Celebrate This Week! NCTE Version

Thank you, Ruth Ayres for giving us a reason to celebrate each week! For the link up, visit Ruth Ayres Writes.

There was so much to celebrate at #ncte13. As always, this was the professional highlight of my year.  Below are a few highlights from this year's convention.

My term on the Executive Committee ended and that's a little sad, but I am so thankful to have worked with such an amazing group of people.  It was an incredible experience--I learned a lot and made some great friends.  The mission of NCTE is one that is important to me and I loved my years on the EC.  I am in awe of the leaders of NCTE and feel honored to have worked with them.

The Elementary Section Get-Together Kick-Off was great. It is always so fun to see everyone and to kick off the convention together.  Jarrett Krosoczka was incredible as always.  The room was packed and within minutes I noticed my friends tweeting away!

First Wave was an amazing Opening Session on Friday morning. If you did not see the group, I don't know how to describe it.  It was the energy and the message we needed.  Ernest Morrell (@ernestmorrell) was this year's convention chair and he put together an amazing weekend, with First Wave being a wonderful surprise for me, as I'd not heard of them before this.

I met Peter Brown. I actually got to have lunch with Peter Brown at the Books for Children Luncheon. Not that I'm trying to make my friend, Deb Frazier jealous or anything.  (Even though this picture of me is hideous, it was worth sending out to Deb:-)  Meeting Peter Brown was on my list of important things to do at convention, as I am a huge fan. If you have never attended the Books for Children's Lunch, it is a highlight of the conference for me. A great place for author fans as there is an author at each table and you get to sit with one the whole time!  A real NCTE convention perk for author stalkers:-)

Speaking of the Books for Children Luncheon, Ann Marie Corgill and I were assigned to check in the authors. Welcoming and meeting all of the authors we love was quite fun.  So many amazing authors in one room!

Friday night, I attended the Choice Literacy dinner. I am reminded every time I am with Brenda Power and the Choice Literacy group how lucky I am to be part of this community. Another hideous picture but one that really summarizes the weekend of friends, learning and laughter.

I went to some great sessions that really helped me learn lots.  I started Friday off at Kidwatching in the Digital Age which was incredible. I tend to avoid roundtables but this session changed my mind. I started at a table with Katie Keier and learned so much in 10 minutes. Every 10 minute rotation gave me more to think about!  So many smart presenters, sharing so much about learning from their students. So much energy in one packed room!

I was thrilled to get a seat in the Close Reading session by Chris Lehman, Kate Roberts and Maggie Beattie Roberts.  They are so smart about all that they say about children and reading.  It was definitely a highlight and I am looking forward to rereading Falling in Love with Close Reading now.

I loved getting a chance to go to an Ignite session with some amazing speakers. Like the roundtable, I loved the energy and all of the thinking I did.  And how can I not celebrate Penny Kittle, whose Ignite reminded us of the power of classroom libraries. She is so passionate about this that she has started The Book Love Foundation.  Such important work.

There is nothing like traveling with friends. I am reminded of that over and over again. Whether we are in a car for hours driving to #nerdcamp or in the airport for hours waiting for a plane, some of my best pd happens traveling with friends.

More than anything, NCTE is so much about learning from and thinking with each other. I happened to luck out and be sitting next to Patrick Allen and Sara Kajder met.  I love when 2 of who have learned from each other meet in person.

NCTE, A True Celebration!

Books Coming in October!

These are some books I am excited about-they are due out sometime in October!

The Misadventures of Salem Hyde: Book One: Spelling Trouble by Frank Cammuso

Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad by Monica Edinger

I'm a Frog! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (Elephant and Piggie Book, An) by Mo Willems

Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka

Eat Like a Bear by April Pulley Sayre

God Got a Dog by Cynthia Rylant

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell

Celebrating Writers: From Possibilities to Publication by Ruth Ayres

Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts--and Life by Chris Lehman and Kate Roberts

2 professional books that are recent released that I am excited about digging into:

Finding the Heart of Nonfiction: Teaching 7 Essential Craft Tools with Mentor Texts by Georgia Heard

The Writing Teacher's Troubleshooting Guide by Lester Laminack

A Workshop of the Possible*

As part of a continuous collaboration among educators interested in digital learning, Margaret Simon hosts a weekly Digital Learning round-up on her blog:  DigiLit Sunday.  Stop by Reflections on the Teche (today's link-up) to read, discover, and link.  


You may be following the conversation that is happening around the blog world this week--on whether technology has a place in our elementary classrooms. Troy Hicks and Kristin Ziemke responded to a post by Nancie Atwell and then the conversation continued with brilliant posts from Cathy Mere and others.

 Let me start by saying this .  Nancie Atwell is my hero. She taught me about workshop and gave me my grounding as a reading and writing teacher.  And I can't wait to read her newest edition of In The Middle.   Disagreeing with Nancie is a hard thing for me to do.  I do disagree with her on this one, though.   However, I was where Nancie is.  I did not come to using technology in the classroom quickly or happily.  I did not see its power until very recently.

My Own Journey

As a writer, I remember the day that I said that I could never imagine myself composing on a computer-that I liked my yellow legal pad, that I could see myself using the computer for a final draft, but I could not imagine those first steps of the writing process without paper.

But that was when the ways we could tell stories were limited. That was when I told stories of my classroom with words and a few photos. That's when I carried overhead transparencies of those photos to tell my story at conferences and workshops.

I think back to that day and realize that I could not imagine using the computer for composing because I had no idea what was possible.  I had no idea that one day I'd be able to tell my story with words and images and videos and hyperlinks. I had no idea that I'd be able to carry my photos and notes and links with me on a phone that is small enough to fit in my purse.  I had no idea that I would no longer need a publisher to have an audience for my stories or that I could connect with others who were telling stories of their classrooms. I had no idea that these stories would connect me to people around the world.

I feel like an elder telling of the time I had to walk through the snow to school, but I am old enough to have gone through this process and to work through what these changes mean for the classroom. Nancie Atwell taught me about authenticity and ownership and it is something that has stayed with me and that has kept me grounded.  It is also one that has been challenging to uphold these last few years as technology seems to have changed everything.  It is the message of authenticity and ownership that has forced me to open up my mind to how technology is changing literacy.

I did not start using technology in the classroom quickly or without a fight either. I kind of came in kicking and screaming.  I used technology a bit, but the ways I saw technology being used in the classroom went against everything I knew about authenticity and ownership. It went against all I knew about literacy learning.  I saw kids watching videos and kids playing games and kids typing projects that they could have handwritten in half the time.   I did not see the reason to take one minute from what I was doing in order to add technology to my already successful workshop.

Then I was put on an NCTE committee to study digital literacy.  I was on a committee with brilliant people who understood the power of digital tools and the impact these tools were having on literacy far better than I ever could. Listening and learning with this group of people helped me to see that this conversation was not about technology but it was about literacy.  I'm not sure what was said, but I remember a moment in the meeting where I thought, "OH, that's what is possible?" From then on I realized technology was a game changer and that because of it, the very definition of what it means to be literate was changing. I realized that these tools could empower our students as readers and writers in ways that were not possible before.

Since my kicking and screaming days,  I've forced myself  to dig in and to see what I was missing. I have learned from so many people and dug into what is possible. Troy Hicks' work on Digital Writing Workshop and Kristen Ziemke's work with first graders have been critical to my current stance.  I found people who understood both literacy and technology and listened to their thinking. I learned from Bud Hunt, Kevin Hodgson, Sara Kajder, Bill Bass, Chris Lehman, Will Richardson, Angela Maiers, Kathy Cassidy, Katharine Hale and so so so many others.  And I have only been able to learn from these people because of the ways writing has changed--I am able to follow their blogs, have conversations on Twitter and respond and reflect on my own blog.

I've always believed in a workshop of the possible, in a workshop where children in our classrooms can discover what it means to be a reader and a writer. I want my students to discover all that is possible so they can be intentional and thoughtful.  And I want their reading and writing lives in school to be authentic and the classroom experiences to help kids see what it means to be a reader and a writer today.

In the Classroom
My kids don't see technology in the same way that I do---instead they see it as one tool for communication. Even at age 8, they are fluent in their use of these tools and intentional about the ways they use them to meet their needs.  I have students who blog regularly and the growth they've had as writers because they have an audience every day is stunning. I have writers who use their iPods to set reminders so that they do not forget their weekly blog series post.  I have readers who annotate on iBooks and then use those annotations to write book reviews to share with classmates.  Of course, this doesn't happen with the teaching focused on writing--craft, organization, genre, etc. The key is that the teaching focuses on the writing, not the tool.

This is a photo I took last year because I was so amazed by what I saw. Students spread out on the floor using digital and traditional tools together to work through something. I see this over and over and over each day. The tools are not the focus, but they open up possibilities for learning in so many ways.

Just this week, I saw how much the technology is embedded in all that our students do as readers and writers. 12 students met before school to discuss the graphic novel, Sisters by Raina Telgemeier while enjoying donuts.  In the discussion, one of them realized that this was a personal narrative (a writing unit of study we are in the midst of this month). Kids dug into the book again to look at her other books and realized that they too were most likely narratives--stories from her childhood.  They asked if we could tweet the author to ask whether she planned to write more stories from her childhood.   They also decided they might want to try some narratives in graphic novel form so I did a 2 minute intro to Comic Life that kids could explore at another time.

During the 30 minute talk, students:

-read a paper copy of the book and used sticky notes to annotate.
-sent a few tweets to the author with questions they had about her writing.
-invited a class from another state (via Twitter) to have a morning book club via Skype sometime in the future
-tried out Comic Life as a way to play with what they knew about writing narrative in another format
-discovered the power of real photos like the ones the author added to the end of her book, to add power to a narrative
-handed books to friends who hadn't been part of the morning chat
-looked up other books by this author online
-used sticky notes and conversation to write blog posts about the book and the club

The way the world works is changing and so then is literacy.  Technology allows us to do things as readers and as writers that we couldn't do before. For our kids, this is no big deal. Moving between devices depending on what they need to do as readers and writers is natural for them.  It is no big deal in our classroom to have a book club going on where a few kids have a paper copy of the book while others have an iBook version.  It is no big deal when one person decides to draft a piece of writing in a notebook while another uses the Notes app on his iPod touch. It is no big deal when one child blogs next to a child with a writing folder.

Our jobs as literacy teachers is to harness authentic literacy and to move kids forward with a variety of tools. Our classrooms have to change and our teaching has to change if we want to run a true workshop--where readers and writers are immersed in authenticity.

Not An Either/Or Conversation

I so worry when we make this a yes/no conversation--when I read articles that say exactly how much time kids should spend on technology. I worry about libraries that are getting rid of books to make room for computers and devices. I worry when someone says mobile devices have no place in our primary classrooms. This can't be an either/or conversation.

I took this picture in a recent workshop:

Once I started noticing how often we use a variety of tools AT ONE TIME, I see images like this everywhere. A reminder to me that this can never be an either/or conversation.

An Important Conversation
This is a conversation we need to keep having-across levels.  For those of us committed to literacy workshops, it is a topic we can't afford to ignore.  As literacy teachers, we need to be open to what is possible. Over the past several years I have learned what is possible with digital literacy.
And we can't be afraid to disagree with each other, to ask questions and to study.  We have to be okay with not having a for-sure answer. We have to dig in and figure out how to remain authentic and how to use these tools to help our students grow as readers and writers.  We each have our own vision of what is possible in our workshops. But my thinking is we haven't even scratched the surface.


*The title of this blog post was borrowed from another one of my all time professional books: A Workshop of the Possible by Ruth Shagoury Hubbard 

Falling in Love with Close Reading by Chris Lehman and Kate Roberts

WOW!  That was my first reaction to Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts--and Life as I started reading it this weekend. My husband and I went to Boston for the weekend, just for fun.  This was my airplane reading and within the first few minutes, I turned to my husband and said, "WOW! This book is amazing already!"  This is a book that so many of us have been waiting for and I was so happy to get mine just in time for a plane trip--what better way to dig into a great book than to be able to read uninterrupted for 2 hours straight?  I was able to read the first half of the book on the way to Boston and the rest of the book on the way home.  WOW! I so love this book!

I have been loving all of Chris Lehman's and Kate Roberts' work for a while and I  became even more interested when I heard them speak at NCTE last year.  I have read their books and followed both of their blogs (http://christopherlehman.wordpress.com and http://kateandmaggie.com).
I loved Kate's blogpost on The Nerdy Book Club Blog this summer. And I loved this Choice Literacy article by Chris Lehaman on research. I even did podcast on Close Reading with Chris and Kate for Choice Literacy  this summer.  I am an official fan, no doubt.  Needless to say, I have been anticipating this book for a while and ordered it the day it came out directly from Heienmann (as I didn't want to have to wait an extra day to get it from anywhere else.)

But even with all of that anticipation and all that I already knew of Chris's and Kate's work, I was still amazed at the brilliance.  Within the first few pages, I was totally hooked on the thinking that Chris and Kate share and I knew that this was a book that would have a huge impact on me and on my teaching.

First of all, the foreword by Donalyn Miller is incredible.  A great set up for the book and the context. In the foreword she states, "Students deserve instruction that moves them forward as readers and thinkers and values their unique experiences and needs."  For so long I've worried about the ways in which "close reading" in the Common Core is being interpreted and implemented but Donalyn's foreword reminds us that we can teach our students to read closely AND to fall in love with reading--that the two actually go hand-in-hand. She introduces the premise of the book and why this work is so important. I savored the foreword a little before I moved onto the book.

On the first page of this book, Chris and Kate state, "We know, in our bones, that loving something or someone involves knowing that thing or person very well.  Returning to it repeatedly, gazing at it for hours, considering each angle, each word, and thinking about its meaning.  Our connection to the written word can be as deep as a love affair."  So, the authors argue, teaching readers to look at texts closely, "is an opportunity to extend a love affair with reading."  Page 2 and I was hooked.

There are so many things I love about this book. First of all, the authors dig into the whole idea of Close Reading--its roots and what it has come to mean with the CCSS.  Then they move to sharing their vision of students developing habits of close reading--doing it without us in their own reading lives.

The rest of the book takes us into classrooms and the thinking behind Chris's and Kate's work with students around close reading. These chapters include actual language to use, texts that work, and insights into the purpose. For me, these chapters really changed my stance about how to work with kids around this complex idea. They teach us how to help students read with a lens and to find patterns in their discoveries--and then to develop new ideas because of the patterns they see.  They carry this ritual throughout the book as we hear their language as they work with kids around text evidence, structure, word choice and point of view. They also share their insights about helping students read closely across texts.

This book is packed and I have underlined, starred and noted so many things that I can't begin to share all of my thinking. I know it is a book that has already changed the way I will work with children and I know it is a book that I will dig into again and again as I play with some of the concepts they understand so well.

Really, this is a must-read professional book--one to put on the top of your pile immediately!

If you finish the book and need more of Chris's and Kate's thinking OR while you are waiting for your copy of the book to arrive, you can spend hours and hours and hours reading the amazing thinking that was part of the Close Reading Blog-A-Thon.

Don't forget to add their session to your NCTE13 Convention Planner!  Their session looks great!

And, of course, you'll want to follow Kate (@teachkate) and Chris (@iChrisLehman) on Twitter!
(Rumor has it that there is a Twitter Chat coming up soon about this book --check out #FILWCloseReading.)

#NCTE13 Round Up

The power of attending NCTE's annual convention cannot possibly be explained in a blog post or two. We each have our own experiences and because none of us can be at two places at once, we can't possibly experience all there is at any one convention. So, the best way for me to get a sense of all that NCTE was and all that I missed, is to read everyone else's reflections.  Every year, for weeks following the annual convention, I read and reread posts of friends, old and new, who I continue to learn from through the year. Every year as I do this, I am reminded of all that I learned and I am also able to add new thinking from sessions I missed. The conference isn't over when it's over.

And, I think this week is the week that my list of people I follow on Twitter grows as I continue to discover new people to learn from.  So, in today's round up, I hope you find some new thinking as well as some new people to follow on Twitter. That way, we can all chat until we can meet in person again at #ncte14!

Every time I read a new post, I was reminded of why I am so happy to be part NCTE!

(Add an NCTE badge to your blog by going to the NCTE site.)

Below are links to several posts reflecting on #NCTE13!

Reflections on NCTE 2013 from @MaryLeeHahn

The Magic of NCTE from @guerrette79

20 Random Thoughts From NCTE Boston from RAMS_English

Notes From NCTE Ignite Session from @dogtrax

Slice of Life: NCTE 2013 from @katsok

Unpacking NCTE 2013  from @teachingfactor

NCTE Takeaways from @utalaniz

Raising Our Words: (re)Inventing the Future of English Education #ncte13 from @CathyMere

Thank You, NCTE! from @brenkrupp

The One With Awesome People from @mentortexts

NCTE 2013: Teachers Matter, Kids Count!  from @ClareandTammy

Celebrate This Week #NCTE13 and Celebrate This Week:A Primary Perspective! from @Deb_Frazier

Slice of Life NCTE Edition from @Flynn_Catherine

On Broken Door Handles and Butter Knives from @iChris Lehman

Thankful for NCTE from @MaineMeryl

Once a Teacher, Always a Teacher From @mariacaplin

New Generation from @busch_mariah

A Storify from @elisabethelling

NWP and NCTE: Collegial Conferring and Conversation at Its Best from @JanMeEwing

NCTE Recap from @barbaraoconnor

Falling Down the Up Staircase (NCTE Talk) from @NeumannicTimes

Reflections on NCTE: How My Work Will Change from @JessicaRae929

NCTE Rookie from @Jasontes5th

Vicarious Professional Development: Censorship from @judyjester

NCTE 2013: My Presentation from @WeinsteinDaniel

Thanks for a Giving Conference, NCTE and CEL 2013 from @teachcmb56

Teaching the Lessons of #NCTE13 from @litreader

NCTE13-A Note of Appreciation from @JustinStygles

NCTE Highlights (via Smore) from @MaryBellavance

What Teachers are Reading This Year from @SuzanneMcCabe1

The E in NCTE stands for Empowering Energizing and Enlightening from @BethShaum

Reinventing the Future at #NCTE13 from @AndersonGL

National Council of Teacher of English Convention 2013 from @MarcTNobleman

NCTE 2013-Boston from @megangreads

Celebrate Saturday from @MuellerHolly

Slice of Life Surprises at #NCTE13 from @GigiMcAreads

A Cornucopia of Ideas and Wise Ideas from NCTE from  @VickiVintonTMAP

Igniting NCTE 20O13 from @rholland5

NCTE in Boston-Amazing Weekend! from @LynMullalyHunt

Celebrate This Week! NCTE Version  from @frankisibberson

Coming Back from @nilegulm

My NCTE 13 from @medinger

Learning and Connecting at NCTE from @raisealithuman

NCTE: Reflections on Fear and Hope from @YABookBridges

NCTE and ALAN: Hardly Relaxing but Always Rejuvenating from @CBethM

IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Thanks to Kellee and Jen at TEACH MENTOR TEXTS for hosting. Pop over there to see everyone's lists.

It's not been a huge reading week. Getting ready for the first day of school has pretty much consumed me this week. But I did fit in a little bit of reading here and there.  I've been thinking a lot about nonfiction reading and trying to find books that might make good read alouds or that kids might read that feel a little more like narrative. I find that these books discourage skimming and scanning and kids build stamina with nonfiction with nonfiction narrative.

A book I LOVED this week was Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of John "Appleseed" Chapman by Esme Raji Codell is one of the best books about Johnny Appleseed that I have read. This is a gorgeous picture book that shares the stories and legends about this man.  I liked the writing in this one as well as the messages to readers. And the art is gorgeous.

I am a HUGE fan of the Scientists in the Field Series and one that I dug into this week was Extreme Scientists: Exploring Nature's Mysteries from Perilous Places (Scientists in the Field Series). This book takes a look at several scientists who work in dangerous places to do research needed.  I enjoyed the story about the storm chaser and I think my students will too. It really shows the research happen when it comes to weather.

Citizen Scientists: Be a Part of Scientific Discovery from Your Own Backyard by Lorree Griffin Burns was another that I think will be a great cover-to-cover read.  It tells the story of people who participate in collecting data right in their own areas. The message that everyone is a scientist is a good one.

And a new professional book I just received in the mail that I am anxious to start is Christopher Lehman's Energize Research Reading and Writing: Fresh Strategies to Spark Interest, Develop Independence, and Meet Key Common Core Standards, Grades 4-8. I'm not sure I'll have time to get to it in the next week or two with school starting but I am hoping to dig in soon!

2 New Picture Books

I discovered 2 new picture book this week. I ordered a big stack at the library after All Write and they are starting to come in.

At All Write, I learned about lots of books but one that I was especially excited about was WILD IDEAS:  LET NATURE INSPIRE YOUR THINKING by Elin Kelsey.  I learned about this book from JoEllen McCarthy, the Book Ambassador for The Educator Collaborative in her session with Chris Lehman on Nonfiction.  I always find new books from JoEllen and they are always "must have" titles.  I am excited about adding this book to the classroom library. It is about problems, problem solving and wonder so I can definitely see it being used to start conversations about that. But it is also about animals and so much of what we do in science is animal adaptations, etc.  The authors note at the end tells that all of the quick info in the book came about from scientists studying animal behavior.  This is a quick read. Just a sentence or two on a page but it will start great conversations!

I a a huge Cece Bell fan so I have been awaiting her new book, I YAM A DONKEY (story, pictures and bad grammar by Cece Bell) .  It is a fun book about grammar that I think kids will find quite amusing (I know I found it to be quite funny!).  This is just a fun read that readers of many ages will enjoy.

#Nerdlution 2016!

A few years ago, several of us participated in #Nerdlution.  If you missed it the first round, you can read about it here. And here. And here.

I wasn't so successful with #nerdlution and hadn't thought much about it, but a few days  Niki Barnes tweeted out:

I figured it was a good time to revisit some goals and think about what I wanted to focus on in the next few months. Our original #nerdlution was 50 days so we set the 2016 #nerdlution to run from January 4 (tomorrow!) until February 22.  I don't remember why we settled on 50 but that seemed like a good timeframe again.

My first instinct was to set the goal "Pull myself together". But Colby Sharp is serious about goals and he reminded me that it needed to be more specific with this:

Colby also shared this article on goal setting.

And I found this one that was interesting.

And then I read Chris Lehman’s post about his hopes for the year. 

So I thought hard about what I meant when I said I needed to "pull myself together". How would that be measurable? Niki Barnes suggested a Before and After picture but that seemed a little stressful!  What was keeping me from feeling "pulled together" on a daily basis.  It's taken me a few days of thinking but here is what I've figured out.

I plan too much for a day or a weekend or a chunk of time. My to-do list is always impossible and I like it that way.  I like the work I do and I like to be busy. But because my to-do list is never-ending by choice, I have gotten into the habit of trying to get finished with my to-do list even though it isn't mean to be finished. So I end up feeling a big overwhelmed by all that I have to do. (even if I don't have to do it for weeks).  I end up rushing in the morning and rushing in the evening and then living a bit chaotically because of it.  Because I am trying to check things off my list, I don't make time for things that help me to feel organized. Whether I am put together or not, I don't feel like it because I have started to feel frazzled in the morninsg and in the evenings.

So to help with this goal, I have a few things I am going to try to change in the next 50 days. These are things I will do no matter how long my to-do list is (because it is always long, by choice remember:-)

-I will take the time to wash my face and use moisturizer every morning and night.  (This is something that I often skip because I try to check things off my to-do list and work "for just one more minute" until I am so tired that all I can do is fall into bed.)

-I will pack healthy lunches and have healthy breakfasts on most days (which means I will have to take a few minutes to plan and prepare these.)

-I will exercise 5 days a week.  Anything for 25+ minutes will count. (My to-do list will no longer be an excuse).

-As a family, we will spend 10 minutes every night picking up stuff in our family room and kitchen.  We tend to put things on the tables and the island as we go about our business each day. This become a bit overwhelming after a few days so we are committing to doing this each night before we go to bed.

None of these things are very hard and none of these take a long time but I think they will help me feel like I am more put together and less frantic about things.  I think this list will also give me permission to put my to-do list aside for a chunk of time each day.  Dropping daily routines has become a bad habit and I use my to-do list as an excuse too often.  Building these habits back into life   seems doable and very worthwhile. I am actually looking forward to it.  I may not look any different at the end of #nerdlution (which is why I did not take Nikki's advice to measure my #Nerdlution with a before and after picture:-)  but I am hoping that I feel more put together, more balanced and less obsessed with my never-ending to-do list (did I mention that I love everything on my to-do list!).

We hope you will join us!  If you have some new thing you are trying to commit to, join us with the #nerdlution hashtag on Twitter and on our Nerdlution Facebook Page!

Math Monday -- A Mosaic is an Array!

Yes, I know it's a stretch to share my monthly mosaic as a Math Monday post, but #arraychat is a real thing on Twitter! Math in the real world. It doesn't get any better.

Row 1 -- The first three are from North Market. The last one in this row and

Row 2 -- the first one in this row are a glimpse of hope for spring! The next three are William and his sunbeam, what a kitty has to do when his sunbeam gets too warm, and the face of a contented cat.

Row 3 -- #DubLit15 -- my Tech Kids, Chris Lehman learning from Franki's Tech Kids, Lisa Graff signing, the cookies donated by Wonderopolis for our afternoon snack.

Row 4 -- The walkway to Tucci's for the after-conference author dinner -- a winter wonderland. In contrast, don't get me started about the over-plowing of our street. Why do so many streets go unplowed, and yet the Snow Warriors come back again and again to our street, plowing shut every driveway on our street repeatedly and throwing slush up onto cleared-off sidewalks. There's no good reason for it.  (deep cleansing breath) The third shot is a jazzy shot of a jazz band at Natalie's. Next is a science shot -- the dark leaf got warm enough to melt down into the snow beneath it.

You can see all these pictures larger and un-cropped on Flickr here.

It's Math Monday! Join Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for the Math Monday link up!

#Nerdlution: When Mr. Sharp Creates a Hashtag, You Know He Means Business

It happened so quickly. I committed so publicly...to writing for 30 minutes each day and walking/running 20 minutes each day for 50 days....Here's how it happened.

After working through our book draft at #ncte13 and trying to figure out how to move forward, Bill and I left convention with a commitment to write for 30 minutes a day. I write that much now, but I am loose about what I write and  I needed to commit to 30 minutes a day on working on the book.  It seems if I don't write every day and I try to write on the weekends, I spend half of my weekend time trying to regain my thinking from the week before.  Writing every day seems like something worth trying.

Then I read Colby's post about his commitment to write every day.  Then as I was browsing blogs, I read about someone's running streak.  I decided a streak sounded like a good idea.  I was hesitant to think about actually committing to it because I did not do so well on my 2013 goals.

Streaks seem to work to change habits.  People write about lifestyle changes because of Run Streaks, Runner's World sponsors several streaks throughout the year. Sherry blogged about her experience about her Run Streak at Reading Teachers Running.

But streaks work for more than just running. I've seen that over and over again with Kate Messner's Teachers Write, Ruth Ayres' Slice of Life Challenge and Nanowrimo.

I have been looking for a way to get back to a more balanced life as my 2013 goals did not go so well.  My concussion caused me to stop too many things that I had committed to. But, I figured Katherine would be up for a streak, as she was one of my original running partners,  so I sent some tweets.

Then, Chris Lehman jumped in with his push-up resolution turned streak.

And then Bill realized that I had publicly committed the writing part for him too:-)

And then.....Colby created a hashtag!

And, when Mr. Sharp creates a hashtag, you know he means business....

Join us!

Pick a #nerdlution and check in each day on Twitter!

50 Days!

December 2-January 20 #nerdlution

The Literacy Connection: Have You Registered to Hear Chris Lehman?

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!