Back in May at our orientation for the Summer Institute, we each came up with our inquiry...what we wanted to learn more about this summer. I decided I wanted to learn more about helping kids be more creative with their writing. Lil quickly pulled a book for me out of their resource library to get me started on the research: About The Authors by Katie Wood Ray.
I'll admit that I skimmed through the book on the first weekend, then set it to the side. By mid June though, I was ready to dig into it a little deeper. I had planned on reading just the chapters that I felt would benefit me; but not reading the whole thing. After having been in the classroom for almost 18 years, I consider myself as having a pretty big vault of activities; but am always looking for new ideas. Sometimes those new ideas are hard to find though. So, I thought just flipping through this book would give me one or two new things to try in the classroom.
I underestimated this book and myself. What I discovered about this book is that I'm on chapter 5 and have read every word so far. I only wish that I owned this book so that I could highlight the parts that I like...and their are many. My daybook is full of pages with quotes, ideas, questions, suggestions, not only for myself and my classroom; but for my fellow Summer Instituters. What I'm finding out about myself is that I can take a simple section on a classroom practice and use my creativity to adapt it to my classroom but also expand it for our school as a whole or to incoming parents or current parents. I find ways to be creative in what I read, learn and write.
Maybe the reason helping kids be more creative in their writing and thinking jumped out at me for my inquiry is because it's something that I enjoy doing also.
