The Magic of Mini-Zines

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There’s something so special about making things. You use your own hands and something that was once a flat blank piece of paper is suddenly something else, something you created.

We’ve been making Zines in my first grade classroom. Our first attempt happened during our Dot Day celebration. We took a piece of printer paper, folded until we had 8 even rectangles, made a single cut…and voila! The paper became a small, multi-paged book. Those first books became our “A Dot Can Be…” zines.

Last week in honor of #writeout, we spent some time in our pollinator garden and basin area of the playground exploring nature’s artifacts. I wrote about our experience with our nature collectors and our wonder walk here. When I left off with that post students were in the process of creating zines about the nature items they collected. What I love most about these mini zines is the agency students feel about creating them. I also like that it allows students to both “write small” and to be literary in their approach. Students who are emerging as writers might create a page that reads, “Spiders Find a Way” with a beautiful drawing of a spider on a web, while more advanced writers can write, “A rock finds a way to scrub against the tree with happiness.” The writing and creating is accessible to everyone in our first grade class. And the zines are truly tiny jewels!

And after a conversation with some colleagues on the Connecting the Network Call with the National Writing Project last week, I took their suggestion and sent blank zines (made by my students) home with students with an invitation to explore on their own at home and to make a zine on their own. (We forgot to take them home on Friday, so they went home on Monday).

And…just like my colleagues suspected, my students were motivated to write at home. Today this lovely book came in:

My student was excited to read it to me…and for me to read it to the class! It was a delightful nature-based fictional story that involved a bug and a centipede. I’m guessing some more student-created zines may show up in the classroom later this week!

I know we’ll keep on making and writing…and making writing, both inside and outside the classroom. I’m excited about the writing community that my classroom is becoming.

Summer Rainless Song

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I like the way the syllable count forces language, creates opportunity for new thinking. Today’s prompt from Ethical ELA asked writers to come up with a line of a poem and continue with poem using the same number of syllables in each line. As I walked the beach this morning, I kept thinking about the monsoonal moisture promised by the weather forecasters–and the fact that I know it won’t result in the rain we need so much. I found myself obsessed with rain as I walked, counting syllables in my head. Here’s the resulting draft and the beautiful sky last night that fueled today’s obsessive thinking.

Summer Rainless Song

A pitty pat pat

the sound I don’t hear

except in my dreams

water all around

but not on the ground

Monsoonal moisture

parched earth, cloud-filled skies

precipitation

promised rainfall – gone!

no pitty pat pat

Tinderbox of fear

drought-dried brush, fire fuel

inferno rages

in my brain, waiting

wishing for the sound

And the smell of rain

pitter patter pat

living in dryness

monsoonal moisture

waiting for rain

@kd0602

Fountain of Youth

Heron Blue: NPM22 Day 9

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Heron Blue
Misty tendrils
the softest breath
caresses my arms, musses my hair
exhaling as I inhale familiar saltiness
Not eggshell blue of soft pastels
or jay blue of bright flashes
today is heron blue
almost gray
dark
but not quite
after the sun fades
but before night arrives
In the distance
curved neck, sharp beak
unmistakeable silhouette
I hurry but not too fast
Your silence matches mine
while wave songs play in the distance
You stretch, becoming a roller coaster
of twists and turns
searching, scanning
hunting
patient
In a slow motion
stretch of wings
you lift
effortlessly launched
shape shifting into flight
I watch and wonder
energized by the power of stillness
and the reverence of blue
from sky to sea
to feathers
heron blue
@kd0602

Somehow Dixie over at Ethical ELA conjured this heron into my path today…the day she offered bird as our #verselove poetry prompt. Thanks Dixie–readers here know I love my egrets…and their cousin, the great blue heron is a welcome sighting any day!

Advice from a Willet: SOL22 Day 13

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On this “spring ahead” day, I found myself watching a shorebird, a willet, and thinking about those “advice from” posters and bookmark you see around. Maybe after watching and taking plenty of photos of these guys over the years, I can write from a willet’s perspective…giving some advice.

A willet and its reflection @kd0602 2022

Advice from a Willet

Hang out on the shoreline, inhale its briny breath, breathe out the day’s worries

Take time to reflect, look back to move forward

Enjoy the light, energize yourself with sunshine

Stop to pose, let others appreciate your unique beauty

Look over your shoulder, remember where you’ve been and where you came from

Stretch, keep your body moving and flexible

Dance and sing, even if you are the only one who hears the music

Spread your wings, be ready to take flight and explore the world

@kd0602 2022

Growing Advocates and Activists: SOL22 Day 12

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I love writing project work and the ways that teachers are the driving force behind proactive change. A conversation with a colleague a few years ago–about the need for climate/environmental education to become “ordinary,” something that students experience regularly, in all their classes, throughout their education career–has stuck with me. And as a result, this year in our local writing project, we convened a group of SDAWP educators to explore that very idea with an added twist: how can we make environmental literacy and justice both ordinary and also have writing at its center?

Today was our celebration and the opportunity to hear details about the work that teachers in this group accomplished. Each put together a 5 minute overview of the work, highlighting student engagement and involvement through writing.

Wow! I felt like I could see these young people growing into advocates and activists right before my eyes. They wrote and spoke with passion about our world, recognizing its beauty AND our need to take better care of it for their future. There were letters, informational pieces, persuasive essays, narratives, poems, artwork, speeches and more. I felt my heart grow three sizes just witnessing this incredible work facilitated by my writing project colleagues.

Our next step is to figure out ways to take this work beyond our group, to and beyond our larger writing project community, and to establish this as something students can expect throughout their schooling. The beauty is that these teachers did not take away anything they were required to teach, instead they worked this content into the learning the students were expected to experience anyway.

There will be more to come…

SOLC Day 16: Appreciating Unexpected Gifts

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In this upside down world where nothing feels normal, a walk on the beach feels like a treat. Hearing that others in our state are getting directions to “shelter in place” makes me feel like my open air walks may be a thing of the past very soon. I worry about going stir-crazy with no outlet for exploring the natural world!

I did get my beach walk in today…an extra long one since rain is expected later tonight. But my real treat came later…in the most unexpected way.

If you’ve followed my blog or Instagram (@kd0602) you might know that I’m pretty obsessed with egrets and herons. I’ve written about them here and here and here. Now that both my husband and I are working from home, every invitation to go outside the house is a welcome one. So when he asked if I wanted to walk down the street to check the mail, I jumped at the chance. We headed out–the skies were gray and the wind was kicking up in advance of the storm forecasted for tonight–walking down the hill on the sidewalk in the neighborhood. And we saw it…that distinctive shape, pure white, landing on the deck of a neighbor’s house. A great egret. Perched on the deck wall, we had a perfect view from afar.

I never see egrets in my neighborhood, but like on the beach, I crept closer feeling lucky my phone was in my pocket and not in the house. When photographing birds I know to take many shots, increasing my odds of a good photo. As it took flight, I continued to press the shutter…

and then follow it as it landed across the street near the park and our mailboxes. Unlike the snowy egrets I see on my beach walks, the great egret does not have bright yellow feet. But it does have a yellow beak where the snowy’s beak is black.

It seems a bit strange to have an egret visitor in the neighborhood today, but what an unexpected gift it was! I love getting close enough to see the texture of the feathers, especially as they were ruffled by the wind. On days and weeks like these, I’m learning to appreciate the little things…like a neighborhood visit by an egret.

Writing and Photo Challenge: Reflection

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Reflection in writing and thinking has become habit for me…and it’s something I emphasize for my students. In fact, I did an extensive study of reflective thinking and writing for my MA quite a few years ago now. I know that reflection helps learning stick. It creates opportunities for problem solving and connections. In the classroom we talk about reflection as a way of collecting learning.

Over the last week or so I’ve been playing around with reflection in my photographs. It’s a bit different from reflective thinking and writing. Instead of examining your thought processes and searching memory, this kind of photography requires a shiny surface of some sort to catch the reflection. Low tide walks are perfect when there is some sunshine to create reflections. I’ve had to tinker with angles, how close to get to the reflective surface, and what kinds of objects reflect well. Yesterday, low tide was near sunset. Perfect weather, warm and clear, allowed for a refreshing walk in the water. I noticed the reflection of the pier, light posts, pilings, and even people, creating a perfect mirror image on the wet sand.

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I couldn’t resist trying to capture the color in this reflective photo of the buildings and palm trees along the shore line. I love the brilliance of the blue sky reflected on the wet sand.

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I noticed this reflection as I worked to create an interesting photo of some trash on the beach. As I turned my phone to find an interesting angle, I noticed the reflection of the palm trees. While the angle isn’t perfect, I was able to get an interesting #litterati photo and get some plastic off the beach and out of the ocean.

I’m a bit obsessed with seabirds. I try to get as close as possible without spooking them, getting low if possible. These guys are pretty perceptive and love to start walking away when they see me in the distance! I particularly like the soft light of the setting sun warming up their reflection with the pier in the background.

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I captured this guys’s image earlier in the week. The day was a bit gray and blustery, ruffling his feathers and making the texture dimensional. This is the only photo in the post that I have edited. I found that by darkening and brightening the image, I could draw attention to the detail of the feathers, the beak and the reflection.

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Reflecting on all this reflection reminds me how much there is to learn from thinking about the processes we use. While photography uses different skills and processes than writing, they both benefit from taking time to reflect on successes and frustrations. And it always helps to study the work of another.

So, head out with your camera and try your hand at capturing reflection. Low tide created a perfect shiny surface for me. Will you find another body of water? A wet patio deck? The shiny side of your car? And what will you learn when you take the time to think back and write about your experience capturing reflection through your lens?

Share your #reflection this week, in images or words…or both. You can post your photo alone or along with some words: commentary, a story, a poem…maybe even a song! I love to study the photographs that others’ take and think about how I can use a technique, an angle, or their inspiration to try something new in my own photography. (I love a great mentor text…or mentor photo, in this case!) I share my photography and writing on social media. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter using @kd0602. If you share your photos and writing on social media too, please let me know so I can follow and see what you are doing. To help our Weekly Photo community find each other, use the hashtag #reflection.

I can’t wait to learn from your reflection photos…and your reflections on reflection this week!

Writing and Photography Invitation: Black and White

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We live in a colorful world, filled with blue skies, green grass, flowers of infinite variety and so much more. But some days, it is by draining the color away that we truly notice details.

I like the way that black and white photos bring the focus to contrast and highlight light and shadow. This lifeguard tower, empty now that summer has passed, becomes an intricate maze of ladders in black and white as the shadows blend with the actual steps.

I’m still working on my nighttime photography, something I just don’t get enough practice time with. The other night the full moon was rising just before I headed to bed and I stepped out onto our deck to observe. It’s hard to get a clear moon picture, especially with my phone camera. Even though there was little color in the original, black and white seems to highlight the glow of the moon against the silhouette of the roof.

Low tides at the beach offers expanses of wet sand, another vehicle for reflecting light. The tide was quite low last week, creating perfect conditions for long walks and interesting photos. I love the way the wet sand reflects the cliffs in the black and white version of this image.

These white stairs to nowhere are a favorite photography subject of mine. They sit at the beach below the Self Realization Fellowship and I imagine they were once an operational path to the beach. Now, in their brilliant white, they create an interesting contrast to the sky and the cliff. (I wonder if they are painted regularly, they seem to maintain that clean white quality over the years.)

Those weekend low tides also meant that intertidal creatures were on display. This sea anenome was hanging out in a shallow pool of water in the exposed rocks on the shore. You can see some of the other life forms that it shares its home with too.

And sometimes the beach itself is an exercise in monochromatic tones. I used Color Splash to take away color in order to bring attention to this light blue soccer ball and its reflection. Just a hint of color brings the focus to the ball, seemingly abandoned on the shore while people play in the background.

So play around with black and white this week, in your photos and in your writing. You might take some new photos with black and white in mind or play around with some existing photos, noticing what changes when you drain the color out. How does that work in your writing? What does black and white writing look like? How does focusing on light and shadow change your writing?

Share your #blackandwhite this week, in images or words…or both. You can post your photo alone or along with some words: commentary, a story, a poem…maybe even a song! I love to study the photographs that others’ take and think about how I can use a technique, an angle, or their inspiration to try something new in my own photography. (I love a great mentor text…or mentor photo, in this case!) I share my photography and writing on social media. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter using @kd0602. If you share your photos and writing on social media too, please let me know so I can follow and see what you are doing. To help our Weekly Photo community find each other, use the hashtag #blackandwhite.

So play around with your images…and your words. Share your favorites with the rest of us!