#SOLSC15 Day 21

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

                                                              
This is also doubling as a celebration post!!
Ruth Ayers invites us to participate in a Celebrate Link-Up on Saturdays. Click here to see what others are celebrating and maybe join in yourself, too! 
                              

Teachers United

Today I celebrate the amazing feeling of being united with fellow educators. I'll get the same in a week when I show up to Columbia University at Teachers College for the Saturday Reunion.

Thursday night, I spent time with some amazing co-workers. In New York State we have a big mess on our hands with our governor. Public education across our nation is being attacked and we aren't siting around any more.

It was so incredible to be in the midst of a sea of committed, passionate colleagues.

Some I knew...

 And some I didn't.

But at the end of the day, we know one thing is certain:

#SOLSC15 Day20

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

                                                              

(Inspired by  Leigh Anne's post from Wednesday)

Yesterday I modified this to describe my best friend since it was her birthday. Today I thought I'd use it to describe me :-)

i am passionate about....well... everything 

i keep handwritten cards, mementos, and notes to myself

i wish i could document everything about my boys because I love this time in my life 
i love jewelry, shoes, purses, bags, my dog, books, and music

i dance whenever given an opportunity-or I will create the opportunity if it is not there ;)

i sing along to P!nk, The Script, Kelly Clarkson, Imagine Dragons, OAR, Keith Urban...

i think I'm spending too much time on work this year, but feel so addicted

i really must confess that I love to watch Mob Wives 

i need to get back to scheduling date nights with my hubby

i should put my phone down more often (I'm working on this)

i can see through the messy lines of conflict

i like to host game nights and have people in my home

i make a great Common Core 'tini 

i always wanted to join a hockey team

#SOLSC15 Day 19

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

                                                              

(slightly modified from Leigh Anne's post yesterday to fit my description of my best friend)

My Best Friend...

is my opposite twin

keeps me grounded

wishes we had less miles in between us

loves my family as if it were her own

dances into my day when I need it most

sings my praises 

thinks simplicity is best

really knows my roots

needs to be spoiled 

should be on her way to NY in about 10 days!

can predict my actions, thoughts, and words

likes to keep it real (which makes me laugh)

makes herself at home (something only true friends can do)

always will have my story

(and I'm adding one)

gets me

Today I celebrate Jessica, her birthday, and our 30 years of friendship. 

#SOLSC15 Day 18

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

 My Love/Hate Relationship with Technology

On Monday, a brilliant idea popped into my head on the way back from Kindergarten. I don't even realize it, but I'm always thinking of ideas to support our teachers even when I think I'm focused on other things. 

Each day I teach for an hour in our Kindergarten intervention program. As I walked down the hallway on Monday to return to my classroom/office, it came to me.

This year our district adopted a phonological assessment at K and 1 to be administered in the Fall, Winter, and Spring. It is an area of our instruction that we've been working really hard at improving. We've spent some time professionally developing our staff, we've worked in a study group together, and we continue to meet as grade levels to work on Action Plans using data from our assessments. After our Winter scores came out, we were happy with the growth, but had not stacked up to well when compared to the other four elementary schools. Disheartening to say the least, but we didn't give up. Since then, we've kicked things up a notch and are tightening up our instruction. 

That's when the Movenote idea popped into my head. As literacy coach, I could use Movenote to send a demo lesson each week to our K and 1 teachers. Our district is in the process of piloting Fundations. Up until now, we've been using a combination of Words Their Way, F&P, Systematic Phonics and Making Words lessons. From now until the end of the year, we committed as a group to using the F&P Phonics Lessons. It is hard for some teachers to get into the mindset that this resource doesn't have to be so time intensive after all. We can work smarter, not harder. Before becoming literacy coach, I spent the last four years using it in my classroom and absolutely loved it. I've used the 1st and 2nd grade one and now this year I've gotten a chance to use the K one. Again, I love this resource.

So, in an effort to make things a little easier on the teachers, I decided I'd try to make a Movenote showing a sample lesson that supports one of our subsets on the phonological assessment. I set up an account and waited for an account verification email. Ten minutes later it arrived. I was a bit annoyed it was instantaneously in my inbox, but I carried on. (We are a society of instant rewards, aren't we? Yikes). Then, I videoed myself highlighting the lesson features and when I went to send it, it was gone. Frustrated I called upon my principal and Library Media Specialist to help. We couldn't figure it out over the phone so after misplacing my F&P book, I spent 20 minutes trying to regroup and look for my book.  I decided I'd have to video it all over. This time I couldn't get it to share or upload. After walking away, driving home, and trying it again I was able to make it happen. Finally I sent it out.  Phew!

Hoping this will be a helpful way to save our teachers time, model how to use a new resource, and support our efforts with improving our phonological instruction with the help of technology.

I love to take advantage of technology, but sometimes it requires a lot of patience. What I could of had done in 10 minutes on my iPhone video took me an hour to sort out.




                           

#SOLSC15 Day 17

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

                                                              

Learning to Think Ahead

Last year I drove all over Rochester ON St. Patrick's Day to look for gold coins because my son came home from preschool the day before shouting "Leprechauns left us gold at preschool and I think they are coming to our house." Uh--what??? I'm all for fun and games, but preschool just upped the ante without any prior notice. So, after a long hunt around town for coins I finally found foil wrapped Easter egg chocolates from a specialty chocolate shop. I way overpaid and I had to sift through the bag carefully choosing only the golden eggs.

This year? Well, let's just say I'm prepared. I found golden wrapped chocolate coins in December and didn't even think twice about stocking up for the St. Patrick's Day holiday. At school kids are already talking about the excitement that ensues after leprechauns have been around messing up their house or rooms or even dying the toilet water green. That is a bit high maintenance for me. 

Now, I must admit, even with my Irish heritage, I didn't grow up with these traditions and I am not sure what to think about these leprechauns leaving gold coins around. But, hey, a little extra chocolate never hurts :) And...it is much more relaxing and fun this year now that I've learned to think ahead.

                                                 

#SOLSC15 Day 16

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

                                                              
My parents invited us over last night for our annual Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner. We weren't sure we could fit this tradition in on Tuesday this year, so we made a plan for yesterday. It was amazing.

My cousins came and we relished in some after dinner talk. We were catching up about our week, laughing, and discussing the St. Patrick's Day holiday that is fast approaching. This prompted a discussion about our heritage. My mom was able to tell me that my great, great grandmother (Margaret) and my great, great grandfather (Patrick) came over from Ireland and then she dropped this...we have his citizenship papers.

So, my mom and I ran to dig through their files and we found it!

                                                         

We noticed that he was granted citizenship in 1880 so that meant that he must of came to the United States a short time before.  I then went to Ellis Island online and found several by his name, but nothing before 1880. So, this left us with some questions. I learned on this site that Ellis Island was the reception point from 1892, so I wonder if that is why we couldn't find him within the online information at Ellis Island? I did find my paternal grandparents' from Italy, so that was pretty neat.

This all felt like an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? and it makes me curious enough to keep learning about the rest of my heritage. Last year I started a picture collage in my dining room and, although it is a big project, I realized that I need to keep working on it.

Who knew such a great dinner would lead to uncovering this citizenship paperwork. I never knew my parents had it! 

#SOLSC15 Day 15

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

 

Last night my husband, Mark, was helping my two boys settle on a television show. Next thing I know, Mark is all engrossed in some show. I think to myself, "Great. I just lost all of them to screen time." Come to find out, Mark had stumbled on something from his childhood, The Super Mario Brothers Super Show. They were all glued to the TV and loving it. I have to admit, it was a sweet moment. A dad, his boys, and a childhood memory.

It got me thinking...what was my favorite show? I ran through a list in my head:
Captain Kangaroo
Zoobilee Zoo
Reading Rainbow
Charles In Charge
Newhart
Life Goes On
Mr. Roger's Neighborhood
PeeWee's Playhouse
The Elephant Show
Bewitched

When all of a sudden I looked up at the show my husband was watching with the kids and saw Winnie Cooper! Then, I settled on it.

The Wonder Years. 

The Wonder Years was my favorite show as a kid. I remember hoping it was on TV if I was home sick. I remember stretching out on the couch after dinner and waiting for that song...

I loved watching Kevin go through common kid struggles. I hated his brother. I loved Winnie. Then there was the mother who tried holding onto typical American family traditions within a dysfunctional family. The father who ruled with a fist and a bad attitude, but at the end of the day, he loved his family. Yes. The Wonder Years. I began going through You Tube clips, listening, laughing, remembering. I came across the the last show and watched with tear-filled eyes all these year later.

I end this post with the monologue from the last show because it has that warm, cozy feeling and brings me right back to that place in my childhood.

Once upon a time, there was a girl I knew who lived across the street.  Brown hair, brown eyes.  When she smiled, I smiled.  When she cried, I cried.  Every single thing that ever happened to me that mattered, in some way, had to do with her.  That day, Winnie and I promised each other that, no matter what, that we'd always be together.  It was a promise full of passion, and truth, and wisdom.  It was the kind of promise that could only come from the hearts of the very young.

The next day Winnie and I came home, back to where we'd started.  It was the fourth of July in that little suburban town. Somehow, though, things were different.  Our past was here, but our future was somewhere else. And we both knew, sooner or later, we had to go.  It was the last July I ever spent in that town.  The next year after graduation, I was on my way.  So was Paul.  He went to Harvard, of course, studied law.  He's still allergic to everything.  As for my father, well...we patched things up.  Hey, we were family, for better or worse. One for all...and all for one.  

Karen's son was born that September.  I gotta say, I think he looks like me.  Poor kid.  Mom, she did well.  Businesswoman, board chairman, grandmother, cooker of mashed potatoes.  The Wayner stayed on in furniture.  Wood seemed to suit him.  In fact, he took over the factory two years later, when Dad passed away. Winnie left the next summer to study art history in Paris.  Still we never forgot our promise.  We wrote to each other once a week for the next eight years.  I was there to meet her when she came home...with my wife, and my first son, eight months old. 

Like I said, things never turn out exactly the way you planned.  

Growing up happens in a heartbeat.  One day you're in diapers, next day you're gone.  But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul.  I remember a place, a town, a house...like a lot of houses.  A yard like a lot of other yards, on a street like a lot of other streets.  And the thing is, after all these YEARS, I still look back...with WONDER.