I love this idea of writing iBelieve pieces.  I want to write this piece for my matrix and possibly submit it for my anthology piece.  I usually have a hard time with personal writing and writing about myself.  This is a way that I can get my ideas out their without feeling like it is too much about just me.  Narrowing it down to a topic is difficult though.  I have so many ideas and thought on what I believe in, in life.  Here are some of the ideas that I am most leaning towards...

1. Enjoy each moment, always attempt to find the positive.
2. Never hold back, the next day is not promised.
3. You don't have to do it right but you do have to try.
4. Be honest with yourself.
** I really would like to think of a way to combine the first two into one belief.

I like the idea of using this as more of a guidance lesson in Kindergarten.  Maybe even a beginning of the year "classroom promise" type thing.  For example, We believe we should be honest.  We believe we should try our best.  We believe we should apologize.  We believe we should walk in the hallway.  We believe we should only "tell" and not "tattle."  It would be a way of whole group classroom writing.

It is always easy to think of all the ways that you teach writing and think of all the different ways you can incorporate writing into other content areas but thinking and applying are two totally different things.  I have been to a lot of conferences and presentations where good ideas have been provided but for some reason most of them never make it back to my classroom.  For the first time, I know for a fact that I will be implementing the techniques and ideas presented during the Summer Institute in my classroom. 
The idea that was presented today by Vivian Bowles was to get students outside.  How much more simple can that be?  Line them up, walk outside, and let them write!  Now I am aware that more planning has to go into it than just that but what an easy way to get kids writing and experiencing nature at the same time. In half-day Kindergarten, we do not get a scheduled recess time.  We have to sacrifice something in order to get the kids outside.  By taking writing tools outside, I am not sacrificing anything! 
Another benefit to writing outside is the experiences kids can get during school.  Most of our children live in apartments and they have little to no grassy areas to run and play.  Students can learn so much more than just writing by being outside.  Now I am curious to what kinds of writing

I have never been a big fan of social networking.  Even in high school, I never had a MySpace like everyone else and I only have a Facebook because someone else set it up for me during my freshman year of college.  So I never was even on Twitter until I was forced to set one up for the Writing Project. I have been making myself tweet at least a few times a week, if not everyday, throughout the day at the summer institute.  One of my goals during the Writing Project is to incorporate more technology in my classroom. While I hate to admit it, I am actually liking this twitter thing a little bit.  With the push of a fellow coworker/friend, I am setting a goal for myself next school year.  I plan to start a Twitter account with my Kindergarteners. 

My school has a very low percentage of parent involvement.  To be honest, unless free food is involved, we rarely have a good turn out at after school events, conference night, etc. I have come to the conclusion that even though they may not comment back, "retweet" or whatever the twitter lingo is, at least there is a possibility that parents will see what we are doing.  This may encourage conversations at home with their child about their school day.  I think that through using Twitter in the classroom it will create more of a relationship between home and school, parent and teacher, and parent and student. 

Agenda: How/Where can I add more detail to connect with the reader's senses?

I have had a hard time figuring out what exactly to put in this piece.  I have changed it thousands of times! 
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Where I’m From

I am from a small town where everyone is related to everyone,

You get in trouble and everyone knows it, and then has advice to give.

I am from a small town where long lasting friendships are formed,

You call everyone by their first name, no matter their age.


I am from sneaking out and staying out until the sun came up then running home as fast as possible to pretend like I was home all night.

I am from standing on the sideline with the football players screaming at the guys instead of facing the crowd and cheering with the rest of the squad.

I am from the smell of cows and pigs, not having to stop at stop signs unless the corn is up, and cops who participate in the high school parties while on duty.

I am from pep rallies, homecoming bonfires, football dinner, cheerleading competitions, snow days, drive your tractor to school days, and writing my own school excuses.

I am from class trips, bus rides, sleepovers, sitting in front of the principal, and riding four-wheelers.


I am from a small town where everyone knows your business but would fight til the end for you,

You always feel supported and loved even by non family members.

I am from a small town where I made many memories that shaped who I am today,

You will always call this place “home.”

As a Kindergarten teacher my biggest worry with plagiarism is if they write the same thing on their paper as their neighbor.  It usually requires a firm look and they begin to erase and do their own work.  That is an easy part about teaching a lower grade because they don't argue as much as older kids, even though they DO have their brave moments. I am wondering though how teachers of higher grades deal with this issue.  The article Using Evidence in Writing has made me think a bit differently.  Maybe plagiarism is not often done on purpose but more by accident.  I am sure that I have accidentally plagiarized as well.  This also makes me wonder what are ways we can start teaching them the rules of using someone else's work at a young age.   I think it all starts with teaching respect, honesty, and exposure to correct writing techniques.  

During Jarred's demo today, we listened to the song He Walked on Water by Randy Travis.  I had heard this song many times before and it always reminded me of one person. 
When I was young and even still today, I never have been able to see any flaws in this person.  She cooked for me, cared for me, talked with me, showed me, discovered with me, and taught me more than anyone else.  I am very blessed to have such a person in my life.  The past few years I have began to notice age starting to show and the overall slowing down process beginning and even though this is heartbreaking to me, I know how lucky I am to have had so much time.  My childhood is full of memories and learned lessons from my grandmother.  In my eyes, she still "walks on water" just as she always has in my opinion.

I was so surprised today by the emotions that were brought out by writing.  Erin stated it perfectly when she said writing pulls at your emotions.  I guess I have never been a person who thought to deal with emotions through writing. I was also surprised by how something as simple as a writing prompt or even a short open-ended sentence can dig so deep inside you and pull out feelings and memories you thought were lost. Today made me think back to the first (and I believe only) time I truly felt an emotional connection to what I was writing. 
This experience was in Sally's class in the fall.  I wrote a piece that I was extremely hesitant to write and never thought it would come back up in the writing project, especially during the second day. I am not even sure what prompted me to write this piece and then end up sharing it with the group.  I'll be honest in saying that I feel that piece was never complete.  It got to the point where it became so personal and pulled at my heart strings so much that I could no longer add anymore to the writing.  It was about the precious baby girl that we lost at our school last year.  As a teacher, when an event such as a child's unexpected death occurs, we have to be the strong ones because we have 500 other precious babies to protect and support.  That was without question the most difficult thing I have experienced not only as a teacher but as a person.  I am slightly curious to go back to that piece and work more on it.  Even though I was so scared to write it, I feel it was a small part of the never ending healing process and helped me to deal with the tragedy.    
It is so mind blowing to me that the use of the common word "you" can have such an impact on us all.  Thanks to the writing project, I will probably never be able to introduce this sight word again without it bringing up memories, both good and bad.

At first, I enjoyed reading this book.  It started out very informative and I liked how there were no set rules for writing.  She made writing seems easy and more of a personal choice rather then describing a certain way you must write.  The first thing that really stood out to me was when Lamott stated "So go ahead and make big scrawls and mistakes.  Use up lots of paper.  Perfectionism is a mean, form of idealism."  This made me feel more confident in my own way of writing.  When I write I have LOTS of drafts and mistakes.  I often never feel fully satisfied with my completed writing pieces. 
However, the further I got into the book, my mind changed.  While I still feel it was a  book with many great points, it was long and repetitive.  I found myself becoming distracted easily.  Towards the middle and end of the book, it was hard for me to find connections to my own writing process.  I did learn from Bird by Bird though.  Like I said, I like the idea of no rules being set for writing. Lamott stated that it was important to "listen. It's that simple."  By listening to yourself and othe