To celebrate the end of our first quarter, we experienced our first “writer’s circle”. I got the idea from a friend whom I interviewed this past summer and as a result, got lots of good ideas. (Thank you Janelle! :-)
First of all I made a cinnamon coffee cake the night before and told the students they could bring whatever they would like. The next morning after we arrived at school, I put two large kettles of water on to boil for the hot chocolate. Then I forgot about them for about an hour. My husband poked his head in the door during my spelling class and asked why I had left two large kettles of water boiling. I laughed and ran to the kitchen.
After our spelling test, the elementary class grabbed their journals, headed into the fellowship hall, sipped hot chocolate, munched on coffee cake and pumpkin whoopee pies, and listened. The junior high and high school class did the same when it was their turn.
Then the students and I read stories we had written. The topics were endless: fixing a weed eater, camping with family, how technology affects us, a surprise birthday party, a hide-and-seek story from when an eighth grader was in second grade, getting a spanking and learning a lesson, driving a truck for the first time, and tripping and falling over bolts of fabric in a store.
Here is one of my favorites from an elementary student. To first explain, one of the first graders had brought a "dead" (actually stunned) bird for morning "science". The bird suddenly awoke out of its stupor and found itself in a school surrounded by children.
Chad's bird flew over my head.
I was scared it would poop on me.
It would go on the bookshelf.
It flew against the wall.
Then it flew out the window.
We laughed, we contemplated, and we all really enjoyed it. We plan to do it again when the next quarter ends, and my guess is that their writing will keep getting better.