The teachers were amazing.
As Dr. Novack noted, "This is it. Teachers teaching teachers." We wrote, we painted, we participated, we meandered, we rambled, and we shared, and all of us leave with a writer's notebook full of new ideas.
Carmen Oliver. Rachel Ignotofsky. Ann E. Burg. What gifts to the projects at hand - providing us stories, words, science, thinking, and perspectives. So grateful to the National Writing Project once again for offering us the grace to partner with the park.
It's fascinating, too, when you realize you have the perfect cohort of engaged teachers who just happen to be thirsty, driven, curious, and ready for outdoor invitations.
Yesterday, Lynn - a teacher from Vermont - asked us to use a third ear (that is an astute ear) to find the words to describe what we were hearing. The winds were singing music, symphonies, and orchestrations that artists of many years have tried to put into words. It's impossible. But we tried.
And we made it to Weir Pond. The stars were sunbathing in the water just as the last of the turtles were sunbathing in the sun. No snakes, but several leaves learning to skate across the water hoping to be warmed and hugged by the winds. It was calm. It was inviting. It was exactly why Julian Alden Weir was attracted to the location.
Not sure if our impressions of the place will ever make it out of our journals, but it is easy to state we were all impressed. We wait until the National Day of Writing (#NDOW21) to share our final thoughts - the 4th day of Reading Landscapes and Writing Nature. With participants from NY, CT, VT, and Massachusetts, our last gathering will be Digital and I can't wait to learn what the teachers created.
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