Leave it to me...

Ok, so I'm a day late and a dollar short.  And no one will probably even read this, but that's ok!  ; )  I can already feel that this is going to be a rambling post. But then again, to those of you who know me well, you would expect nothing else.  I thought about you guys last night - I wish that I could have been there in person.  I'm so in need of some BWP love!  I miss y'all!  Anyway, I am at home in Baxley this week... and I drove my Mom to Brunswick yesterday afternoon for her night class.  (I am SO proud of her - she's been a parapro for 23 years and is going back to school at age 57 to get her degree in early childhood.  She graduated with her Associate's in May, and now she's working toward her Bachelor's.  Sooooo proud.)  Anway, her class doesn't get out until 9, which makes for a late, late night of driving.  I drive her when I'm home so she won't have to go alone.  So, I'm in Brunswick and my first thought is Starbucks.  Pumpkin Spice Frappucino + Write Night = AWESOME!  But then I remember that I need to run by Books A Million to pick up some Star Wars novels for my cousin and American Wife for me for the new book club we're starting!  (Yay!) 


I made my way to BAM, and I decided to drag my laptop and all its paraphenalia in and sit in the cafe to post since I was already there and it was 6:05.  I finally find an empty table and I boot up.  Click on the internet.  So not free.  You have to be a Millionaire's Club member. (My card's expired... didn't want to pay $20 for a new one.)   Or you can pay $5 a day for BAM internet access.  I'm way too cheap for that.  I mean seriously, shouldn't the internet just be free?!?! : )  So, I give up.  Pack up.  Wander the aisles.  I find the books I came for... and then I found a few more: Seaside Letters (the third book in a series of Christian fiction set in Nantucket!) and Read All About It! by Laura and Jenna Bush (in the children's clearance section!  Go me!).  Then I found my way over to the "Language Arts" aisle and spent about an hour browsing writing, grammar, and punctuation books.  I settled on my final and best find - The Write Brain Workbook: 366 Exercises to Liberate Your Writing. 

Ok, so that's not my hand - I found the picture online.  But maybe this picture will give you an idea of what's inside the book.  It's soooo neat.  It gives you some pretty creative little prompts and then leads you into a "story" that you can write.  They often suggest a first line to start with, but I could totally see myself going off into my own direction.  I like it because it pushes me to see things in a new light and take risks when writing - especially about new things.   I can also see many of these being used in our classrooms!  Fun!  Anyway, thought I'd share it with you.

By the time I left BAM, I was $88 poorer... with a renewed Millionaire's Club card so next time I can access the internet.  : )  And by the way... I did end up at Starbucks and got that Pumpkin Spice Frapp.  (Fall... in a cup!  Yummmmm!)

So, back on topic... one of my most favorite kid sayings is not even from one of my students.  It's from one of my friend Betsy's sixth graders.  When students finished their tests, they were supposed to start working on an essay that had been previously assigned.  One student came up to Betsy to ask if she could go to the library.  Naturally, Betsy asked if she had finished her essay.  The student replied - "Mih Garbett - I done.  You see, I got my conclusion AND my inclusion!"  : )