Day by Day- Reflective Practice

I've started reading Day by Day: Refining Writing Workshop Through 180 Days of Reflective Practice".  I've always been a reflective practitioner.  I love to reflect on my practice and go over all of the possibilities.  My mother always tells me that I think too much and I need to do more.  She is right.  I am the type of person that enjoys the process more than the product.  When I am nearing the completion of a project, I start to get antsy and looking for the next thing.  Not really a product person which is something I have had to learn that my students actually need more of, even though it is out of my comfort zone.  

I have always been focusing on writing instruction.  I am a huge fan of writing and the importance of thinking and communicating through the written words.  When I was little I dreamed of being an author and wrote stories about my stuffed animals.  In high school, I created sketches of characters and retold soap operas to my friends, recreating the story lines.   In college, I graduated with a English Major with a writing concentration.  My first job after college was freelance writing for the local paper.  While my masters degree was in teaching, my paper was on the concepts of first graders writing.  I loved learning about Lucy Calkins and Donald Graves.  When I started teaching I followed Katie Wood Ray like a super fan (even took an online course by her through Heinemann). I loved having my kids create books and felt like I really knew writing. But I slowly started focusing on other things, math, reading, science, and technology.  

When I worked on National Boards, I didn't put as much effort into the Writing Entry because I thought I had that one down.  Turns out that was the entry that I scored lowest on.  I continued to work on other curriculum focuses and slowly the thing I loved the most became on the back burner. 

So, that brings me to today.  I am now facilitator for our school's writing committee and on a new focus on writing.  I love writing with my kids and want to spend more time focusing on becoming better at the area that was my original love.  I am looking forward to using the Day by Day to reinvent and rekindle the writing environment in my classroom.  I hope you join me.