Joyful Expectancy

At this time, joy is filling our house as we expect the arrival of our first grandchild, a sweet baby girl. 

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Joy is the expectancy of the moment,

the colors of spring popping,

peonies unfurling their petals,

birds chirping morning songs.

Joy is the awaited arrival of a newborn,

as soft as the pastel sky at sunset.

©CV, 2017

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Joy is the birthing of a thought filled with hope,

floating into a universe of dreams,

filling the air with the essence of life

as it bursts into iridescent sparkles.

©CV, 2017

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Listen to Song of Joy.
Watch the parade of digital visuals. 



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“...he who kisses the joy as it flies...lives in eternity's sunrise." -William Blake

-AAA photo of Long Island Beach at sunrise

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Below is a beautiful scripture reading where reference to joy is found:

“You make known to me the path of life; 

you will fill me with joy in your presence, 

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” 

Psalm 16:11

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I chose joy for my one word this year so I am delighted that Margaret Simon, this month's host of Spiritual Journey 1st Thursday, has chosen Finding Joy as her topic. Please see what she and others in the community have written at Reflections on the Teche. 

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Stay tuned for the long-awaited news of my little bundle of joy!

Writing Is Like...

Writing is like a windowpane

opening out to the world.

It fogs up at times

but with care becomes

a lens to life.

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Writing is the pen
sweeping the page,

dipping into the

inkwell of life.

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Writing is like the breath:

the rise and fall,

the peace and struggle,

the pause and flow,

the mindful inhale and

the thoughtful exhale

that link to sensory emotions.
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Writing is nature's lens

to a world of beauty-

to all that can be seen

and wondered upon.
©CV, 2017
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Thank you to my colleague, Michelle H. Barnes, for this month's ditty challenge chosen by Melissa Manlove, Senior Editor at Chronicle Books. The challenge is to write a poem that explores how writing (or a book) is like something else. Click here to read the Michelle's interview with Melissa Manlove. You can read other poems at Michelle's May 2017 padlet.

Whoosh!

Oh, no, it's frozen!

The screen refuses to work.

I cringe at the thought 

a day's work vanished

with the slip of a finger.

That is what happened just now when I became frustrated with tech glitches. Exhausted, I am off to sleep to see if Wonderopolis can resurrect my Wonder Ground lesson plan on Memorial Day tomorrow. 

Remedy for Lost Computer Work:

Have sweet dreams about the sweets I made for the Memorial Day barbecue. 

Engage in deep breathing techniques practiced in yoga early this morning.

Remember, tomorrow is another day!

The click-click sound of the keyboard

breaks the silence.

Evening calls.

Remember

our fallen heroes,

for the stroke

of midnight

is about to chime.

Tuesday is the Two Writing Teachers' Slice of Life. 

 

This may not be the slice of life I was planning to write about 

but it is the most important incident occurring before sleep.

Tomorrow, I will continue reading all the posts 

I have not been able to read this weekend

and hopefully have restored a day's work that vanished. 

Memory Lane

Sitting quietly reflecting on memories from my earliest years in education is a great way to wind down after a three day, out-of-town conference. I am gratitude for the moments I remember and the friends I have. 

Walking Down Memory Lane

I do not remember days. 

I remember moments,

seasoned with life.

I paste these images

in corners of my mind,

ready to be resurrected.
©CV, 2017

While in Albany this past week, I connected with my friend, Joan. We reminisced about our early days as educators and toured past structures and settings from my graduate days at SUNY at Albany State. Then, off we went to visit Frank Hodge, a literary luminary well-known to members of New York State's Reading Association. Frank was my children's literature professor in graduate school. He nurtured my passion for teaching and my love of reading; chose Joan and I to be on the Albany Reading Council's Executive Board; brought us to reading conferences to broaden our perspective as educators. 

The visit we had with Frank at Teresian House was filled with memories of the past. We reminisced, laughed, listened to Frank talk of all the famous authors he knows, and promised to revisit him during my next trip to Albany. I left thinking that friendships are unique relationships to be cherished. Months or years may pass between visits but memories and friends remain constant. 

I walked down memory lane
where the past shaped the present
in a faithful album called LIFE.

©CV, 2017
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We do not remember days; we remember moments.
-Cesare  Pavese, The Burning Brand

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I walked down the memory lane this afternoon,

The streets have changed now after the storm;

the ruins and the residues are cleared...

But the madness in the air still remains;

Every path I took had the same old smell,

Everything once again seemed like those early youth days under the mellow sun, with you.” 

-Preetilata kumari

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The Poetry Friday Round-Up is at my friend, Margaret Simon's site, 

Reflections on the Teche.

I am in the final stage of collecting offerings for my spring gallery, Springsations. Please send your pieces to cvarsalona at gmail.com and visit #Springsations on Twitter. 

Self-Portrait

Self-expression is an important aspect of who you are. It is the manner in which you present yourself. Have you ever thought how you would portray yourself? Would you draw, paint, illustrate, create a digital, or a hand-hewn expression of you in the limitless expanse of life? 

Last week, Brenda Davis Harsham created a self-portrait poem, Self-Portrait as Wildflower, mirrored on Irene Latham's amazing poem, Self-Portrait as Tangerine. I was so taken by their poems that wove words and visuals so beautifully that I have been reflecting on the form all week. Using Irene's and Brenda's poems as inspiration, I designed a poetic expression and digitized it to represent a side of me that has emerged over the years. Knowing that Irene and Brenda's poems are concise and metaphorically inspired, I humbly present my image poem. It is filled with flourish depicting the image that expresses the inner me. 

Self-Portrait as Calligraphy Pen

A self-portrait is an artistic expression of the inner you.  

"Calligraphy is an effective way to communicate a message in a beautiful way, and adding illustrations/embellishments only adds to the striking nature of the art piece."-Lindsey Bugbee 

                     Self-Portrait as Wildflower            Self-Portrait as Tangerine

      

This week, Poetry Friday is hosted by Kiesha Shephard at Whispers from the Ridge. Kiesha sent out a lovely invitation to remind us to stop by the Poetry Friday Round-up and asks us to think about the shape of our year so far and where we find joy in our daily routines? 

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

Mindfulness in the Classroom (and Beyond)

In yoga last week, the teacher gently repeated a mantra that stayed with me throughout the session. 

"Let your mind rest on your breath,"

resounded in the quietness.

We engaged in the stillness

as our minds disengaged. 

A gentle voice retraced the message.

"Let go of your to do lists.

Focus on the breath."

Mindfulness floated

in spaces surrounding us. 

Peace prevailed. 

©CVarsalona, 2017

It was a timely message since I was preparing for the #NYEDChat convo centering on "Mindfulness in the Classroom and Beyond." Building momentum for a successful chat is key.

What transpired was noteworthy. The above poster, illustrated by the beloved author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, was retweeted by educators, parents, and students for days prior to #NYEDChat. Thoughtful questions were prepared by the wonderful author, poet, and yoga/mindfulness instructor, Susan Verde, and I repeatedly sent out the question flyer via Twitter. The publicity campaign continued on FaceBook. We were definitely ready  for a chat that would engage people and students from many corners of the world beyond New York State. 

A transcript of the chat was promptly provided by Participate. It can be can be found here. 

What does it take to deliver a topic, engage an audience, and provide an opportunity for people to network with each other?

• Mindful intent
• Positivity
• Focused Topic
• Great advertising campaign
• Passionate moderators and participants (Peter and Susan heated up Twitter, making #NYEDChat trend in the early part of the convo.)
• Stamina
• Gratitude

Upon a quick relook at the chat I realized that the above bulleted points were evident throughout the conversation. Moderators and participants came into the chat with an excited attitude and positive perspective. Everyone was mindfully attending to the topic at hand, providing responses, resources, and sidebar conversations with each other. The topic focused us on the importance of having students learn mindfulness in their early years. Passion was present and in high degrees. Because of the high volume of tweets, stamina was needed to stay in the flow. Everyone was grateful for the moderators' thoughtful questions and responses.

Reflecting on the chat has made me aware of the high energy of educators, parents, and teachers who voluntarily join evening chats. There seems to be an endless thirst for knowledge and consistency in positive perspectives. 

I leave you with gratitude for our guest moderators' enthusiasm to prepare for and engage in the chat. In addition, I would like to express heartfelt thanks to the participants for their eagerness to learn alongside Peter H. Reynolds and Susan Verde. 

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Stay tuned for Part 2 in which I will dig deeper into the chat to highlight the positives. I offer this post to Two Writing Teachers for Slice of Life Tuesday, "a meeting place for a world of reflective writers" where educators share weekly slices of their lives.

Turning of the Seasons

As one season turns into the next, subtle changes occur in nature. Winter turned to spring this year, and a flurry of poems were released. National Poetry Month saw the rise of poetry in classrooms and on social media. 

Laura Shovan's #10FoundWords project that began in winter on a closed FaceBook community site continued into spring. For the April challenge, Heather Meloche offered the prompt, Early Spring by Rainer Maria Rilke. I found myself responding late to the call to write but nonetheless was drawn to this poem that centered on the turning of the seasons. 

In order to complete the task, I needed to use the 10 words that were chosen from the original poem to create an a found poem. The words Heather chose for the challenge were: vanished, softness, meadow, rivulets, tendernesses, earth, subtle, risings, expression, and trees. 

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Early Spring

Harshness vanished. A sudden softness

has replaced the meadows' wintry grey.

Little rivulets of water changed

their singing accents. Tendernesses,

hesitantly, reach toward the earth

from space, and country lanes are showing

these unexpected subtle risings

that find expression in the empty trees.

-Rainer Maria Rilke 

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Hues of stark white vanished

in the gentle turning of earth.

Verdant green meadows replaced 

winter's colorless landscape as

earth rejoiced at the gentle awakening.

Subtleties of nature's handiwork

were evident in the tenderness of 

shoots rising, the calling of the birds

above rivulets, and the trees exploding

with colorful blossoms. Earth opened

its arms to nature's euphoric expressions

of jubilation-a springsation of the senses

unfolded before mankind's watchful eyes.

©CVarsalona, 2017

Now please turn to the Poetry Friday Roundup at Tara Smith's site, A Teaching Life. There you will find springtime delights. 

If you have an offering for my spring gallery of artistic expressions, #Springsations, please send me your work. 
Thank You.

Remembering Yesterday

As Mother's Day approaches 

it is time to remember, pause,

and celebrate the yesterdays 

that brought us to today. 

Years ago, 

we came into the world.

It was because of you, 

dear mothers.

You sacrificed for us 

so we could become 

the adults we are today.

PAUSE

(Listen to Il Divo sing a song of praise)

It is time to

CELEBRATE

our long line of mothers

who

loved, wept, and nurtured us

so we could learn, be enriched,

practice kindness,

and reap

the rewards of life.

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With hope in our hearts

we pass our love on

to those we love

so they grow to

transfer heartfelt love

to their children.

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It is time to remember

yesterdays

and 

hope for peaceful 

tomorrows

so

hearts of love

continue to grow.

Happy Mother's Day!

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This week, I celebrate the mothers in my family 

and extend well wishes to friends.

I celebrate with Ruth Ayres 

at her space, Celebrate This Week.