There are some days when you just have to let your mind wander, play with sound and imagery through words, and just have fun writing. Every Monday I start each class with a 7 minute free write. These always amount to something. Something humorous or something profound, it matters not. Sometimes we are compelled to share and other times we tuck the scribblings into a private place. Regardless, we become a community of writers during those 7 minutes. Only the sound of pen hitting paper. Heads down and hands moving. Those 7 minutes fill the classroom with a thick pulsing creativity that you can feel as vividly as sunlight.

Last week, across the state, schools just about everywhere participated in Vermont Writes Day. Students and adults alike chose from several prompts and just wrote. You can be sure something profound happened in classrooms all over.