currently april

I'm late, but it's go time! Thanks to Farley for hosting this partay!

Listening to Taylor Swift

'Cause, baby, I could build a castle
Out of all the bricks they threw at me
And every day is like a battle
But every night with us is like a dream

I'm in love with Taylor's new song. Looked for the Vevo to no avail, but check it out on iTunes!

Please take my hand and

Please take me dancing and

please leave me stranded

It's so romantic

Loving Spring Break
I've been on spring break this past week, had parents in town, was confirmed Catholic at an amazing church, have had time to just chill and relax, and will be going to Lake Geneva this weekend (went already) to the spa. The breaks we get were meant for teachers - we need to get away and have time to recoup so we can be our best selves at work. I am so thankful for this much-needed time to myself!

Thinking about my friends at Two Writing Teachers
Have you been to their blog? Well, in March, there's a writing challenge and everyone writes every day for the whole month. It was my third year participating, and this year, even more students and teachers joined from my school. Although I didn't write every day, I did half the time, and also welcomes a fresh new crop of teachers and students to the challenge. Then, yesterday as we ended, Kathleen Sokolowski wrote an awesome poem about her experience, and I've taken a stanza to share with you:

Here's to us. 
Who teach from a place

of authenticity,

Who don't require of students

what we won't try ourselves.

Who know writing isn't

really about rubrics and grades

but communicating and creating,

Who know writing is life-work.

Here's to us who've 

walked the walk 

each day

in March.

So so good. I know I write about a lot of nonsense here, but it's because I love writing so much, and want to walk the walk I expect my students to. (And also, the blogs I love the most are the blogs where I get to know the writer, personally!)

Wanting to go to the Outer Banks this summer
When I moved to Chicago in '09, I would occasionally see stickers on the backs of cars with "OBX" on them. I had no idea what this was. Fast forward to now, and I have a few friends there right now (last week) and another friend who goes every summer. I want to go there, where those little beach fences stand, and tall grasses grow beside them and blow in the wind, and waves crash on the shore. I actually want to go there with my writing friends and spend a week tanning and writing. So, who's in?

Yes, this.

Needing summer weather
Dear Chicago,
I'm over your moodiness. Snow then sun then cold and hail. Enough already. Spring, it's time for you to make your grand entrance!
Love, Michelle

Whatever: I'm moderating a Twitter Chat!
Are you guys on Twitter? Well, if you are, save the date: Tuesday, April 19th @ 8pm CST. Together with my AP, Jean Suchy, we will be moderating a discussion on Content Area Literacy! We tweet under the #D100chat, check out the feed and we have a twitter chat tonight, too. It's all about ELL strategies!

That's it! Much love, friends!

what I'm loving Wednesday

Get the details for this challenge here!

Hi all! Today we're back for day 8 of the challenge and What I'm Loving Wednesday! For this post, please just share anything that you're currently loving!

❤ Southwest Airlines
If it were up to me, I'd never fly any other airlines. Ticket prices are reasonable and you get to check two bags with the purchase of a ticket. They have super great customer service - last week when I left Chicago to go to Calfornia, I was through baggage check in 10 minutes. Also, in Chicago, they fly out of Midway, which is smaller and I know it like the back of my hand. Highly recommend this fabulous airlines!

❤ wineries with friends
My California girlfriends live super close to a strip of like 40 wineries. We went to this one - Wilson, I think? Delicious sparkling wines! The grounds outside were beautiful and the company was the best!

❤ this
Found on Twitter or Instagram. Does your school have a twitter hashtag? Imagine the possibilities!

❤ Bernie Sanders
He's running against Hillary in the primaries. You need more info! I had never heard of him until just a few weeks ago, but he is not owned by big corporation money. The people who back his campaign are middle class folks, like us, and he wants to restore democracy. He's going to win by a grassroots effort, so get on facebook and twitter and start sharing! Here's one more blog post on him, too!

❤ Wahoos Tacos
If you're ever in Calfornia or Vegas, find one and stop. The. Best. Fish Tacos. Ever. and I had a shrimp one last night too - delish!

An InLinkz Link-up

sunday letters

Join me every other Sunday to share your letters.

Write to people or inanimate objects and then link up below.

Don't forget to leave some love for the other Letters Bloggers!

Dear student bloggers,
I can't wait for our first meeting! I know you are going to love blogging as much as I do...we'll get it started this coming Wednesday! Any other teachers out there with fourth and fifth grade bloggers? I want to get our kiddos in communication!
See you soon!
Love, Teach

Dear Ashley and Stewart,
Congrats on your wedding! It was such a nice ceremony and I'm glad I got to share your big day with you! Cheers to a lifetime full of happiness!
Love,
Michelle

Dear Vegas,
Five days wasn't enough and I wanna come back! The Mirage was beautiful, the Beatles Love show was amazing, playing Roulette was super fun and lucrative, and hanging out with the bf every day was the best. I'll be missing you!
xo,
A Wanderlust Teacher

Dear Sun Devils,
Another win tonight sounds awesome! I'm cheering for you with my favorites as this blog goes to press! Let's go Devils!
Love,
A true - blue maroon and gold alum

Dear Convertible Mustang,
Let's just say that you were an awesome companion on our adventures through the desert. Top down and cruising along windy roads and highways was super fun. The bf and I are looking forward to our next trip with a Mustang - perhaps taking a ride down Pacific Coast Highway next summer. Crossing my fingers on that one!
Can't wait to see you again!
Michelle

Dear CJ,
I'm so glad I work with you! Thank you for always listening and making me laugh and making me feel better when I'm bummed. Def couldn't do my job with you!
Hugs,
Work bestie

Dear Halloween,
You're less than a week away and I just figured out my costume and now there's just no time to get things ready. Why????
Sincerely,
A last-minute shopper

That's all for me! Looking forward to reading your letters! xo

An InLinkz Link-up

currently

So what should I be doing right now? Reading and planning for the graduate class I'm teaching. But what am I *actually* doing? Yep, blogging. I'm sorry! I just can't help it! Who's with me on that one?

Once again, it's the first of the month (hahhaaaa....singing a little Bone Thugs N Harmony in my head for a quick second!) But anyways, it's time for writing up our Currentlys with Farley! Big thanks for hosting this partay, Farley...I look forward to it every month!

So first, listening to Taylor Swift

Not sure when I'm ever going to grow out of her stuff, but I love her new song, Shake It Off. It's a great reminder to just let some of the things go that you can't control...like, what other people think? Plus, I love the video (actually except for the picture right there on the front of the video) but love the cheerleaders, love all the dancing people...just love it!

moving on...
Loving all the new bloggers in my district! 
My mentees are writing, Rachel, the teacher who was my opposite Language Arts teacher at the middle school is writing, another science teacher at middle is writing, more of the reading specialists and literacy coaches are writing... it's just awesome! Check out this video that I made to present at our opening Institute Day - it highlights all 30 of our bloggers and shares why we do it! You just might find a few new blogs to follow!

Thinking about....

the Windy City Wine Festival

It's next Friday and Saturday and it's at the Buckingham Fountain. Pay $30 and get 12 tastings, plus there's food and probably music, too. Us Chicagoans have to enjoy every moment of beautiful weather before we're in the thick of another Polar Vortex, so next Friday night, you can find me there! Can't wait!

Wanting to...

enjoy the weekend and be stress-free

So I know saying yes to teaching this grad school class was the right thing - for my resume, for my love of all things literacy, for my love of teaching my own students again. But, I have never done it before, and am creating everything as I go this first time. So all weekend long, while I'm at the beach, I'm worrying about getting things done. While I'm at dinner on Saturday night, thinking about getting up early to get things done. While I'm at Luke Bryan concert last night....okay well, def not thinking about it then, but it's just like being a first year teacher again in some ways. So what do I decide to do now? Write a blog. And think about the work I *should* be doing. Oh well. If you frequent my blog at all, you know this is totally me:

On a positive note, though, I did finish all the AIMS Web work I had to do this weekend! That counts for something, right? :-)

Needing to....

get rid of this cold!

It's already going around at school. A fifth grade teacher had it last week and went home on Friday and I have had it all weekend. Stuffy head, sore throat, cough. Not cool. Not used to being around all those little kids and their germs! I need some EmergenC, stat!

Three Trips

Oh yes, this is fun. Just went on my first trip to Europe this summer so I now have lots of new places I want to see, including España, wine country in Italy (are you sensing a pattern?!) and Hawaii. Next summer, the plan is to take it easy - probably a week with my family in Florida, and then I'm hoping for two weeks in California: One week with my bff from Phoenix and then another week with the boyfriend (he's never been to the west coast!) I'm planning next big European trip for 2017! I. LOVE. to TRAVEL!

So that's all for me here this month! Thanks for stopping by! I host a linky every other Sunday - the Letters blog - if you're interested. I just posted it yesterday and it stays open for two weeks until the next. Check it out and deliver your letters if you want to join the fun!

Have a great September!

a perfect day

When I went to Europe last month, I had a perfect day. It was our second day in Paris and we had at least five hours to kill during our lunch, so I wanted to go find filming locations from Sex and the City (one of my all-time most favorite shows!) At the end of the series, Carrie goes to Paris to live with Petrovsky, and I found a website that lists some of the different places she is filmed at. So, what better way to spend the day than a scavenger hunt, in a city in Europe, where you don't speak the language, and you don't have wifi and google maps? Adventure!!

It started with a train ride to St. Germain:

We had to go from the center of the city all the way out, but we made it!

It was a super cute little cobblestoned street with shops and bakeries. But first, a Starbucks was necessary to get some wifi and talk to someone who could hopefully point us in the direction of this street:

Do you remember the scene where Carrie is walking down the street, all sad because Petrovsky is always working? It was this day and this ensemble:

(I love Carrie and all her magnificent outfits!)

Anyways, walking down the street, she smiles up at a little girl on her dad's shoulders and then the girl hits her on the head and then she steps in doggie-doo? Well, I really wanted to see a fountain that she washes her beautiful shoes off afterwards...and it said that there were lots of little shops here, too, so the fountain and shops sounded awesome!

We went on this long train ride out to St. Germain, but after talking with the girl at Starbucks, we found that there is also a neighborhood of downtown Paris with the same name, and we were in the wrong spot. Super bummed!

But, the little neighborhood we ended up in was so cute, that we stayed and had a great day!

We found a store with fascinators:

(I bought a red one!) And then this little shop which was like our Crabtree & Evelyn:

Heather got her girls a tea set and I got a little serving tray with the Eiffel Tower on it!

We found a bakery and bought macaroons:

And went into some other shops we found:

The time slipped by so fast, but we thought we could still maybe make it back to the real filming location, so we asked for help on the train:

And toasted our new travel destinations with a little treat:

We headed back to the city and made two transfers on the Metro, but eventually ended up at the right stop. We walked a few blocks at a time, and then would stop to ask if anyone knew where the street was that we were looking for, and eventually, we found it:

I wasn't looking for the street she stepped in the dog poop, but that's what we ended up finding. So after all that work, it was still a little street that Carrie Bradshaw walked down and my best friend and I found it! Definitely worth a photo-op:

Sometimes when things don't go right, the day still turns out awesome. I got to share six whole, uninterrupted hours with my best friend, go on an adventure, *and* have a macaroon from a bakery in Paris.

What could be better?

An InLinkz Link-up

american girl in paris

Good Morning! Sorry for not posting until the morning...the weekend had me busy with my family doing fun things, but hopefully I will be back to scheduled midnight posts beginning with tomorrow morning!

As I woke up today (with not much on my to do list) I was just thinking about my trip and realizing how much I love traveling. So today I will share Paris with you - it really was one of my favorite places on the trip!

We took the Eurostar on a morning train ride from London to Paris. We got off the train, and there was a company there to take our luggage so we could get on with our sight-seeing right away. Our Tour Direcetor took us straight away on the Metro to Centre Pompidou where we got to take an hour lunch:

So this is just like a little square surrounded by cafes and shops. The big building up there, that looks like it's under construction...well, it was built that way as a form of art. (?) Looks like a huge mess to me, but everyone comes to this square to meet with friends, have lunch in the sun, just hang out:

After a quick lunch, we took a walk towards Notre Dame, and stopped along the way at Hotel de Ville:

I didn't write down all the stories that Rosaria told us, but the Mayor lives here and it's a beautiful place!

Kept on walking a little more and quickly found Notre Dame:

It's a beautiful building (like all the others over there!). Rosaria told us about it and then we had time to go in and see the inside. I'll spare you tons of pictures of the structure, but just share one of some stained glass:

This was up towards the ceiling and isn't it absolutely gorgeous? I didn't take pictures of them, but all the stories of the bible were depicted through stained glass and sculpture and what a sight it was to see!

From here we walked towards the Latin Quarter...

Shops, cafes, beautiful fountains...all of this surrounds a university. This area is named the Latin quarter because of all the different people who came to study here - they had to move all instruction to Latin so everyone had a common language to share. Anyways, I'd definitely like more time in the Latin Quarter...there was so much to see in Paris so we didn't get that long here. It was off to dinner shortly after arriving here and then home to rest up for a full day in Paris for the second day!

Our second day started with a sight-seeing tour from our bus and the first awesome thing we saw was the Arc de Triomphe - a beautiful structure in the center of a parkway with cars driving all around it:

It's so amazing how these structures were built so long ago without any of the modern-day technology that we enjoy! Arc de Triomphe stands in the center of a circular street, and funny story: Insurance won't cover any accidents that happen here because there really is no organization or stop lights to direct traffic. It's kinda like a huge free-for-all, but I'm glad we got to see it. It takes your breath away!

We drove on and stopped to see the Eiffel Tower in the morning from the lawn:

One of the two best moments of my trip - made every dollar I spent on this trip worth it! My only wish is that I had said yes to going long ago!

We then drove on and stopped at another location - all I remember is the obelisk that is in the background and I think that's the one that France *didn't steal* - most of them were stolen, but I'm pretty sure that this one was a gift:

After this stop, we were dropped off by the Opera building (which now hosts the ballet):

From here, we had like 5 hours of free time for lunch. The kids went off to explore this area and Heather and I went off looking for the filming locations from the Sex and the City finale episodes. That will be a blog for another day so I can finish up the highlights of Paris!

We met back up for dinner and then got to see the Eiffel Tower by night. Here's a pic of our whole group and I just love it!

We had to hang around for a long time - it didn't get dark until 9:45 or 10 - and I really wanted to stay until it lit up and sparkled, but me being the person who loves to sleep (I know, you're thinking...even in Paris?) I went home. (My feet were also killing me from the flats I wore all day!) Heather stayed with two of the kids and next time I'll do the same. Here's one of heather and I when it was getting a little darker:

We had one more day in Paris which began with a trip to the Louvre:

Once we got inside, we stayed together long enough to find the Mona Lisa, but the kids took tons of pics of everything:

They were having such a great time together as we were trying to navigate this huge museum. We finally found the painting we all wanted to see...which is now well protected:

Everyone is behind the ropes and the painting is also behind glass:

Heather and I stayed in the museum for awhile trying to find some impressionist paintings, but we were mostly lost and there weren't even that many impressionist paintings (they're in another museum - that is on the bucket list for the next time!). We never found them, and then wanted to take a long lunch, so we took a walk across the Seine River and sat down to relax for lunch.

After that, we took a walk and saw the Lock Bridge (more on this in a future post!)

We stopped at some shops and then sat in a cafe and had some coffee before we had to meet up again to board the night train to Venice:

And that was the best of Paris! I'm definitely not done with that city, and I'm hoping to go back in the summer of 2017. I want to take some great kids that I have already taught...and then meet up with Heather and her students.

This city was so special, I actually just bought the Eiffel Tower Pandora charm this weekend:

Well, that's all for today. Hope you had a great weekend! Looking forward to having time to read all the blogs that are linked up today!

One last thing....some notes about the challenge: The Link-Ups don't close until midnight on July 31st, so if you missed a day here or there, it's okay to go back and get linked up for each day! Make the challenge work for you!

Write your post.

Link up with BigTime Literacy!

Remember the Rule of 3!

An InLinkz Link-up