I’m just beginning the Sunday task of reading through my Boil Down Your Day in a Sentence. It’s always daunting at first to create a platform to share the gold that’s been growing in my blog comments. As the Olympics come to a close, I am taking the plunge while there’s still water in the pool.

Some of our boilers have just begun a new school year so let’s start there:

We have Lynn (our hostess for next week), who is not new to teaching but middle school is her challenge this year.

A gaggle of seventh graders made me laugh all week.

Sounds like she is captured! I’m not surprised.

Illya is also returning to her teaching life and in need of acclimating to her school rhythm from leisure. I’m sure Illya, you are up to the challenge.

The hubbub of school life begins again as I try to find my rhythm between the comings and goings.

Sara touches on school life outside her classroom and that’s always tricky.

I vacillate between the euphoria of an all-new school administration who *gets it* about education, and isolation from my grade-level team, who don’t *get me*.

Rick shares a dilemma I remember well as a high school drama director.

The hardest part about coaching elementary school soccer is telling nineteen kids that they did not make the team.

And then we have the group who are using their last few days to enjoy and prepare for their classroom return.

Grace has had a busy summer in the world of technology, working with teachers at the New York City Writing Project in July and then as a learner herself. She is a passionate learner. BRAVO, Grace.

I absorbed a lot of helpful strategies related to scaffolding at the QTEL Institute which can be summed up in the words of Aida Walqui, “Amplify don’t simplify.”

If you haven’t clicked over to Stacey’s blog, now might be a perfect opportunity. She has created a mixed media piece using Smilebox.

Stacey shares a Shabbat dinner with us.

And even though dogtrax is still on blog vacation, he is resurfacing. Welcome back Kevin, we’ve missed you!

The proofreading process for a book about technology in the classroom (of which I am co-editor) is becoming agonizingly nitty-gritty with details but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I’m not sure where Elona is, but it sounds like her life is rich as she learns from her granddaughter Lauryn about early matters of the heart.

My week has been a delightful one because my granddaughter Lauryn, who just turned nine yesterday, has been teaching me about the world from her nine year old perspective. Did you know that the world would be a better place if all the boys lived in one half and all the girls lived in the other half. Boys are so annoying when you’ve just turned nine, don’t you know!

And even though Anne is not on summer break, it sounds like she’s had an amazing educational experience beyond the four walls of a classroom. Check our her blog for more details.

Spending time as a host to an Indonesian Islamic teacher was a rewarding one, and witnessing the look of sheer excitement on his face after riding around our wet paddocks on our four wheel motor bike, watching my husband shear a sheep and working with the young students at school made the effort all worthwhile.

And Ken seems to be focused on the reality of chocolate. What do you make of his weekly share?

DEANZ’s chocolate reality, digital fantasy, ideas of note to enact - but native or immigrant, heed the statistics, it’s death to the digital fact.

Kate seems to be taking a leap of faith, moving out of the classroom and back to her passion for theater. I can’t wait to hear more about her new challenges.

A new week, a return to the old days and a revival of an almost-lost love.

Oops, I need something.

I spent a fantastic two days working with my Hudson Valley Writing Project and remembering why I remain an HVWP born-again.

Here’s where we began our Visioning Retreat, working on a site mission/vision statement.

Thanks for making my hosting role so much fun. See you again and next week we are off to Lynn’s site. Check your email for further news and reminders.

Bonnie

Late Breaking News:

Tracey is holding on tightly to her last week of vacation and used her early Monday morning time to compose a sentence for us and here it is:

A few more days until school calls, in the sun, listening to music, words and phrases jumping out at me when they can, behind the keening of the cicada on the tree, confirming why I do what I do and how I feel at this time of year: excited, anxious, rising.

Hang on,.Jo has one more to add.  Her 39th birthday celebrated at her school’s open house.  Good thing for my I was an August baby and summer vacation lasts for us, until Labor Day in September.  I don’t know if I could give up my day.

I spent my 39th birthday meeting about 60 of my 107 new 9th- and 10th-graders, most of whom came with their parents to Open House.

Welcome to Boil Down Your Week

& Photo Fridays

While Kevin is still under the radar, enjoying life on a beach, we are home, enjoying the end of summer, starting school, maybe dealing with winter(?)
So how about sharing a sentence that best describes where you are in this moment and maybe, if you are inclined, to take or select a photo and upload to Flickr and share it with at
http://www.flickr.com/groups/photofridays/

As for your Week in a Sentence, you can share it here or visit my blog: http://blk1.edublogs.org and leave it under the comments.

I will collect the sentences and release them on Sunday.

Feel free to visit anytime.

Bonnie

Welcome, once again,to my condo in the blogosphere. As much as Kevin loves hosting his Day in a Sentence, he believes so strongly in community collaboration, that he reaches out, offering the thrill of hosting to others. I am honored to open my door to you this week, so if you have any energy left to share your week with us, please freeze a moment or more of it, here and check back on Sunday for the surprises to come..

Here’s my moment (so far):

As I write this invitation I’m listening to Bruce “the Boss” Springsteen, singing to TIm Russert at his memorial service. I’ve been touched and saddened by his sudden death and the more I watch others talk and share bits of his life with the television audience, the more I respect him, beyond Meet the Press

Bonnie

And what’s a Friday without sharing a photo and some words on our new community creation, PHOTO FRIDAYS! (http://www.flickr.com/groups/photofridays/)

Join us here and there.

Greetings All,

Thanks for sending your amazing sentences my way. There’s been a blast from “home” every time I open my computer.

This has been a week of travel, vacations and holiday celebrations.
Read on:

Cynthia:
Spring break finally arrived, and I boarded an American Eagle flight to Dallas to spend a week with my grandson Tommy LaRue and his parents where I spent way too much money(obviously my daughter thinks I am made of money when I come to Dallas), but the hugs and kisses Rue gave to his “MyMy” were worth every penny–they are priceless.

Eric:

Arms crossed, body stiff, eyes piercing, she did not want to go- but sometimes you know it will be okay, just because they think they don’t want to do something doesn’t mean they don’t want to do it or that some good maybe even fun won’t come from it.

Muriel
Queen Esther (My granddaughter) meets Hat in the Cat (me) on Purim in Salt Lake City for a first ever Celia and Bubbie Purim with even grandpa, dad, mom and little brother joining us in the synagogue for dinner and the “ganse Megilah.”

Jane

Ann
We began our school break with dreams of endlessly relaxing days but were treated to amazing seats at a pro basketball game, 14th row, center court and felt like royalty.

Nancy
All week, I’ve been looking forward to family time in Albany–Shabbat dinner, Shabbat lunch, a trip to the Apple Store with Dad (who is FINALLY getting a new laptop) and a birthday dinner with Mom.

And my vacation photo (Cape Cod, and we’re going up to the cottage in April!):

Susan
Spring break for the University means empty hallways and offices and quiet, open space for me to turn down the pace on a very hectic year.

Anne last week’s guest host from Australia: http://murcha.wordpress.com
Today is Easter Sunday, in Australia, where a visit from the Easter Bunny, bearing chocolate Easter eggs is customary and family gatherings take place, but a day when I would love to be in Belgium, savouring some of their wonderful chocolate delights, meeting up there with my 2 boys who live in London.

Lynn
As I worked with my student on her culture presentation, reminiscences of a long ago trip to Laos crowded my mind, bringing back the sights and sounds, the smells and tastes of traveling through a hot tropical country.

Paul/Pam 2
My husband and I will be traveling soon to Israel. We are looking forward to the 60th year celebration there!
I will send a picture of Sedona, Arizona my little get-away place of the perfect weather!

Stacie
I arrived exhausted, deadline-driven, tight across my shoulders … ate callaloo and jerk lobster, walked the beach every day, counted shooting stars at night, watched my skin turn a beautiful honey-black, got a massage from Joshua, weathered a category 4 hurricane … and left mellow, brown, my true self.

Ben
To me, spring break meant three happy, happy things: sleeping in, seeing a heist movie, and hanging out at Borders until it closes.

Karen
For one whole week in late July, my sister and brother and I, with our children (as many as possible) in tow, return to what we knew first and know best: the water and northern Michigan.

Gail
Today marks the spring equinox here in the Sierra foothills and the signs are all about, making me feel even more connected to our global day/week-in-a-sentence-community. Happy Spring/Hag Sameah to all

Matt
I’m on vacation in beautiful Culver City; bought a car, fixed a car, fixed a granny, made a movie, and wrote a paper…come on over, the weather’s beautiful.

Kathryn
The Easter egg hunt completed, we walked around our neighbourhood taking photos in a disposible camera, all ready for a virtues class in the morning and a second birthday party in the afternoon.

Teaching Sagittarian
With slight nervousness, yet increasing excitement, I’m like a cat on a hot tin roof as the count down to leaving New Zealand to fly to Argentina, then Madrid, then Rome, then Bangkok, hits less than 4 days to go!

Brian
You’ll excuse me, I hope, if I fear and loathe the Disney Company, makers of all things marketable, but when on vacation in the Magic Kingdom, shaded for a moment from the terrible Orlando sun, our little girls watched a princess dance across the stage I saw in their faces that magic is real and that perfection lives in their eyes.

Mary
Hopeful and happy harbingers of spring wore their shorts to school with swing.
Our week was full of playful expectations.

Elona
On March 24, is my son Chris’ birthday and of course birthdays are times of reflection. In reflecting upon his journey from birth to the wonderful man he has grown up to be and reflecting on this week’s theme about vacations this came to mind

One of the vacation moments I cherish most is the one 20 years ago when my then 17 year old son told me on the plane coming home that he really enjoyed our four week trip together to England, Holland, France and Germany because he got to know me as a person and not just as his mom- at that moment, my heart smiled.

Lynne C.
Temperature hit 90 degrees on this last day of Spring break, providing ample excuse to luxuriate in the sun, check in with old friends, and watch new neighborhood children practice time-honored egg-hunting strategies.

J. Hawke
Foregoing our usual train ride back to our Manhattan hotel after the late show was providential; our meandering walk that very early July morning led us upon the series of 96 bronze plaques known as Library Way, and quotations from writers like Milton, Chopin, Thoreau, Clifton, Woolf, Dickinson, and Hughes kept us braving the dark night along 41st Street.

Aram
‘Ive been fishing and relaxing in this spot, located on the Au Sable River in Michigan, with a handful of male relatives in the past and my plans to do it again for a week this summer keep me going through March’s cruel wintry weather.

Kevin
Here is mine (I twisted a metaphor into a vacation theme):

While my body feels as if it is in London — all dreary and foggy on the outside of the world — my mind yearns for some little tropical island somewhere that no one else knows about — restful and relaxed from morning until night.

And my podcast: http://www.box.net/shared/static/r1selmtq8g.mp3

and a photo:

And mine:

I was ready for a warm sun, I was ready to peel off my winter
clothes and return to shorts, light tops, and sandals and I was
ready to enjoy a full-blown spring and leave the lingering winter winds as Israel begins its festival of Purim.

Thanks so much for your sharing and patience. 25 of us shared moments, photos and a podcast this week. I was proud to host  and look forward to where we travel next as  Boil Down Your Day/Week  returns back to Kevin.

I strongly recommend the guest host role; it’s a stimulating challenge,

Thanks Kevin,

Bonnie

Hag Sameah (Happy Holidays) from Israel.

It’s Purim here, Israel’s version of Halloween.

This is the second week of guest hosting international.

I am on vacation here in Israel and in keeping with the spirit of vacations, let’s add a twist to Kevin’s very popular and successful Boil Down Your Day/Week in a Sentence. Of course, this variation is offered with lots of collaboration.

How about a sentence (and maybe a picture) of a recent vacation moment you are having,  had or would like to have.

Here’s mine:

I was ready for a warm sun, I was ready to peel off my winter clothes and return to shorts,light tops, and sandals and I was ready to enjoy a true spring in Israel and leave the lingering winter winds as Israel begins its festival of Purim.
Bonnie

Of course, feel free to just continue with what’s comfortable for you for the week.

As usual, you can leave you sentence with me as a comment at the end of this post, (and photo by email blkdrama@mac.com) by Sunday morning and I will get them up asap. Remember, I am 7 hours ahead of you .

Can’t wait to hear from you,

Bonnie (with Kevin’s blessing)

From Tel Aviv