. At school, bells signal went they play, eat and go home. . Yet at a point we want them to have “agency,” to make good choices for themselves. It’s unfair to think they can make these choices, unless we give them the opportunity to try and possibly fail. Choice that could lead to a good or a bad result. A choice they’d have to live with.

This week was the last week of school for my 5th graders, and they made some very good choices. Some of the choices were seemingly small and some were bigger. Some were personal and some were group decisions.  I am proud of the choices they made,but also proud we teachers allowed choice.

One: During the last weeks of school we have a crazy schedule, so structure tended to be a little loose. My students didn’t have enough time  for both reading and writing, so I let them choose: poetry, blogging, reading the just released Julian Chapter from Wonder on the iPads or reading a book of their choice. It was pure joy to watch them go to what they wanted for as long as they wanted and then if they wanted, switch to something else when they wanted. One student (a struggling reader) said if given pure choice in reading she could read all day. Interesting and worth taking her up on.  I do give students choice with reading and writing, but  within the genre or unit we are studying. So the choice isn’t really complete.Perhaps those strugglers we need room for more choice to build that capacity for the genre study we attempt. Perhaps next year we should do this more often.

Poetry books and blogging

Reading the Julian Chapter

 Two:  Every year at culmination we choose students to give culmination speeches. This year we let the students choose. The entire class heard speeches of students who wanted to present and then voted by secret ballot. I’ll admit I feared it would be a popularity contest. We told them to choose two speeches that they felt would represent them well.  In the end, students made great selections, but more importantly they gave reasons for their choices.

It made me want to cry.

It made me laugh.

It sounded like a speech.

It was like a conversation with the audience.

Three. There was one student who was especially sad about not being chosen. Truth be told, she was writing it as she listened to others present, so her speech, which could have been good wasn’t.  Interestingly, even though she was not chosen to speak, she chose to write a speech  She shared it the day after culmination. We  commended her on not letting the loss stop her from still writing and giving that speech she wanted to give. While she didn’t get to share it with the culminating class,she shared it on our blog.

Four: The day after culmination we always go to the park next door to play games. The first part of the time is free play. This class all chose to play games together without any instruction or refereeing by an adult. They played, made sure it was fair, listened to each other and could have gone as long as water was available. They chose to play and play well together.

 Five: After free play we played team games that they’ve never experienced. “Old fashioned” completely entertaining games: shoe relays, tug of war, and sack races. No choice here except to have fun.

Six: After school on the last day of school, some students chose to stay with me. They read, went on the iPads, wrote poetry. Some helped me put books away. Some chose their favorite poem copied from books posted on the wall. One took her favorite chart. One student told me the best things about being in fifth grade were 1) genius hour, 2) read aloud, 3) the Catalina Island field trip, and 4) Colonial Fair. I asked him why and he gave me the best and most logical answer:

Because they were all really fun.

Happy weekend, and for some happy summer!

 

 

 

Slice of Life Day 15 and 5 Things to Celebrate

Today my post serves a dual purpose. One to celebrate the week with those who contribute to Ruth Ayres’ Celebration blog.

And two, this is my 15th slice in the March Slice of Life Challenge hosted by Two Writing Teachers.  Check out more slices here.

Friday was full of celebrations.

Can you see the feather hanging from his whisker?

One. I was sitting at the dining room table this morning, when out of the corner of my eye I see my cat playing with something. He does this, sometimes with a dust bunny or a shadow. Next thing I know, he’s on the window sill with a bird in his mouth. Somehow this bird got in the house (something the cat dragged in?). I jump up and grab the cat, walk out on the porch, and shake. Cat opens mouth and bird flutters off. An innocent is saved..

Two: Students finished and “mailed” their letters to the principal on whether or not chocolate milk should be served in schools. This was our first attempt at TCRWP’s argument research essay unit of study.  We’ve debated, researched, and read. Unfortunately from my adult perspective, the majority of students wanted chocolate milk. Right before we published our letter, we played the “it’s awesome, it stinks” game (see this post on how my staff played the “it’s awesome, it sucks” version of this). This activity actually moved some pro-chocolate milk folks to the anti-chocolate milk side. A really interesting way for kids to “hear” opposing points of view.

Three. Students have been making music and stop motion videos in Genius Hour. The Novation app helped one student create a track that played throughout GH time. The hypnotic beat  kept this usually loud time relatively quiet.  Stopmotion video has also motivated students to try make story videos.  Kids come in at recess and stay after school to work with these creation tools. Thank you Animation Chefs for inspiration and direction in these passion projects.

Four: We have a volunteer group of parents who teach students art projects throughout  the year. In this project we created decoupage books. We used pages ripped from Harry Potter books, clay to give the 3D effect and decoupage glue to create these works of art.

Five. I’ve made it to the half way point (almost) of the March Slice of Life Challenge. When I first heard of this, it seemed daunting. The reality has been inspiring and instructive. I’ve learned about so much about myself, and others in the community; about my “go to” writing areas and realized there are places where I’m a little hesitant to venture. I’m hoping that in the next 16 days I’ll inch a little closer to those uncomfortable spots; stepping a little further every day.

Thank you Ruth, Tara, Anna, Dana, Stacey,  Betsy  and Beth for creating the blogging spaces to learn and connect.