"I have always imagined that Paradise will be some kind of library." ~ Jorge Luis Borges

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Celebrate: Graduations, Conversations, Flowers, and Spring Cleaning!

Discover. Play. Build.
Ruth Ayres, over at Ruth Ayres Writes encourages us to take a look back at the previous seven days and celebrate the good things that have happened. Want to read more celebrations? Head on over to her blog.

I have one really big thing to celebrate, my daughter graduated from college! Warning: to those of you not at this stage yet, the four years of college go faster than the four years of high school. 
The big day was made even better because our friend Luc (on the far left) happened to be in the United States and could join us. Luc originally come into our home through a French exchange program, he quickly became part of the family and we've had many visits together.

The work week was quiet compared to most, but still full of celebratory moments. I had four encouraging conversations with my fourth graders. I showed each class the I Have A Dream poetry blog post. We explored the effectiveness of the visual messages. The students and I talked about word placement, color choice, word choice, and layout. These types of conversations make me happy.  I look forward to continuing this work with them in fifth grade.

Local author and illustrator Claire Nivola visited with my fifth graders. I am interested in the types of questions that students are asking authors and illustratorsThe questions they asked made me proud. We didn't prearrange any questions for this visit and we didn't need to, their questions were thoughtful and demonstrated their interests.  Claire's responses were filled with just the right amount of information. 

Inspired by a question during the #sharpschu twitter chat, I read The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli. The book won the Geisel Award this year. I asked the students the question that had been asked of us, "What would Theodore Seuss Geisel like about this book?" The second graders were eager to take on this challenge and responded with many of the same things shared during the chat. They thought he would like the humor, the color choice, the expressions on the crocodile's face, the melodrama, and the fact that the story would continue (that another watermelon seed would be swallowed). I agree!

My week was full of after school meetings, so I wasn't able to walk to school until Friday. I think mother nature knew that I longed for beautiful things to see because I could barely make it a block without having to stop and take a picture.  










Oh, and I spent some time cleaning and tidying in my library! It feels good to come into the last twenty days of school this way.









Happy Saturday!

11 comments:

  1. What a lovely colorful celebration with so many pictures. The flowers look so beautiful and your library is inviting. Congratulations to your daughter on he graduation! Wishing her the best for the future!

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    1. Thank you! I am really working on changing the library. It has been a two year process. I would really like new furniture, but will have to wait for that!

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  2. Congratulations on your daughter's graduation! :-) And wow! So many beautiful flower pictures. They are inspiring. And I want your library! It is beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Thank you! I love to take flower pictures (as you likely already know). My library is a work-in-progress but I am happy with my progress!

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  3. One more year and I will be celebrating your picture! I hope your daughter finds happiness in what she sets out to do. It does go by fast doesn't it? I am in LOVE with your library! Ours seems so small in comparison! Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thank you! I am working on making it kid friendly. I think my pictures may make my library look bigger than it is. The shape also helps with that. Thank you for the kind words for my daughter!

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  4. Oh how I love this post. Your library is just gorgeous. It looks so big! And what lovely flowers from your walk. Your visit with Claire Nivola sounds divine. I am such a fan of her work. Last but not least- beautiful family! Congratulations to your daughter!

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    1. Thank you, Carrie! My library likely looks bigger in these photographs, and the shape does help. I will tall Claire of your comment!

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  5. Your library looks so inviting! The last few days of school are always bittersweet - fun summer plans but sometimes hard to say goodbye to another year! Congrats on the wonderful graduation. Such a happy moment!

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    1. Thank you, Michele! Bittersweet indeed. I am thankful for the time to read and be outside, but miss the students.

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  6. Congratulations to your daughter-a big celebration is in order for that! And, love seeing the photos all the way through, your family, the flowers, and your gorgeous library. I love our library, but yours looks even more spacious! Have a wonderful weekend!

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