It is a weekday, and for most of us, that means that we are juggling work, homework, practices, and who knows what else. It is rare that the kids do any additional writing at home. But, today is Constitution Day, the anniversary of the signing of the nation’s founding document, and as is every day–an opportunity for writing! You [...]
The only time I ever got into trouble in junior high was related to an “underground” newspaper I wrote and distributed using an old typewriter, carbons, and the Xerox machine at the local library.
I recall that my mom was called as I sat on one side of the principal’s desk. I was frozen in fear, [...]
I found a curious definition in The Superior Person’s Book of Words
: the Abecadarian Insult, which is defined as follows: “Sir, you are an apogenous, bovaristic, coprolalial, dasypygal, excerebrose, facinorous, gnathonic, hircine, ithyphallic, jumentous, kyphotic, labrose, mephitic, napiform, oligophrenial, papuliferous, quisquilian, rebarbative, saponaceous, thersitical, unguinous, ventripotent, wlatsome, xylocephalous, yirning zoophyte.”
The Translation follows: “Sir, you [...]
It Takes A Long Time to See A Flower
Georgia O’Keeffe once said this when referring to the observation skills necessary to paint the intricate details of flowers in large scale.
I like to apply it to the practice of writing description. Rather than really taking the time to observe and note details, my college students [...]
“…don’t you like to write letters? I do because it’s such a swell way to keep from working and yet feel you’ve done something.” ~Ernest Hemingway
In this month’s issue of Family Fun magazine is a letter from a woman who prompted her son’s interest in writing by encouraging him to write to his favorite baseball [...]
A staple book that seems to get more attention in the summer at our house is The Book of Cards for Kids by Gail MacColl.
This book, which I highly recommend, is your guide to every card game you can imagine, from the classics like Gin and Crazy Eights to the more obscure and fun Smudge, Frogs [...]
No more pencils
No more books
No more teacher’s dirty looks
So goes the chorus of Alice Cooper’s anthem, School’s Out, that gets ample airplay each June.
I am A-OK with doing away with the teacher’s dirty looks, but I’m a firm believer that the books and pencils should not be discarded just because school is on hiatus. . . [...]
A few days ago, our ten-year-old reader began reading
Among the books in the Easter basket of the 10-year-old in residence was the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book, the latest in the popular Jeff Kinney series of illustrated humor stories for readers in grades 5-8. These books are all the rage in our school’s fourth grade, and quickly flew off the [...]
Tomorrow is the seventh-annual Poem in Your Pocket Day in New York City, where poetry events will rule the day.
The promos say you should choose or write a poem and carry it with you all day, making sure to share it frequently.
The event website encourages other activities for teachers and for students, including:
Write an Object [...]