Why I am Here

In my previous life as a stay at home mom, writing was like breathing. Since going back to work in a 6th grade classroom three years ago, I have barely come up for air, especially since a new daughter was born a year and a half ago.  Someone once said in order to be a writer one must be writing. In the words of my students, duh.  As any teacher of writers learns, one can't be teaching writing well without spending some time doing writing of their own.

One of my writer's notebooks

Some of my favorite writing teachers, who have done a lot of writing on their own are: Anne Lamott, Richard Peck, Kate DiCamillo, Stephen King, John Green, Gail Carson Levine, Lois Lowry, Deborah Wiles, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. My favorite local writing teachers are: Ruth and Charlie Barshaw, Debbie Diesen, Kay Grimnes, Buffy Silverman, Amy Huntley, Tim Bogar, and April Young. These folks make up my critique group that has met monthly for the past fifteen years. They unknowingly taught me how to teach workshop in my classroom by being a workshop for me.  My students have benefited greatly from their valuing of process. 

My favorite teachers of teaching reading and writing are Janet Swenson, Donalyn Miller, Maxine Greene, Amy Buckner, Lucy Calkins, Kelly Gallagher, Regie Routman, Donald Graves, and Ralph Fletcher. As a newer classroom teacher, I'm looking to grow this list.  Here's to new writing lives, reinventing ourselves, and sharing in the sacred process of thinking on paper. One cannot have too many teachers, and I'm excited to include fellow slicers to my list. Happy reading, writing, teaching, and living!