So often I am asked: How do you get them to write? 
My answer: No one can GET anybody to DO anything!
To find things to write about you have to look inside your heart;
get acquainted with the sights and sounds and flavors and textures 
that appeal to you. Notice what moves you. Notice your own questions; 
your own pursuit for the great ideas of the world. 


What causes you to pause in wonder and ask 'why'? And what are
you going to do about it? That's where your writing starts. 


Mrs. J

Here is a writing game idea for a longer afternoon:
Get your family to help you brainstorm names of 5 or 6
commonly known story heros (protagonists). Ie. Little
Red Riding Hood, Harry Potter, Winnie-the-Pooh, the Cat in the Hat,
Shrek, etc.

Now come up with 5 or 6 settings that match: Ie. Grandma's house,
Hog Warts, the 100 acre wood, my house, a castle, etc.

Write each on a slip of paper. Put all the characters in one bowl and
all the settings in another. Randomly draw from each bowl. Have fun
writing and drawing an adventure for Winnie-the-Pooh at Hogwarts or
Red Riding Hood in the 100 acre woods. Or……………?

Share!

Happy writing,
Mrs.J

I saw the constellation "Orion the Hunter", outside my south window about 4 a.m. this  morning. Each star was bright and sharply defined against the inky darkness. Now the sky is a bright white haze; hiding Orion and all the other constellations. I wonder how many things there are around us that we can't see right now or refuse to see through lack of understanding. Play the "Words in Front of Me" game again
today and look a little longer and a little more thoughtfully.

Share your insights.

Yours in learning,

Mrs. J.

October 6, 2011
Rain, what does it sound like, what does it feel like, what does it taste like?
Rain
by Robert Louis Stevenson
The rain is raining all around, 
It falls on field and tree, 
It rains on the umbrellas here,
And on the ships at sea. 


The Reason
by Dorothy Aldis
Rabbits and squirrels
Are furry and fat, 
And all of the chickens
Have feathers and that
Is why when it's raining
They need not stay in
The way children do who have 
Only their skin.


'Catch' rainy words today. 
and share!


Happy thinking!


Mrs. J

Learners have questions; they want to know what and why and how.  

Here are some pictures I took in Parksville, on Vancouver Island,

last summer. Can you think of any questions to ask me about them?

Yours in learning,
Mrs. J

We can all choose to learn great things. We can search for the great ideas in all the knowledge the world has to offer; and find the answers to our questions. We can look, listen, touch, and feel with the intent to learn; pay attention to what our senses are telling us. We can think about and record what we learn.

Consider the words of Victor Weisshoph: "People cannot learn by having information pressed into their brains, knowledge has to be sucked into the brain, not pushed in."

We are in charge of our minds.