Heading into Pumpkin Spice Season

 "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." (Lucy Maud Montgomery in Anne of Green Gables) A longish title for a blog post, and yet a perfect thought to begin each day in October. To Anne, October is a clear message from nature that things change, and change is a good thing. Your new-in-August-or-September class should just be settling into routines by now and realizing that every day brings new adventures in learning. Maybe you have changed grades, or subject focus, or schools. This year, in any case, should be an adventure in building relationships with your students. Even a looping class shows up on the first day very different than they were when they left for summer break. We change every day as long as we keep living.

What does October make you think of? Pumpkin spice everything? As a non-fan of pumpkin spice, I am always up for other new flavors from my favorite coffee place. The caramel apple one called to me this month, although I have pretty quickly returned to oat milk flat white. Decaf. I'm much too exciting already for caffeine. In my part of the country, October never disappoints with the fiery displays of color from trees all around my community. And best of all? The mosquitoes are gone. I know many of your students have Halloween and the planning of their costumes on their minds. You might even be planning your own costume and those of your family.

October is a cozy kind of month to me. I dream of long lazy stretches of time, knitting, painting, and reading. I can still walk outdoors, but the time spent inside when I return is much more enticing. This October, I have a fresh new novel from each of several of my favorite authors to explore: Jodi Picoult, Ellen Hilderbrand, Jamie Ford, Celeste Ng, and Colleen Hoover. Here's a list of new books for middle grades that you might want to explore as you have reading conferences with your students this fall. 

Nothing suggests fall coziness in the classroom more to me than a read-aloud. In my opinion, kids are never too young or too old for a good read-aloud. For October, I recommend Anne of Green Gables and the more contemporary Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles. Comfort Snowberger  is a character that your students and you will not forget. 

Some suggestions to try out in your classroom before October ends, and to continue into the rest of Autumn:

Around the Campfire

Try this idea for Morning Meeting, Read-aloud time, Author's Chair, or Poetry Share. Build a "campfire" on a paper plate base from empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls and crumpled tissue paper. Sit in a circle around it. Students could have their own individual "logs" to add to the fire when they add a reading of their own work or when they add an observation, compliment, or suggestion to the conversation. I purchased an electric "campfire" from a local  fireplace shop, but here's a picture of one that you could easily build:

October Stations

Stations Day was always a time my students looked forward to. As a fourth grade team, we had a stations day each week, with a special one each month. Of course, our October Stations addressed our curriculum standards, but with a focus on Fall. Try a liquid measurement station with apple cider as the liquid. Try a STEM/STEAM activity using miniature candies like the one found here. For Halloween-focused stations during Halloween week, don't miss this bundle from Rainbow City Learning!

Stations are much like Centers, but with the addition of volunteer helpers at each Station. I like using parent or community volunteers to run the Stations, but older students from other classrooms can also do a great job. Volunteers help when supply management is a little more challenging. 

Explore Change as a Theme

It's been said that the only one who actually likes change is a baby with a soiled diaper. I disagree. IMO we all can learn to embrace change. Change means that we are growing and learning and becoming (hopefully) better versions of ourselves. There are so many ways to focus on change in your classroom. Explore the states of matter, chemical and physical change, and the way characters change from beginning to end of a book/story. Look at the ways other characters become a force for change to the main character. Begin to look at the changes each of us goes through during the school year. We are like beautiful butterflies, emerging from a gloppy pile inside the chrysalis. Journals, time capsules, and portfolio collections can help us to save and savor the beauty of change. 

This resource can help your students to document and then look back on the changes they see in themselves during the year. 

I hope you'll use the rest of your October to lead your students on their journey to embracing change. Introduce them to new scientists, authors, artists, and poets this month! And introduce them to my actual favorite quote from Anne of Green Gables: "The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and storytellers; but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland." 

My wish for you is that you never forget the way to fairyland. Just as working with young people all day will keep you young, remembering the way inside your own imagination will accomplish that as well. I'm so glad I live in a world where there are teachers like you!

For more October teaching inspiration, be sure to take at look at some of the posts below. If you are a blogger and interested in joining Teacher Talk, please contact me at retta.london@gmail.com and I'll explain how to get started!

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Poetry is the Song of Our Souls

She balanced her journal on her knees, focused in earnest contemplation of a totally blank page. "Can I answer with a poem?" she asked. "Of course," I answered, as others looked on, wondering what she was getting away with. A shorter answer, for sure, but one that could speak volumes about what the true answer from her heart might be. As I set out to begin this post, the first thought in my brain was that poetry is the song of our souls. Just as you can listen in to what a person holds in their heart as they sing, poetry provides the same window into the soul of the poet.

April is the month when you can really start to see the fruits of your yearlong labors as a teacher, the month the children all seem to bloom. As those beautiful blossoms begin to open, poetry written by our students gives us a clear view into the soul of each blossoming learner. There is no meandering with poetry. It is generally short and to the point. No over-description, no extraneous words. Poetry focuses its meaning and touches the reader or listener deep inside. A journal page, free-write, interactive notebook response, or draft written in poetic form, can never be a bad thing. If a fuller essay is required, the poem becomes a distillation of the essence of that essay. If any written response is required, a poem of course fills the bill. And, as a writing form that lends itself to combination with art, music, dance, or dramatic performance, poetry rules!

Some thoughts on weaving more poetry into your practice:

Poetry Performance
Lots of teachers use the "Poem in Your Pocket" model to share poetry, based on the classic children's poem by Beatrice Schenk deReniers. Here it is, in case you haven't heard it. Click on the pocket below to download a free resource to use on Poem in Your Pocket Day in April!

This is a fun way to introduce poetry performance to your class. Pull a poem that you love out of your own pocket and perform it. My favorite poem to perform is "Honey I Love" by Eloise Greenfield. It's  so worth memorizing. I can promise your kids will be spellbound when you recite it to them with all the feeling that is right there in the poem. It will inspire many of your students to memorize a favorite poem of their own.

Poetry Sharing
When kids are ready to perform, make the performances a part of Morning Meeting, or a part of any regular time in your day or week. I have always used a campfire setting to share our poems, whether ones we wrote ourselves, or ones we just love and want to perform. It's cozy in the fall and winter, and makes us think of camping in the spring and summer. Here's a blog post I wrote about
The Poetry Campfire .


Poetry Publishing
There are so many ways to combine art with the publishing of your poetry - a class quilt, banners, Poetry Slam book, on your website, and in portfolios. Here is a blog post I wrote with directions for turning some short poems into beautiful watercolor flowers:
Watercolor Flower Poetry

Portfolio Friendly
If your portfolios are a little short of writing pieces this year for any of the reasons that our challenging profession has presented, April is the perfect month to get that collection growing. April is poetry month! Poetry is short and doesn't have a lot hard and fast rules to follow. It flows from the heart. So take out those portfolios and see where an empty spot can be filled here and there with a beautiful song of the soul. 

Here's a post you might like: A Portfolio to Remember

Find my favorite POETRY RESOURCES by clicking here!

Happy April, teachers! I hope your souls and those of your students sing throughout the Spring!

I had soooo much fun talking about poetry with my teaching friends on our podcast, We Teach So Hard, Episode 32. Hope you'll tune in soon!

READ MORE ABOUT IT!

The Poet Inside Us

Beyond the Acrostic

3+ Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

Poetry is Song of Our Souls

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