7 Reasons To Go 700 Miles With Two Kids

I recently completed a 700 mile (one way) road trip with my two children.  Although we make this trip multiple times per year, this most recent cruise in the Honda Partymobile was, as my son says, EPIC.

The Honda Partymobile.

Here are 7 reasons why everyone should drive 700 miles with two children.  (My children or yours.  It doesn't matter.)

1. My children are 8 and 10 years old.  We are in the stage of listening to music ad nauseam.  It's not horrible at first, until you listen to a Maroon 5 song about eleventy-hundred times across four states.  

2. The above song not only was played eleventy-hundred times, but my son didn't sing the words correctly.  In fact, even when he was corrected, he continued to sing the incorrect words on purpose.  

The correct lyrics, "...caught you in the morning..." 
became my son's version, "...punched you in the nugget..." 
This continued for hundreds of miles.

Me: "What is a nugget and why is he being punched in it?"
My son: "I have no idea." <punches air with his fist repeatedly while screaming incorrect lyrics>

I don't even know.  Although I know he is frustrated with me over the "punching the nugget" issue.

3. My daughter spent a good entire state trying to convince me that Christopher Columbus was killed by bears and dinosaurs.  According to Beary, her stuffed bear, people are actually evolved from a combination of bears and shape-shifting iguanas. 

You can read more about Beary's opinions here: http://kingandkids.blogspot.com/2014/06/bearys-bookaday-books-2014.html

Christopher Columbus apparently had an untimely death.

4. This same daughter also insists that the first person on earth was actually named "Hugh-Man" instead of Adam or Eve or even "human."  

5. My daughter's bear, the one who is the ancestor to all humans, also put on a dance show in the car.  'Lil Jon was rapping about turning down for what, and Beary was amazing.  (All parents listen to 'Lil Jon with their kids, right?  Crunk ain't dead, you know.)

Beary says that Crunk ain't dead.

6. After a day of taking multiple trips to the restroom in various truck stops, my son drops his Watermelon Push Pop onto the floor of the car, right where the bottom of his restroom-truck-stop-walking shoes have been all day.  Of course, he picks it up and puts the Push Pop back in his mouth.  Awesome.

I explain to him why this made me gag.  He looks at his Push Pop sadly and says, "I'm going to throw this away.  I feel sick."

Ten minutes later, I look over and the Push Pop is in his mouth again.  I give up.

The 5-Second Rule Doesn't Apply to Push Pops
Image from www.oldtimecandy.com

7. Soon after the bear was done dancing to 'Lil Jon, I hear Veggie Tales turn up and a cucumber is singing about a belly button.  What?  Where did they find this CD after like five years of heaven without it?!  And how do they still know the words?

And so, this completes yet another epic summer road trip, with no speeding ticket or vomiting to show for it.  Success.

Books Make Me Smile

How in the world will I choose just one book that makes me smile?

Oh, the pressure!  The happy books around me are desperately squeaking, "Pick me!  No, pick me!"

There is one book lately that has been making me smile and laugh:

Brief Thief by Michael Escoffier

Why do I love it?
1. It's a little bit gross.
2. It's a little bit twisty at the end.
3. It's a lot hilarious!

Read it!  

Which books make you smile?  Join us for #BookSmiles!  Write a blog post about a book that makes you smile, post it on Twitter, and use the hashtag #BookSmiles.

Beary's #Bookaday Books 2014

Hello.  My name is Beary.  I am seven bear years old.  My favorite foods are gazelle and zebra.  I don't like people that much, except my friend Rachel and her 3rd grade teacher (Mr. Stroud).  I do like to read, especially books about animals.  Here are the books I am reading for #bookaday 2014.

Ladies, look at my muscles.  This pic is for you.

1. I Funny: A Middle School Story by James Patterson

I fake read this book because it's not about animals.  My best friend Rachel liked it though.  She said it was funny.  The character Jamie wants to be a comedian.  He lives with his aunt and uncle whose last name is "Smiley" but they actually never smile or laugh.  Jamie had funny jokes that were not really funny, but that's what made it funny.  According to Rachel.

2. Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe

I did read this book and I liked it because the cat bit the dog.  I also liked it because nobody turned into a vampire.  This book did not make me hungry for animals.  It made me gag because there were a bunch of vegetables in it.

3. Blubber by Judy Blume

I couldn't read this book because there were no animals in it.  But Rachel said that it was a good book but she didn't care for the ending much because the book didn't really end.  It just stopped.  The main character kind of worked out her problem, but since it wasn't from Blubber's point of view, it was hard to know what Blubber was thinking.  I don't understand what this means because I am a bear.

4. Big Nate Out Loud by Lincoln Peirce

I also didn't read this one.  No animals.  And the main character wasn't even an animal.  Rachel says that it's about this boy named Nate and his life.  She says it's funny because the characters say and do really silly things.  It's a graphic novel so it was pretty easy for her to read.

Thank you for reading my blog.  I will be back to add more to #bookaday after this commercial break.  I'm off to get some coffee and a gazelle burger.

To Leave or Not to Leave

Follow Your Heart?

Really?  This cliche always seemed enigmatic.  I teach because it's in my bones.  It's a part of me like breathing.  I never thought I had to look to my "heart" to decide what I wanted to do with my life.  I always knew.

I get it now.

Not long ago, I was given the opportunity to leave the classroom again.  It was a fabulous offer and I know that I would have loved it.  I would have loved my colleagues and the opportunity to work with teachers again at the district level.  I was flattered that a district outside of my own would want ME (of all people) to work with them.

I turned it down.

I know that some people would probably think that I am crazy. A higher level position, better benefits, no papers to grade...

Sigh.

I want to stay with kids.

It's sad sometimes that a lot of the most passionate classroom teachers end up leaving for other positions.  But I understand why.  Classroom teaching is exhausting.  Sometimes I want to die when I see the stack of papers to grade or when I realize that I will be spending my entire Saturday at school because I am not even close to being ready for the next week.

Also, working at a district level or higher allows us to impact children on a broader scale.  Sometimes we have a calling to work with education at a more global level.  I know this. 

But I love teaching kids.  I love being able to connect kids with books and authors.  I love helping kids develop agency.  I love watching them become empowered.  I love modeling for them that it's o.k. to be completely and utterly nerdy.

I can't do these things outside the classroom.  I mean, I could.  But it's just not the same.  We adults come with so much baggage.  (I know because I carry the baggage in my luggage cart, too.)  It's not nearly as fun to be a passionate and ridiculous dork in front of adults as it is with kids.

Last week, three of my former students came to see me again.  They are in college, they are amazing kids, and I would be lying if I said this didn't impact my decision to stay. Leaving the classroom would mean no more visits like this.  And yes, these kids are awesome, even though they make fun of how many Instagram followers I have.  (Thanks a lot, TW and CC.)

They let me know that I need more Instagram followers.

Sometimes I wonder why, in education, does it seem like we always must move up, up, up the professional ladder?  Why is staying in the classroom with children not something you do when you are successful?  I need to push back on that thinking.

This decision was hard.  I didn't sleep for a few nights, sure.  But I chose to follow that "heart" voice, wherever it may be coming from.  I chose the little people, who really aren't that much different than us adults.  In fact, maybe experience and size are our only differences?

So thanks, Heart.  Now that I know how you sound, I will listen for you.

I Thought I Knew

You would think that I would know my students, considering that we only have three more weeks of school.

You would think that I would know basic information, such as where they were born.  Or how long they have lived in the United States.

You would think.

I was wrong.

This week I learned that I have a student in my class whose grandfather is one of the most important Ministers in the Republic of Guinea, Africa.

I didn't know.

I had also assumed that this same child, an English Language Learner, was born in Guinea and had moved to the United States when he was 7 years old.

I was wrong.

This past Friday, when his grandfather visited our class (oh my gosh!), I learned that this wonderful student was actually born in the United States.  When he was 1 year old, his parents sent him BACK to Guinea so he could spend his formative years learning from his grandfather, learning French, and going to school in Guinea.  He returned to the U.S. when he was 7.

Wow.  Would I do the same with my own children?  Would I have the courage to send my child away to another country for seven years to be with my parents?

I am continually amazed at my students and the life experiences they have.  Watching my student translate for his grandfather while our class asked questions was the highlight of my month.  

How better for 9 year olds to learn about the French Colonization of Guinea, than from one of the Ministers of Guinea himself?

I need another year with these kids.  I really do.

And I look absolutely ridiculous in this shirt while next to these beautiful people.

Writing Prompts are like Video Games

My good friend Katie Wood Ray once taught me that writing to a prompt is not real writing.  It's test-taking writing.  And it should never be called "Writer's Workshop."  

Ok, so maybe it is just in my head that Katie Wood Ray and I are good friends...although I do have a few pictures with her.  I promise I don't stalk her!

Writer's Workshop guru Katie Wood Ray and I (geeking out) before her retirement from speaking.

What's not just in my head, however, is the reality that kids must write to a prompt on our state standardized assessment.  They must address all the questions asked in the prompt.  They must use correct capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and spelling.  They must stay on topic.  They must use "sparkly" vocabulary and describing words.  They are encouraged to write a lot and stay only on the lines provided.  They have 55 minutes to do this.  They are subsequently scored on a 6 point rubric.

My sweet third grade students were not looking forward to this.  We write a lot in our room.  Actually, some of my students are close to being obsessive writers and Writer's Workshop is their favorite time of day.  You know, the kind of writers that have to be reminded to "please put your writing away...I can see you trying to write while we are learning about fractions."  It's wonderful.

The issue is that these kids DETEST writing to a prompt.  Abolutely abhore it. 

The first time we practiced prompt writing, numerous kids were crying.  I was devastated and many students simply shut down.

So.  I went back to a book I read while I was a Literacy Coach.  Writing to a Prompt by Janet Angelillo has an entire section in her book about how writing to a prompt is really like playing a video game.

I brought an old PS3 controller into school one day and set it at the front of the room.  It caused a stir, but I refused to say anything about it until writing time.

When it was finally time to have the conversation with my students, they were completely perplexed  Um no...there is no way on this planet that writing to a prompt is like playing a video game.  How could I be so ridiculous?

Lo and behold, though, my students finally realized what I was trying to help them understand.  Here is the teaching chart we created:

It truly made all the difference.  

My students realized that yes, they do have some power in controlling the direction of their writing in a prompt.  And although they must follow the "rules" of the "game," they can use their imaginations to create and go in so many different directions.

We just recently finished the writing prompt portion of our state test.  And although my students were nervous, nobody cried.  

They knew that they were "playing a game" and that they had the power to win.

Tweets, Skype, and Pink Icing

"Always be yourself.  Unless you can be a vampire unicorn.  Then always be a vampire unicorn." - Drew Daywalt

This quote hangs on our classroom wall.  It's very popular in our third grade room, mostly because it came from Drew Daywalt, author of The Day the Crayons Quit.  (And also because vampire unicorns are the best.)

We love not only this picture book, but Mr. Daywalt himself.

Maybe love isn't the best word.

Adore would be more like it.

A few months ago, we reached out to Mr. Daywalt via Twitter because his book was having a huge impact on our Writing Workshop.  So many students were inspired by the format and the hilarious personification.  You can read about that experience here http://kingandkids.blogspot.com/2013/10/two-tweets-that-changed-everything.html

We recently were able to Skype with Mr. Daywalt on a very cold Thursday afternoon.  (And yes, we know it was 60 degrees in L.A. that day.  Thanks for sharing, Mr. Daywalt.) We were crazy excited and nervous.  After all, THIS was the author of one of our favorite books...and authors are rock stars!

Well.  Not only did Mr. Daywalt show us the actual box of crayons that inspired his book, but he also showed us each individual crayon from the box while discussing their personalities!  My students were in awe.  I was too.

He later answered our questions and encouraged us to keep writing and illustrating - but not necessarily to stay inside the lines.  We learned that pink is his favorite color.  It was perfect, as we are talking so much about stereotyping lately.  

Our Skype session motivated my students' writing and reading lives.  Definitely.

But more than that, talking with an author they love pushed their thinking even beyond their literate worlds.  Drew Daywalt likes pink?  He colors outside the lines?  He reads The Twits?  I could teach my students that it's ok to be different, but hearing it from a rock star makes it true.

The next day was my student Ivy's birthday and she brought in cupcakes to celebrate.  Unfortunately, there were only 12 Star Wars cupcakes. The rest were Elmo or Princess cupcakes with pink or green icing.  

"Mr. Daywalt's favorite color is pink," one boy said as he ate the pink icing.  "Yeah, it doesn't matter what color it is," said another.

Vampire unicorns forever.