MCC Friday Reflections

Ella's Corner: 10 years old...(by Michael) : I sat in my classroom at my desk this morning, preparing for the day's lessons. The room was quiet, only the clicking of my keyboard fille...

The school year is well under way.  September closes its door and October brings in the rains and wind, the cooling temperatures, and the colors that dance before our sights and change before we can get a glimpse of them.  We begin, in the classroom, to settle into our routines, find our rhythms, and start relaxing.  We allow our true selves to be known, little by little.  The personalities of each shines through just like the colors of the changing autumn leaves... We know why the leaves change colors.  The temperatures begin to dip and the production of chlorophyll decreases. With the drop in chlorophyll production, the green color we have grown accustomed to over the past few months begins to disappear, and the other colors of the spectrum shine through.  These other colors, however, unveil themselves at slightly different times and in different tones for each individual leaf.  Each one is unique and beautiful when looked upon in your hand. ...

Mama Bracelets: "Cure SMA" Collection... : Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) The progressive loss of motor neuron function leaving its victims incapable of moving on their own and, in...

Ella's Corner: For the First Time...(by Michael & Lindsay) : Lindsay & I attended an SMA Fundraiser for a young girl in Naperville. Her best friend has, for the past five years, put together an ev...

My students are asked to write in their journals every morning when they arrive at school. It’s an exercise that allows them to put down on paper what is happening in their lives. There are four different entries a student can make. Each day they are asked to make one of the four entries based on the group they are part of (there are four groups of six determined by their "location" on my class list: students 1-6, 7-12, 13-18, and 19-24). The entries include: Home, School, Dear Mr. C, and Free Write. The Home entry is an opportunity for them to write about what's going on at home; same with the school entry (what's happening at school). The Dear Mr. C entry is the time they write directly to me (they turn in their journal on their "Dear Mr. C" day); and the Free Write is just that--a time to write about anything. The journaling typically lasts 10 minutes. Not for this group though. This group takes the better part of 25 - 30 minutes. They write wonder...

Ella's Corner: Ella's SMA Awareness Video : This one is for you. While words can be eloquent, they are inherently limited. Experiences are the most powerful influences to us. We inv...

Ella's Corner: Assistive Technology (AT) Equipment (by Lindsay) : During physical therapy this past Tuesday, Ella's PT (Lynda) told us that it's time to officially start the process of getting Ella a stande...

Ella's Corner: Dear Ava & Henry...(by Michael) : September, 2011 Dear Ava & Henry, The picture above was taken at your Thea Lillian's house in New Buffalo, MI on a crisp, clear Fall day...

Each week we have a different story from our reader. This week, our story was about a man, who in the early part of the 20th century (maybe the 1930's), travelled from Japan to America.  He settled in San Francisco for a bit.  He returned to Japan after a few years, got married, and brought his new bride back to SF.  After having a daughter, the family stayed in SF until she was grown...then they moved to Japan.  The man in the story kept going from one country to another, and each time he was in a country, he missed the other.  Each time he was in a country, he found something more that he liked about it.  The classroom offers a similar experience for both students and teachers.  We come together in the early Fall, after spending time with our family and friends on a daily basis over the summer. When we first gather together in the classroom there is unfamiliarity.  Students are looking at a new classroom, a new teacher, new expectati...

A brainstorming session was taking place in Room 202 this week.  Students were asked to search their memeory banks for 8 events.  Four of which they considered "good" events and four they considered "not-so-good" events.  From this brainstorming session they will eventually write a narrative "Memoir" depicting one chosen event and how they felt about it. I walked slowly around the room as they began their brainstorming.  Blank papers are what I saw.  Fidgity hands, tapping pencils, and long-off stares filled the room.  Occasionally as I passed a student, they would look at me, sport a slight smile, and look down at their blank paper.  Many sought out my examples, still on the front screen, trying to use what I had written during the lesson as a spark for their own ideas.  I felt like saying something.  I felt like putting some ideas out there for them to grasp on to besides my example.  I felt like they were on th...

Developed over many years, writing has become a passion of mine.  It allows me to express myself in ways I would otherwise be pressed to accomplish.  I can let the thoughts that lurk in the corners of my mind find their way to the outside world.  The development continues as I reach out to different pathways of delivering my thoughts from their dwelling place to my readers. When I teach writing in my 4th grade classroom I feel alive.  I thrill in lessons that bring out the best in my students.  I get excited when they learn new ways to express themselves.  The rewards of the well written word from students can compare to very little. This week I had my students working on several papers.  We had the time and the motivation.  One of the papers was a friendly letter to their parents that was to be read by the parents on Parent Information Night.  I have had this as an assignment for many years now and I always wond...