And with a Cherry on Top (Thanks @CarmenOliver) The 2021 @cwpfairfield / @WeirFarmNPS Partnership for Teachers Comes to an End

But wait! #WriteOut continues.

Kristin, Rich, and I have been talking about the richness, beauty, and focus of this year's Reading Landscapes - Writing Nature crew, and how everything seemed to come together seamlessly. I keep telling them, however, that we need to look at the slight changes we make each year, because these iterative alterations are what gets us closer to perfection (which, of course, will never exist). 

Last year we added a YA book. This year, we added two incredible children's book writers. All in all, so thankful to Ann E. Burg, Carmen Oliver, and Rachel Ignotofsky for offering the books to make this year possible. With Burg, we worked with water, history, and poetic narration. With Ignotofsky, we worked on labeling, science, and naming. Then, with Oliver, we brought youth activism and inspiration forward. 

We were blessed last night to have the one and only Carmen Oliver grace us with her wisdom as she was getting ready to work with others in Utah. Her arrival via ZOOM felt like the moment Glenda the Good Witch graced Dorothy in the wonderful world of Oz. She had the magic wand and light that was perfect to close out the day.

I lied. 

She had the magic wand and light which was perfect to begin the day. As teachers signed off, my graduate students arrived to class and signed-in. Carmen Oliver was their introduction to #WriteOut, content literacy, designing instruction with initiations, content, and closings, and strategies to assist students to build literacy. I knew it was a hit when I announced that the books were a gift to every student (and their future classrooms). They were so excited. It was a day built on A Voice for the Spirit Bears.

Ah, it was also a day of Kristin Lessard who helped me kick off the National Day on Writing with her writing prompt. Find a place you love and write, which I did. I chose a sestina and my favorite paths along the beaches of Milford & Stratford. It was another day that, upon closing, had me shaking my head. Sometimes it is simply amazing to do what I'm fortunate to do.