Recuperation...

Where did the week go?  Loved NCTE, so much to blog! 

     The best part was spending time with my friends Randi Allison and Troy Rushmore.  We stayed in a Bed and Breakfast about 1.5 miles south of the Convention Center (lots of walking).  I preferred to call it a Bed and ____ (noun) ... (pretend it's a MadLib and fill in the blank).  Obviously they hired someone to create their website and brochure that had never stayed there.  Could be such beautiful place with just a few touch ups, including a breakfast upgrade (rotten fruit in a bowl and dried bagels, really?) and perhaps a housekeeper who does bathrooms!  Note the "electrical chord" situation in one of our rooms in this picture (courtesy of Randi).  Nonetheless, we did laugh a lot... 
     We also ate well!  

     Thursday night... we were joined by Debbie M. at Mezza Luna, a great Italian Restaurant near our B & B.  The crowd was small on a Thursday and the owner/chef was so interesting.  Delicious (the gnocchi was amazing).  We had a great conversation with him about apprenticeship.  He was trained in his native Italy and obviously had a passion for food and his craft.  We enjoyed our meal (although who knew Philadelphia had a "bring your own" rule in many of their restaurants).  This was a great little neighborhood restaurant. 

     Friday night... we were looking for a nice little steak place near South Street and ended up going to Bellini Grill after a recommendation from a native Philadelphian that happened to see us wandering lost and confused.  The food was terrific!  A great recommendation (Veal Saltimbocca...yum!).  The restaurant was small and we ended up sharing a table for six with a family from Canada that was in town for the Philadelphia Marathon.  It was one of those times when you're thrown into a somewhat uncomfortable situation that ends up being such a great experience.  We even got the table for two next to us involved in our conversation... it was a delightful evening!

     Saturday night... a nice walk from the Convention Center to Fork.  We joined a small group of Stenhouse friends (editors Bill, Philippa, and Holly) and authors (Jeff A. and Terry T.).  It was nice to toast Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop.  After quite a long wait (and opening many doors) we were seated for a delightful meal in a rather "hip" restaurant.  This was a fun night... lots of laughing (especially when Randi's fish arrived with its head and wasn't filleted) and conversation (Oven roasted house-smoked pork shop, delicious) about life and learning.

     But Philly was more than food!  I'll be blogging a bit more about the more important things I learned throughout the week!

Philadelphia, Here we come...

Off to Philadelphia today for the NCTE conference.  Two of my colleagues are joining me and we're excited to see what the weekend holds... great learning, great friends, great food!  Randi, Troy, and I are looking forward to the conference and seeing a bit of Philly.  Staying in a Bed and Breakfast that was built in 1860!  Older than Laura Ingalls.  I'll try to blog a bit while I'm there and when I return!  Book signing on Friday at 12:30... 

Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop

Thanks to my fellow bloggers who have been gracious enough to welcome my new book, Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop to their blog.  Last night, my principal, assistant principal, and building resource teacher (and my beautiful wife) attended our local school board meeting where I was recognized and we went out for celebratory dinner at Union in Castle Rock, Colorado (a wonderful little bistro).  As we laughed and chatted and ate and shared wonderful fellowship, I looked around the table and counted wonderful colleagues as one of my many blessings!  Such support.

     So I wanted to acknowledge my fellow bloggers and tell them how much I appreciate their support as well.  There are interviews with me about the book on http://readingyear.blogspot.com and http://writebrainedteacher.blogspot.com  Always fun to think through your process and talk sincerely about your writing!  
     Also, http://snapshotsofmrsv.blogspot.com has done a lot of reflecting on her first read of the book and I so appreciate her thoughful response to what she's read so far.  I have enjoyed hearing what she has to say!

     Thanks bloggers!

     Tomorrow, I leave for NCTE in Philadelphia.  I'll be doing a book signing on Friday.  My teammates and friends, Randi Allison and Troy Rushmore, are heading to Philly with me.  Staying in a Bed and Breakfast that was built in 1860!  We're looking forward to connecting with friends and colleagues from around the country.  I can't wait to blog about my new learnings.  Of course, my students are excited that I get to see "Mary Poppins" on Friday.
     I asked my students to tell me one thing they'd like me to ask Ralph Fletcher if I run into him.  One of my girls said, "Please ask him if he'll come live with my family for a while!"  I was conferring with another third grade boy (who was reading Poetry Matters) and he said, "Ask him how he does it.  How does he write so that I hear his voice (even though I've never met him)?  And, how does he connect it all?  I'm sitting here reading this introduction and I'm hearing him in Marshfield Dreams and I'm hearing him in Twilight Comes Twice.  It's like, well, he's speaking to me and he's a friend.  Like he's right in this room asking me to write poetry.  It's like, to him, writing is the greatest gift he can give to his family, to me, to anyone..."  Amazing!
     So, count your blessings today.  We'll chat tomorrow, perhaps...

Tom Newkirk and Ellin Keene

Check out the PEBC's learning opportunities at http://www.pebc.org
     December 11th Tom Newkirk and Ellin Keene will copresent at the Winter Literacy Seminar.  Should be a great day of learning!

Snow, Snow, Snow...

A wonderful snowy day in Denver gets me thinking about creating an "All About Snow" basket of books in my classroom.  The perfect bundle of "I have nothing to write about" texts.  There are so many!  I'm always on the look out...

     Today I ran across Snow, Snow, Snow by Lee Harper (I know what you're thinking, not a play on words)... this book is a cute one!  It reminds me of those magical moments when you go to sleep and wake up the next morning with the ground covered with a blanket of fun (unless, of course, you have to work that day)!  It reminds me of walking to the nearby school and hitting the hill with my children.  It reminds me of being a child... the illustrations fit the whole "spend some time as a child" theme of this book!

    I may have to gather up my collection and create a basket of snow books... the perfect launch for a memory write or line lift in a writer's notebook during the composing time of reader's workshop.  I can't wait to add this one to the collection!

Sojourner

I love the story of Sojourner Truth and I admire many of the picture books that tell her story.  Three of my favorites are Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth by Anne Rockwell, A Picture Book of Sojourner Truth by David A. Adler, and When Harriet Met Sojourner by Catherine Clinton and Shane W. Evans.  It looks like I'll have a new one to add to my list:  Sojourner Truth's Step-Stop Stride by Andrea Pinkney and Brian Pinkney. 

      In this stunning book, we hear again the familiar story of Belle (Sojourner) who fought to help end slavery and for equal rights for all!  She was a tall woman with a powerful voice, a woman before her time.

     This book would make the perfect think aloud during a study of determining importance.  I can't wait to add it to my collection!

A book about light

My students and I were talking about the noises we hear at night when we're trying to go to sleep... creaks and cracks inside the walls, scritchs and scratchs on the windowpanes, pops and pounds on the rooftops... talking about the "normal" things that happen in ordinary events often help students plant writing seeds in their reader's/writer's notebooks.

      This week, I ran across Night Lights by Susan Gal.  It's about all the light that is present in a child's night--the glow of the porch light, the fireflies, the fire during a backyard cookout.  This is a book that helps bring to "light" the simple things that surround us that deserve to be written about... including the light caused by lightning!  The perfect to chase away childhood fears.  This is a book that just might encourage young writers to write about the ordinary things in their lives.  And, Susan Gal's illustrations are delightfully abstract (you can check out her artwork at http://www.galgirlstudio.com).

     I was thinking about writing about the annoying glow of the green light on my clock at night... sometimes I wake up at night and it's illuminating the whole room!