This is the time of year when we may be looking to change our habits, become more productive, or try something new. Over the past year, I have read daily meditations from Sarah Ban Breathnach’s book. Her message of Simple Abundance is to cultivate joy, gratitude, creativity from our daily lives – doing what we…
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A Gem of a Poem: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in A Gem of A Poem, Teacher Inspiration, Writing InspirationLeave a Reply
There are few poems or stories that I can remember reading for the first time, and Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is one of them. I remember finding a picture book in the library of the poem. Each page had just a line or two with dark but vivid pictures illustrating the…
Art in the Classroom: Norman Rockwell’s The Jolly Postman
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Art in the English Classroom, Teacher Inspiration, Teacher Tuesday, Writing InspirationLeave a Reply
‘Tis the season for motivating students with lessons that embrace the festivities of December because, let’s face it, we’re tired and they’re tired, and we are all in need of something fun to do in class. One option is to bring seasonal works of art to your lessons, and who better than Norman Rockwell to…
What I’m Reading: Truth & Beauty [a friendship] by Ann Patchett
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Care Givers, What I'm Reading, Writing InspirationLeave a Reply
I’ve just finished reading Ann Patchett’s memoir, Truth & Beauty [a friendship]. Patchett shares the evolution of her friendship with author Lucy Grealy. Meeting in college with aspirations of publication, both women had much in common, but it’s their differences that tell the story. When a child, Grealy had cancer and extensive chemo and radiation…
Writing Inspiration: a gift from the past
I received a gift of two antique fountain pens and two lead pencils from my aunt who had them from my grandmother, who passed away a few years ago. There was a note in the box that said they were the first gift my grandfather gave to my grandmother. They were married in 1937, so…
Monthly Reads: June
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Care Givers, Monthly Reads, What I'm Reading, WritingLeave a Reply
This month I’ve read two fiction books, and one non-fiction book on the craft of writing. Anne of Green Gables is a children’s classic that I just read for the first time. It is interesting to see how the craft of writing and publishing standards have evolved over the years. Hang the Moon was about…
Sensational Sentences: The Lake House by Kate Morton
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Sensational Sentences, Teacher Resources, Teacher Tuesday, WritingLeave a Reply
If you are a reader or a writer or both, I’m sure you have come across sentences that make you pause and re-read them, not because they are confusing, but because they are so beautifully crafted you couldn’t take it all in the first time. I have a journal in which I copy sentences from…
