20th Annual Dublin Literacy Conference -- Grace Lin

The Friday before the conference, featured author Grace Lin was the visiting author at our school. Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students were captivated by her presentation on her book A YEAR OF THE DOG. They loved getting all of the inside scoop on which parts came directly from her life and which parts were invented or changed.

And of course, they loved when it was time to
learn to draw a dog the way Pacy draws dogs
in the book.

You start with a 5, then add the top of the dog's
head and its ear.



After the neck comes the collar and tags,
the body, the tail, the spot and the bark!







The students all took their drawing lesson very
seriously!

They even learned to make some Chinese characters.
(Unless, like this girl, they can write in Japanese
and they already knew the characters!)



As a special treat when the dog drawing lesson
was over, Grace read a chapter from her new
book, WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON,
which comes out in June.

My special treat was getting an advanced copy of the
book from Grace the next day at the conference! I can't
wait to read it!


Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
by Grace Lin
Little, Brown Young Readers
June, 2009
Review copy compliments of the author

A Side Note

I love going to professional conferences. One of my hobbies. I like the learning, the people, the books. But, I have also found that I love the jewelry! It seems that teacher conferences are a great place to find jewelry. I am not talking about teacher jewelry. I am talking about really nice jewelry by great artists. In Connecticut, I met the woman who owns Purple Umbrella. This company sells jewelry by women artists from around the world. I loved so many pieces. I bought this necklace designed by Ayala Bar(which just happened to match the jacket I was wearing at the time!).

But my FAVORITE jewelry designer is Karen Spector of Karen Spector Designs. We are SOOO lucky to have her right here in Dublin. I became addicted to her jewelry years ago and have built up a nice, fun collection. Karen Spector was at our Dublin Literacy Conference, selling her jewelry. Karen, our other friend named Karen, picked a 50% off ticket out of the basket and as you can see here, she is VERY excited about her sale item! (I am sure I will soon find out whether this Karen actually reads my blog by her reaction to this lovely photo!) That is Karen Spector, the brilliant designer, in the background.

Lucky for all of us that are local, Karen Spector is having an open house this week! I love these open houses. I always find a piece that I love--especially when I am not shopping for anything in particular. I think I am in the mood for earrings...

So, jewelry shopping at a teacher conference is great, but shopping just to shop is also quite fun! So, if you are local, and you have never experienced the fun jewelry of Karen Spector, you might want to put this Thursday, April 24 on your calendar and join in the fun! Seriously, if you do live local and want to see all of Karen Spector's amazing designs, think about going. If you need directions, call 766-5848. Look forward to a post about my new purchases later this week or this coming weekend!

Amazing Speakers at IRA in Phoenix

The Two Sisters -- Joan Boushey and Gail Moser
I missed hearing them at the Dublin Literacy Conference on Saturday, so I went to their session on Monday morning! (I was completely absorbed in their talk -- and glad to even have a seat!! -- and I forget to take a picture. I borrowed this one from their Daily 5 website.)



IRA has a special interest group that is similar to NCTE's CLA -- the Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group. They sponsored a session titled Multiple Pathways to Global Literacy: Breaking Boundaries with Literature.

One of the featured speakers was Kashmira Sheth, author of Blue Jasmine, Keeping Corner, and other books featuring Indian characters.

Kadir Nelson spoke about how he became an artist, and how, more recently, he has become an author as well. He told us about a mistake in the painting of Slim Jones on the title page of We Are The Ship, but he made us promise we wouldn't tell, so I'm going to keep my word!




Nikki Grimes was inspiring, mesmerizing, passionate, and (not surprising) poetic. She has a new series of early chapter books coming out in May that looks really fun -- Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel.





Astronaut/Teacher Barbara Morgan did her best to describe for us what it's like to travel 5 miles per second, to see the earth from space (we should call our planet Ocean, not Earth), and to wrap our minds around the wonder that is space: space is all that we don't know.




We ended inspired by Greg Mortenson, co-author of Three Cups of Tea. His story of fighting his publisher over the subtitle of his book really sums up his perspective. The publisher wanted Fighting Terrorism One School at a Time, but Greg wanted Promoting Peace One School at a Time. They compromised, and the publisher got their way for the hardback. In the event the hardback didn't do well, they agreed to change the subtitle for the paperback version. The hardback did not do well; the paperback made it to the NYT Bestseller list. It's about perspective, and he understands the importance of focusing on the goal he wants to ultimately achieve -- it's about the schools and it's about the possibility for peace that comes when we educated the children of the world...especially the girls.

The other exciting thing that happened at this conference was that the list of NCTE/CLA Notable Children's Books in the English Language Arts for 2009 (comprised of 30 2008 books) was chosen! Stay tuned for details!!

A Visit from Livbits!

Liv of Livbits was in Dublin, Ohio for the Dublin Literacy Conference last week. She stayed in Columbus for a few days and we were lucky enough to have her visit our classroom.  What a fun day we had!  My students were filled with joy when she entered the room. They could only scream and squeal and giggle the whole time she was in our classroom!  

First Liv talked to us a bit about her work and sharks and books and lots of things.

She brought us some treats--the new Fenway and Hattie book and Water Princess by Susan Verde!

We gave her some treats too. We know how much she loves Pop-Tarts so we each gave her a package of Pop-Tarts with a note attached. (along with some Pop-Tart earrings).

Before Liv left, we got to star in a Livbits video with her!

Fun with the BEST 3rd Graders in Ohio on Vimeo

It was a great day. Liv continues to inspire my students with her videos, blog posts and more. I think her positive message and the combination of seriousness and fun that Liv brings to her work is empowering to other children. She lives the words "Kids Can Teach Us" and reminds us all of this important message every day.  

If you haven't kept up with Livbits, you can find her videos on her Vimeo Channel.
She has an incredible blog that you'll want to read regularly.
And of course, you'll want to follow her on social media (@thelivbits).

Many of my kids repeated these words throughout the week, "Meeting Livbits was the best day of my life!"

It was a great day!

Circle, Square, Moose

Circle, Square, Moose
by Kelly Bingham
illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Greenwillow Books, September 23, 2014
review copy provided by the publisher

Did you love Z is for Moose? Moose disrupted Zebra's presentation of the alphabet in that book. He's back, this time causing problems in a shape book.

Zebra comes to the rescue to extract Moose from the shape book, but that doesn't go so well.

Leave it to Moose to patch up his friendship with Zebra AND end the book with a rhyme.

Want to hear Paul O. Zelinsky speak? Come to the Dublin Literacy Conference on February 21, 2015! Consider presenting about your literacy best practices!

20th Annual Dublin Literacy Conference -- Barbara O'Connor

What's almost as much fun as a group of bloggers who come to the same conference?


A group of bloggers who finally get to meet one of their favorite authors...who is also a blogger!


I'm not sure if we were more excited to meet Barbara O'Connor, or for Barbara O'Connor was more excited to meet us! Let me tell you, there was a lot of hugging and squealing whichever way you look at it!

I had the great honor of being Barbara's personal assistant for the day. I got to hear how the book MISSING MAY by Cynthia Rylant changed her life. I learned that Loretta is her favorite character in her own book GREETINGS FROM NOWHERE. And I was treated to her reading from all of her books, especially her work in progress, which features a frog in a pot of soup and something that falls off a train -- but she's not telling what!

Poetry Friday -- Lit Conference Preso

Maria (Teaching in the 21st Century) and I are going to be presenting about Poetry Friday at the Dublin Literacy Conference tomorrow. If your ears are burning, now you'll know why!

Sheri has the round up at Sheri Doyle: reading, writing, reflecting on children's literature.

Whew.

It feels like I've reached a summit of sorts!

Flickr creative commons photo by Dru!

But if I'm at the summit, that means the next bit is all downhill, right?  Wrong!

Maybe I'm just on a narrow ledge where I can hold on for a minute and breathe and gather my strength for the next part of the climb.

Flickr creative commons photo by John and Belinda

Franki's really good about going public with her personal learning, reading, exercise and balance challenges, so I'm going to put my to-do list out there in the world in the hopes that going public will help me get it all accomplished!

These first few are a result of the Dublin Literacy Conference:

Inspired by Patrick Allen

•re-read CHOICE WORDS by Peter Johnston

•take his double-dog dare to record all of my reading conferences for a week, then listen to them and really work on getting better at conferring 

Inspired by Kelly Gallagher

•celebrate that the "pool" my readers "swim" in is full to the brim with books 

•keep a tight hold on my students' independent reading time -- don't compromise it; don't let it go

•don't underteach books

Inspired by Brian Pinkney

•give my students more small music, rhythm and movement breaks

Inspired by Saturday night dinner conversations

•keep playing Words With Friends -- I'm better than some and not as good as others, but it's all good

•don't wait so long to get help when I'm stuck on a level of Angry Birds

Other goals include...

Get back in the exercise routine.

√ Went to water aerobics today.

Get back to blog reading and writing.

√ I give myself permission to ease into this a little at a time.

√ I started by reading 10 blogs on this week's Poetry Friday Roundup. 

Maintain Twitter stamina.

√ There's great stuff there. Did you see this blog post "Angry Birds: A Lesson in Assessment FOR Learning" and this one about Angry Birds and Instruction?

Grade that blasted stack of papers TODAY since the end of the trimester is tomorrow.

√ I'll get started on those as soon as I hit the publish button. 

Pay attention to the change of seasons. 

√ "And since to look at things in bloom/Fifty springs are little room/About the woodlands I will go/To see the cherry hung with snow." (A.E. Houseman)

√ Drove home from the health club with the top open. 54 degrees. Sun. Hard to believe we had a snow day on Friday.

√ Across-the-street neighbors' snowdrops are blooming.

Rereading THE GIVER, Looking Forward to SON

Today, Lois Lowry's book Son will be released--the finale to THE GIVER series. I had no idea Lowry had plans to do this but, was so happy that she did! I am definitely looking forward to reading this book.  When we learned that there would be a 4th book in this incredible series, Mary Lee suggested rereading the series before its release. I am not a big rereader. I don't often like to reread a book I've already read but when I saw that SON will pull together all 3 books in the series, I decided to at least reread THE GIVER.

I read THE GIVER by Lois Lowry when it was published in 1993.  It was a powerful read. An incredibly powerful read.  I remember that I had finished it around the time of our Dublin Literacy Conference and that Mem Fox was our speaker. I remember picking her up at the airport and talking about the ending of the book on the way to her hotel.  I remember that everyone I knew was reading the book and talking about the ending.

I didn't  even remember that I talked about this book until I reread it last week. And once I was back in the story, I was amazed to realize how much that book has lived with me over the last 20 years of my life.   I am so glad to have reread this book. It was as powerful a reread as it was almost 20 years ago. This round, I am reading it on my Kindle, and I find myself highlighting all of those scenes that I remembered so clearly. I am highlighting Lowry's lines that had an impact on me, without me actually realizing it.  I am reminded again and again what an amazing writer Lois Lowry is.

Rereading this book made me realize that you don't really know when a book is life-changing. It doesn't happen overnight. And you can't really pinpoint the changes within yourself. But when a book. a set of characters and a community live with you for 20ish years, you are changed. I am actually a different person than I was before I read THE GIVER. I can see that as I reread--actually revisiting the scenes that moved me. I find myself actually experiencing the same emotions I did during my first read. It is incredible really. Going into the reread, I didn't really remember the plot or what happened. I had forgotten the details of the story. But I remembered the way the story made me feel, the things it made me think about and the unsettled feelings I had when I read certain lines. I remembered caring deeply for the characters and having incredible hope for them all.

After rereading THE GIVER, I have decided to  reread GATHERING BLUE and THE MESSENGER before I read SON. I am trying to hurry a bit because I am so anxious to read this book and to see how Lowry ends the series.  But I want these characters and my understandings of them to be fresh in my mind when I read this new book.

It was really a gift to have reread this book. So glad that the anticipation of SON pushed me to do that. Thanks, Mary Lee--a great idea!

My NCTE Purchases

I am finally home from NCTE. What a great convention! I learned lots and connected with lots of friends. And I came home with a HUGE bag of books. I promised my class that I'd pick up books and I really lucked out this year. On Sunday of the convention each year, the exhibitors have great sales. So I picked up some older and some new titles. Here are some that I wanted to share.

CHESTER by Melanie Watt is a pretty hysterical new book. Melanie Watt begins to tell the story of her pet mouse but Chester, the cat, interferes with the story. Great humor! (Melanie Watt will be at the Dublin Literacy Conference in February!)

Anthony Browne has a new picture book out called MY BROTHER. The book shares all of the ways that his brother is "cool". He does this with words and great illustrations. Labels really add to each illustration. I have been collecting books on different ways authors write about people so I was happy to add this to my collection.

Something new to add to the SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES--THE CHRONICLES OF SPIDERWICK: A GRAND TOUR OF THE ENCHANTED WORLD NAVIGATED BY THIMBLEWICK is a huge book (a scrapbook) filled with letters, photos and artifacts from the mansion. This one will be fun for students to browse--I think it will be one that would be best after having read the entire series. A pretty fun book with lots to absorb.

I picked up VENOM by Marilyn Singer. It is a pretty big nonfiction book about poisonous animals. It has great photos and is organized by the places you find each particular type of venom. Singer's writing has great humor and her headings are definitely some that can be studied when learning about creative nonfiction writing. Her section on poisonous spiders is titled "A Few Spiders Miss Muffet Should Avoid".

I was thrilled to meet Michale Buckley, author of The Sisters Grimm. A new, fifth in the series, book is out. It is called Magic and Misdemeanor. And it sounds like there are more to come!

I picked up a series that I read about on Planet Esme. There are 5 books in the KEEKER series-a series about a girl and her horse. I am always looking for good new, early chapter books series and this one is perfect. Each book is about 50ish pages long. There are simple illustrations on each page and the stories are perfect for 2-4th graders. I think it will be a big hit since I have so many students who love horses.

I had to pick up THE HOLLY JOLIDAY by Megan McDonald. I haven't read it but it is filled with lots of great color illustrations. It is the first book featuring Judy and Stink. I am happy to see this and hope that she writes more that include both of these characters.

I am always looking for fun, new wordless picture books. So I bought a copy of BOW-WOW BUGS A BUG-- a pretty funny wordless picture book with great, bold illustrations and a great story about a fun dog. Hopefully we'll see more of him soon.

There are others but these are my highlights. I know once I get them to school, I won't be able to get my hands on them again for a while:-)

February Mosaic

This month's photos are documentary: Poetry Friday poem observations; book purchases; the quote wall by my classroom door (future blog post); Louise Borden, Ralph Fletcher and Vicki Vinton at the Dublin Literacy Conference (future blog post); English Shepherd mom with her English/German Shepherd pups that we temperament tested.

**click**

That click in the title is the sound of us pressing the "pause" button on our blog.

We'll be back in a week.

We just need some time to THINK and REFLECT on yesterday's Dublin Literacy Conference, and some time to READ and WRITE ABOUT all these books that are piling up around us!

Poetry Friday: Testing

Revolution for the Tested

by Kate Messner

Write.

But don’t write what they tell you to.
Don’t write formulaic paragraphs
Counting sentences as you go
Three-four-five-Done.
Put your pencil down.

Don’t write to fill in lines.
For a weary scorer earning minimum wage
Handing out points for main ideas
Supported by examples
From the carefully selected text.

Write for yourself.
Write because until you do,
You will never understand
What it is you mean to say
Or who you want to be.
Write because it makes you whole.

And write for the world.
Because your voice is important.
Write because people are hurting
Because animals are dying
Because there is injustice
That will never change if you don’t.
Write because it matters.

And know this.
They’ll tell you it won’t make a difference,
Not to trouble over grownup things,
Just fill in the lines
And leave it at that.
Tell them you know the truth.
That writing is powerful.
Just one voice on the page
Speaks loudly.
And not only can a chorus of those united change the world.
It is the only thing that ever has.

Read.

But don’t read what they tell you to.
Don’t read excerpts, half-poems,
Carefully selected for lexile content,
Or articles written for the sole purpose
Of testing your comprehension.

Don’t read for trinkets,
For pencils or fast food coupons.
Don’t even read for M&M’s.
And don’t read for points.

Read for yourself.
Read because it will show you who you are,
Who you want to be some day,
And who you need to understand.
Read because it will open doors
To college and opportunity, yes,
And better places still…
Doors to barns where pigs and spiders speak,
To lands where anything is possible.
To Hogwarts and Teribithia,
To Narnia and to Hope.

Read for the world.
Read to solve its problems.
Read to separate reality from ranting,
Possibility from false promise.
And leaders from snake oil peddlers.
Read so you can tell the difference.
Because an educated person is so much harder
To enslave.

And know this.
They’ll say they want what’s best for you,
That data doesn’t lie.
Tell them you know the truth.
Ideas can’t be trapped in tiny bubbles.
It’s not about points
On a chart or a test or points anywhere.
And it never will be.

Copyright 2010 ~ Kate Messner
(Poem used with permission of the author. Kate's website is KateMessner.com, and the poem can be found on her blog.)



Nuff said, right? Do what you need to do or are required to do, but don't ever forget what reading and writing workshops are really about.



Jone has the roundup this week at Check it Out. I won't be able to tour the roundup until maybe Sunday, or probably next week, seeing as this is Dublin Literacy Conference weekend. I'll be hanging out with Pete the Cat, Bob Shea, Sharon Draper, James Preller, Donalyn Miller, Ruth Ayres, Bill Kist, Bill Bass and lots of Tweet Peeps, Blog Friends, and Kindred Teaching Spirits.

Making Stuff

Like many of us, I am worried that students are no longer creating enough in schools. I think life is all about making stuff and it is one of the joys in life. And it is one of the most powerful ways to learn.

This year, we are hosting author Amy Krouse Rosenthal at the Dublin Literacy Conference. She is also our visiting author at Riverside Elementary.  We are so looking forward to her visit next week. The kids have fallen in love with her books and with her life's work.  We have spent lots of time with her books but we've also spent time with her videos.  Amy's work is the basis for our schoolwide Art Show and kids are making great things.

One of Amy's videos that inspired us was her video "17 Things I Made". All of the classes in our school have watched this video and have been invited to think about the things they make.



We invited our students and families to contribute to a school-wide wall called "THINGS WE MAKE" to celebrate all that we make.  One of the things I remember clearly from reading Shelley Harwayne's brilliant book, GOING PUBLIC years ago, was the way she used the walls of the Manhattan New School to start important conversations and to build relationships.  We decided that this video gave us the perfect opportunity to use the space in a similar way and to celebrate all the things we make.  We know that our students and families make wonderful things and that they are all so creative. So, our amazing art teacher created a wall in our school entrance and asked students to share the things they made.  Over the last few weeks, the wall has been filling up with "Things We Make". It is fun to see the things that everyone makes --from waffles to paper airplanes to music. But I think the true power is in the conversations that are beginning because of the wall. Our students are interested in what others make--in their talents and passions.  As the wall grows, the conversations grow.

Our "Things We Make" Celebration

I have always believed in the power of making stuff.  I think our wall is one step in letting our students know how much we, as a school community, value the things they make and the creative ways in which they think. But I think for it to be truly powerful, we need to make it more than that. It needs to be a part of the way our students learn every day.

 I was fortunate enough to listen to  Laura Deisley from the Lovett School speak at Educon on "Why Making Stuff Matters". She presented a Encienda, a 20 slide, 5 minute presentation on the topic.  She has graciously shared it on her blog with more of her thinking on the topic.  Below is the Laura Deisley's slideshare from Educon.

EduCon 2.3: Why Making Stuff Matters

View more presentations from lauradeisley.

I would also suggest that you read Laura's post on Masterful Learning to get a vision of what is possible when students are in an environment of questioning, problem solving and creating.

It seems like so many people are talking about the power of making  stuff these days. I am hoping that the conversations continue and that we continue to share the things our students make and the impact it has on their learning lives.

I Love Words by Francoize Boucher

I had a chance to talk to our Usborne sales representative last week at the Dublin Literacy Conference. I hadn't kept up with all of the great things in their catalog so I asked for a new copy. I was excited to see I LOVE WORDS by Francoize Boucher. I am always looking for ways to help kids get excited about words and word learning so I was thrilled to take a look at this book.

This book is an activity book. The subtitle on the cover says: An activity book for writing, drawing, and having fun." It reminds me of the doodle books out there. It is larger in shape, filled with fun pages to add to.

There are a variety of things to do in this book. Each page invites the reader to do something different with words. One page is in the shape of a bulletin board and it is titled "A Little Group of Words that Make Your Eyes Water". There are a few samples and then you can fill in the other 12 spaces. There are other pages set up in similar ways (for words that make you laugh and others...) One page invites readers to learn to write in reverse. Another teaches you how to make "word confetti". There are pages for poetry, your thinking, different sayings, words with hidden meanings and more.

If I had a lot of money, I would buy one of these for every child in my class/school. This would do great things for kids. But since I don't have enough money for that, I am going to use this book as a resource. I can see building the pages together as a class. I can see so many of the pages being springboards for class discussions around words and writer's craft. It would be a fun book to work though together, as a class, for the year. I think these little invitations would change the ways kids talked about and thought about words and word learning.

So glad I discovered this book!

February Mosaic

Snow and ice, with a break for jazz and Chinese food at PF Chang.

More snow, with a delightful warm spell, spring-ish skies, a trip to Skillet, and a full moon.

Jacket weather in Austin for the Notables, followed by ice the day  after I returned.

Dublin Literacy Conference Friday author dinner. If you want to know more about the significance of the restroom signage, ask Patrick Allen.

Thank You, Amy Krouse Rosenthal

http://www.whoisamy.com

As many of you, we were heartbroken when we read Amy Krouse Rosenthal's piece in the New York Times last week, You May Want to Marry My Husband. Chronicle books had a short tribute on their site this week. And others, like Malcolm Mitchell, have shared the ways she impacted their lives.  We are joining the world in sending love and prayers to Amy and her family.

Amy has given us all so much over the years. She has given so much to children, teachers and the world.  When I reflected on Amy's impact on our worlds, I searched her name on our blog. She has been the focus of 26 blog posts over the years.  We love her work and celebrate it here often. Her visit to our school in 2011 is one none of us will ever forget.  As preparation for that visit, her work inspired our 4th graders to do something to make a difference in the world.  We were lucky to have her at our Dublin Literacy conference that same year. 

I keep looking back at the list of children's books that Amy has written over the years. She brought love and joy and kindness to all of her work  Each book amazing in its own way.  Each one teaching readers important life lessons in a playful way.  In Duck! Rabbit! she taught us how to see things from different perspectives, In The OK Book, she reminded us that you don't have to be the best at everything you do, and in The Wonder Book she celebrated the magic of wondering.  The list goes on and on.

And, if you have not read her adult book, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, it is a must-read.  This books says so much and the creative way in which she puts it all together is brilliant.

For me personally, Amy's Beckoning of Lovely Project (inspired by the video 17 Things I Made) is what I think of every time I think of Amy.  For me, this project is the anchor that ties all of Amy's work together and the message is the reason we all love her so much. It is a project I go back to a few times a year when I need to remember what it is that is important in this life.  In all of her work Amy teaches us all to celebrate life and all that is part of life--all that is good in this world. This project was all about that.

We are heartbroken by the news of Amy's illness and cannot imagine a world without Amy Krouse Rosenthal.  We are grateful for all the ways that Amy has impacted our lives and the ways we have been changed  because of her work over the years.  We are better people because of Amy.

Amy's website says, "Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a person who likes to make things."  We think that making the world a better place is what she does best.  Thank you, Amy.

#DubLit13

It's almost time for the Dublin Literacy Conference!

Hope to see you there!

Watch for tweets all day Saturday at #DubLit13.

Poetry Friday -- Love Will Save the Day

YOU GOTTA BE

by Des'ree

from the album I Ain't Movin'

Listen as your day unfolds

Challenge what the future holds

Try and keep your head up to the sky

Lovers they may cause you tears

Go ahead release your fears

Stand up and be counted

Don't be shamed to cry

You gotta be

You gotta be bad

You gotta be bold

You gotta be wiser

You gotta be hard

You gotta be tough

You gotta be stronger

You gotta be cool

You gotta be calm

You gotta stay together

All I know all I know -- love will save the day

Herold what your mother said

Read the books your father read

Try to solve the puzzles in your own sweet time

Some may have more cash than you

Others take a different view

My oh my, eh eh eh

You gotta be bad

You gotta be bold

You gotta be wiser

You gotta be hard

You gotta be tough

You gotta be stronger

You gotta be cool

You gotta be calm

You gotta stay together

All I know all I know -- love will save the day

(the rest of the words are here)

I rarely listen to commercial radio, but when I do, it always seems like there is a song waiting there just for me. It last happened in September of 2009.

Enjoy the words, and if you want to hear it, go on over to YouTube.

Jone has the Poetry Friday roundup today at Check it Out. I missed browsing last week's roundup because of the Dublin Literacy Conference (and the ensuing chaos of "the week after," which included an evening of culture [the Peking Acrobats--wow!] and an evening of rescheduled-because-of-snow parent conferences). I'm looking forward to TWO weeks worth of poetry this weekend!

Time to Begin: #Nerdlution15

Another Fabulous Logo Created by Kristi Mraz!

Last year, we had great fun with our #nerdlution goals. We had an idea. Colby (@colbysharp) created a hashtag and Kristi (@MrazKristine) created a logo.  And lots of people joined in! If you missed out, you can get the scoop on Chris Lehman's blog. He posted Nerdlution and So Can You (FAQ) which is everything you want to know about it!  

Last year, we had 2 rounds of #nerdlutions. Each was 50 days long and each person set his/her own goals.  You can read Colby Sharp's Nerdlution Round 1 goals and also the posts of other bloggers who joined int he fun.  Nerdlution? What Kind of Word is That?, Jumping on the Nerdlution Bandwagon, and My #Nerdlution: 50 Comments/50 Blogs/50 Days.

My #nerdlutions did not go so well. Actually, my public goal setting never really produces the desired results but I do meet some goals. My goals from last year can be found at #nerdlution: When Mr. Sharp Creates a Hashtag, You Know He Means Business! and how it worked out for me at Thanks to the Nerdlution Community!

This year, we invite everyone to join us and to use the hashtag #nerdlution15 on Twitter, FB, Instagram, etc.  Feel free to revise any #nerdlution pieces that need revised for you--number of days, start date, etc.  I think I will do the traditional 50 days as Jan/Feb is usually a good time for me to meet personal goals since the craziness of fall at school has ended.  50 Days Takes us from January 1- February 19 which is FABULOUS timing because I will be seeing Chris and Colby the next weekend for the Dublin Literacy Conference. We can celebrate our successes!

So, it is 2015. And 2014 was not my favorite year. Needless to say, it wasn't a great year for meeting goals. So, this is my thinking for #nerdlution15, Round 1.  No apples for me this year.  Instead, here are my 4 #nerdlution goals--starting January 1 and ending Feb 19. (well, not ending--hopefully becoming habit by then!)

#nerdluton 1: Water

I saw this amazing post about a woman who drank a gallon of water a day and I decided I want to give it a try.  Not only does she look better, but she seems to feel better too. A gallon of water every day for 50 days.  So I am going to try that.  And I am thinking I'll go for a gallon but anywhere between 64 and 128 oz a day will be acceptable.

#nerdlution 2: Exercise

I would like to exercise 6 times a week (maybe 5 different days). I am going to try the Galloway run/walk method this time as I think it will be more doable for me and it seems to have good results.  So I am thinking I'll do walk/run 3 times a week and some kind of a yoga class 3 times a week. 

#nerdlution 3: Fun Times

I need to have more fun. Sometimes after a week of work, I am too tired to do anything fun.  So I am going to try to do at least 2 fun things a week. Fun things with family or friends that isn't part of a regular day.

#nerdlution #4 is actually a #nerdlotion. 

Last year, putting on lipstick for 50 days was one of my #nerdlutions. It didn't go so well. I am going to try again but this year with face moisturizer.  Preferably 2 times a day for 50 days but at least 1 time a day . You see, I go through phases when it comes to beauty products.  No real habits and hoping to build some back in. So lotion every day. 

So, follow us to see how we are doing and join us with your own #nerdlutions!  Ready to go tomorrow!