Fresh eyes are what we all need from time to time, and this week, hosting my dear teacher-friend from Geneva (while her 19 students are all being hosted by my student’s families), we 
discovered much anew in our daily routine, stuff we don’t even give a second thought to, as, well, something now worth renewed admiration. Take rural mailboxes for example. The string of boxes mounted on a long board about a 1/4 mile down my road represents just how far the mail carrier will come to deliver. This simple fact elicited quite a discussion, even an excursion for photos, and a flurry of excitement afterwards: yes, adventure in the ordinary. Same with the covered bridges that span many of our small waterways here in Vermont. I stop the car and we step out to hear the rush of a high spring river, a chorus of curious crows, and the banter of sweet chickadees, all while investigating the ordinary bridge that we often cross without a thought. But oh my, what a beauty!
Tag Archives: Photography
Spring Dressing
Looking for a quick and tasty dressing for your spring salad? The following recipe is guaranteed to satisfy anyone wanting to top those delicate greens showing up in our grocery stores. Right now I can’t get enough of parsley, sunflower and pea shoots, young spinach and early strawberries on my plate. Along with this fabulous dressing, composed of honey, lemon and flax seed oil, you will have created something sensational!
Free Write
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.
Nine Cent Girl 