How was your literate life this week? As always, I’m here in your Inbox to celebrate our literate lives with a sneak peek into my own. Here’s what I’ve been reading, writing, learning and exploring this week:

What I’m Reading:

This week, I finished Everything Else in the Universe by Tracy Holczer. I’ve had this book in my TBR stack for a while now, a signed copy from a literacy conference last summer. And now that I know how much this book has impacted my heart, I am so disappointed that I did not meet her AFTER reading the book so I could tell her so. This book introduces readers to Lucy and Milo, two pre-teenagers who didn’t realize how much they desperately needed each other’s friendship. Filled with lessons about the meaning of family, tested parental bonds, the pain of war and the difficulties in figuring out the kind of person you want to become, this book may have been set in history, but is incredibly relevant to readers today. You’ll find yourself rooting for Lucy as she fights against her anxieties and for her self-proclaimed homeostasis, grieving with Lucy’s father as he heals from losing his arm in the Vietnam war, feeling for Milo as his own family deals with a difficult situation and thankful for extended family, however eccentric they may be, for the support they provide. I simply loved this book.

I’m still reading Read the World: Rethinking Literacy for Empathy and Action in a Digital Age by Kristin Ziemke  and Katie Muhtaris. It is a treasure-trove of thinking, ideas, resources and inspiration. I’ve been diving into the lessons to help students think through digital texts, apply their reading strategies to images and media and respond using visual tools. I’m happily swimming in the possibilities and will share some of my learning soon.

On my Radar for next week? Coaching for Equity by Elena Augilar. If only we had one more hour in the day to read!

What I’m Writing:

My notebook entries this week were inspired by my own children’s homework! In typical beginning-of-the-year fashion, they were tasked to write about themselves: a memorable memory, a time they solved a problem or a time where they were scared. We had a great time taking a trip down memory lane to choose the best memories to write about, which of course, sparked some of my own writing in my notebook. I am a list-maker, so I created three lists:

  • Things I Don’t Ever Want to Forget

  • Times I Made Things Work

  • Things That Scare Me…For Now

I savored the time spent thinking back at all the little memories that bubbled to the surface. I highly recommend you take a few moments to create your own lists!

What I’m Learning:

This week, I was enamored with a blog post from Melanie Meehan of Two Writing Teachers. In it, she talked about interval training with writers. Yes, interval training. And I am hooked. The basic idea is inspired from the exercise world where you tackle small bits of intense exercise with a well-deserved rest in between. This method allows you to focus hard and give it everything you have for a short period, then rest and recover to tackle something new. The same approach can work well with writing. Why not try short interval bursts to boost writing stamina, attempt a new piece of writing craft, expand a small moment and more? It’s a great way to change things up a bit and I’m already noticing a difference in my own writing life!

What I’m Exploring:

This week, my Internet searches have been focused on my personal quest for pumpkin. Yes, pumpkin. =) I have a few dietary restrictions (anyone else here on the FODMAP diet?) and am always looking for new recipes to jazz my diet up a bit, especially with Fall flavors. I’ve been experimenting with all things pumpkin with my daughter and have been making these muffins just a bit too often! I’ve got a few other recipes on my radar, like these amazing pumpkin protein balls, which I may or may not be eating right now…… Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe? Send it my way!

There you have it! I hope this inspires you to make space for more reading and writing in your own life. What are the highlights from your literate life this week?