Category Archives: Day in Sentence

Some of you may remember (hopefully, fondly) our Day in a Sentence collaboration, which first began over at now-defunct blog of The Reflective Teacher, and then migrated here at this space for a year or two, and then went off to volunteer blogs from time to time, and then found a home over at Bonnie’s space, and then … well …. we needed a break.

But it feels like it may be time for a reboot.

So, I cordially invite you into Day in a Sentence, version 2.0. Not sure how it works? It’s simple.

• Think about a day in your week or your entire week;
• Boil down the essence of that day or week into one single reflective sentence (it can be about teaching but it doesn’t have to be. It should be about a moment in your life);
• Use the comment link on this blog post to share your Day in a Sentence;
• I will gather up all of the sentences and post them as a full blog post either this weekend or early next week (I am away this weekend);
• Be part of a writing community that is reflective.

Here is my Day in a Sentence for this week:

I almost pitched a shut-out …. against my 11-year-old son’s all-star little league baseball team in a parents-versus-kids scrimmage, and now my arm hurts in the shadow of that near-glory moment.

And since I am using Cinch quite a bit, here is my podcast sentence (if you do a podcast of your sentence, just leave the link with your sentence and I will try to embed the audio):

I hope you can join us.

Peace (in the reflection),
Kevin

I was taken back by the beauty and power of the various Days in a Haiku that came my way from various directions. I used this blog space, and Twitter, and our iAnthology network to ask folks to reflect on their days in the form of a haiku.

So, here, I share with you. I hope you are impressed as I was.

Peace (in the days),
Kevin

It’s been a long time since I have had my old friend, Day in a Sentence, back at my site for hosting. Bonnie has been overseeing the collaborative writing feature, and doing a great job inviting so many other bloggers to both host and to add their own reflective thoughts to the mix each week.

And now, I get it back for this week. But I can’t do it alone. I need you. Please consider joining this week’s Day in a Sentence, with the theme of HAIKU. That’s right: A Day in a Haiku. Now, if you know anything about my site, you know I am no stickler for rules. So, while the traditional Haiku format is 5/7/5 and all about nature, you go on ahead and do it the way that feels right to you.

Here are mine (I wrote two, which I will explain in a minute). The first is about puppet plays that have been in progress for a bit too long and still are works in progress, even though they will be performing them this week for younger students:

Our classroom’s a mess.
All this week, they’ll try their best
Behind (the) puppet stage

And I had another haiku reflection, more somber, as one of the fathers of a child on my son’s basketball team passed away suddenly this past week in what I can only say is a strange accident while he was on vacation. The team won a nail-biter game yesterday, with the son playing as way to temporarily escape his grief and team rallying around him. I am the team scorekeeper, and this dad and I had a warm conversation just last weekend about the game and about his son. That conversation lingers with me.

The last time we spoke,
we chatted about the stats
and praised his son’s game.

You can add your Day in a Haiku by using the comment link right at this post. They will go into my moderation bin.  I’ll be collecting all of the haikus and releasing them into the world together in some form sometime next weekend. If you are a returning Day-er, it will be great to see your words again. If you are new, then welcome.

Peace (in three lines),
Kevin

Bonnie is hosting this week’s Day in a Sentence, asking folks to reflect on their own version of “giving thanks.” Come join us at Bonnie’s blog (and see last week’s sentences over at Cheryl’s blog.)

Peace (in the reflective practice),
Kevin

Over at Tracy’s blog, Leading from the Heart, she has posted this week’s call for Days in a Sentence, but with a theme of transitions (See her picture to understand the big transition coming in the next few months).

How can you capture a moment, or a phase, of transition in a reflective sentence? Come join Tracy and us and add your own thoughts to this week’s Day in a Sentence.

Also, I am going to be “transitioning” Day in a Sentence over to Bonnie (of Digital Bonnie), letting her do most of the hosting and asking for help with co-hosting this year.

When Bonnie and I first took over Day in a Sentence from The Reflective Teacher a few years ago, we saw it as a way for the two of us and volunteers from you to host the concept. But mostly, my blog became the launching site. Now, we are going to shift to let Bonnie’s blog become the main launching site. I hope you continue to follow us, and contribute, there.

Peace (in transitions),
Kevin

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the re-emergence of Days in a Sentence!! I appreciated all of the comments tumbling into my blog box this past week.

First of all, Tracy wrote me a very nice note about the value of Day in a Sentence as a reflective activity that is important to her. She wrote: “As reflection, boiling down my ‘take away’ from a day into a sentence helps me to focus in on what is important, what is prevalent in my mind, what I need to work on. It is also helpful to read other teachers concise reflections – learning and sharing in community is never bad.” — Thanks, Tracy. I could not agree more.

Her sentence:

Starting a new school year in 3 hours and 10 minutes as a wandering teaching with no classroom, homeless yet liberating in a way

I loved the way Illya phrased her sentence:

Am busy exploring volcanoes and preparing for eruptions with my lovely 6th graders.

It seems like Sheryl is waiting for you to invite her into your classroom. Do you have a sword in a stone anywhere?

I’m a knight errant looking to serve in a 21st century school environment.

my good friend (and former classroom pen pal partner),  sara, became a mom recently. it’s great great to hear from her and all of her lower case letters.

another school year started last week, and i’m not teaching 5th graders until after christmas – instead, i’m the dedicated teacher and mama to one gorgeous, silly, smiley student, my 7-week-old daughter.

Delaine has changed careers, I guess, and is doing something very interesting. Good luck, Delaine!

Having left the classroom in Fresno, I am attempting my third career in microfinance in San Francisco.

Paul writes poetry, even if he didn’t know it. The words here dance in my head at the start of the school year.

Each year I get to meet 100 new kids never knowing which ones I will have an impact on, or what will be their impact will be on me.

Amanda sent me her sentence via email. It’s more than a sentence but I am never, ever a stickler for rules.

As our first week of school we spent a great deal of time looking.  We looked ahead at what we’ll cover this year, we looked inside (our brains) to share about who we are as learners in our first writing assignment, and we looked back to remember and honor the lives lost and the bravery of those who continue to fight for our freedom.

The Teacher’s Pets mourns the loss of a dog. We’re glad to have you here in Day in  a Sentence and are sorry for the loss.

After hearing that a beloved Schnauzer client, Bo, passed away unexpectedly in his sleep on Saturday night, I was unable to enjoy the holiday weekend as I originally planned.

Jim seems like he started on a high note (and for those of you starting a new year, I hope you did, too).

I had a fantastic first day today, I hope the rest of the year stays just as energetic.

Hear that sound? That’s Matt. He’s breathing easier than ever.

For the first time in a long time I am returning to school without a mound of obligations on my back.

Ben’s sentence sounds like he just ascended from the movie Inception. I bet it was a heck of a journey.

I teased brains, rang bells, bent minds.

Yes, Nancy, those were cows!

My hiatus from teaching is over, and instead of a view of the dirty, smelly Bruckner Expressway, I get cows walking past my classroom windows!

Uh oh. I sense some tension with Lynn. Maybe she needs a few cows walking past her window. Are there cows in Chico?

The process of calming the twelves is wearing me thinner than I like.

Not sure what to make of Penny‘s sentence. Maybe she was stuck in a staff meeting …

Death by meeting or inspiration crowd-sourcing?

Get thee to the Starbucks! Barbara needs a shot of something.

The amount of energy spent today interacting with students (in a very positive way) left me exhausted and anxious for my 4-shot caramel macchiato—mmmmmm—so satisfying!

Cynthia, retiring? in May? Oh my.

Mandalas, PhotoStories, sociograms, Anglo Saxon boasts, resumes, accusative case–oh, my: our days are full of new and exciting experiences; I wonder if I will miss them when I retire in May.

And Bonnie left this note for me (as did Tracy above), as I mentioned that I was not sure how to keep this feature a regular ongoing thing.

I just reread Kevin’s article about teacher as writer and I for one call to keep Boil Down Your Week regular. What Can I Do To Help? That’s my new mantra this year.

Thanks to everyone who participated. I appreciate your words this week. I’ll be enlisting hosting help for Day in a Sentence. Leave me a note here if you might be interested in hosting Day in a Sentence at your blog.

Peace (in the daze of our days),
Kevin

Greetings.

It’s been quite some time since I have launched Day in a Sentence, the collaborative venture where I ask you, dear reader, to boil down your entire week or a day in the week (your choice) into a single reflective sentence. Then, you post your sentence as a comment to this blog post. My job is to collect all of your sentences and then publish them together over the weekend.

So, what do you say? Do you have  a pocket of reflective energy? How can you capture your week or a day in your week in a single sentence? Add your sentence to the comments here, and spread the word.

Day in a Sentence is back! (albeit on a somewhat irregular basis).

My podcasted sentence:

I can barely express how different the climate of my new class of students is from my old class, where “walking on eggshells” was my daily mantra and I was as much traffic cop as teacher.

Peace (in the sharing),
Kevin

PS — What is the value in teachers becoming writers in places like Day in a Sentence? I tried to address this earlier in the year with this article over at LEARN NC.

Here are the responses to this past week’s Day in a Sentence, which was done over at AnswerGarden.

Peace (in the sharing),
Kevin

Wow. What happened to Day in a Sentence? It went on a little snoozer, I guess, as I kind of stepped away from the idea for a bit. But I miss seeing what folks write about when they mull over their day or week.

So, let’s do a Day in a Sentence, shall we? But I want to use AnswerGarden again for collecting answers, so: let’s do DAY IN A SHORT PHRASE (or word) as AnswerGarden has a character limit.

Here’s how it works:

• Reflect on your day or your week;
• Boil it down into a word or a short phrase;
• Pop your response into our Day in a Sentence AnswerGarden (or use the embedded AnswerGarden down below);
• (optional): After your response has gone in, add your first name to AnswerGarden, too, so we can see who has been contributing.
• You’re done!

Thanks for contributing!

Peace (in the sharing),
Kevin

What is Your Day in a Word or Phrase?… at AnswerGarden.ch.

Hello

Come join us for this week’s Day in a Sentence, which is over at Tracy’s Leading from the Heart blog (great name!). She has an idea for thinking about your sentence and then, just leave it as a comment at her blog. She will collect and publish this weekend.

Your are invited!!

Go to Tracy’s Day in a Sentence

Peace (in the sharing),

Kevin