Tuesday, February 25, 2014

SOL February 25 - Preparing for Slicing with my Class

I'm excited, nervous and slightly dreading this upcoming month.  I've been intermittently Slicing since June and also posting books I've read for the "It's Monday! What are you reading?" blogs.  But I have not been very consistent, especially since things started feeling VERY busy at school, which seemed to happen about the first week in September.  Now I have challenged (actually required as part of their schoolwork) my class of middle school students to write every day in March.  I'm a little worried about the logistics of helping to make it all work, but we've been blogging about books all year and posting poetry and Slices of Life a few times a month for each other to read.  I actually believe that most to all of my students will post more than the target 25 times, and many will be successful in posting each day.

But what I'm anxious about is me.  My days feel so busy that I do not write as often as I hope to and it is so easy to just put it off for more pressing needs (like my family obligations or sleep or exercise or homework or..or...or). So this is my slice for today.  The part where I carved a few minutes to write (albeit at the end of the day it was "due"), hoping I find this time everyday, for thirty-one days, and can proudly co-write with the amazing class I work with every day.

Good luck to all the participants for the next month in the individual and classroom challenges.  We wil learn so much about ourselves and the people around us!

Max

5 comments:

  1. I've "sliced" for about five years. Every March, I begin thinking that I will probably not post for the entire month, but that I will just do the best I can. And every year, I usually end up posting every single day. There's just something about this community… Good luck!

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  2. I think we start by carving that time to write, and then it becomes a part of our day - a place to write a bit about what one noticed, thought about, felt. When I first sliced, I thought each slice needed to be perfect, and that was time consuming. But, I've learned to write in the moment, now ... and that is a wonderful place to be as a writer. You'll be glad you did his, Max - I'm so glad that you will be part of our March event!

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  3. Hurrah, I love that you found the time, and it's a great slice, full of excitement and hope and, yes, a few shakes too. You can do it, Max!

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  4. Max,
    I think we're all feeling this way a little. Today as I was trying to write my post, I just couldn't get it to work. I thought, "If I can even post once a week, how will I ever keep up in March?"

    Hopefully, we'll all cheer each other on during the month. I always find some smart mentor texts that also help me when the days get tough. There's also the top ten list posts to fall back on in an emergency. ;o)

    Good luck,
    Cathy

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  5. You aren't alone worrying about how will I do this every day? Just take it slow and tuck a spare post in your draft file for the crazy days.

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