Into the Fog

Traveling on Long Island is usually a unique experience 

in managing and maneuvering traffic. 

Back in Time
During my college days, I remember visiting my roommate's family who lived in the western part of Long Island. I was shocked at the busy traffic patterns and the amount of drivers on the road. When I returned to capital area region i thought about the drivers who could capably manage the craziness of the multi-lane highways. Little did I know that one day I would be part of the Long Island morning and evening routine rush hours. 

Fast Forward to 2015
Yesterday while traveling to a workshop on Long Island during the morning rush, a dense pocket of grey matter hovered over the highway. My quiet time that I set aside for reviewing the day's events and observing nature was over. I needed to pay attention to driver safety rules and be cautious and mindful of how to maneuver my car when exiting the parkway. Luckily for me, I was not in the thick of the soupy fog as others were. The fog crept in and walked out silently with the travelers all arriving safely to our destination. 

Life is to be celebrated each day. Being mindful leads to clearer insight. 

Move from the fog into the clearing! 

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Each week the blogging community, Celebrate This Week led by Ruth Ayres, writes about their weekly celebrations. Please visit the site here.

Also please visit Mary Lee Hahn's Poetrepository where Mary Lee is encouraging all to create haikus and poetry alongside here. Please visit that site here. 

Take Up the Pen

On Christmas Day in 1865, Longfellow heard church bells ringing Christmas tidings. While stricken with grief for the loss of his wife and his seriously wounded son, Longfellow struggled with the message of the season. As the Christmas bells chimed, he took up his pen and wrote. 

How often do writers feel misgivings about life but use their voice deep inside to pen a message? It is the urging of the heart that meets the mind to weave words. Perhaps, the process of moving thoughts from the heart to the mind to the pen is how Longfellow created his poem, Christmas Bells.

While you are reading Longfellow's poem Christmas Bells, please listen to Casting Crown's version. 

Christmas Bells
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

    I heard the bells on Christmas Day 
    Their old, familiar carols play, 
        And wild and sweet 
        The words repeat 
    Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

    And thought how, as the day had come,
    The belfries of all Christendom
        Had rolled along
        The unbroken song
    Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

    Till ringing, singing on its way,
    The world revolved from night to day,
        A voice, a chime,
        A chant sublime
    Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

    Then from each black, accursed mouth
    The cannon thundered in the South,
        And with the sound
        The carols drowned
    Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

    It was as if an earthquake rent
    The hearth-stones of a continent,
        And made forlorn
        The households born
    Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

    And in despair I bowed my head;
    "There is no peace on earth," I said;
        "For hate is strong,
        And mocks the song
    Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

    Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
    "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
        The Wrong shall fail,
        The Right prevail,
    With peace on earth, good-will to men."

For those who enjoy reading back stories and seeing primary documents of Civil War history please view the video here.

You can listen to a dramatic reading by Edward K. Hermann telling the story of Longfellow's Christmas Bells with the Morman Taberncacle Choir here.

I took up the pen and these were created.

church bells chime the call

faithful followers gather

passage-peace on earth

©Carol Varsalona, 2015

Today, it's Poetry Friday hosted by Tara Smith so please visit A Teaching Life. 

Gift of Peace

Confetti-like lights lit up the town square. Singing, hot chocolate, Salvation Army bells, and red kettles signaled the season of lights arrived. Feelings of cheer filtered through the air. Peace on earth was not a fleeting thought, but a universal message shared by all on one dark night in November. 

Peace is such a beautiful and needed gift for a world in strife. Let us remember this as we start to wrap presents for the holidays. Be mindful that during the season of giving, peace is a simple gift we can give to our families. 

It is #ThankfulThursday so I am giving thanks for those who are members of my Spiritual Journey Thursday community led by my friend and colleague, Holly Mueller. To them, I offer wishes of peace on earth. Please visit Holly's site to read the other bloggers' perspectives on the topic of gifts. 

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

Luke 2:14

There is peace in words, thoughts, and deeds. Please visit Poetrepository by Mary Lee Hahn to read her inviting haiku and those of her community.

Morning Thought

As we proceed in the rush to manage life, we need to reflect on how the pace is influencing our time and decisions. Being mindful at this hectic time of year is necessary.

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Take a moment in your busy day to visit Mary Lee Hahn's Poetrepository to read her haikus and the responses from the small community of writers. 

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Yesterday's Thought:
White Space Moments

White Space Moments

When the endless tasks to do list weighs heavy on my mind, the best plan is to pause and find time to wander, notice, and wonder. I can do this virtually but prefer being in the fresh air observing nature. Yesterday, the weather was so mild that I had the yen to let my mind have a break. When a friend called about taking a walk, I jumped at the chance to gather a fresh perspective. End result-my neighborhood walk provided the jump start to a more-fulfilled afternoon. 

Life took on a different perspective for that single hour all due to December's gift-an Indian summer-like day. Creative sparks went off and I wrote about a sight from my travels to central New York. 

earth listens in stillness to

fall's song hushed by restless winds

crooning leaves gone south

©Carol Varsalona, 2015

The above poem transformed itself into the following digital composition.

At the same time that I had a reflective moment, Jon Harper, a connected educator from Maryland, had one too. This led to our Twitter conversation and an inspirational ending to a long day. 

Triple Play, Connected Educator Literacy Experience

Part 1: Jon Harper from Maryland stopped to look at a brilliant sunset after work. He captured a contemplative moment and sent it to Sean Gaillard in North Carolina and me on Long Island. Both Sean and I are captivated by what we saw. 

Part 2: I felt the movement of the water as I gazed into the brilliant sunset sky that Jon shot. I sat down to write and tweeted back a micro-poem to give tribute to aha moments and Sean's #CelebrateMonday initiative. Sean responded in a matter of minutes.

Part 3: Sean sent a follow-up tweet and we communicated with another round of thoughts followed by Jon's day-end tweet

At the close of day, I was not only inspired by the time spent reflecting and creating but filled with #edulove for the moments shared with colleagues. 

By the way, I have never met Jon and Sean face-to-face but feel a kinship. Isn't that the way connected educators feel about solid online friendships?

Please visit Two Writing Teachers' to read slices written by the Slice of Life blogging community. 

Celebrating White Space

It seems that time is fleeting and passing me by these days. With the hustle and bustle of my recent traveling to a statewide conference, NCTE 15 in Minneapolis, and then off to central New York for Thanksgiving, I have not caught my breath. Autumn is still in my house and heart as I try to rotate decorations to signify the passage of time.

Wanting to take a quick break from the long tasks to do list, I  sit quietly to give thanks for family, friends, and life. Attending a funeral for a life cut short made me realize once again that life is fragile and uncertain. What is needed at this busy time of year is a spirit of thanksgiving to be present. I step back momentarily to remember that white space is essential to properly give thanks.

Because of the busyness of life, I have not been able to celebrate with Ruth Ayres' community at Celebrate This Week for a few weeks. I dedicate this post to Ruth and her community of friends who find the positives in each week of their lives. May all of you savor white space moments. 

Autumn Moving On

As I was traveling the highway this week, the last leaves of autumn were being swept across the road by a swirling wind. At the same time, a flock of birds moved in formation southward. All was quiet. Autumn knew it was time to move on. To signal the transition, one solitary runner flew horizontally past my window-not a lone bird but a single leaf marking autumn's passage.

With the passage of time, Autumn's palette dusts the world with a blank slate.

In the stillness of autumn's final good by, I begin the transfer of digital inspirations offered by those who found fall to Autumn's Palette Gallery of artistic expressions. The launching of the gallery will follow.

Please visit Buffy Silverman's site where she is hosting Poetry Friday. She is showcasing her service learning trip to Guatemala through photos and poetry. 

NCTE 15 Snippets

Learning is a unique gift appreciated by those who recognize its value. 

While attending NCTE 15 this year the gift of learning unfolded as I listened and conversed with literary luminaries, authors, colleagues, publishers, and connected educators.

The aha moments outweighed the long travel time, overcrowded sessions, and packed exhibit hall. Meet-ups were filled with joy; photo ops were frequent and social gatherings memorable and fun-filled.

Not on one but many occasions did I find tweetable bites of knowledge tucked inside sessions, in hallway conversations, and at social gatherings. Through the theme, Responsibility, Creativity, and the Arts of Language, educators explored best practice to create authentic classrooms where students thrive, use their talents, explore learning, and become digital citizens and lifelong learners. 

From the opening addresses to the last sessions learning occurred, virtual friendships became face to face ones, colleagues connected, and moments were savored.

Snippets of Learning To Ponder:

We must also value students not only as future workers passing tests but also as complex people making personal connections, engaging ideas, making their ways through a multi-layered world that’s so imperfect and yet so ripe with potential. ~Douglas Hesse

From Diversity in Kidlit is More Thank a Trend:

• Children should not feel invisible. ~Salina Yoon
• Diversity is a powerful invitation into the center of the classroom. ~Matt de la Pena
• We are three-dimensional, multi-faceted people and need to see identity in books. 

A poem is like a literate act of discovery. ~Taylor Mali

Use images to evoke questions that kids cannot resist answering. ~Harvey Daniels

Show me your thinking in a question. ~Sara Ahmed

Curiosity leads to questions and questions lead to actions. 

I arrived home from Minneapolis inspired by the learning and ready to share takeaways with colleagues and connected educators across the globe. This is my third post on NCTE 15. You can read the first one, Celebrating Professional Growth, here and the second one, NCTE Takeaways, here.

There are still many questions on how to propel learning to the next level. Through collaborate educational chats on Twitter, such as #NYEDChat, issues will continue to be explored. Questions will lead us all to sustainable action. 

Please visit Slice of Life at Two Writing Teachers to hear how other slicers view their world this week. 

Full Moon Rising

During the Thanksgiving holiday, November's full moon struck a striking pose as it nestled in a darkened sky. Intrigued by the beauty of its glowing light, I researched its history and found that it was referred to as the mourning moon. You can read the article, Why You Should Care About Tomorrow's Full Moon, to find out why. With information from the text and the image I captured on my iPhone, I created a quick digital composition. From an old tale, wise thoughts about life evolve.

Advice from November's Mourning Moon

Speaking of the full moon, I was excited to meet the award-winning author and poet Marilyn Singer at two NCTE 15 author signings. Attending her session with a few Poetry Friday friends was a marvelous way to end the conference experience. 

Marilyn is small in stature but her voice rings loudly with the love of poetry and the game-like nature of poetry. During the sessions she shared several poems from various books; read aloud to the group and carried her theme, Game of Poems, from her award ceremony to her session where she shared several

poems from her various books; read aloud to the group; had others in the audience read the best picks of the various books she showcased. I especially enjoyed hearing about her book, A Full Moon Is Rising, that is filled with poems about the full moon in various lands around the globe.  

While my poetry about the full moon is a little echo in a big sky, Marilyn's poems on the same subject are a big ripple in the world of children's poetry. There are many reasons why Marilyn was honored and applauded at the conference last weekend. Her love of research, the craft of writing, and the art of the read-aloud were exemplified during her NCTE 15 session. No wonder that she was announced as the winner of the NCTE Excellence in Poetry for Children Award. I cannot wait for my copies of Marilyn's books to arrive at my house. In the meantime, we can search through Marilyn' website here.

Now please turn your attention to Poetry Friday hosted by Carol at Carol's Corner. 

NCTE 15 Takeaways

It's dusk on the country highway heading north to central New York. I watch the sky turn from a lighter shade of grey to a darker one as nature shuts her eyes to the world. The road is lit only by headlights. In these long stretches of road, I recall the darkness of the night sky over Chicago when returning home from NCTE 15 on Sunday. It was a different darkness, a sky lit by rows of lights that reflected onto a glistening snowy landscape, a new wonder of late autumn's passing days that I never experienced before Thanksgiving. 

Reorienting myself after the hustle and bustle of NCTE 15 has been a slow process. Conference energy is no longer felt as my family makes our way to my hometown. I am trying to readjust to the real world of life as I know it but exhaustion from traveling is setting in. Nonetheless there is so much to be said about the learning gathered from the conference. 

Falling into Learning

Igniting wonder in learners was a focal point for my NCTE 15 team who spoke passionately about fueling the fires of creativity and independence. You can access my first post with a photo of my team here. 

Throughout the conference I captured tweetable nuggets of wisdom:

From the opening day:

• Song and poetry are like sister arts. ~Taylor Mali
• Celebrate the arts of language: the ability to read, write, and think critically is important.
• Get caught trying. ~Chelsea Clinton
• Failure is a badge of courage. ~Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Throughout the conference:

• If children need to grow, to stretch, to dream, to laugh, to cry, to find a friend, to vanquish a foe, they should read. AND When we want our kids to become readers, we have to do something really, really important. We have to let them read. ~Kylene Beers
• Part of writing is breaking the rules and finding your voice. ~Kate DiCamillo

At the Heinemann breakfast:

• Lucy Calkins posed a question for all of us to ponder: How can we use the written word to lift the level of reading? Then, followed with we need to lead children to literate lives.
• Essence of writing workshop is "Watch me. Let's try. Off you go". ~Maggie B. Roberts

From the Wonderopolis breakfast:

• Wondering builds a habit of mind. Students need to become participatory citizens of the world. AND Nonfiction is about wonder. It has been transformed through wondering. ~Georgia Heard
• Teachers need to be concierges of wonder for kids (Paul W. Hankins) and the connectors (Kristen Ziemke).
• We need to teach children to be uncommonly courageous. ~Paul W. Hankins

A statement that sums up the essence of why we continue to learn:

• Recognize the power of literacy and reading to transform students' lives. ~Dick Robinson, Scholastic's CEO

Although the trip to NCTE 15 was a long one with many delays on the return, I walked away with inspired to continue to transform education. Learning alongside literary luminaries, colleagues, and others made the trip a worthwhile endeavor. 

This post is dedicated to all the eduheroes of NCTE 15 and to be included in the Two Writing Teachers' Slice of Life. 

Celebrating Professional Growth

Here I am, back into the folds of daily living after an inspiring weekend of learning at the NCTE 15 Conference in Minneapolis. The excitement that I felt before the trip is still fresh in my mind, despite the drain of traveling eleven hours from the midwest to the Long Island shore. As I start my day, I turn my attention to #CelebrateMonday as a perfect venue to share a snippet of my NCTE celebrations.

Being at a national convention is like turning on a switch. My learning space gets immediately illuminated. Sparks flow. Fast-paced movements from academic sessions to hallway conversations round off the feeling of being continually energized. PLNs grow exponentially as friendships are made with each new encounter. 

Aha moments happen throughout the day but even with all of the excitement, brief moments of quiet are needed to replenish energy. Short respites restore balance and allow the pace to continue. Conference life is a surreal, out-of-the ordinary experience that I value as my time for professional growth. 

Looking through my notebook entries, photos, and tweets from NCTE 15 makes me feel grateful for the learning. I celebrate the opportunity to experience new thoughts, chat with colleagues, authors, vendors, and literary luminaries, and bring home new books for my collection. 

I dedicate this celebration of learning to:

• Ruth Ayres' blogging community at Celebrate This Week. (By the way, I met Ruth for the first time this weekend at NCTE 15.) 

• My NCTE Roundtable team who worked diligently these past few weeks preparing for our presentation, Igniting Wonder in Students and Teachers: Fueling the Fires of Creativity and Independence. 

• All educators who seek to be lifelong learners.  

Last Dance

It is late November, Mother Nature's time to have her last dance. Cynthia Rylant describes the scene in her book, In November. November's air is crisp; its trees are bare. Its stillness gently lays upon the land, seeking companions. An invitation is presented to join her quiet transformation of autumn.

While celebrating the changes witnessed in November, I took the liberty of reformatting one of the quotes from Rylant's book and digitalizing a photo of autumn woods. Does the new combination I present evoke a feeling of November changes that Rylant describes in her book?

"In November, the trees are standing all sticks and bones. 

Without their leaves, how lovely they are, 

spreading their arms like dancers. 

They know it is time to be still."  

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It's time for Poetry Friday so stroll over to Tricia Stohr-Hunt's site, The Miss Rumphius Effect for a look at Robert Frost's poem, My November Guest. 

If you are interested in my digital poetry challenge please click here. 

I am gathering offerings until the end of this month.