Friday Favorites

Unfortunately I don’t have a photo from Favorite #1. Christy Rush-Levine and I met for a walk + dinner on Tuesday. Christy is one of those people who help me feel grounded and real.

Favorite #2: Earlier this week Brenda Power from Choice Literacy visited Deb Gaby and me at school. As always, Brenda fuels me. She makes me believe I matter and my work is worthwhile. It was an absolute joy to have Brenda visited. However, Cathy made my enthusiasm seem meager. She was overjoyed to meet Brenda and nearly melted when I suggested a photo. Cathy’s excitement made everyone laugh together. Cathy reminded me, as she often does, that it’s okay to be exuberant!

Favorite #3: Keith Bollman’s fifth graders designed a tour of the solar system. Working together, this remarkable class planned the tour. This week we have been out of internet (not so much a Friday fav). Rather than giving up, they came up with a plan to carry on despite the unexpected change in plans. Today they used print sources, worked on memorizing their speeches, and considered the designs of their exhibits. It’s the kind of class who gives you energy.

Favorite #4: I enjoyed getting to know Megan Truax and Noor Shammas (as well as the rest of the staff!) at Southbury School in Illinois. (If you missed Noor’s guest post, just click here. On Wednesday, she made a plan on how to celebrate the biography unit.) It is so much fun to meet new people, but I’m always humbled when they want to take a photo together. It just seems so surreal to me.

Favorite #5: This book from a Southbury first grader in Jessica Fisher’s classroom made me smile. It is called Fun Dad. The writer was a hoot — the kind of young writer you could talk with for days and learn from, be inspired by, laugh with, and want to teach forever. She said, “It’s an I-Read-To-You-And-You-Read-To-Me book.” Her words are in pink and her dad’s words are in blue. She is in the midst of writing this book, so we only get one page.

Favorite #6: And, finally, a quote that is speaking to me…

“I believe God embedded the miraculous in the ordinary, and it is our task to discover and celebrate it.” 

— Kent Nerburn