Weekly Check-In #1 #TeachersWrite 2022

Welcome to Teachers Write 2022 and the Weekly Check-In! I'm Jen Vincent and I am a teacher who writes. Writing with young people brings me so much joy and it has gotten more and more fun the more I explore my own writing.

I've been part of Teachers Write with Kate Messner since 2012. I've written novels and picture books and essays. Whether you are new to Teachers Write or have joined us before, I'm so glad you are here! This school year was A LOT. A lot a lot. Bravo to you for getting through and for showing up here.

I'm a 6-8 Language Arts teacher for Bannockburn School in Bannockburn, Illinois. Beyond school, I love being outdoors, practicing yoga, taking care of my plants, and crafting...but I also love to read and write. Here on the left is me at the end of the year in my classroom finishing year 20 and on the right is after outdoor yoga at a local forest preserve.

While participating in Teachers Write can be a sort of professional development and I believe it truly does impact our work with young writers...I see writing as the very best self care. This is writing you can do just for you. You get ideas and prompts from Kate and cheerleading and camaraderie from me and other participants here. You can make Teachers Write what you want to make it. Write once a week, write everyday, do the prompts, do your own exercises. Ultimately, this is all about you!

So let's get to the Weekly Check-In! 

Here’s how the it goes. I share a bit of my writing life and I invite you to reflect on your writing life this week and share the ups and downs in the comments. It’s been pretty much the same since 2012 when we first started and if you’re at all interested in the resources I’ve shared over the years, this link will take you to all my previous Teachers Write posts, starting with the most recent first.

Teachers Write Weekly Check-In Agreements:

1. We respect each other and the type of writing we each do do.

2. We are positive and encourage each other.

3. We recognize and maintain this as a safe, inclusive environment for all.

4. We have fun!

Ideas for today in the comments section:

What are your goals for Teachers Write?

How did you do this week? Did you meet your weekly goal(s)?

What was the pit of your week? (The hardest part, the non-fun part?)

What was the peak of your week? (The best part, the most-fun part?)

My Weekly Check-In: My summer has been a slow-down summer. I have taken time to embrace active slowness which means I've been reading again, like sitting down and reading a book and that seems simple but I honestly hadn't been making time to do that during the school year.  I have some different types of texts that I've been exploring and I've been taking notes and letting ideas simmer.

My goal for Teachers Write is to try some of the prompts and to let myself see where the ideas take me. The prompt this week had me thinking about two rituals. One is brushing my teeth. It is one thing I can say I do consistently everyday and have all my life. And the other ritual is showing up to the yoga mat. And then that led me to thinking about what rituals I want to nurture in my classroom...I can't help it!

I can't wait to hear how Teachers Write is going for you! If you have any questions or if I can help with anything, please let me know!