parenting Archives - Rachel What If

Three Reasons You Should Be Reading Picture Books!

I’m a grown-up and I love picture books. Maybe I’m not a very good grown-up. Sometimes I still wake up on Saturday mornings wanting to eat cereal and watch cartoons. I’m thinking this would be a much better start than watching all that bad news.

A great picture book reminds you of you. It reminds you of the simplicity of life. Words and illustrations work together to bring a smile, and if they are really doing their job, they give you goosebumps. Hopefully, everyone has had at least one picture book in their life to help them along, to make them less lonely, to laugh, cry, and feel a little empathy.

Here are three reasons everyone, including grown-ups, should be reading picture books.

Picture Books Have Less Text

Picture books are by definition, short on words and heavy on illustrations. Less writing means more space for the reader to make their own meaning. It is an opportunity for the reader to join in on the conversation, rather than passively listen in. Authors must choose each and every word wisely. I wonder if picture book authors learn to trust their readers or give them permission to make their own meaning while they read. It feels a bit like they are being generous with their ideas, allowing participation in the story.

With less writing, readers have the opportunity to continue the story, play with it a bit more. Perhaps there is more freedom to explore or wonder what could happen next, or what is happening somewhere else. I love it when authors create different versions of popular stories or tell the story from a different character’s perspective. Readers are allowed to dream and laugh and cry and learn in shorter more manageable chunks.

Picture Books are Full of Pictures

One of my favorite picture books is What Do You Do With a Problem, by Kobi Yamada and illustrated by Mae Besom. I have read it aloud to both children and adults and every time it is a meaningful experience. As the problem grows darker and bigger with each turn of the page, we also get to see hints of light and symbols of direction. This book would in no way be as powerful as it is without the pictures.

Sometimes, well meaning teachers will discourage readers from choosing picture books, or books with pictures in general. We worry that readers won’t be able to visualize the story for themselves. Good readers visualize when they comprehend, its part of the fun of reading, but who is to say illustrations do not ignite an even more imaginative experience?

Comprehension is a complex skill and picture books are just the tool to help readers build that skill. They help us notice and name our world or made-up worlds, and they help us identify ourselves in others, otherwise known as building empathy.

Picture Books Inspire More Authors

Obviously, I love books. We need all kinds of texts in our lives. Picture books inspire us for all of the reasons above and more, but perhaps the most exciting reason we need them lies in our ability to see ourselves as authors. Although I haven’t published any books, I know the process isn’t easy. Still, we all have stories to tell. Maybe we will tell them in words, pictures, music, or poetry, but we must tell them. What if we weren’t so intimidated by writing or the process of publishing and we all just told our stories?

Let’s not forget the most important reason of all: Picture books are just a lot of fun. In this world where we are all trying to find a variety of ways to spend our time, reading sometimes gets the short end of the stick. I raise my voice along with this grown-up author who reads picture books regularly and not to a child, just for herself.

Will you join us? If you are interested in filling your life with a little more laughter, a lot more joy, and a whole world of empathy, I’ll be sharing my favorite picks over the next few months.

Happy Picture Booking!

6 Big Reasons to Love a Writer’s Notebook

Using a writer’s notebook is a simple way to recognize yourself first as a writer, then as an author. Teaching kids to recognize themselves as writers and authors is one of the best things you can do for them. Here are my six biggest reasons to love a writer’s notebook.

P.S. The following ideas have evolved from some of my favorite resources, but mostly from this book, which was a critical guide for helping me get my students started, and this article which is sooo worth your read.

1. A Writer’s Notebook as a Classroom Structure

A writer’s notebook can be whatever you want it to be. If you are like me, you have a spiral-bound, lined notebook you can get pretty much anywhere for around a dollar. I also keep a digital writer’s notebook in my drive. This is to encourage the use of my daily writing for publishing. The format doesn’t matter, the purpose does. Whatever you choose, it should be something so accessible you practically trip over it daily, reminding you to write something.

The writer’s notebook is not only something you should have and be writing in on a very regular basis, but your students need it as well. For students, I suggest a non-digital format for their notebooks.

Notebooks will become a personal item for students to collect their own thoughts and ideas, and a place to notice the world around them. A writer’s notebook can be a classroom structure that is used as a consistent tool to organize student and classroom thinking all in one place, over an entire year!

2. Making Thinking Visible: Reading Their Minds!

What I love most about writer’s notebooks is that I can look into them and it’s a peek into my student’s brains. I tell my students that their thinking matters so much, that they need to write it down. The writer’s notebook is where we keep and hold onto thinking. It’s also how I know how I can do my best work as their teacher, for them.

By reading their thoughts, I can better understand their thinking. Maybe I will find places to push their thinking, fill in some gaps, or discover something to share with others. What teacher doesn’t want to be able to read their students’ minds? We are literally becoming mind readers here! This website has some great tips and visuals for getting kids started.

3. A Place for Building Relationships

In the back of their notebooks, students have a section called Lit Logs. This is where we practice the skill of writing letters back and forth to each other and connect on a more individual level.

Essentially, it is a conferring tool! Students know they can write to me anytime in the Lit Log and submit it to me, like sending a text message. I will also use this section to ask them to respond to a prompt, or a problem we may be having in our community. Check out my previous post for ideas about how I’ve used the writer’s notebook to give students some mindfulness time.

I collect these and respond with a short, personal message. This really helps them feel heard and seen and is so important for building relationships throughout the year. When you have a strong relationship with your students, they are more likely to engage in the content you are delivering.

4. A Place for Building Learning Communities

The writer’s notebook is also where we store our class thinking, such as copies of anchor charts, mini-lesson notes, and discussion protocols and norms. Students know that they will be held accountable for their engagement in our collaborative learning community. They will also be asked to share some of their thinking with other class members, and it is easier for them to do that if they already have it written down and are prepared in advance.

5. A Place to Experiment

A notebook is by nature a processing tool. Its a place to capture thinking, jot down notes, sketch ideas, experiment and play with language. Students understand that it is their notebook, but that I will be using it to formatively assess where they are in the processing of content.

When they have a place to try things out, they will discover their own thoughts and even be able to see the learning taking place over time. The process is critical to their ability to create a product that can be used for summative assessments later.

6. A Place to Live the Writing Life

Finally, the reason I love writer’s notebooks is because I use them in my own life. People are thinkers, if you can think, you can write. If students can get into the habit of writing down their thoughts, they will pay attention to them more, they can become more metacognitive.

Writer’s notice the world around them, and pay attention to their place within it. Authors know they must practice writing on a regular basis, and that what they have to say is important. They intend to publish their writing for other people to read. By keeping a writer’s notebook over the last several years, I have been able to have articles published in magazines and online.

Envision the BEST Education for Our Kids

Since we don’t have any way of knowing what the future will look like, let’s pretend. What is the best possible version of the future we can imagine for our kids? What skills do our kids need in order to be successful not only now, but in the best future we can envision for them?

More Than the 4 Cs

As a teacher, we were constantly talking about 21st Century Skills, and preparing kids for the real world. Our lessons were focused on state standards, and what kids need to be able to know and do in order to be successful.

Education places a heavy emphasis on the four C’s, the skills needed for learning: Critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication. BUT did you know there are EIGHT other 21st Century Skills?

These eight other skills fall under two different categories: Literacy Skills and Life Skills.

While most of my blog topics surround literacy skills, most of my thinking lately has been around life skills.

Life Skills MUST Be Taught

Imagining the BEST possible future for our kids, and ourselves, makes me think about what I know as an adult to be most helpful. The Applied Educational System’s site does a wonderful job of breaking down the following list of Life Skills in greater detail, but here is a summary:

Flexibility: Deviating from plans as needed
Leadership: Motivating a team to accomplish a goal
Initiative: Starting projects, strategies, and plans on one’s own
Productivity: Maintaining efficiency in an age of distractions
Social skills: Meeting and networking with others for mutual benefit

You probably already know how critical these skills are, being an adult yourself. How did you learn to have initiative or be productive? What about those social skills? While I know many teachers are incorporating these skills into their lesson planning, I wonder if they are explicitly naming them for students.

Not only naming them as life and learning skills, but also describing why they are important, and how they use them in their own lives.

Envisioning the BEST Future

The cool thing about envisioning is that you get to use your imagination. When I imagine my future, I wish for a feelings of whole health, relationships that are fulfilling, a sense of participation in, and contribution to, society, and opportunities to explore and be curious. And lots of other things.

Notice those are pretty realistic. I must be all grown up.

If I were to make a list of skills I would need in order to ensure that my vision become a reality, what would they be?

In order to have whole health, I need to establish and maintain good self care habits.
In order to have fulfilling relationships, I need to have compassion, self awareness, and empathy. I also need to be vulnerable, maintain healthy boundaries, and practice being in relationships.
In order to develop a sense of participation in, and contribution to, society, I need to become self aware, reflect on my ideas and abilities, and seek out opportunities where I can make a difference.
In order to explore and be curious, I need to develop a sense of adventure. I need to pay attention to what makes me laugh, what brings me joy, and how to use my imagination.

What can you imagine?

We have a unique opportunity to use our imaginations pretty much whenever we want. This is why I love the words What if…

What if I could do something more to better prepare my own kids for their future? Maybe I don’t need to rely on the public school system so much, and complain that there is so much to be fixed.
What if I read aloud to my teenager, even if she hates it at first? Could it bring us closer together, and give us more to talk about? Could it give her the gift of learning to love to read?
What if online school really is better than public school for my child? Will he learn how to be more self reliant, trust himself to take initiative, and begin to build his own sense of self?
What if this is an opportunity to develop self care habits more deliberately into our own lives, thus communicating this absolute critical message to our families and students?

What can you imagine? What is the BEST possible future for our kids, and how can we start making it a reality today?

Thanks for reading!

3 Reasons Table Top Games are a Powerful Instructional Tool

As the reality of staying home every single day is starting to set in, It’s important for us to look at what we are already doing as possible learning moments. Many of us are playing board games, cards, and other favorite games. Table top games are a powerful tool for learning, and here are my top three reasons why.

Reason 1: learning should include Student choice

Kids love to play games and they usually have a favorite. The first few weeks of school in my classroom consisted of getting to know one another, learning routines, and lots of games.

Students were asked to bring in their favorite physical game (no video games) from home, and teach us how to play it. The purpose of this assignment was to give them an opportunity to take the lead in a less intimidating way. The message I was hoping to send was “We value what you have to share, who you are, and what you already know.”

John Spencer at Medium.com says “[Choice] is about empowering students through the entire learning process.” There is not a lot of ways to get kids to take some ownership in something if they had no choice in the matter. Kids need to take the lead more often, and we need to let them.

reason 2: learning is social

The Japanese game GO has been played for thousands of years!

My 18 year old son loves Japanese culture, and found an Oriental board game called GO at a garage sale. The game has been played for thousands of years, and is part of Japanese culture. It’s a challenge to learn the game, but together we are figuring it out. Learning something new along side someone, especially someone you love, is unifying.

In our desire to learn how to play, we have had some great conversation! He has done some research, and I have asked lots of questions. As we play, we develop strategies, and ask more questions. This is the essence of great lesson design. As teachers, we want students to interact with the material (in this case, the game) and ask questions. They they try it out, get feedback, and start again.

Games like Guess Who are perfect for creating great conversational moments. My son and I used this elementary level game to practice asking and answering questions in Japanese. Although learning Japanese is not at the top of my list of interests, it is on the top of his. As a parent of a child getting ready to leave the house, I’ll take all the time I can get with him.

Reason 3: Technology is not the only tool

As schools have quickly transitioned to online learning, there have been some very positive outcomes, and there have been the inevitable downsides as well. I think we assume that all kids understand what it means to be a digital citizen, which is probably not the truth. We see proof all the time that adults don’t even know what this means. Technology can be a great tool for getting kids engaged in learning, and it is just one tool.

Worksheets are another default tool that is overused. It’s a little like using a screwdriver to beat in a nail. It will probably get the job done, but there is a better way. What we see is the product of some learning that has already taken place somewhere along the line. Table top games allow us to get involved in the process: the two steps forward and one step back approach to discovering something new. When a worksheet is done, its done. A game can be played and played again. Players can get creative to can change the rules, change strategies, lose and win.

What I am not saying is that we shouldn’t use technology or worksheets for at home learning. Learning is happening all around us all the time. With table top games we can be more intentional about learning with our kids, and recognize that it is actually already happening.

want more?

Check out these awesome learning games from Empower.com. These are easy to understand and content based.

Look for my upcoming blog posts about Pixar shorts, story starters, and digital citizenship for ideas for learning at home. Also, check out this great podcast about the power of table top games.

What other things are you already doing at home with your family, that could be a great tool for learning?Thanks for reading!

Your Strength is Your Gift

What if I have no gifts to bring? I am a terrible gift giver. The worst. I hate shopping for others because I don’t know what they need. I also hate giving stuff that will just sit around their house and clutter their lives. Does anyone really need more stuff?

I am currently reading Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism and seeing myself in it’s pages. Throughout my life, I have been more of an observer than a doer. Just admitting that gives me a twinge of disappointment. I know I cannot be successful or fulfilled in life by being passive. Still, there is tremendous value in watching and learning from others through their actions, choices, and beliefs. Often, I am accused of being emotionally unavailable because I choose not to engage in conversations, or don’t feel the need to participate in discussions. I usually feel I have nothing of value to bring to the table, or there isn’t anything valuable on the table already.

I love to listen to podcasts and read books. I truly feel I am engaging in conversations every time I find a great book or listen to a wonderful interview. McKeown’s book validates my philosophy that not everything matters. In fact, very little matters. McKeown writes about “learning to discern what is absolutely essential, and eliminating everything else, in order to make the highest possible contribution toward the things that really matter.” It is so comforting to know that what I can sometimes view as a weakness in myself, can be a great strength. Having a strength means having something to give.

Over the last couple of years, I have learned what anxiety is and what it feels like to have panic attacks. I was first in denial about these episodes, and thought I was somehow being dramatic, or overly emotional about my circumstances. I was overthinking my life, and therefore panicking about it. Now I realize that anxiety, depression, and panic are physical responses to emotional problems. In a way, yes I was overthinking my life, but in a good way. It forced me to recognize how important it is to listen and respond to your physical responses to stress, overwhelm, and fear. These have been “wake up” signals from my body. The signal was saying “Your actions are not aligned with your beliefs.”

Essentialism asks the question, “What does this mean, and why does this matter?” One thing that attracted me to the teaching profession was the potential to matter. I need my work, my time, and my effort to matter. Education may be one of the only things that truly matters to me, aside from love, connection, and freedom. I know what I do each day with my students matters to them. I am, however, a little disoriented in the meaning my position has for me and my family at this critical time in our lives. My son will be finishing his junior year of high school, and my daughter will be beginning high school. How have I served them? Am I a resource for them? Do they know their worth and potential? What have they learned from me? What will I continue to teach them in the years to come, while they are beginning their independent lives?

I want to make a meaningful contribution with the time I have, especially to those that matter most in my life. Anyone who knows me knows I am busy. With two businesses to run, a full time teaching position, two teenagers, a home, and several other aspects of the American dream to maintain, I have officially placed myself exactly where most of us believe is “The way to fulfillment.” Filling my life with busy is not meaningful, nor is it making a contribution in the way that I would like. I will continue to be a powerful observer, see what is not being seen, and listen to what isn’t being heard. I will be disciplined in my pursuit of participation in ways that are authentic and healthy in order to give what is only mine to give.

person s holds brown gift box — Photo by Kim Stiver on Pexels.com

What if my time actually is MY time?

“The trouble is, you think you have time.” Buddha

clear glass with red sand grainer — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I closely monitor how I spend my time, and yet I always feel as though I am running out. When I think about my dream life, I imagine myself with so much time that I can afford to do whatever I want! I could read all the books I want to read, write as much as I am inspired to write, build relationships with family members, and on and on. There is nothing I want more than time.

I had a realization on my way to work this morning. Although, I do work for someone else, what if the time I spend at work really could be my time? I have been resentful of how expensive my job is when it comes to time. It has always felt as though I am giving so much of my time while at work, not doing what I would do if it was my time to spend. But it actually is my time, and I am choosing to spend it in this way. I feel as though I am overdrawn and don’t know how I got here.

But, what if I could be more savvy with this time? What if I could meet my needs while also meeting the needs of my students and colleagues? Hmm… What does that look like? Is that ok? Can you go to work and still meet your own needs? Do people do that? What about teachers?

Still thinking about this one. Maybe I’ll come back to answer this when I have more time…