Monday, March 31, 2014

Another March

31 of 31 at Two Writing Teachers!
The first year I did the Slice of Life Challenge, I was ecstatic at the end: just completely filled with pride that I had accomplished such a monumental task.

Last year was my first as an ELL teacher and my first challenge writing alongside my students. Thus, my feelings at the end of the month were more along the lines of being relieved that I survived my part of the challenge. Thus, my reflections and pride were all about bringing the challenge to them.

This year, my head is swirling with mixed feelings. Lots of last year's exhaustion and relief are definitely prominent, but I'm also even more proud of my students and even more excited about what slicing has done for our classroom community, since I learned from last year and improved the way I implemented the classroom challenge with my students. Moreover, I brought several of my colleagues and friends into the challenge, which added another dimension of joy and pride this year.

Since swirling emotions are perfect for poetry, it seems that the ideal way to wrap up March 2014 is with a poem:

Another March

Another March,
another month of writing.

A month of thinking
of playing
of stretching.
A month of pushing
of nudging
of encouraging.
A month of connecting
 of understanding
of growing.

Another March,
another challenge vanquished.

A month of excitement,
delight,
inspiration.
A month of frustration, 
exhaustion,
persistence.
A month of courage,
appreciation,
pride.

Another March,
another month of writing                              
together.

6 comments:

  1. What a month this has been! You are an amazing encourager. Your poem has all the right words to describe the ups and downs of the daily posting.

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  2. Great description of the challenge. Such an inspiration to your mom, your colleagues, and your students. (Sorry I didn't stop by as often as I had hoped ... this year commenting proved challenging for me!) Looking forward to many more Tuesdays (and Marches!) to come!

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  3. I loved both the content and style of your poem. Your simple but descriptive words put this challenge into perspective.

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  4. Wonderful! You did so much writing this month and kept your students writing as well! Kudos to you!

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  5. Considering your poem Jennifer, I would say it was a month of action! Love seeing this ending, & now see you on Tuesdays...

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  6. I love the visual display of your poem! I think it captures your "swirling emotions" well. Thanks for encouraging me to participate in this challenge. I'm so glad I did and I can say with certainty that I would not have done it if it were not for your "spark."

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