Teachers Write! Weekly Check In #3

Welcome to week three of Teachers Write: Poetry and Play! As I mentioned last week, I was in Costa Rica all week. It was absolutely gorgeous and I’ had a great time.  

I wasn’t sure what my schedule would be and I wanted to leave my technology behind (besides my phone for pictures! (and calling home)) BUT I did want to make sure I still played with poetry this week. On the plane home, I looked at the prompts and decided to write a poem using the exercise KA Holt shared.

Here is my trusty little Nalgene water bottle from REI that I took on my trip with me.

Here are the taboo words I came up with:

And then here is the poem I wrote:

Now it’s your turn to share! Did you try one of the exercises or go in your own direction?

Teachers Write Weekly Check-In Agreements:

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

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: I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make progress towards adding words to my WIP this week but I also knew I was going to make some awesome memories. In my workshops and coaching with Story Exploratory, I talk a lot about writers exploring. We need to get out and explore, to try new things and experience life, so we have things to write about. Trips like this give me a lot to think about and write about - like a blue clay mask, a catamaran sunset tour, a drum circle, and a cactus labyrinth. I had a great time gathering up words in my writer’s notebook that I can incorporate into my writing. 

We have one more week of Teachers Write! My goal for this week is to really zone in on my WIP and add words again. If I could at least double my word count from week two and add at least 1,200 words, that would be great. Let’s see if I can do that…or more!

Honestly, it makes me feel so great to know there are teacher writers out there! Thank you for sharing your writing life with me and other Teachers Write campers. I love that we make time to write. It truly matters. Not only are you nurturing your own writing life, you are better equipped to nurture the student writers you work with. That’s pretty awesome.