First writing class of the year - a group of seventeen eclectic students assembled in my virtual classroom. They joined from all across the state of Pennsylvania. Co-teachers ready. Game faces on.
After introductions and expectations, we talked about the six word memoir. Students read aloud. Chatted with myself, my co-teachers, and amongst themselves. As as class, we defined a memoir - French for memory. I shared the fact that Ernest Hemingway won his first essay with a six word memoir. After introducing the assignment and providing examples, I sent my high school students on their way to create their first six word memoir. I reiterated - the only requirement was that it had to be six words. SIX WORDS. SIMPLE. I hope you enjoy the responses as much as I did. Some nailed it - and, well, some really missed the mark. My take away as an educator; we have got some work to do. - to be continued - xo Traci books, chores, playing outside and television My mom is always making food. horses horses horses horses horses horses pets:my cat sean is looking at me right now My favorite thing is to climb a tree I went to the beach summer break. Coffee, Beach, laughs, elbows, none, none i really deeply hate math alot my favorite thing is art and all i did this summer was drawing my art defines me when i draw i enter a art zone don't disturb me math dog but i like all animals anime, talking, kindness, cats,science,art i have two cats there name is finn and bmo and there literally my kids and ill kill someone for them thats it really favorite things:dirtbikes,quads,skateboarding,shoes,clothes Anime, exercise, mind, Mysterious, Spanish, Cat i want to the wmca pool [Pets] I have one and I love her favorite things: horror
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Family. Friends. Fishing. Fire pits. Floating. Fireworks. Firsts. Five crowns. Fast cars. Fun times.
- to be continued I can offer no explanation as to where I have been.
death. disease. drama. it has honestly all been too much. As the years pass, the circle gets smaller. Family - immediate, extended, adopted - first priority. True friends become more clear. Late August steam has set in on the east coast. We enjoyed a recent thick summer night at the beach - swinging in the chairs - enjoying conversation with family. The conversation flowed easily - as Lionel would say like Sunday mornings - 2020, friendships, pandemic, politics, education, careers, and death. There was no shortage of topics. We discussed the dreams I have had about family that has passed. I shared them - read aloud - without tears. I true feat as I am a highly emotional reader - speaker. Anytime attention is on me quite frankly. I Know She Was With Me October 15, 2020 The setting was Lynn and Steve’s house. I was racing back from somewhere, feeling devastated that I had come to the realization that Mom-Mom had passed. Defeated. Deflated. Aunt Lynn was vacuuming the ceiling - I recall seeing an extension cord plugged into the wall high; she would have needed a ladder to plug it in. I went to the basement and Mom-Mom was there. No details, just a mirage of her. I asked if she had visited me and described clothing. She said it wasn’t her, but she is here now. Notes: I am confused by this dream, but feeling overwhelmed with emotion. I know she came to me last night. Was she crocheting in the dream? I get glimpses of what I think I saw, but it was rather fuzzy. Yet one thing is certain - she was with me last night. I love you and miss you. This week marks 14 years without Pop-Pop and 3 without you. As I cleared my throat and took in the reaction of our circle - the reality hit me that I miss writing. I miss sharing. and so I hope to continue to work on writing. -writer in training with a story to tell Title: “I have the same memory”
Date: 11/3/2019 Daylight savings, cool crisp morning - frost ---Begin dream As I crest a sand dune, I glance towards the horizon. In the near distance, a boat, motorless, rests peacefully. With his back towards me, I feel the urgency to run to him. He is talking to a young woman, hair feathered and blondish in color. I quickly kick off my shoes and wade into the water. As I enter the water, the woman fades and I fear he will leave too. As I near the vessel he is aboard, something descends from the sky to block me - like a bucket. I never make it to the boat. Frustrated, I stop and listen. I hear his hearty voice claim, “I have the same memory.” ---End dream Notes: I woke up feeling super excited to share with Mom. In the midst of describing the dream, I became very emotional. Reflecting, was he sharing a memory with the person he was conversing with? Was I just a lucky witness, an observer to his life in heaven? Or was he talking to me? Who was the woman? Colleen? Mommom? A sister? His voice sounded the same and he looked like Poppop, although I only saw his back. My mind is open until next time … The boys are in the final stages of wrapping up the 2018/2019 wrestling season.
William had his final ICWL meet ever; he ages out after this season and moves onto high school next year. His season ended by going 4-2 in a 27 man bracket at the SEPA district 1 Championship in Quakertown, PA. It was a two-day event. He handled his first loss poorly, and is disappointed in the way he handled it. Another learning opportunity. I wasn't at the event, so I texted him instead. "Be mindful of your character which will far outlast any results of a wrestling match." ---End of lecture. His second loss was handled with grace. Until next time. . . A few highlights of his weekend (in his own words): "I didn't get pinned and I earned 24 points for our team since all of my wins were by fall" Kennett finished 3rd out of 35 teams at the SEPA tournament (an amazing accomplishment for a relatively young team) #bluedemons Ben had a nice weekend of wrestling too. In his final ICWL meet of the season, he went 3-0, beating an opponent from Boyertown he previously lost to. #makeprogress We are incredibly proud of these two boys for all their hard work. When shopping for the boys for Christmas this past year, I struggled a bit. They are getting older, they aren't really into 'toys' like when they were little boys. Steve and I opted to give them a few gifts, but the 'big' gift was an overnight trip to learn how to snowboard. They have each talked about learning at one point in time or another. We booked a package at Shawnee Mountain that was part of an attempt to break a Guiness Book World Record for the largest group attempting to learn a snow sport. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Stroudsburg, PA. We all enjoyed the pool/hot tub after a day on the slopes. After a nice visit with Steve's friend Will and his family (he and Steve met when he attended East Stroudsburg University), we returned to the hotel. *Fun fact: They both made the Instagram page for Shawnee Mountain! The boys thanked us more than once for the wonderful weekend getaway. Thank you to my parents for watching our girls so we could have some family time. xoxo Traci I have come to have a love/hate relationship with this sport.
What I LOVE: It is building character in our boys. They win some, they lose some, and it teaches them to remain humble regardless. Failing 'safely' over and over again. We realize the importance in our children needing to learn how to handle failure at an early age so they can utilize their supports and learn from their mistakes. Wrestling is for everyone: girl, boy, little, big, young, old. It doesn't matter. Wrestling is a team sport with an individual aspect. I love this about the sport. This sport is what you make of it. If you work hard, you will see progress. If you don't, you won't. Bottom line. What I REALLY DISLIKE about this sport: Our boys get hurt. Nobody wants to see their kids eyes filled with tears and bruised up and down. Our boys fail over and over again. I know it is good, but I still really dislike it. I mentioned it above as one of the things I LOVE about the sport, but boy it stinks to watch your kids fail over and over again. The LOVE of this sport outweighs the DISLIKE. And so we continue . . . #wrestling #boymom #lifewithboys William celebrated his 14th birthday on Sunday, January 6, 2019. It is still hard to believe that our first born is fourteen. He chose Jake's Burgers for dinner and is excited about his gift! We even watched the #Eagles secure a spot in the playoffs after dinner.
Cheers to fourteen years, kid! In September 2018, we were given an assignment to describe our child in one million words or less for our son's 8th grade Language Arts class. I felt it appropriate to share as we prepare to celebrate his 14th birthday!
Our first born, William Chandler will turn fourteen this January. As an infant, he was curious and often given the descriptive quality of being an ‘old soul.’ He was a talker at the age of eighteen months and hasn’t stopped since. Often times his deep and loud voice could be heard above all others. To this day, that has not changed, especially when he is excited about something. He gets it honestly, as his father is the same way. Quiet our house is not! At the age of three, a doctor at DuPont hypothesized that he was “going to be an engineer,” as he observed William exam the mechanics of the swing door in the exam room as we awaited the results of his allergy testing. As of today if you were to ask what career field he would like to go into, it is engineering, perhaps mechanical or electrical, he’ll tell you. He still continues to tinker with circuits and machines and is my ‘Go To Guy’ for fixing my broken sewing machines. Academically, it has been wonderful to watch him grow. He is on track to exceed both my husband and my academic achievements. He has a work ethic like nothing I have seen in a child before. He has learned to effectively manage his time in order to allow for homework completion and studying. Many nights he forgoes playing games or enjoying an episode of The Goldberg’s with the family in an effort to stay on top of his studies. If we travel on the weekend, he packs his backpack. I’d like to think it has something to do with being extremely consistent when he was young, but truth be told, it is just who he is. He prides himself on being neat and organized. He likes his belongings a certain way. He pays very close attention to detail, has common sense, and an intuition that is not typical for a young boy his age. He is sensitive; sometimes too sensitive. He is not afraid to face consequences when he makes a mistake. These are just a few of the personality traits we see William exhibit as he continues on his journey. Socially, he marches to his own beat. Up until this point, he hasn’t gotten too wrapped up in much of the social drama that teenagers can be distracted by. Part of that is we don’t allow it, in particular, snapchat, and he reminds us of this every chance he gets. He was able to make a case for Instagram, of which we approved. Yet, with as much as he is told no, he still shows respect. He has friends, both in school and out of school. He participates on the KMS football and wrestling teams. Overall, he is a likable kid that cares about people. Through the years, we have consistently preached the same phrase to William, and his younger brother, Benjamin. Before boarding the bus each day, we tell them, “Make good choices and be a good person.” I hope that you have the opportunity to observe him making good choices and being a good person in your class this year. Sincerely, Steve and Traci Chandler Continue being you, William! You make us proud each and every day! xoxo Mom & Dad |
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AuthorTraci, a wife, mother of two boys, Special Education teacher, and sole proprietor of Eco Alternatives LLC. Archives
September 2021
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