Quinn!

Meet the newest member of our Royal Family!

Quinn Audrey

Quinn Audrey Fries was born on May 5, 2015, to my niece Micki and her husband Tyler.  

Anxiously awaiting Quinn's arrival were her two big brothers, Ethan (here, here, and here) and Drake (here.)  They stayed with GG while Micki and Tyler were in the hospital, and of course they were the first to be notified of Quinn's birth.  Both of them could hardly wait to meet their new baby sister and see their mom and dad!

Going to visit, bearing gifts!

Ethan is an amazing big brother.  He knew how to spell Quinn before anyone told him--I was teasing him and pretending Quinn's name was Lynne.  He vehemently said "No.  QUINN.  with a Q"!  Micki asked him how he knew it was a Q and he said 'because it sounds like kwa--q.u.a"!

Ethan and Quinn

From the beginning, Drake has been enchanted with Quinn (Kin as he says)--especially her tiny hands.  He often asked to hold her and still does three months later,  They are going to be such good friends, I know!

Drake and Quinn

Not only does Quinn have two big brothers to love and protect her, but she also has the most incredible grandparents.  GG and Jimpa Coover were there to welcome their third grandchild and first granddaughter.

GG, Jimpa, and Quinn

Grandma and Grandpa Fries also live nearby, and they were there to welcome Quinn to the ever-growing Fries family.

Grandma and Grandpa Fries with Quinn and E

Grams got to meet Quinn when she was three weeks old!  She immediately nestled into Grams' safe, loving arms.  Two months later, she was nestled in again <3

Grams and Quinn

Quinn is surrounded by so much love.  Indeed, she got to meet the entire Thompson family, all 31 of us, at Kyle and Ashlie's May wedding.  Everyone wanted to hold three-week old Quinn, and hold her we did.  She got passed around more than a Nebraska football!  It was beautiful.

Quinn with Great Aunt Kerri, Cousin Aunts Ana and Amy, and Great Great Aunt Donna!

Of course, a girl must have her BFFs. Quinn is off to a great start with two of the most ah-dorable little pumpkins, Hailey and Lucy.  Hailey is Micki's friend Brooke's baby girl, and they are just one month apart in age.  They're already going through the handholding phase!  Lucy is Quinn's 2nd cousin.  They are going to be best of friends, just like Micki and Jill, despite what this picture might suggest!

Hailey and Lucy with Quinn

I'm still smiling cheek-to-cheek smiles from my two visits with Quinn (Quinnerina as I call her, much to Ethan's horror).  I met her for the first time when she was three weeks old at the same spot I met her brother Drake two years earlier--Old Chicago in Kearney, Nebraska.    I absolutely could not wait until the next day when everyone would arrive in Lincoln, and so I made a small pit stop in Kearney on my way.  I'm so glad I did.  Because three-week-old Quinn was so  . . .

alert--looking around at everyone!

but also

sleepy--such a good baby!

delicate--little baby hands and slim fingers!

but also

strong--she was already holding her head up!

tiny--nothing like a newborn!

but also

big--a nine-pound baby!

girlie--around all those boys!

but mostly

beautiful--melt-your-heart beautiful with dark hair and dark blue eyes!

When I saw her two months later, she hadn't changed.  Oh sure, she had grown.  And she was smiling--lots of smiles!  But Quinn was still strong and girlie and so

beautiful.

It's fun to imagine what lies ahead for Quinn.  Will she be . . .

a gymnast like her mom?

a brainiac like her GG?

a jock like her dad and uncle and brothers?

a teacher like so many of her family members?

Wherever her path leads her, I'll be watching and cheering her on, along with 30 other Thompsons!

(here are some of my favorite pictures of Quinn so far)

Quinn photographed by her Aunt Sarah

click here for Sarah Hadenfeldt Photography webpage

Newborn Quinn with her mermaid and other photos by her mama 

All smiles!

3 months!

It's a Gatsby ThingLink

What do you do when your 11th grade students seem to be stuck as writers?  Oh sure, they can write that five-paragraph essay alright--they've only been doing that since 6th grade.  They know they need that all-important intro with a thesis statement.  They know they need at least three claims, and they need to support those claims with evidence.  They know they need to wrap everything up with a succinct conclusion.  Yes, they've got that.  

Why is it, then, that I sigh--heavily--when I see a stack of essays staring at me from my desk, demanding attention?  Why do I find a million other things to do until they just can't be avoided a second longer?  They're not going to be horrible.  In fact, some of them will be amazing, but most of them will be okay.  And it's that okay that keeps me from them.

I knew I needed to do something about these okay essays as 4th quarter came around.  I realized that while spending almost the entire year trying to perfect the literary essay,  an essential piece of my students got lost--their voice, and I wanted them to get that back.

Enter my sister, to the rescue!

Peg is a Teaching and Learning Coordinator specializing in technology for ESU10, an educational service unit for a large portion of schools in Nebraska. (follow her here and here).  Her passion for education is infectious, and I love learning from her.  I was lamenting--okay whining--about the essays awaiting me on a Sunday afternoon as I put them off even more with a sister FaceTime call.  We got into a discussion about how to make writing more authentic, about how my students can write okay essays, and about how much I miss hearing their voice when they write about literature, and it is there that she introduced me to ThingLink.  

After hearing Peg talk about ThingLink and viewing several of her creations, I realized that this could be the mode for my students to get their voices back.  Instead of writing an essay, I gave them a bigger challenge.  Their task was to create a ThingLink that contained all the components of a literary essay by linking words, pictures, videos, creations, music, etc.  

I created my own Gatsby ThingLink to use as a model to share my process with my students.  I explained how my title was the thesis statement and all the links became the other parts of the essay.  I showed them which link would logically be my introduction (a Tellagami with me reading a short intro I had written).  I showed them how I supported my thesis with pictures and webpages and videos and word clouds.  Finally, I showed my grand finale conclusion, an iMovie I created to sum up all the links I had used.  And they applauded!  I had tears.

view my Gatsby ThingLink

 Fitzgerald and Romeo

Then we got to work.  I gave them the project description and a planning sheet to get them started . . .

I was thrilled with the final projects!  Instead of handing in essays, my students shared their Gatsby ThingLinks on the Promethean Board.  We all applauded.  I had tears again.  Their work was not okay--it was amazing.  See for yourself--here is a sampling of my juniors' Gatsby ThingLinks.

Melyna's

Gatsby and His Riches

Stephanie's

Characters

Sherlock's

Gatsby's New York

Yovanna's

Eyes

Gabby's

Money

Pedro's

Obsession

This Gatsby ThingLink project was successful because my students were intrinsically motivated.  They

found a new solution to an old problem

became passionate about their work

became curious with their topics

discovered creative ways to make their point

used time management strategies for the process

worked together in a trusting environment

shared their projects

and most importantly

they got their voices back!

The Miracle Project

I love when everything comes together in a teaching unit--the lessons, the engagement, the by-in, the transfer of knowledge.  Although my intention is for every unit to be perfect, sometimes my confidence at the beginning isn't that strong.

When I decided to add the writings of the Transcendentalists to a World Literature unit, I was thrilled.  I hadn't touched Transcendentalism since I left Nebraska 22 years ago, not because I didn't want to but because it simply wasn't on any district curriculum I was presented.  As I scanned the planning guide for 12th grade English for 2nd quarter, a window of opportunity presented itself, allowing me to introduce some of the writings of these great writers to my soon-to-be high school graduates.  

I must admit I was a bit skeptical.  As I said, It had been almost a quarter of a century since I last taught Emerson or Thoreau.  But the spark had been ignited, and I began to plan and gather ideas.  I started with baby steps, and then one reading/discussion just led to more ideas and ultimately the entire unit just came together and everything fell into place.  Kind of like

A MIRACLE

And speaking of miracles, I am still glowing over the final project for my Transcendental unit, which I call The Miracle Project.  The entire time I was working on it, I couldn't help think of my fabulous friend Kari, who shares so beautifully her own miracles in her blog. (read it HERE!)  And so I decided to "gift" her this project.  

Here is the letter I wrote to her to introduce the project.  It's my way of sharing it with you, too!

And, here are some links to a few completed Miracle Projects :) 

Ajla!

Ashley!

Carlos!

Lucille!

Silvia!

and my own demo, with slides purposefully left without pictures or completely blank in order to show my own drafting process for this project

Ms. Thompson

This Miracle Project really was the perfect way to end the first semester for my seniors.  I hope you can take something away from it, too!

Lucy Mae

I was beginning to wonder if this day would ever come, but I finally got to meet Lucy Mae Rischling, our new Royal Baby (more Royal Babies here).  Her early arrival, the uncooperative weather, and some annoying hip pain delayed our first meeting, but the four-month wait was worth every frustrating hitch that got in the way.

So happy to meet you, Lucy!

Lucy, my 2nd great niece and the 5th member of "the next generation," was born on November 7, 2014, to my niece Jill and her husband Todd, their first baby.

Jill Emily, Todd, and Lucy Mae

The beginning of Lucy's life has been sprinkled with miracles and kisses from angels above, beginning with 

her early arrival

Born six weeks early and weighing in at 3 pounds, 8 ounces, Lucy amazed us all with her strength and tenacity. We knew that she would most likely arrive before her December 16th due date, but I don't think any of us were prepared for November 7th.  We were hoping for maybe her Grandpa Mark's November 23rd birthday or her cousin Micki's November 26th birthday, especially since Drake was born on Jill's birthday.  Only one date was written in the stars, though, and that has everything to do with

her name

Lucy Mae's middle name is also her great grandma's (my mom) middle name.  Jill Emily also shares the name of her great grandma, my Grandma Emily.  It just so happens that Grandma Emily's birthday is November 7.  December 16?  November 23?  November 26?  They never stood a chance--Lucy was destined to be born on November 7th!

and if that's not enough

A few weeks after Lucy was born, my Uncle Larry sent me an email with copies of my grandparents' baptismal certificates.  He had been going through boxes when he came across them and thought Mom and I would want copies.  I had been feeling my grandparents' presence strongly the whole month of November, especially Grandma Emily's, and so this email made me smile so much.  As I read the names and dates and places, I felt such a sense of warmth, almost like a hug.  I poured over these certificates several times, and as I looked for the name of Grandma's godparents, a name stood out bold and bright.  Grandma's godmother?  LUCY.  Jill and Todd certainly didn't know this when they chose this name.  Even my mom didn't know, but she did recognize that Lucy Dolezal was Grandma's aunt.  

What's in a name?  For Lucy Mae . . . the beauty and strength of generations of women surrounding her.  Always.

Grandma Emily's baptismal certificate

Lucy will always be surrounded by so much love.  She has amazing parents who also have amazing parents and are the absolute greatest grandparents.   She has great grandparents and lots of aunts and uncles and cousins and cousin cousins and great aunts and great uncles and friends and friends of friends who already have fallen in love with her.

We all love Lucy!

Lucy is already growing so fast.  From that tiny three pound girl who got lost in her car seat, she shows her strong-willed personality in so many ways.

The many faces of Lucy Mae

We'll all be watching her on her journey, surrounded by her angels, as she scatters sparkles and starlight and miracles along her path.

Snapshot Stories from my Seniors

I try to keep my personal life separate from my professional life most of the time, including topics I explore on this blog.  From time to time, however, I just can't help myself from sharing something that my kids are doing in the classroom.  They constantly surprise me and make me proud time and time again.

Their latest feat--these snapshot stories.  It's amazing what these kids can do with limited resources.  Most of them don't have access to computers and the internet at home, and so they rely on whatever technology we have at school.  Let me just say that Steve Jobs would probably roll over in his grave if he saw the notebook cart I had to check out for this assignment.  Hint:  not a single Apple can be found on this cart.  Nevertheless, my kids embraced the project and created beautiful Snapshot Stories.

Their assignment was to bring in any picture that spoke to them and to write two hundred words about it.  After much revision, they used the website WeVideo to upload their picture and record themselves reading their words.  Although I had limited experience with WeVideo, (hey--I'm an Apple girl and I use iMove!) we worked through the kinks together to create the final projects.

I wasn't prepared for how much their final snapshot stories would move me.  I read their words as they were going through the writing process, witnessed their struggles with revision, and saw their smiles and high fives when they realized they had found just the right words to go with their picture. It wasn't until I heard their voices on their final video, though,  that I realized just how amazing these projects are.   Those voices, so full of emotion and innocence, filled my soul as each picture became their story, and I suddenly connected with each of them in ways I couldn't have possibly done without this project.

My students happily gave their permission to share some of their stories with you, and so I invite you to watch a few of them and get a glimpse into the heart of a typical high school senior at my school.  **Update:  WeVideo is now asking you to login.  If this happens, try signing if with a Google+ account.

Meet Leyna

(click here) smile

and Karla

(click here) Nebraska

Here's Stephanie

(click here) new beginnings

Pedro and Alexis

(click here for Pedro) home sweet home

(click here for Alexis) go slow

and Angel

(click here) Guidance

Miss Lizeth

(click here) Home

and finally Jeff

(I saved Jeff for last because I just have to share his story.  I first met Jeff when he was in my 7th grade Literacy class.  He had just come to the United State from Tanzania.  He spoke absolutely no English--his native language is Swahili.  For most of that 7th-grade year, Jeff and I communicated using Google Translate, starting with one word at a time.  My teacher-heart is filled to the rim having Jeff in my senior English class and witnessing his growth and the power of education!)

(click here) track star

Seniors, words, and pictures.  Reasons to believe!

Christmas Lake Love

As I cling to these last days of my summer break, my body feels rested, my soul is renewed, and my heart is full of so much love.  It's been a beautiful summer!

because

Maui was unbelievable: (Maui blog!)

And Christmas Lake was pure love. 

 Most of The Thompson family was able to travel to Shorewood, Minnesota, to spend a glorious Fourth of July weekend celebrating family.  My niece Amy's toast summed up the family milestones so far this year.  We celebrated Gabe's graduation from high school, Amy's marriage to Austin and her new job, Peg and Jim's 30th wedding anniversary and both of them turning the big 5-0, Jill's pregnancy, the one-year birthday of The Twins and Drake, Ethan turning the big FOUR, and the sheer joy of being together as a family.

As is typical with any Thompson family gathering, there were lots of inside jokes that we will be referring to for years to come, like

bawling babies everywhere 

(said by all with so much love!)

it was the twins 

(Micki's comment when Kerri walked into cheerios and scrambled eggs decorating the screen porch.  From that point, everything was blamed on the twins!)

Please enjoy this slideshow of all the love and reasons to believe that Christmas Lake brings to our family--

click here for On the Pontoon!

Maui in WORDS AND PICTURES

I recently saw the movie Words and Pictures, which, if you're not familiar with the plot, argues the question whether language or images provide the best means of expression.  If I were forced to make a choice, I would definitely side with the English teacher in the movie and choose words.  Who needs pictures when reading Shakespeare or Thoreau or Fitzgerald?  The language, the writing, the words ARE the pictures.

So I challenged myself to write about my recent trip to Maui without including pictures, and, needless to say, it just didn't work.  Oh, I wrote it all down in my journal--all one thousand words--pages and pages--but my words just couldn't capture the beauty of this island.  I now concede, as the movie did, that clear expression oftentimes requires both words and pictures.

Here, then, is the story of my trip to Maui--with a few words and lots of pictures.

(for a pictures-wthout-written words-version, see slideshow here)

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

I started singing "Leaving on a Jet Plane" weeks before our trip began.  Our vacation really did start there--on those jet planes from DEN to LAX and LAX to OGG--with First Class EVERYTHING.  Saying goodbye to the snowy Rocky Mountains, drinking Mai Tais, choosing toppings from a sundae cart, and watching Frozen--twice--made the eleven-hour travel day seem like mere minutes.

OUR DIGS

When we arrived at The Westin Maui, our Maui home, we were rendered speechless by the beauty--and that was just entering the lobby.  Greeting us were friendly Hawaiian natives with genuine smiles as they placed Puka shell necklaces around our necks.  In the background we could hear the splashing of the waterfalls and saw pink flamingos and a majestic black swan floating peacefully along the waterway that ran throughout the resort.

Walking through the double doors of our ocean front suite caused us all to gasp.  A panoramic view of the sparkling blue Pacific was ours to behold no matter where we were in the suite.  With five balconies, we could each have our own personal view if we so desired.  The Westin Maui--I could definitely get used to this place!

THE VIEWS

I know I said this already, but our room had five balconies!!!  We had the best views of the sunset from our hotel, and that's where we watched the magic every night we were there.  Each night gave us a different perspective of the sun dipping into the Pacific, and each sunset told its own story.  As spectacular as the sunsets were, my favorite moment happened in the early morning sunlight.  We were all up early (still on Colorado time) enjoying coffee on the lanai.  The sun hadn't been up very long when I happened to glance at the water and caught a full rainbow right outside our balcony.  The ends of the rainbow were so close they looked like they were on the beach below us.  The colors lasted maybe five minutes until they were swallowed by the dazzling blue of the ocean.  This moment was spiritual in so many ways.  If we hadn't been out on the lanai at that time and been looking directly at the ocean, we wouldn't have ever known that rainbows could touch the sand.  And each morning after this one, I looked for  a rainbow over the ocean but to no avail.  I know in my heart and soul this rainbow was a gift from Above, and for that I say mahalo to the ocean for beckoning us out at that exact moment.

I'LL GET DOWN TO THE SEA SOMEHOW

I love the ocean--the smell, the blue hues, the sound, the power.  I would gladly spend all my vacations on a beach, drunk on the sound of the sea rolling in.   These days, walking the hot sands has become impossible for me, and so I am content observing from an oceanside cabana.  But on this visit, my sister discovered near the cabana rentals the most amazing invention--a sand wheelchair!  I never dreamed of such a thing, but the next thing I knew she and my niece were taking me for a walk ON THE SAND.  We got close enough to the ocean that waves splashed all around me, and oh, how warm and sparkly that water felt--a sensory memory etched forever in my heart.  Mahalo, Kerri and Amy (and Nathan for round two the next day), for being my "somehow."

Swimming pools come in a close second to ocean waters.  The buoyancy of the water allows me to move about with the best of them.  To be able to walk, jump, float, and simply move without pain is the greatest feeling in the world.  Walking to this pool's waterfall with my niece and nephew was another spiritual moment that I will never forget.  Mahalo, Amy and Nathan, for braving the cold pool water, for making this walk with me, and for sharing in my giddiness.

HULA GRILL

I discovered the Hula Grill (website) on my first trip to Maui in 1996, and it remains my absolute favorite bar/restaurant on Kaanapali Beach.  The Barefoot Bar, complete with sand, palm trees, and live  music, provides the perfect setting to enjoy a Hawaiian drink.  I couldn't wait to return to the Hula Grill--for snacks, lunch, but mostly the pina coladas!  

ABOVE ALL . . .

These beautiful people.  My traveling buddies.  My lifelines.  This trip to Maui would not have been possible without the love and support given to my mom and me from my sister Kerri, my nephew Nathan, and my niece Amy.  Together, they made sure that we got the whole Maui experience.  We all traveled so well together, too--our destination could have been Siberia, and they would have made the trip amazing.  (of course, I'm glad it wasn't Siberia!)  And so, a big mahalo to Kerri, Nathan, Amy, and my mom for taking this trip with me, for making it perfect, and for inspiring all these words and pictures.