By the time I left one of my teacher's classrooms yesterday, I felt like I had been beaten over the head with a broom. This teacher has a student in her class that challenged every part of my brain, body, and heart. After 30 plus minutes of attempting every teaching trick I could summon, Charlie and I actually connected. It was a wonderful exhausting moment. He went from refusing to write and complaining and running around the room and re-arranging the attendance chart and sharpening pencils and stapling thick stacks of paper and following the teacher around and whining about wanting his snack, to creating a book about a kid who went around screaming, "I WANT MY SNACK!" I was truly grateful to have stumbled into a topic that lit his writing candle. Seriously. I'm not kidding. I think the teacher could hear my sigh of relief from across the room.
Today I want to show Charlie some Mo Willem's books to use as mentor texts. I have no idea if we will connect again today. I have no idea if he will want to write. I have no idea how he will respond to anything. I can't get this kid out of my mind. I like Charlie. He is funny as all get out. But, WOW! I wonder what will happen today.
Thanks for sharing. I would love to hear how Charlie does in the next few weeks. The struggling writer stumps me so many times. I'm so glad you connected. Finding the spark is so hard. MHG
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