Weekly Check-In #2 #TeachersWrite

Welcome back for week two of the Teachers Write Weekly Check-In!

I mentioned that I’m transitioning to a new school district this year BUT the new district is right next door to where I grew up. Driving in to work on curriculum last week and this week had me reminiscing so Kate’s prompt was a great opportunity to think about place for me.

Here’s my initial brainstorming. First I did a free write and then I broke the ideas down into sensory details. I *could* have done a better job. I *could* have gotten even deeper with my writing. I might still. This is all first draft stuff. 

Here is my first try at turning my brainstorming into a poem.

And here’s what it turned into:

Life Circles Back

Twenty years have passed (!)

But life circles back

So here I am again

Far from

Running barefoot in the grass

The squeal of laughter on my lips

The warmth of my daddy’s arms

Waiting for my mama to bring lunch home on Saturdays

Drinking from the hose

Scooping up a bucket of tadpoles only to discover they were mosquitos

Riding my bike to my best friend’s house

Later driving to my best friend’s house

Birthday parties and

School projects and

Badminton meets

Twenty years have passed (!)

But life circles back

So here I am again

And now it’s time to hear from you! And if you’d like to share your writing, that would be great!

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: This week I went into school for two full days of curriculum planning with a coach but I made time for morning writing and even some writing in the evening. I wrote an introduction for a project I’m working on so I’d like to add more to that and see where it takes me. 

I enjoyed the prompt and I love that it aligned in such a timely way. Place is a fascinating thing to explore when it comes to writing. 

I’m looking forward to hearing how Teachers Write is going for you! If you have any questions or if I can help with anything, please let me know!