A few years ago, I was invited to view my first hummingbird. It looked like a little fairy as it flitted around my friends' upper deck. I tried to take a photo but it popped up and down playing peek-a-boo with me. Hence, no photo was captured, but I was delighted ans inspired by the tiny bird's sight.
Beyond LiteracyLink
A dedicated space to ponder, reflect, and converse about life, literacy, and learning
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Poetry Peeps Challenge as March Marches On!
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Weird Words
Being a wordynerdy writer is wordplay fun. I remember my upper elementary years. My teacher told the class to have a dictionary nearby while reading. That was a boring idea but I bought the dictionary. I learned soon enough that I needed the book to enhance my vocabulary. Years later, I still love learning new words and was excited when Leigh Anne Eck invited Two Writing Teacher writers to her March 2024 SlicerParty with its theme, Word Buffet.
I responded to Leigh Anne with five interesting words for her word buffet. You can see the five words I sent her for the party here. Today, I found a list of weird words and chose 6 to send to Leigh Anne as party favors.
Can you guess the meaning of the underlined words? Check out the parade.com link here. Have fun expanding your lexicon with some of the weird/not-so-common words.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Invitation Accepted to the March Slicer Party
Are you interested in wordplay and crafting? I find both stimulating so when Leigh Anne Eck invited slicers to her 2024 March Slicer Party, I said, "Yes, I'm interested".
Thank you, Leigh Anne, for hosting the Word Buffet.Here are my 5 nerdywordy choices: ebullient, emulate, fortuitous, garrulous, and nudiustertian. Can you match the words with their definitions?
Definition Bank
strive to equal or match ___________________happening by chance ___________________full of trivial conversation ___________________lively and full of enthusiasm ___________________day before yesterday ___________________
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Winter-Spring Tug of War
When I woke up yesterday morning, I could barely see outside. The rain came tumbling down, making a trip to the hair stylist unpleasant. Luckily, my husband saved the day and drove me thinking there would be little traffic. What a surprise to find that the highway was filled with huge trucks and drivers in a rush. In addition, the temperature was colder than expected. The heavy rainstorm and cold winds did not stop the traffic. We were surprised to see several trucks lined along the highway waiting for the unrelenting rain to stop. The long trip was filled with pounding rain until I reached my destination.
I reflected on yesterday's poem, Season's Transitions. The first stanza is below.
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Seasons Transition
Spring is here but Winter holds on with its brisk winds and upcoming storm.
It's time to remember: "No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." (Hal Borland)
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
March's Special Moments
While reflecting on my March slices, I realize that each heartnote I created evolved into a special moment. Join me as I gather the titles of each slice written during the 17th Annual March Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge. I pause for a moment to decide what format I shall use before penning a quick pile-up poem that summarizes fourteen days of writing.
What shall I write next???
Stay Tuned.
In the meantime, visit other slicers at Two Writing Teachers, the meeting place for reflective writers from across the globe. Click here.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
St. Paddy's Day Cookie Humor
Sometimes, two words sound alike but their meanings are so different. Sometimes, my 4-year-old grandgirl likes to be silly as in yesterday's Wearing of the Green Slice of Life. Thinking that she was being silly during the recent cookie-making experience, I misunderstood what she said.
"Grandma, where is the likker?
Looking puzzled, I turned to the baking area and spotted the Creme de Menthe bottle I used to make the green frosting for the cookies."
"Oh, no. She spotted the bottle? How did she know that word, liquor? I said to my son, who was also puzzled by the repetion of the first question.
I paused, then questioned her, "What are you talking about, Aurora?
"Grandma, I said, where is the likker?"
Click! The light bulb went on for me.
"Aurora, did you mean this mixing piece that we used to make the cookies?
"Yes."
The mystery was solved. My son and I were relieved. Aurora smiled in between licks of leftover cookie dough.
Monday, March 18, 2024
Wearing of the Green 2024
What is St. Patrick's Day without a bit of green? This color can be found in clothing, decorations, baking, and balloons. It did not originate in Ireland although many people thought it did.
My house was decorated with green decorations and mementos. Postcards from the turn of the 20th century were spread around the house as a reminder that St. Patrick's Day has been a part of the American culture for years. So you would expect that I would have festive green clothes for my little grandgirls to wear.
The tulle skirts and green ribbons were at the grandgirls' home, not mine. I improvised when the middle child of the family spent the weekend. The Dollar Tree store had a giant sequin bow. It was a becoming look for my toddler grandgirl who decided to be silly for the camera. If you stopped over you would see that her cookies were green but that is another story...
Saturday, March 16, 2024
Celebrating National Reading Month
Did you know that March is National Reading Month!
March was chosen to honor Dr. Seuss's birthday.
When I was a child, I fell in love with reading and libraries. There were so many to choose from in my city's grand public library. It was a magnificent structure in downtown Syracuse, NY that opened my eyes to magical wonders. The stacks in the children's library were filled with books about faraway places and times. I spent hours mulling over the precious publications and always walked away with a new stack of books.
But that library was not the only one that amazed me. Each summer when I visited my Nonnie in Rome, NY, we would spend time walking to the library. My love for reading increased with age. It's not surprising that booklove was one of the reasons why I studied to become a reading specialist.
My first classroom had a small area for books nestled in the corner of the cafeteria. My high school students were not readers but I had an intense desire to introduce them to the pleasures of reading. From there, I was asked to start a reading program for 7th graders in another impoverished setting. My love for books continued to grow as did the libraries I shared with K-12th grade students. To entice the elementary students to read, I offered schoolwide read alouds during holiday times. The teachers and I celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2nd wearing Cat in the Hat hats and reading to students. Then, after 25 years in classrooms as a reading specialist, I moved to central administration as a districtwide director of language arts. In that capacity, I was able to open libraries for classroom teachers in each of the 5 elementary schools. Now, I enjoy reading to my grandgirls with books I have collected over the years.