Last night Annabel Hurlburt and I were talking about helping fourth grade writers organize their narratives with paragraphs. Annabel has done an incredible job of helping her students think in scenes and craft a story. As we were looking at some drafts, we realized starting new paragraphs wasn’t automatic for most writers in the room. I was reminded of the tricky nature of knowing when to start a new paragraph. Several years ago, I posed the question to Two Writing Teacher readers: How do you know when to start a… Read more Teaching Paragraphing →
I’m glad you are here to celebrate! Share a link to your blog post below and/or use #celebratelu to share celebrations on Twitter. ******** ******* Link-up with your celebrations. Make sure to check out other celebrations and leave some comment-love. The best part of celebrating on Saturdays is it becomes contagious! document.write(”);
I’m glad you are here to celebrate! Share a link to your blog post below and/or use #celebratelu to share celebrations on Twitter. ******** This week I’m celebrating connections between people. I’m celebrating the quiet encouragement I’ve received about my writing. I’m celebrating common experiences that link people together. I’m celebrating long-distance friends and across-the-road friends. I’m celebrating Autumn. And I’m celebrating sweet coffee. ******* Link-up with your celebrations. Make sure to check out other celebrations and leave some comment-love. The best part of celebrating on Saturdays is it become… Read more CELEBRATE This Week: XLIX →
I’m glad you are here to celebrate! Share a link to your blog post below and/or use #celebratelu to share celebrations on Twitter. ***** The Connected Child by Karyn Purvis, David Cross, and Wendy Lyons Sunshine is my celebration this week. I don’t tend to read many books about parenting adopted kids. I’m cautious of theories. I think when a book is powerful it is mostly because of timing. It’s been our experience that 18-24 months after adopting an older child is the most difficult period of becoming a… Read more CELEBRATE This Week: XLVIII →
{Go} So there’s been this burden on my heart to share my faith and family stories to bring hope and encouragement to women. Sometimes I like to ignore this kind of thing. Especially when it takes me out of my comfort zone. You know, my writing life used to be so succinct. It was easy. I co-founded a blog that grew to thousands of readers each day. A book deal came from the blog. And then it was like my whole writing life was shaken. Nothing made sense. I walked… Read more Five Minute Friday {Ready} →
My husband’s and my friend Nate taught three of our four children how to swim. Nate was 20 when I scribbled these lessons in my notebook after our final swim lesson. Get in the pool. Nate was a competitive swimmer. He knows how to swim well, so he can teach in a richer way. As writing teachers, we need to put words on paper. It gives a deeper insight into how to teach writing well. Teach one thing. After watching a swimmer he gave one suggestion to make the stroke… Read more Teach Writers Like Nate Taught Swimmers →
I’m glad you are here to celebrate! Share a link to your blog post below and/or use #celebratelu to share celebrations on Twitter. ***** A list of celebrations… Writing group Football gear Volleyball game Blog posts Early bedtime Late night writing Salty coffee Letters mailed Verses memorized TOMS sandals Vacation plans Pasta dinner Basketball hoops Chocolate cake Extra hugs Wiped tears Deep breaths One run New dress Dinner table Healed elbow How about you? Link below! document.write(”);
Sometimes the grind of parenting a child with a hard history gets to me. Sometimes I’m tattered teaching a child how to give and accept love. Sometimes I’m worn out fighting the same battle over the same boundary for 600 straight days. And then someone says something like, “Wow, I just can’t imagine becoming a mom the way you did.” On a day with grace, I’m able to seal my sharp tongue behind my lips. Sometimes affirmation follows. It sounds like this, “I admire the way you see who they… Read more Believe in Them →
On Sundays, I move our meals for the upcoming week from the freezer to the refrigerator. This way they can thaw safely. In the middle of the week Andy’s parents… Read more It’s Just a Meatloaf →
Ruth Ayres Writes 