Remembering Fallen Heroes

We still remember
as the bell tolls
and names are read.

There's still a sadness in hearts on 9/11.

So Many Stories, So Many Hearts Broken!

Remembering 911's fallen heroes,

numbered in the sky and

honored at the village green.
We still remember.
©CVarsalona, 2018, Rockville Centre, NY

I woke this morning to the broadcasting of the Ground Zero ceremony from New York City. As the ceremonial bell rang, the reading of the fallen heroes' names stopped. A stillness surrounded the structure. Tears were shed. The pause was deafening for so many remembered the day that many lives were lost, fathers, mothers, siblings, relatives, and friends. My NYC suburban village was hit hard. Some who perished on 9/11 worked on Wall Street. Others were fire fighters and police. All become our village's heroes.

The short poem above is a compilation of blog titles I have written over the years. Each one a painful memory. Each one a tribute to those who perished, so I ask, "What is needed in this world?" 

↓

Sharing Acts of Kindness on September 11th!

All of the words in red are blog posts, either at Beyond LiteracyLink or Wonderopolis' Wonder Ground, that I have written on the topic and gathered here to create a poem.

Besides being Patriot Day, it is the Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers. I offer this solemn tribute to those who are remembering 9/11 and to those who are committed to sharing acts of kindness.

Carol Varsalona: Wish Weeds of Springtime | Wonder Ground

This post can found on the Wonder Ground at my Wonderopolis Wonder Lead Ambassador site. 

Quick Thought: 
If you had a wish weed in your hand what would you wish for this springtime?

My New Digital Inspirations:

Thank you Terje Akke for the Estonian dandelion field photograph.

Gearing Up

I am looking forward to tomorrow night's #whatisschool Twitter conversation on "Engaging Families and Community in Student Learning". Laura Hill, Moderator, John MacLeod, Family Literacy Expert at Wonderopolis and NCFL, and I will discuss this topic with the global community across Twitter. 

Please join us on September 21, 2017, 7 pm EST at #whatisschool.

To gear up for the event, the team created publicity documents. 
Jon Reigelman, Creative Director of Wonderopolis, 
designed the following promotional flyer.

You can link to my Wonderopolis Wonder Ground post here that followed Laura Hill's blog post. Below is the question document created by Wonderopolis and provided by John MacLeod.

Stress and harmonic imbalance at home can decrease student's ability to enjoy school and perform to the best of their abilities. So what can we, as educators do? - Laura Hill

It is an important question to pose to parents and community members, as well. As stakeholders in children's educational lives, home-community-school connections are vital. Students are the future and we need to invest commitment and diligence to fostering positive learning grounds for them. 

Learning grows each day through a stance of noticing and wondering in positive environments. 

We Still Remember

Sixteen years have gone by but there is still a sadness as the the fallen heroes of 911 are remembered around the world today. It is September 11th, Patriot Day. To honor the stories of 9/11 that started as an ordinary day in, Twitter created hashtags, #PatriotsDay and #Ground Zero. Needless to say, they have been trending as comments have poured in from around the states.

The memory of that tragic day is seared in my mind and the minds of the residents of my community, Rockville Centre on Long Island, who either knew one of the 48 who perished or who witnessed the horrific event in New York City. Others who were in town on 9/11 watched, in disbelief, the television as the news replayed the video of the falling towers. The town grieved then and continues each year to honor the memories of lives. We Still Remember!

Returning to Ground Zero over the years has brought tears to many an eye, including mine. The new Freedom Tower stands tall as a symbol of resiliency and hope in the American spirit. We still remember lives lost but many, like I, wish for a brighter future where hatred is overcome with kindness.

Previous posts:

Sharing Acts of Kindness on September 11th (at Wonderopolis' Wonder Ground)

Remembering 911 

Still a Sadness in Hearts on 9/11

So Many Stories, So Many Hearts Broken

In my heart, I have kept the memory of 9/11 alive. Today, I watched another horror-the winds and waters of Hurricane Irma sweeping through Floridian towns and up the eastern seaboard. I wished for the safety of those in the area, including family and friends a brighter day tomorrow, knowing that  

Forever she stands 

America, our land! 

I write at the end of a long day trying to make sense of the fragility of life and the uncertainty of tomorrow. It is soon to be Slice of Life Tuesday, a reflective time at Two Writing Teachers. 

Strange Dreams

Have you ever had a strange dream that made you wish you had a pen and paper to record it?

The mind can be a strange playground!

wandering in the darkness of sleep,

moving silently through unwalked corridors,

holding court with people never met,

engaging in unknown happenings-

The mind can be a strange playground!

bringing waking to a startled moment,

a wrestled, unfinished, lingering thought,

opening daylight with uncharted waters,

that float in the midst of unfinished business.

The mind can be a strange playground!

©CVarsalona, 2017

Thank you to two colleagues who set the stage for this flight of the mind poem that really was lurking in the clutches of a recent dream. Kevin Hodgson's response, "The mind can be a strange playground," to Fran Haley's slice, Song of Invisibility, set my mind thinking. While not remembering all the details of a dream (probably set off by my post, Whoosh), I quickly wrote back to Fran and Kevin.

After my frustrating experience with computer glitches and my vanishing work, I tried to fall asleep. Yoga breathing was one of my remedies but it took a long time to enter dreamland that was filled with all sorts of weird happenings. I wake rested but am trying to remember bits and pieces of what transpired. 

From this crazy experience, a Wonder Bundle Learning Experience on dreams evolved. That ELA lesson plan for 5th grade, using Wonderopolis' Wonder of the Day, #988, Have You Ever Had Crazy Dreams?, is found at the Wonder Ground. 

It is time for this week's Poetry Friday. Buffy Silverman is hosting at Buffy's Blog. 

SPECIAL NOTE: I am collecting poetry for my spring gallery, Springsations, this weekend. Please send in your offering if you have not done so yet. Come celebrate springtime with me.

Wonder Bundle

As a Wonder Lead Ambassador, I am in the process of creating a Wonder Bundle of five literacy learning experiences for teachers to use. This 3rd post, entitled, "Uninspired", provides ideas on how to help students find inspiration around them so that they are inspired to write and share their ideas with each other. 

I thank my colleague and friend, Holly Mueller, and her student Connor for providing mentor texts for this learning experience. Please click on the link below to see Wonder Bundle #3.

Carol Varsalona: Wonder Bundle #3: Uninspired? | Wonder Ground.

You can access the two other Wonder Bundles I created at:

• Wonder Bundle #2, Choice Leads to Amplified Voice, can be found here.
• Wonder Bundle #1, How Can You Make Earth a Better Place? is here and linked to Celebrating Earth, here. 

I am centering the learning experiences around the acts of noticing and wondering to inspire all to write from the heart. 

Wonderopolis

 

Where the Wonders of Learning Never Cease. 

wonderopolis.org

Celebrating Acts of Kindness

This week I have celebrating kindness during Random Acts of Kindness Week. While I believe that kindness should be a normal occurrence throughout the year, it is wonderful to have one week and a special day set aside to celebrate different ways to reach out to others.

Ways to Promote the Act of Kindness:

Send inspirational messages, either digitally or non-digitally to add some sparkle and warmth to others' lives.

=>My first step in celebrating kindness this week was to dip into my stock of digital inspirations and send one out on social media. 

Share your writing with social media friends to celebrate the art of writing. 

=>The digital inspiration below accompanied my recent post, Heartfelt Creations.

Spread kindness throughout Twitter with kindness tweets.

=>I sent a kindness dove around the globe that I created to key connected educators and asked them to spread the message. They agreed and the dove circulated bringing messages of kindness.

Share blog posts on kindness with members of your PLNs (professional learning networks.

=>I created a post for the Wonderopolis Wonder Ground, Kindness In 5 Words. It featured a poem, How To Love Your Little Corner of the World, in English and Spanish by Eileen Spinelli from The Poetry Friday Anthology of Celebrations, compiled by Sylvia Vargas and Janet Wong as core texts in a lesson on kindness.  

Bake for family and friends because baked goods are a great way to bring happiness to others.

=>Ruth Ayres reminded me through her picture of a cake to add this thought to my blog post. Tonight, I baked my coconut almond cookies dipped in chocolate for a celebration of friends. 

Promote kindness through smiles, a random act, or listening intently to another.

It is easy to give of yourself if you practice the art of giving and being hospitable. This is important so that we can model for our students, children, family members, and all those we come in contact with.

Be kind to yourself. 

Tonight, my yoga teacher reminded us that we need to let go when involved in yoga meditation. This is an important act of self-love that contributes to our well-being.

Kindness can go a long way in promoting peace and understanding. When days are gray, like they have been on Long Island lately, keep finding the joy in life. Continue to spread kindness through notes, tweets, and random acts. 

Ruth Ayres opens her space each weekend to Celebrate This Week with fellow bloggers. I am joining her to add my thoughts. You may be interested in joining in the conversation. You can access the site here and at #celebratelu.

Let Kindness Spread

Media headlines have been full of political issues and concerns lately, so much so that writers are turning to the pen to uphold their beliefs on social justice. Students are also confronted with headlines, sometimes with full knowledge of the issues and other times, only through hearsay channels. Exploring ideas to bring balance to the classroom is an important step these days.

At the beginning of January, #NYEDChat discussed the topic, Tackling Tough Issues, with Ted Palenski and Newsela guest moderating the chat.  Educators from many different locales gathered to discuss issues that have arisen and traded ideas on strengthening classroom culture as ways to bring balance to the classroom. 

Providing the forum for students to discuss terms like tolerance, patience, sharing, and kindness through storytelling, essay writing, and opinion polls is an idea I throw out to all. Relationship building exercises are steppingstones to cementing a culture of trust that help students see each other as peers and partners in learning.

Further ideas on spreading kindness can be viewed at my recent post at my #WonderGround site. It features a Wonder of the Day,  from Wonderopolis, and a poem, as core texts in a lesson on kindness. You can access that post here. 

The following quote, "A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees," by Amelia Earhart provides a beautiful visual. It would be interesting to see what images students sketch before a discussion or follow-up activities. In addition, it would make a great bulletin board in the foyer of a school or administrative offices. 

Plant seeds of kindness for kindness' roots grow and spread. 

Today is "Slice of Life Tuesday" at Two Writing Teachers. There is a sense of urgency as I write this piece for world news is moving at a fast pace and will have a growing impact on the lives of students. 

Cloud Pictures

Over the Labor Day weekend, the media broadcasted repeated announcements about tropical storm Hermine and the probability of it hitting Long Island. Fire Island was evacuated as a precaution and the Long Island south shore beaches closed on Sunday and Labor Day. Long Islanders witnessed night skies lit with variegated hues, folding into creative patterns that hovered over land. Each scene was like an artist's rendering of cloud pictures, reminding me of Van Gogh's statement that "night is more alive than the day." (www. artible.com)

While I was on the east coast spotting the glory of the summer's night skies, my daughter was on the west coast capturing brilliant sunsets. A story unfolded in nighttime cloud pictures.

Have you ever wondered how nature creates brilliant sunsets across the world? Artists have been studying the skies for decades, capturing its distinct beauty of movement and majesty. One of the most recognized night sky paintings in the art world and in classrooms is Vincent Van Gogh's, Starry Night. 

When taking sunset photos of brilliant cloud formations this summer, I wondered how clouds form. As teachers and students engage in first week activities, they may recount the brilliance of the summer night skies. Wonderopolis' Wonder of the Day 1413, How Do Clouds Form?, may be a starting point for an inquiry-based, cross-curriculum study. Art, literature, and science paired together can provide a multi-faceted approach to understanding the whys of cloud pictures. This can lead to a fascinating project where students represent their synthesis of the content studied through multi-mediums.

Please visit the Wonder Ground here where you can see lessons stemming from Wonderopolis' Wonders of the Day. Send me your thoughts or writing extensions that can lead students to noticing, wondering, and creating from the Wonders of the Day. Perhaps, a cloud picture will evolve from a similar inquiry as mine. 

Margaret Simon, creator of DigiLit Sunday, posed last week that members of the writing community write about the topic of motivation. I believe that our noticings and wonderings allow us to stimulate our thinking patterns and lead us to create. 

If we can turn our passions for wondering about life and learning over to our students, we can lead them onto interesting inquiry paths of choice. Engaging students in the act of noticing and wondering is a practice worth exploring on a daily basis. You can access #DigiLitSunday responses on Twitter and here.