Book Stack {CELEBRATE This Week: 210}

I'm glad you are here to celebrate! 

Share a link to your blog post below and/or use #celebratelu to share celebrations on Twitter. Check out the details here. Celebrate This Week goes live on Friday night around 10(ish). Consider it as a weekend celebration. Whenever it fits in your life, add your link. 

Please leave a little comment love for the person who links before you.

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This week I'm celebrating a rich book stack.

I can't believe I have COLBY SHARP'S new book in my hands. I opened it late last night while I was waiting for my daughter to get out of band practice. I'm torn between wanting to give it away to every single person I know. I keep reading one more bit and then a little more. This is going to be a sweet resources for teachers of writers in all grades.

Brene Brown's new book was released. I can't wait to read it. I know I should try and savor it, but instead I'm sure I'll gulp it in one big bite.

One day I will be in the same room as Simon Sinek. I hope you know his TED Talk regarding The Golden Circle. This gem is written by David Mead & Peter Docker and guides you in finding your Why...and helping teams and organizations find their Whys. It's written like a workbook and I'm inspired as a human and a writer.

You may remember that I've been inspired by cacti. Christy Rush-Levine did and she gave me this sweet calendar. I'm using it as a writing notebook of sorts -- collecting all kinds of ideas each day as possibilities to write about. My brain is exploding with ideas and there is no way I will ever remember them all. I like the way I'm encouraged to collect snippets so I can have a place to jump off into blog posts, articles and book chapters.

If you haven't had a chance to get the preview of my new book, feel free to do it now. Just add you email to the box below. Right now Stenhouse is offering a free eBook with the pre-purchase of a hard copy! 

Share your celebrations below...

Digging Gold: CELEBRATE This Week {101}

I'm glad you are here to celebrate! Share a link to your blog post below and/or use #celebratelu to share celebrations on Twitter. Check out the details here. Celebrate This Week goes live on Friday night around 10(ish). Consider it as a weekend celebration. Whenever it fits in your life, add your link. Please leave a little comment love for the person who links before you.

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Donalyn Miller, Linda Urban, me, Colby Sharp

Sometimes you live a magical day, but can't really put your finger on what made it so. I celebrate this. I celebrate moments that seem so ordinary, but are rather remarkable. I celebrate carving out time each week to tug on threads that will lead me to finding the magic.

I spent an ordinary day in the middle of an ordinary week doing ordinary work. There was reading alongside students and recess duty and lunch in the teachers' lounge and writing in notebooks. Colby Sharp and Donalyn Miller do these ordinary things all of the time too. But this week, we did them alongside one another. Linda Urban joined us too. She walked right out on the playground and stood with us, Colby tossing the football, all of us soaking in the joy of a playground filled with sunshine and happiness.

It was so incredibly ordinary.

And not.

There I was with three of my mentors. Linda Urban, a writing mentor. Donalyn Miller, a professional mentor. Colby Sharp, a lift-people-up mentor. I glean bits, important bits, from these people about how to write and interact and live. 

It was a privilege to spend the day with them.

I'm changed because of it. That's what a little bit of magic in the middle of the ordinary does to a person. It changes you. It's a little like clearing out some dirt and finding gold underneath. It makes you a better version of yourself. 

I celebrate the encouragement they offered and the way it changes me.

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My offerings to encourage writers (and their teachers), because I'm smitten by the way writers work...

{Discover. Play. Build.} Website. It's designed to be my offering to writing teachers. 

You'll find video minilessons and a link to the {Discover. Play. Build.} YouTube Channel where they are all housed.

{Discover. Play. Build.} Newsletter. They come around the end of each month. Register in the sidebar. 

( For more information on these resources (and others), check out this post.)

 ***** 

Places you can find me celebrating throughout the week:
Instagram:  @ruth_ayres

Twitter: @ruth_ayres

Facebook: Discover. Play. Build. 

(I still don't have this platform figured out!)

CELEBRATE This Week XCIX (99)

I'm glad you are here to celebrate! Share a link to your blog post below and/or use #celebratelu to share celebrations on Twitter. Check out the details here. Celebrate This Week goes live on Friday night around 10(ish). Consider it as a weekend celebration. Whenever it fits in your life, add your link. Please leave a little comment love for the person who links before you.

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Today marks 99 weeks of claiming celebration.I know I'm supposed to have something special for week 100. I've been thinking about it for awhile. Thinking about how I should do this or should do that or should...should...should.

I've decided, instead, to release myself of should.

I'm counting on the magic of celebration to to move us. There are no bells or whistles or extraordinary giveaways planned for next week. Instead, there remains the standing invitation to pause and celebrate. I hope you'll make time to celebrate next week and to invite a friend.

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Right now it would be easy to think of all the things I should have done. Instead, I'm claiming celebration by documenting this --

1. Andy and I both slept off colds over the holiday weekend. Only partly awake, I shuffled into the kitchen in the late afternoon. I blinked when I saw them gathered around the kitchen table, playing Monopoly. They smiled at me. "Feeling better?" they asked. "Look, we made our own snacks...You can't play board games without snacks, right?" I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes and smiled. It's a powerful thing to see all those (miserable) hours of sitting around the table (with snacks to entice them) and insisting on fair play transformed into their independence and enjoyment of playing together.
2. Jay asked, "Will you help me figure out what to do with a class? I'm having a hard time and I thought maybe you and Dad can help me figure it out." Wow. 
3. Sam said, "We need a new rule, Mom. You come home right after school and don't leave until after I'm in bed." It's been a rare week when I've been gone every afternoon and evening. I'm grateful for his sweet reminder that spending time together makes a difference.
4. We watched a super fun movie all together on Friday night. I savored every moment of all of us together.
5. I read Sunny Side Up this week. So did Sam and Steph. We plan to talk about it over coffee and hot chocolate on Saturday morning.
6. My friends from high school all sat together around a kitchen table for a visit. It's been 20 years since we've done that.
7. Kate is snoozing at my feet. I'm beginning to get  used to having a constant protector.
8. I get to talk writing every Friday morning with a good friend.
9. Stephanie can run the cross country course without stopping. Her dimples are gorgeous when she smiles and she smiles real knowing she can run the whole time. I love her mental toughness.
10. The weather changed. It was chilly and grey and rainy. I loved it.

Thanks for joining today!

Dream for Me {21 of 40 Stories}

(Something happening, which I love, is people are sending me songs when they hear one that reminds them of my writing.Here is one.)

Little did I know this year of deciding to LEAP would also be about daring to dream. I'm clinging to this truth about dreams:

God dreams for me.

The Creator of the whole entire world, the universe, and infinite outer space, dreams for me. The One who walks on water, heals the paralyzed, and raises men from the dead, dreams for me. The God who brings water from rocks, splits the Red Sea, and uses boys to defeat giants, dreams for me.

The Bible is filled with  stories of people who follow God's dream. They put down their dreams and pick up God's. Noah builds an ark. Daniel faces the lions. Mary is an unwed mother. Paul goes to prison.

The Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, never stops dreaming. I'm here for this time and place to fulfill a dream.  It's why Jesus said:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. (Mark 8:34-35)

Part of living the dream is knowing I have to put down my hopes in order to pick up the dream that is just for me. If I don't pick up the dream God has for me, then I lose my life. In other words, I miss the point of living, and I miss the blessings.

It takes faith to accept a dream from God. (Plus a good dose of humility.) Finding the dream for your life isn't about figuring out what makes you happy. It isn't about finding what you're good at doing. It isn't even about making money.

It's about obedience. Doing what I'm made to do, even when it doesn't make sense. I'm enamored by people who follow their dreams. Often it seems so natural and easy. From the outside it seems like they are living a dream based on happiness and talents and treasures.

In reality, there is risk every step of the way. There are moments upon moments when they choose to do things they are afraid to do. When people dare to follow God's dreams, when they leap, there is always fear. 

The feeling of fear is a sign of living with purpose. It is proof of obedience. It is faith in action.

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I've been reading about dreams. Here are two of my favorite books on the topic.

Titanic Book Review {Hijacked by Sam}

This post is created by Sam, age 8. I got the inspiration to hijack my mom's blog from my pen pal, Chloe, from Coffee with Chloe. (Here is a post by Chloe.)

{The things I did to get ready to write this review: made a 

Lego Titanic, read the book, made sticky notes, and wrote a draft.}

You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Titanic! by David Stewart and illustrated by David Antram is an awesome book. Titanic lovers and boat buffs would love it, because it tells you information in a fun way. Here are five interesting things.

1. Room for 3,511 people. Readers learn this in the speech bubbles.
2. The illustrations are good because you learn more.
3. The Titanic had 3 propellers. Readers learn this in the sidebar.
4. Handy hints are helpful.
5. There are maps that show the route of the Titanic.

This book about the Titanic is great for everyone!

Join Jen and Kellee to share your reading!

CELEBRATE This Week XIV

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I'm glad you are here to celebrate! For more information, check out the CELEBRATE This Week page. Please use #clebratelu to share.
One.
I needed to hear these words from Gari Meacham about failure.

Two.
Colby Sharp restores my belief in the importance of instructional coaching.

Three.
I came home to this. Friday night and they are reading. This is the magic of Harry Potter.

Four.
She's baaaaaack!

Five.
I'm celebrating this post and this post. Writing them impacted me in big ways.

I loved reading every single celebration from last week. I hope you bring a friend to the celebration this week. Thank you for finding joy in the big and small and sharing it here.

The Book Stack

 

I love A Writing Kind of Day by Ralph Fletcher. It is one of my favorite sources for poems to launch poetry units. His poem, Walking, is one of my favorites. This line: I write the way I walk often lingers in my mind.

 

Pink Me Up always makes me laugh. I read it to start a professional development session I led last Wednesday. The voice is loud and clear, making it a great text to help students learn how to find their voices when writing. One way, which the author uses in Pink Me Up is to add voice to writing by the names we call people in the story. The main character is a young girl and she always refers to her parents as Mommy and Daddy. I apply this to my own writing when I call my daughter Hannah-Bear or my son J-Man.

Join Jen and Kellee for It's Monday! What are You Reading? Click around on the links or more reading inspiration.

Book Stack

Bad Apple is written and illustrated by Edward Hemingway (Putnam Books, an imprint of Penguin, 2012).

I love this whimsical book with rich illustrations and fun word play. Even better is the message of choosing friendship over popularity. Mac is a very good apple, indeed!

In writing workshop, I could imagine using this book with youngest writers to talk teach into illustrations. I would also use it as an example of choosing meaningful character names. The apple is named Mac and the worm is named Will. Names are powerful and often writers choose names because of the meaning or the word play. This is a perfect text to help children think meaningfully about character names.

 In the Tree House by Andrew Larsen and Dusan Petrieie (Kids Can Press, 2013) tugged at my heart. It's a story about a big dream of a tree house and growing up and brothers and coming back together. In writing workshop, I can imagine using this text to help teach the power of repetition. The things the boys do in the tree house are simple -- reading comics, playing cards, building card houses -- yet they become powerful because of the way the author repeats these details throughout the text.

Find more titles at the get together hosted by Jen and Kellee. Click on the image below and share your current reads.

Celebrate This Week {Link-Up}

Happy Saturday! I'm glad you're here to celebrate together. Share your links below. You can also share on Twitter (#celebratelu) or on Facebook at the Discover. Play. Build. page.

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For more information about why we celebrate on Saturdays, check out the CELEBRATE This Week page. Grab the image and share one or many celebrations from your week. They can be in the form of images, links, or texts. The only "rule" is you find something to celebrate and share it with others. Then comment on some other celebrations.

Celebrations from My Corner of the World 

I'm celebrating these treasures today. Instead of quickly collecting words on the page, I'm sitting quietly and waiting for the words to find me. I'm blessed by friends who offer inspiration and encouragement even on the tough days. I'm remembering an important new layer to my writing process. I start by reading inspiring words. These books are fueling me to write with courage and truth.

 

 Christy Rush-Levine sent this book to me. It is charming and helps me believe in living celebration.

Franki Sibberson sent this bit of happy mail to me this week. It's a book about pausing and discovering positivity. (The title is a fun play on words.)

I've been thinking about this journal since I found it in my mailbox at school from Tam. I knew I wanted to use it in connection to my new writing project, but until Friday I was sure how. I presented about Celebrating Writers in Michigan on Friday. There's a cool thing that has been happening recently when I present, as well as in response to some of my blog posts. People are sharing their stories with me because they were touched by one of my stories. I love this. I've decided these stories and connections are precious and I want to keep them. I think this journal is the perfect place for this collection. It will be evidence of the things that truly matter -- the stories and compassion that hold us together.

Stories matter. Always. I can't wait to read the celebrations happening in your corner of the world.

Reading Like a Writer

These are three books I'm hoping to dig into a little more. If you click on the titles, it will take you to Heinemann's website and sample chapters from all of the books.

• Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts and Life 
• Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading
• Text & Lessons for Content Area Reading

Since Deb and I have been asked to encourage and support middle schoolers in annotating text and showing their thinking while reading content area material, I've changed my reading patterns a little. I'm especially looking forward to reading Chris Lehman and Kate Roberts book, Falling in Love with Close Reading that just came out a few days ago. I love being a constant learner and continually learning and growing. This is a very good journey to walk.

As a writer, it is important to know what kinds of books already exist when you thinking about a new writing project. Although not necessarily focused on close reading, Deb and I are tinkering with ideas that float around this topic and most definitely are thinking about annotating text. Also, by reading widely about a topic I am able to determine if it is something I want to spend time writing about or if my energy will wane and there is a better place to spend my writing time.

At the same time, I am reading widely about faith, happiness, and healing. Sometimes it is easy to feel like I have nothing to add to the book shelves. Then I remember one more story, one more perspective, one more angle is always a very good way to make the world a better place. 

This week, I'm reading like a writer. I'm determined not to let the Writing Monsters convince me that I shouldn't be writing.

The Power of Books to Bond a Family

 

When we adopted Jordan last January he left his second grade class in the middle of reading aloud Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  One of the first things Jordan noticed in his new home was the set of Harry Potter books on the book shelf next to our fireplace. "Can I read that book?" he asked.

I gave him the book and he clung to it, always keeping it within his reach. It traveled between school and home. It went from bed to breakfast table. It sat next to the basketball goal and the Lego bricks. The cover became worn and the pages smudged.

It was the one constant from his life before to his life now.  A book was his comfort.

We tried to read it together as a family, but the other kids weren't interested. Jordan tried to talk them into reading it on their own, but they never made it more than a few pages in. Jordan wasn't discouraged, though. He kept reading and rereading and moving on to book two. Then rereading The Sorcerer's Stone over and over and over.

He's been begging to watch the movie.

You can imagine how I'm a firm read-the-book-then-watch-the-movie sort of person. I didn't want to watch the movie until everyone had read the book. I buried it in our Netflix queue. Then a few weeks ago on Sunday evening when Andy left early in the afternoon for a youth event and I knew my survival lied in the Sunday tradition of baths then a movie, I tore open the Netflix envelope and  the disc dropped into Sam's hands. He announced the title, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," and Jordan went bonkers.

"YEEEESSSSS! Thank you Mom! Thank you Mom! Thank you Mom!" He boinged around the kitchen and hugged tight around my waist.

The other kids were excited about the movie too.

"You guys haven't read the book!" I protested.

Four sets of eyes stared wide at me me and I knew I was outnumbered and a happy evening was endangered. "Okay, put it in," I surrendered.

The cheers trailed off as they followed Jordan and the disc to the DVD player. Throughout the movie Jordan predicted what was going to happen next. The other kids turned a little testy. I defended Jordan. "I don't want to hear it guys. You had the chance to read the book. This is what happens when you don't read the book first. You miss out. You cheat yourself. Next time read the book before the movie." They hushed and watched the movie.

Before the movie was over Sam had our copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in his lap. The next day both of the girls brought home a copy from school. Jordan reread parts of the story with each of them. Then he picked up Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The rest of them have all moved through book two ( and then watched the movie). They are waiting for Jordan to finish book three so they can crack it open.

They've made plans to dress up together for Halloween. Jordan is planning to be Harry. Stephanie is considering a Weasley. Hannah is Hermione. "Who can Sam be?" Stephanie asked. 

"Dobby!" Sam said. "I just need some pointy ears."

"I'm glad you guys are finally Harry Potter fans," Jordan said tonight at dinner.

I am too. The power of books is unlimited. They can even help to bond a forever family.

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