Celebrating Winter Together

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is time for home." -Edith Sitwell

Sitwell's quote reminds me that winter is the time of year for stepping back and enjoying the warmth of family and fremily togetherness. It is the time to look inside, enjoy moments of solitude but also the time to let JanYOUary shape our winter lives. Make the most of winter! It is our launching pad for one word goals to propel our 2018 dreams and hopes.

Photo by Devin Hartnett, West Virginia

NOTICE
unblemished snow,
winter's whitened creation,
artistry in motion, that quietly enters,
inviting all travelers to linger in solitude,
savor the beauty of untouched paths.
Listen to nature's calling, awakening
life to hushed stillness and peace.
WONDER in silent tribute as
 frosted trees celebrate
a world tucked in
 tranquility and
hope.

©CVarsalona, 2018

Tomorrow, I look forward to a winter walk exploring Manhattan with my family. Who knows what sights and sounds I will find because New York City in winter is a happening. May your weekend be filled with winter magic and celebrations of life. I am off now to Celebrate This Week with Ruth Ayres and her community of writers. Join me.

News:

This week I will invite all to create alongside me for my newest gallery, Winter Wonderland. This is everyone's chance to voice positive thoughts about  the season of winter, whatever it may look like in your locale. You can see some of the digitals that have been gathering for this year's winter gallery at #WinterWonderland18 and visit last year's winter gallery here.

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.

Elevating Voice

Over the course of years, I have learned the merits of noticing and wondering. From seeds of wonder, curiosity grows and inquiry paths shape thoughts. 

After a three day retreat for the Wonderopolis Wonder Lead Ambassadors in Louisville, Kentucky, I have gained a new awareness on the topic of wonder with its multilayered dimensions. I reflect on the power of voice to spread a universal message: wonder is the underpinning of inquiry. With this message comes a call to action-ignite the flame of learning for every child and adolescent.

(Note: The above digital composition started as an original photo taken from airplane as I wondered about the clouds floating by. Digitalizing the photo gave it a new perspective on the impact of noticing and wondering on the creative process.)

Today, Poetry Friday is being celebrated at Carol's Corner, hosted by my writing colleague, Carol Wilcox.