after 3 days of conferences with parents
sharing stories of each child’s gifts
i’m all talked out
but really loved the conversations.
—
“we are all gifted, that is our inheritance.”
-ethel waters
—
photo credit: bbc earth
Nov4
Tag Archives: stories
Oct4
“believe nothing you hear and only one half that you see.” – edgar allan poe
remember when
you heard all those scary stories in the dark?
where you looked in your rearview mirror and saw
the man with the hook/claw/bones in your backseat?
think maybe i should wave this driver over to warn him?
—
“the thing I hate most about skeletons is you can never tell when they’re smiling.”
-stephen blackmoore, american author
Sep13
story about the stories.
on this special day
i brought out
an old treasured story
written by
my former student, nicole
who i taught for grades k-2
(in a school where we were known by our first names)
a story about me sharing stories
made me cry happy tears to read
how much she enjoyed the stories
what ginormous heaps of praise
from a fellow roald dahl fan.
—
happy roald dahl story day!!
—
“words are our most inexhaustible source of magic.”
-albus dumbledore (j.k. rowling, harry potter series)
Jul8
tracks.
young girl in her finery
waits her turn to perform
at the grand traverse band of
ottawa and chippewa indians pow wow.
a beautiful display of
dance and drumming
from days gone by.
—
“we will be known forever by the tracks we leave.”
– Dakota Tribe
—
traverse city, michigan, usa – summer 2022
Presented by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. See the colorful display of the dance and drumming from days gone by. Taste Native American …
Jun17
round the corner.
i love this gate
left as it was
full of wonder
and
all the stories
of those who passed through it
—
“still round the corner there may wait, a new road or a secret gate.”
-J. R. R. Tolkien
Feb23
common ground.
my class has recently become enamored with a giant box of dinos
they play with them every day
create wildly imaginative scenarios
ask questions about real dinos
reassure me that the ones in our room are not real
one day when playing, a child asked
“would they wear masks if they were alive now?”
another jumped up to say
“never, ever, ever, ever, try to put a mask on a t-rex!!!!”
and an instant class book was born
what a brilliant title
others jumped in to offer reasons why you shouldn’t try to mask one
brainstorming was in full swing
some became illustrators
it is a fascinating and funny work in progress.
dinos may have left the earth forever, but books will never die.
—
“stories are the common ground that allow people to connect, despite all our defenses and all our differences.”
-kate forsyth
Jan14
plug in.
my wall plug looks quite content
and has a story to tell.
—
“it seemed to me at an early age that all human communication-
whether it’s tv, movies, books –
begins with somebody wanting to tell a story.
that need to tell, to plug into a universal socket,
is probably one of our grandest desires. and the need to hear stories,
to live lives other than our own for even the briefest moment,
is the key to the magic that was born in our bones.”
-robert r. mccammon
Jun11
art houses.
the wizard house
the purple house with the sun
—
so many stories here
—
“every spirit makes its house,
and we can give a shrewd guess from the house to the inhabitant.”
-ralph waldo emerson
—
images: Ann Arbor, Michigan – Traverse City, Michigan
Mar6
believe.
spring conferences
a time for
sharing stories
of children and family.
“behind every young child who believes in himself is a parent who believed first.”
-matthew jacobson
—
image credit: animalchannel.com
Oct23
nailed it.
I stopped by a new nail salon on my way home from school today
where I met a nail tech from Cambodia
we had a bit of a hard time understanding each other
but had a mostly unspoken friendly rapport between us
the rain started pouring down really hard outside
I noticed I was the only customer in the whole salon
and the hallmark channel was on
showing holiday tv movies
with subtitles
the whole staff was watching
I had come just in time for the last 15 minutes of the current movie
where the man and woman met again
right before she was almost leaving town to go home forever
and he had decided to stay and not go to the big city
a special dog was found, it was Christmas Eve, in a small town,
with a big misunderstanding, the whole town was at one event
somehow it all suddenly came together and worked out
and as the final scene played out on screen
my nail guy stood up smiling and nodding with tears in his eyes
looking around at his co-workers and down at me
and it made me tear up and smile too
as we had found our common ground.
—
“anyway, stories bring us together to find common ground, to find our way through life together, or just to entertain us, and I am just thrilled to be a part of that process.”
-dorothea benton frank
—
image credit: pinterest
I didn't have my glasses on.... 