My blog is going to look considerably different this March. Rather than posting once a week or so about educational topics in which I feel passionate, I am taking part in the Slice of Life Challenge for the entire month of March. (#SOL16) I wasn’t going to do it. I wondered if I could keep that commitment to post writing on my blog for each of the next 31 days. It’s not like I had too much free time on my hands: I’m working on my National Board certification, preparing workshops for out of state districts on Close Writing, preparing workshops in-district for formative assessments/feedback and writing, creating newsletters for the Maine Literacy Council, reading 4-5 middle grade novels a week, and carving out time with my active teenagers. But I thought to myself, I write every day, so why not take the challenge? It’ll be a lot like the time I spent writing my book, but with a lot less pressure to make it meaningful for others!
I am a huge fan of The Two Writing Teachers (although they are numbering about 7 these days!) Stacey Shubitz has always been an inspiration to me and I really wanted to be a part of her tribe on this. As she states on the blog “The mission of this online challenge was to support teachers who wanted to write daily. The purpose was to create a community of teacher-writers who could better support the students they serve in writing workshops daily.” So Stacey, (and Anna, Betsy, Elizabeth, Dana, Tara, Deb, Kathleen, ) thank you for organizing this challenge and encouraging so many writing teachers to be writing teachers. You “walk the talk” and I am incredibly impressed each time I read your blog posts.
So for the next month I will be more aware and reflective of the small moments in my life. I am ready to see what I will discover about myself as a writer, a teacher, a coach, a mom, a wife, a friend, a human…as I tune in, reflect, and capture a slice of life each day for the next 30 days. I apologize to subscribers who don’t follow my blog for this purpose- feel free to “unsubscribe” if it’s not your cup of tea -but subscribe again April 1st!
For anyone who would like to take the challenge themselves, you can do so HERE.
If you miss my What’s On My Book Radar…you can follow my reading on Goodreads or my Facebook album for the month.
litcoachlady 
I loved reading your post. I can’t imagine how you do all you do! I found so many pieces I wanted to read from your blog; great information for a passionate teacher. You inspire me to keep looking and reading. I miss that in my community of teachers. We are all so overwhelmed and feel we can’t do it all. It’s good for the soul to hear positive things we can do to make a difference. Thank you!
Kay
I think we all have so many wonderful things we do-but when we love them it doesn’t really seem like work. Glad you are extending your “community” through #SOL. Keep making a difference!!
I love it when educators “walk the talk!” So glad you’re joining us this month, Paula.
Sending you an email in a few minutes.
I felt the exact same way three years ago when I participated in my first March challenge. Look forward to reading your daily posts.