This morning I listened to Maureen Barbieri interview Shelley Harwayne about her new book, Above and Beyond the Writing Workshop. I was so inspired listening to Harwayne talk about wanting to find a way for teachers and students to reclaim the joy of writing workshop as it was initially envisioned and practiced. Harwayne’s new book, Read more

I’ve been thinking a lot about why I felt such relief at the end of the day yesterday. Why did I feel my body relax when my dentist appointment was done and the cleaner finished cleaning my house? Maybe because I don’t like going to the dentist or the doctor for anything (and I’m anticipating Read more

As this week winds down so does my Spring Break. Today was reserved for dentist appointments and to get the house professionally cleaned. Tomorrow it’s hair and mani-pedi appointments. And, on the weekend I’ll be taking some time for planning. But I’ll also go out for breakfast with my son and get a little bit Read more

Today I got together with some friends that I haven’t seen since the fall. We met about 15 years ago as new hires in one of the Spanish bilingual schools here in Calgary. Since then we’ve taught at several different schools in the city. Of the five of us there today (three from the original Read more

The grey of the sky feels flat and dreary and sad. Glad this day is almost done. Cross posted to the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Read more

Today I went to lunch with a teacher friend. She is someone I didn’t connect with when I first met her and, unfortunately, I didn’t hide my feelings very well. But maybe that was for the best because one day she confronted me and we agreed to talk. I told her that I was feeling Read more

Today was a lazy day. A day to read a romance novel. A day to lounge around in my PJ’s. A day to catch up on commenting on SOL posts. A day to watch TV – nothing too heavy. A day to get up late and go to bed early. Today was a lazy day. Read more

I don’t often write about my parents. The memories are too painful and maybe not for the reasons you may think. I had (have) a complicated relationship with my parents, especially with my mother. My father passed away more than 10 years ago and my mother left us in the middle of the pandemic. But Read more

Today I spoke up at our staff meeting about another system-wide initiative we are being told to do. On top of the testing and recording of the results that also has to be done to determine if “intervention” money – targeted at closing learning “gaps” due to COVID – was well spent. Plus all the Read more

Another short and sweet post… One more sleep until Spring Break. I can’t believe I made it this far. I’m looking forward to some rest and also to getting some things done. I want to get out of the house every day. To walk. To run errands. To browse in a bookstore and the library. Read more