Sunshine Response

Thank you Leigh Ann for considering my blog. Part of my goal is to continue to write more and this is a nudge in that direction.

11 Tidbits 
1. I am a native Floridian.

2. Two of the bookshelves in my house that I built are as tall and wide as I can reach and totally overflowing

3. I live a charmed life.

4. I love to dance.  

5. I love\collect Fiestaware and would love to visit the factory.
6. I often describe myself as a 14 year old which is why I think freshman are my favorite students to teach.
7. I know you cannot thrive without hope.
8. I am part mermaid which is why I must plunge into a body of water more often than most.
9. I am a Knighted-Gator. I coined the term after I earned my doctorate at UCF after having earned my bachelors' and masters' at UF.
10. I also describe myself as a bionic-zombie as I have an artificial pancreas aka my insulin pump and a cadaver tendon for my ACL.
11. Love reading, but working on better myself as a writer.

My 11 Questions

1.  What is the best gift you have ever given?  A family trip to Alaska. It took me a little while to pay for it, but the memories are a gift I carry when times are hard.

2.  What is the one thing you would change about yourself?  I would make myself a little more selfish about my time so that I could better self-care with exercise and nutrition to manage my chronic disease. I try to work on this every day.

3.  Which teacher had the biggest influence on you and why?   I have been blessed by many amazing teachers. It is hard to choose, but my most influential teacher is my daughter.

4.  What do you see yourself doing 10 years from now? I still see myself in the field of education perhaps working full-time at a college in a teacher education program.

5.  What is your most favorite teaching moment?  If not a teacher, family moment?

The arrival of the book fairies. Our ELA/reading team did it during homecoming for Out of this World day. I was amazed by the students' reactions, especially by the reaction of the IND students. 

6.  Hot drink or cold drink?  I love hot, but in Florida more often than not need the icy icy coolness of a cold drink.

7.  What are you passionate about? Life  

8.  What are you reading currently? Have finished several in the past few days of vacay but am currently reading a YA book, Gorgeous by Paul Rudnik and The Inventor by .

9.  Which season do you like the best and why? Summer- I love spring hopping and exploring new springs to jump in and cool off.

10.  Did you have a favorite outfit as a kid and what did it look like? Not that I remember! Though my mother loved to buy fancy matching holiday dresses for my younger sister and I to wear.

11.  How/why did you start blogging? I started blogging as a way to capture my musings about my personal and professional life to connect and support educators and diabetics. 

Bloggers that I enjoy:

Lee Ann who inspired me to blog @ http://portable-teacher.blogspot.com/
Krystin who is a developing blogger @http://usingthewholedancefloor.wordpress.com
Lee Corey who blogs from afar @ http://readerlee.blogspot.com/
Kelly @ http://diabetesaliciousness.blogspot.com
Scott Johnson @ http://scottsdiabetes.com

I have some others that I will add.

11 Questions

1. Favorite book?

2. Most sumptuous meal?

3. Must-stop & see in your hometown?

4. Age inside (see Tidbit # 6 for more explanation)?
5. Savory or Sweet?
6. Most memorable vacay?
7. Birth order?
8. Introvert, Extrovert, or Ambivert?
9. Paper or Plastic (reading material)? 
10. One Indulgence?
11. One question you would answer that I haven't asked?

Last Slice for 2013: OWL Reflection

This year my word was brave...

One thing I know for sure is that bravery shows up in unexpected places...
My word took me to many places. I chose it knowing that many changes were in store for me in 2013, little did I know how many were actually in store.  The fall
was my most challenging, both professionally and personally.  You know you are in a rough place at work when you are counting the days that you haven't cried and you realize that there are less of those than the other.  My one little word project also ended up being a study of bravery in others such as my new principal braving the demands of our school or my aunt braving her battle with leukemia.

I have also marked small acts of bravery by

• completing my 1st half marathon
• jumping off the 30 ft platform into the spring
• committing fully to my ACL recovery and not doing anything stupid
• publishing for the 1st time

I have not quite figured out my one little word for next year, but am looking forward to the unexpected journey that one word will take me.

Books with fictional brave women that I have enjoyed reading this year...

 

It's Monday What Are You Reading: Southern YA Writers

What have I been reading? The works of young adult writers from the South.  I was excited this past fall when I was asked to chair a panel for ALAN 2013, especially when I saw Beth Revis as a featured author, but imagine my delight when I was introduced to 3 other amazing YA authors who are of the South, Myra McEntire, Alan Gratz, and newcomer, Shannon Hitchcock. Aside from their background, time, the intersection of past, present, and future connects these authors' works. It is especially fitting to share these works as I look over the Appalachian mountains that inspired or are part of the setting for these books during my winter break.

Beth Revis, author of Across the Universe, has penned a trilogy about two teens and their journey across space.  Though it is not set in the South it draws from her experience in the South especially the walls that confine.  You might integrate this series as part of a STEM program.  You also might pair it with Julius Caesar.  We used it as summer reading for our juniors this past year.  I can't wait to see what else this author writes.

 

The Ballad of Jesse Pearl by Shannon Hitchcock spins a tale of the past.  If you were 14 and handed your sister's son to take care of, would you rise to the occasion?  Shannon Hitchcock paints a vivid picture of life as a teenager during the age of tuberculosis.  How do you let someone go?  You might use this book during a study of the twenties. 

The English teacher in me was immediately in love with Horatio, the main character in Alan Gratz's mystery series that interweaves the tales of the world's most famous bard.  Something Rotten set in the foothills of Tennessee.  I am eagerly awaiting the release of The League of Seven in August 2014.

The web of time with the backdrop of Nashville creates an air of mystery around Emerson Cole, an orphan.  Myra McEntire weaves scenes from the past, modern time and time travel and to reveal Emerson's talent of seeing people n Hourglass.  Emerson finds, however, that she is not alone in her skills.  This story is the first in the trilogy, which I am still working my way through.

My view of the Smoky mountains, the backdrop of these books.
Happy Reading

Feeling Blue!

What are you doing this month? Can you find 14-20 minutes to spare each day? For yourself? Just to move? October 14th was the kick-off for the Big Blue test and it lasts until November 14th. Log your workout minutes each day at the website http://bigbluetest.org/.  The goal this year is to have at least 20,000 people log their minutes and $10,000 dollars will be donated to nonprofit research to find a cure. You can even download an app to mark your minutes. I was reminded about the importance of exercise after receiving my A1C today.  It wasn't good.

Managing Type 1 diabetes hinges on three components, exercise, diet,and insulin. I have been sidelined from working out since July 22nd when I had ACL surgery. I have been managing my food intake closely in order to offset my lack of motion. I didn't account for my need for extra insulin. In fact, I know that I threw away at least three bottles of insulin thinking they had gone bad.  (It's not hard to do in Florida during the summer!) I realized today that I needed to change my basal rate---it didn't happen because I realized it three months too late.  Hindsight is 20-20. Every other number looked great today, the small victories.  The larger victory, my understanding the power of exercise in the management of my disease.   Luckily, I've been released to do cardio for 20 minutes a day as part of my physical therapy this month and my endo has helped me adjust my basal rate. The A1C will come back down.  I never thought I would be so happy to have the opportunity to exercise.  The Big Blue Test just provides even more motivation to do so.

This movement, however, isn't just for diabetics. I hope you join me in taking care of yourself this month, just by stepping out with me.  Cardio is not only great for the body, but also the mind.  .

OLW: Check-in

Where are you with your word? This month's OLW work is to stop and assess where you are with your project. I started the One Little Word Project in January and am three-quarters of the way through. Some months my intentions and actions were actually completed and others less so! In hindsight, I needed a larger reminder each month and/or a scheduled appointment to contemplate my word, my action and intention. Planning in my life works better.  I have three months left to try this out.

I did indeed brave the possibilities in January while contemplating my word and intentions.  I could have worked more on my actions for February by truly braving the heart although I did so more physically by completing my first half marathon though less family-wise as my original plan was. My March-May intentions, brave the silence, brave the storm, and brave the challenge were work related. I was able to keep my word in sight and use it to guide me through meetings and interactions at work. I did okay.

I chose brave the world for June and little did I realize when I chose my intent in January what braving the world would really come to mean for me.  It meant dealing with a hobbled injured self.  My accident literally changed my entire summer.  I managed and remained steadfast.  My word kept me strong.

I did indeed brave the wild in July both in actions and intent. I even got my February assignment done, building a vision board.  My mentor Janet Allen aptly named one of her works, It's Never Too Late and for most things in life including my word that is true. July was my most intentionally active month in pursuit of my word. Perhaps my impending surgery made me more so or the few distractions from work made it easier.

I needed to most remember my word and intent for August and September as I faced many changes in my professional life including a new principal and the installation of two reading programs. Those changes layered with my weekly physical therapy were challenging and overwhelming at times.  I needed to embrace braving the unknown and the adventure more than ever.  Had I kept my intentions in mind, less tears and frustrations might have been kept better in check. Fortunately I still have time to brave the impossible which is my intent for October as well as work intentionally on my November and December actions.

How will you finish of the last quarter of the year?

IMWAYR: More Magic

I couldn't help myself. I know I made promises last week about what I would read, but got sidetracked when the sequel to Discovery of Witches landed on my doorstep. It is one of the dangers of our library system, home delivery.  You can't really control when the books show up.  I held out until Saturday. Frankly, I didn't have time to read all week with Open House and lesson study to prepare for. I certainly made up for it on Saturday by starting and finishing Shadow of Night. Again I would suggest that this book is more appropriate for older readers.  It is written for adults, but I would hand this series to sophomores, juniors, and seniors too.  ****SPOILER ALERT**** Enjoy meeting a host of historical figures through the timewalking of Diana and Matthew. This sequel stands up to the the first.  Now I have to wait until the conclusion comes out in 2014.  That's okay! I have other series books awaiting my hands, Rick Riordan's The House of Hades and  Veronica Roth's Allegiant this month.  I am also finishing Let's Not Go to the Dogs Tonight, a memoir of a girl who grew up in Africa.  I'll tell you more about it next week.

Open House

Two weeks ago I wrote about why I slice and working to cultivate my writing habit was one reason. I am excited to share that I was being a productive writer when I "skipped" slicing last week, because I was finalizing a piece that will actually be published in October.  Good excuse right?  But that's not what's really on my mind with this late night slice.

I got home from Open House about 30 minutes ago. As usual, I walked away feeling a little disappointed as I always have at this school for Open House. I would love to meet more parents.  This setting is the second school setting where I have been disappointed by the turnout. Certain classes are full of parents.  

We have 3000 students in our school. 3000 parents did not show up tonight.  In my position as reading coach, we do a reading parent meeting as an opportunity to meet potentially 1200 parents that have kids who are in a reading class.  Only two parents showed up.  We sent a letter home and we called.  Last year we tried other ways of reaching out after surveying parents about how when and how we should host meetings. We've even tried food!  What we are doing, we aren't doing it right. It's disappointing.

One of the two parents remarked, "The other parents must not care." It must look like that although  I never believe that statement when parents or teachers make it.  After twenty years of teaching, I still haven't met a parent who doesn't care about his or her child. I realize that some parents are ecstatic once their children reach high school and let them negotiate the process.  Some parents are exhausted and done.  Some parents are working.  All I know is that for teachers who have been at work since 6:30 this morning, what mattered most were the parents who came.  Tomorrow is another day to continue to reach out to parents and work with their kids.