From the second I first saw you present to a room full of teachers (great recommendation, Denise) I realized I met a kindred spirit. You were so knowledgeable, curious, interesting, and - best of all - visual. You wowed the teachers (changed the way they teach, in fact) and I knew I had to retain the excellence with more opportunities for educators.
A year later, we brought you to work with kids, and you shared your #Antarctic Comics and we witnessed the total success of inclusive instruction. We brought kids from varying districts, some with special needs, and all sorts of learning styles. Wola! 100% joy with everyone. Doodling, thinking visually, brainstorming, and finding a way into their own questions.
Naturally, as we learned about #IWasAKid we were super-excited to have you back. Not only did this catch the attention of nutmeggers, but the National Writing Project wanted in on the action, too (see the video below - it was 60-minutes of phenomenal PD for teachers). I will be assigning this in my content are literacy course next spring for sure.
And then there was yesterday. You did a doodling exercise borrowed from Lynda Barry, talked with teachers, and demonstrated the power of visualization to find exactly what the mind knows before it sets out to write. This past last week I've maintained a digital notebook on this blog, and it's going to be hard for me not to brainstorm in this fashion from now on. This IS how my brain works and I imagine a lot of our students feel the same.
What fascinates me most about doodling and sketching is how it leads to the questions and inquiries I am actually interested in this is what the X'd, four-spaces exercise showed (before you, behind you, and at each side). One little opportunity to sketch, unleashed another 20 stories I could tell. It was amazing.
So THIS is my final #WriteOut Post for 2022...not yesterday...a collage to thank you for visiting with our teachers, participating in the Bryan is a Potato-Head game (he's a Predator, too), hiking the pond with me, and simply opening our minds to so many possibilities.
...so, so, so many possibilities.
I officially dedicate the success of Reading Landscapes & Writing Nature: Doodling and STEAMing Ahead to to you. The inspiration has been monumental to all of us at CWP-Fairfield and Weir Farm National Historical Park.
Thank You, Thank You. Thank You.
Ribbit Ribbit (Frog)