Pool day & productivity

Yesterday was Swim Day and all that it entails—students splashing in the water, teachers soaking in the sun, sounds of shrieking and giggling permeating the air, a few errant raindrops giving us a slight sense of panic, energy bursting from every corner of the pool…

But after we arrived back at school, my students filed back into the classroom and found their seats.  It was like magic.  Students who had been bouncing up and down only minutes before, simultaneously hyped up on sugar and over exhausted from two hours of swimming, were now hunched over their publishing paper, writing their fairy tales with an intense kind of focus that comes from having a deadline in sight.  They settled back into the work of writers.  Their fairy tales came to life before their eyes.  For me, it was a reminder of the magic of Writer’s Workshop—the real work of real writers, the importance of authentic writing, the joy that comes when students watch their pieces change and grow.  It’s almost the end of the year, and we haven’t reached “happily ever after” yet, but there definitely have been some magical moments this year!