We've posted quite a bit about having one little word to live by since we began blogging in 2007. If you're unfamiliar with the idea of one little word, then type "one little word" into the search bar on the top right of this blog and you'll find a bunch of posts that explain it… Continue reading One Little Word
Merry Christmas
Around our house we've been preparing for Christmas. For weeks we have been celebrating advent, keeping our eyes on the meanings of this holy season. We named our four advent candles: kindness, respect, gratitude, and compassion. We looked for needs and found ways we could fill them. In this world, where Christmas is as much… Continue reading Merry Christmas
Share this:
Share this:
My Latest Writing Project: A Blessing
Yesterday I read an incredible blog post by Edgar M. Bronfman in The Washington Post's "On Faith" section. I believe Bronfman's article, "Create a holy Hanukkah," was penned with the sole purpose to encourage North American Jews to think more deeply about the gifts we choose to give our children on Chanukah. Rather than summarize… Continue reading My Latest Writing Project: A Blessing
Share this:
Share this:
Happy Chanukah + a Book Giveaway
There are no shortage of books on Chanukah. Despite the fact that Chanukah is not one of the major Jewish holidays, there are lots of books, some of which aren't so good, written about the holiday. I suppose it's because Chanukah almost always begins in December and sometimes overlaps with Christmas (like it does this… Continue reading Happy Chanukah + a Book Giveaway
Share this:
Share this:
SOLSC
Share this:
Share this:
The Book Stack…
Or maybe this post should be called: "The Book Stack?" with a big bold question mark. Seriously, I have stacks and stacks and stacks of books we've read, books we want to read, and books we are reading again and again. The problem is getting them from the stack to the blog. (Which is a… Continue reading The Book Stack…
Share this:
Share this:
A Special Visit
The more things change, the more they stay the same. --Alphonse Karr Last Saturday my cousin got Bar Mitzvahed in New York. I tacked-on a few extra days to my weekend away so Isabelle and I could spend some time with my parents. In addition to spending lots of time with family this past weekend… Continue reading A Special Visit
Share this:
Share this:
Want to hear some thoughts about celebrations?
Recently Franki Sibberson interviewed me about the importance of writing celebrations. It was posted on Choice Literacy this week and you can listen here. While there, sign up to receive the Choice Literacy newsletter. Choice Literacy is one of my go-to sources to stay up to date with the current thinking in literacy education, as… Continue reading Want to hear some thoughts about celebrations?
Share this:
Share this:
The Carpenter’s Gift Giveaway Announcement
Many thanks to Random House for sponsoring this giveaway. Tracy Austin will receive a copy of The Carpenter's Gift by David Rubel. If you missed the original post about this incredible book, then click here to read it now.
Share this:
Share this:
SOLSC
Share this:
Share this:
Writing Groups + Classrooms
My writing group is an important part of my life as a writer. It's more than just accountability, but feedback and camaraderie and, well, if I'm super honest, fun. When I was a classroom teacher, I didn't do a very good job of establishing writing groups, or crit partners, for my students. I see now they were… Continue reading Writing Groups + Classrooms
Share this:
Share this:
I’ve been studying sentence structure…
I was watching or listening or reading something this week --- I don't remember what -- but the message was: You can't be a writer if you're not a reader. True. (And probably the reason I don't remember who said it since this little tid-bit is fairly common knowledge.) The person went on to say:… Continue reading I’ve been studying sentence structure…
