June | 2017 | BulgingButtons

June 11, 2017
by BulgingButtons 2 Comments

Writing Inspirations

How to get young writers going? tetragono-lounge-chair-in-purple-velvet-lazur-living-zero-gravity-fullsizerender_15__-cushion-bedroom-cushions-for-sale-chaise-axel.jpg

How to get myself going?

One way to do it is to ask questions. From the painfully real (what do I want the world to remember about me?) to the absurd (what does purple feel like?) questions can trigger words.

Tomorrow I plan to give my young writers a list of questions to trigger their writing. They can answer all of them in a poem, or they can choose one of them to explore further, or they can design their own response. I don’t really care what they write, just that they do.

I need to take that same approach with myself. In so many ways. I need to say, “self, I don’t care what you write, as long as you write something.” Or, “self, I don’t care what kind of exercise you get, as long as you move.”

The problem is, I don’t do a very good a job of listening to myself. Fortunately, the kids listen to me better than that. They’ll read the questions and give them some thought. Then they’ll write. I think I’ll join them. After all, writing something is better than writing nothing. Now I’m off to ponder the feel of purple. I’m pretty sure it’s warm and soft, with a definite velvet feel to it. The feel of luxury. Now, on to other questions of the universe.

June 7, 2017
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The Best Part of Me

I’m a teacher and I use Pinterest. There, I said it. I feel like maybe there’s a 12 step program somewhere in my future, because there are times when I spend hours on that site, mostly pinning teaching ideas. It’s not that I don’t have any of my own, it’s just that there are so many good ones out there to borrow!

One that I found and liked was a writing activity that asks kids to think deeply about the best “part” of themselves. They literally write about a body part, but I wanted my young writers to go beyond the surface.

To me it’s not enough to say, “I like my eyes. They allow me to see and they’re a pretty color.” Maybe for a young child that would be fine, but these kids are eight to thirteen years old, and so bright. They are capable of so much more.

I asked them to think about why they chose that particular part. What does it do for them? How does it make them feel? Does it affect their relationships with others? Does it matter what others think about it? I wanted them to really reflect.

Then I invited each student over for a photo of their selected part, to go along with the writing. Above are a few of the parts they chose. Their reasons are wonderful.

Have you ever thought about your best part? What is it, and why?

June 6, 2017
by BulgingButtons 4 Comments

No More Cheap Puzzles for Me

I like jigsaw puzzles.

I don’t do them all the time, but in the summer I often like to do a puzzle.

I prefer ones that feature a photo, rather than a painting. I don’t like teeny tiny pieces, and frankly I don’t like too many pieces either. Five hundred seems to be the right number for me.

I spend a couple of evenings on it, at the dining room table. There’s a certain satisfaction in snapping together the pieces after searching for them in the pile.

I also like that they make me slow down and notice details that I might not have otherwise.

I found a jigsaw puzzle at a massive discount store last week. It was on sale. It was a folk art painting of old time Boston. I liked it well enough (there were no photo puzzles available) so I bought it. I started it that evening and finished it the next day. I wanted more.

My travels took me to the dollar store for writing camp materials. While I was there I picked up another puzzle. This one featured a photo of a strawberry pie. The size of the pieces was good. It was only three hundred pieces, but hey, it was a dollar, so I bought it.

Well, it took three days, but I finished it. Here’s what I learned: