Summer is For Remembering Who I Am by Cristi Julsrud

Today marks the 25th day I have written nothing. I wrote a blog post every day in March, and a poem every day in April, and now it’s June and… nothing.

At school, testing season is in full swing, with all its accompanying misery. The teasing, summery air outdoors taunts me each day, reminding me that for the rest of the month I will be ensconced in the dank, cold, sterile environment of standardized testing. The lengthening days call me to long, lazy afternoons on the porch with a cold drink and a good book, but I have to get through the rest of May.

It seems that most years are like this. Creative pursuits get squashed in the face of the soul-sucking month of May. I come home with the best intentions of writing, blogging, creating something... but it seems all I’m capable of doing is binge-watching Friends and Gray’s Anatomy and falling asleep in my chair by 9:00.

Two things are keeping me going.

I know that when the testing is over and the school doors open to release me one last time, my writing notebook will still be there. The seeds of ideas that I have been planting all year long are waiting, ready to germinate into something new.

Summer gives me the time to do that. I’ll have time to nourish those little seeds into something new and fascinating. I know that there are ideas lying dormant in my mind right now, just waiting for a long day of gardening or hiking to blossom forth into existence.

My mind will not always be taken up with spreadsheets, data, and multiple choice answers, and as soon as this season passes, those ideas will have room to expand.

And I also know that on the last day of school, I will watch my eighth graders leave one last time, marching off into the future. I will stay in contact with some, but others will leave my sight for the last time ever. And I will need time to miss them.

Right now, the shadow of testing casts a pall over everything, but that shadow will subside eventually. My writing over the summer will help me to process a year of learning in my classroom. I’ll reflect on what worked and what flopped, on individual students and their growth, and on myself as an educator and how I will change for next year’s students.

Most of all, in this long season of warmth and growing things, I will remember why I am a teacher, why I am a reader, and why I am a writer. I will remember who I am.   


Cristi Julsrud is a National Board certified Language Arts teacher at East Alexander Middle School in Hiddenite, North Carolina. She has taught at the elementary and middle school level, but loves teaching 8th graders the most, and has been doing so for fifteen years. Her primary goal is to create readers, writers, and kind human beings. She has piloted and implemented a feedback-only, gradeless classroom over the past three years. If you are interested in learning more about Cristi's teaching life or about implementing a gradeless readers/writers workshop, you can read more at her blog at The Literate Teacher's Manifesto (http://litmanifesto.blogspot.com). You can also find her on Twitter (@Mrs_J_of_EAMS) or on Facebook (Cristi Lackey Julsrud).

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Building My Writing Habit by Alexis Teevens

Summer writing will be my anchor.

I am longing for the option to go for a walk when I feel like it, to sleep until my eyes blink open, to sip on an iced coffee that I bought in the middle of the day. I am craving the lack of structure that summer brings me. I’m at the age when my summer weekends are filled with weddings and bachelorettes, but my summer weekdays are blissfully free.

With that anticipated freedom, I have started every summer telling myself that this will be the season when I become a writer. This will be the season when I block out the time, sit down, and string words together until I have some sort of product.

It’s just never happened.

The hard work of sitting down when the ideas weren’t there has never seemed appealing when there were so many other, easier ways I could let the minutes tick by.

But this year, I am excited to be a part of a Teach Write Academy course. Not an ad, I promise - I haven’t taken the course yet. When I think of summer writing, though, I think of this investment I finally decided to make it a habit I want my future self to have.

I think, like many of us, I always thought I should just be able to be disciplined enough to get myself to write on a regular basis. I should have the discipline I try to teach my kids to try new strategies or write about small moments.

I’m finally ready to admit that I don’t independently have that discipline, that that’s okay. I need a community, and I need some assignments, and I need a little bit of a schedule. I teach my kids to ask for what they need to be successful, so it’s time I did the same.

This summer is the summer I actually write, and I will do it with the support of a writing community. I can’t wait to struggle the same way my students do, and I can’t wait to see what I get out of having at least one anchoring habit in a summer filled with a lot of much-anticipated free time.


Alexis Teevens is a 7th grade English and social studies teacher in East Boston, MA. She’s about to finish up her 5th year in the classroom, and she feels increasingly humbled and entertained by her kids. She just finished a Master’s in Special Education, so she’s looking forward to having more time next year to explore teaching interests outside of a graduate school program. Alexis is excited to start connecting with more teachers on Twitter (@lexteevens), and maybe after this experience, she’ll pull the trigger and start a blog. 

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My Self-Imposed Summer Writing Program by Tammy Breitweiser

Summer is equated with a freedom of schedule. There just seems to be more time during summer break.

For years, I have written goals for myself and this summer is no different. To be an effective teacher of writing I have to navigate through my own process. This includes self-imposed goals and schedules to use as models for my students as well as personal gain.

This summer I have a three-pronged goal:

1. Work through Natalie Goldberg’s memoir book Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir
2. Set aside daily time to write - or a writing-related activity including Moving Writer’s 100 Days of Summer Writing slides for inspiration! 
3. Work on sketchnotes for professional resources including 180 Days by Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle to use in the fall with teachers.

Writing and reading are always my learning focus! I have a mix of personal writing and professional goals as you can see from the above list.

Summer break is the time to replenish my creative well which is also a portion of the writing-related activities. Running, sleeping, reading, playing outside, swimming and podcasts are all parts of this process.

Intentional writing practice has to be lived to later translate to students. I am grateful for the time in between professional development sessions this summer to write and play!

Happy Writing!

Tammy L. Breitweiser is a curriculum coach in Northwest Indiana where she is currently dedicated to impacting student achievement in grades 7 and 8. With more than 22 years of experience, she is a reading advocate who believes in the reading and writing connection. She is working a collection of short stories and poems and a book about teaching writing.  You can connect with Tammy on Twitter (@tlbreit) or through her blog Tammy’s Reading/Writing Life:  https://tammysreadinglife.wordpress.com/

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The Determination of Summer Writing by Mario Kersey

What does summer writing look for like me?

At the end of my hallway is a shaggy mass striped by shadow producing a faint sound that I could swear is a “harrumph”.  I start to speak, but it interrupts by saying, “Don’t bother me unless you’re committed to finishing what you start”.

And so begins the bullying of Mario by all the unfinished and unborn writing projects that, for some, could have been completed over previous summers but were not. I will admit some guilt stirs in my bosom because I procrastinated more than work on my writing. Maybe the shaggy mass isn’t entirely a bully; I just don’t like being reminded of past writing “failures”.

To be fair regarding last summer, I have a new addition to the family crawling around smacking keyboards with his chubby hands. In other words, I will have more, albeit welcome, distractions than the previous summer (I have an eight-year-old, too).  Despite this major development, I still look upon the encroaching summer slightly more positive than last year.  This sentiment could augur greater productivity which would certainly make me feel accomplished by the start of the next school year.

On the matter of productivity, I have several shorter pieces in varying stages of development from earlier this year I am determined to refine over the summer break between family reunions and vacations.

I do intend to unplug from school life and cast all thought of it into Lethe where I can fish it out in August.

This summer I am making the rule that all writing will be “me” writing.

This will be a great summer—at least until the shaggy mass returns.


When not teaching writing, literature, and the sometimes frustrating quirkiness of the English language, Mario Kersey bakes cakes, pies, and biscuits. He’s shy until someone needlessly disparages the five-paragraph essay, then the claws come out. You can follow him @syntaxpaladin.

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Tips to Help You Slip Into Your Summer Writing Self by Ashley Mayes

For students, summer often means freedom and flip-flops. And for teachers, it means freedom from students  (I say this with love) and working in flip-flops. 

So why not take advantage of both?  Why not do your own scribbling while digging your toes into the sand?

Summer is the perfect time to revamp your writing by flipping your routine.  This transition for many teachers from work to summer break can be difficult as we shed our school schedules, laden with planning and grading, and move into nurturing our writing selves.

So then, how exactly can we as teacher-writers shelve our winter wear and slip into our writing ware? 

Write Naturally--Begin by letting go of what you think you should write and how you should write.  Summer is the ideal time to rediscover your writing self.  After all, what better season than summer to let it all out. 

Flip your Routine--If you always write in the morning, try writing at night. If you always drink coffee while writing, try drinking...actually...no, don’t do that.  Coffee is a must. Instead, try writing on paper rather than typing, or typing instead of writing on paper.  You get the picture. Save your rigor for later. 

Kick Back--Set up a writing spot.  This can be in a hammock, a favorite lawn chair, or coffee shop.  This is your go-to place to write. 

Read your World--Read your surroundings and take notes about what you see and hear. Tap into your inner-scientist.  Store your observations for future writings.

Think like a Child--Be playful with your writing.  Go ahead and break the rules.  Drop your punctuation.  Write in choppy sentences.  Make-up nonsense and write about it. 

While these summer writing suggestions might seem nonproductive, I am okay with that, and you should be too.  After all,  it’s summer-writing and it should feel and look as such and so should our writing.

We can revise and edit in the fall. 


Ashley Mayes lives in a tiny town near a big river smack-dab in Central Idaho.  This is where she teaches ELA 8th-12th grade and serves as district librarian and library media specialist K-12.  She is in love with her family, her students, her profession.  She enjoys digging deep into what really matters while appreciated the simplicity of such things as coffee.  You can follow her on Twitter @ajmayes1974. 

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(Re)Connecting to Forgotten Summers By Danielle Waller

Those carefree, long-lost summers -- zooming downhill on my bike with the wind whipping my helmet-free hair and peering into the murky water of the neighborhood creek, searching for tadpoles. Truly the good ol’ days!

I had a diary, just larger than pocket size, with a beige, cloth cover and red trim. It had dated pages, but the summer pages were the ones I filled. In the teen years, though, I couldn’t stand to read what I wrote -- to see my handwriting, my immaturity….so I ripped out all the pages!

I wish I’d hung onto that diary and the others that followed. Memories of my childhood are pieced together in bits and continue to fade.

I believe things will be different for my students. We have writers’ notebooks and in them, they write about what they love (always choice writing!) and I write along with them. Our share time can go on and on when we let it; those are my favorite days! Their notebooks are special to them; they enjoy going back and rereading what they wrote on a certain date.

Writing along with my students is the best part of the day, and I don’t want it to end this summer.  There’s real power in picking up a pen and writing whatever strikes you.

This summer, I plan to wake up and write for 30 minutes (or longer if I feel like it). Summer days are great for this and if I keep it up, I won’t find myself struggling to piece together forgotten memories. I plan to share my writing (good and bad!) with next year’s students, as a way to encourage their daily writing habit! 

As teachers, we can revisit freedom-filled summers, taking time to relax in the breeze and coast our bikes down hills. We can take it all in and write about it while reconnecting with our younger selves. In doing so, we make more powerful connections with our students. We also reconnect with ourselves -- in both the past and present -- and often rediscover the joy and power of writing while recording precious memories.



Danielle Waller is a fourth-grade teacher at Dunn Elementary in Louisville, Kentucky. She is a career changer with a background in journalism and public relations. Follow her on Twitter: @Danielle_Waller. 

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Returning to my Writing Life by Erin Vogler

I can’t really predict where my summer writing will go, but I do know it will be different from the writing I do during the school year.

For me, summer writing is the writing I want to do, when I am untethered and can let my words take me anywhere.

School year writing, though still something I approach with joy, is often for a defined purpose and specific audience. I never really have the time I need to craft my message with the care I’d prefer.

What I love most about summer writing is that I have time to allow my mind to weave and wade through the deep waters of trust, fear, vulnerability, faith, and wander the grassy meadows of beautiful words like joy, reflection, and wonder.

It is a time when I slow down, preferably with a cup of peppermint tea, and most definitely sitting in my gazebo or on my front porch just after sunset. The lights twinkle, a light breeze flutters, and the orchestra of my rural surroundings guide my pen across the page.

I’m a night writer, so my style gets cramped between September and June when bedtime is 9 p.m. most evenings. During the school year, the writing is rushed. I’m hustling to get it all done and still have time to be well-read and well-rested.

But oh, those summer nights! That’s when my notebook, my writing, starts to breathe and move. It comes to life. I am more intentional. I breathe deeply and let myself sink in. My notebooks get beautiful again.  I have time to sketch and play.  I experiment with collage and take the time to add and write beside others whose words inspire me to take new leaps in my work.

I never forget to write in the summer. I know inspiration can creep up at any moment, so I carry my notebook everywhere. I’m always ready to open the door to invite an idea in to stay for awhile.  I don’t push my notebook to the side during these months.

So, how do I make that summer habit stick? How do I make sure writing doesn’t get placed in the unnecessary indulgence category, or worse yet, just another item on that September to June To Do list that rarely gets finished?

I think the answer lies in reminding myself that I AM a writer and that writers write.

Every. Single. Day.

It is about remembering that BOTH reading and writing are essential - like breathing - one, reading, the deep, delicious inhale, and writing, the necessary other, the space-making, life-saving exhale.  It’s not something I merely want to do. It’s something I must do.


Erin Vogler is about to finish her 18th year of teaching at Keshequa Middle/High School in the Genesee Valley in Western New York. She has taught grades 7-12, and has loved spending this year reading and writing beside her wise and witty 8th and 10th graders. She will be spending her summer reading, writing, doing yoga, and relaxing with her two Boston Terriers and a rambunctious Boxer who can’t wait for her to be home every day. Erin shares her thoughts on teaching, reading, and writing at https://fosteringvoicesandchoices.wordpress.com/, a place where she is not quite as consistent as she’d like to be (yet). You can also find her on Twitter @vogler3024 and Instagram @mrsvogler3024.

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The Teacher Who Wants To Be More by Alexis Ennis

This summer is a summer for more. More reading. More family time. More adventure. More writing. Admittedly, I am not a writer. I take that back. I am a writer, but I do not consider myself a writer. How can I say this about myself when I demand my students to consider themselves writers? It all comes down to me being unsure of myself and my abilities. I am self-conscious.

This is a summer for more. So, I will be more confident...as a writer.

Confidence-Boosting Goals:

1-Create a writing journal
2- Find a focus
3-Start a story
4-Post daily on my blog
5-Connect with other writers

What Will Summer Writing Look Like?
My journey through summer writing is ambitious. It begins with daily free writing and ends with my confidence soaring and feeling successful.

But, let’s also be realistic. Here is what I think will happen:
Daily Freewrite
Over
     And over
And over
And over
And over
Again

Until I decide
A focus
And I sort
Through the mess
Find a story
Piece something together
And
       Publish to my blog

Without sending to others
For review
Without multiple revisions
Growing impatient
Anxiously waiting
For someone to criticize.

Worries

As with any new undertaking that requires one to step outside of their comfort zone, I have some worries.
-I won’t have someone to review my material.
-I will have someone review my material who then proceeds to Tear. It. Apart.

How Do I overcome these worries?

I find trustworthy and helpful reviewers.
I embrace a growth mindset.
I find success in each milestone.

Why do I need to do all of this?
I need to be a writer.
I feel the need.
I want to be confident as a writer.
I want to teach my students to be confident writers.
I want to understand my students more.

This is a summer for more. I will be more confident. I will write more.

How will you be more?


Alexis Ennis is a 6th grade ELA teacher. You can follow her on Twitter @Mrs_Ennis_OMS, on Instagram @mrs_bookdragon, or at her blog www.mrsbookdragon.com.

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Joyful, Uninhibited, Revitalizing Summer Writing by Jennifer Swisher-Carroll

As teachers, our summers are valuable for so many reasons. We recharge, reconnect with our families, finish our coffee while it’s warm, and allow ourselves the freedom to go to the bathroom whenever it suits us.

Summer is also this strange hybrid of “end of one year, beginning of another.” It’s a teacher’s New Year Eve, of sorts. The previous school year has just ended, and while the sunny days are longer, the weeks are not. September — our metaphorical midnight — will be upon us before we know it.

Like New Years Eve, the summer is also a time of making resolutions. As we finish that warm coffee or reapply sunscreen, we reflect on the previous year and promise ourselves of the brilliance we will bring to our classrooms next year. Maybe we want to find ways to grade less, write beside our students more, and finally integrate that novel or lesson we have been dying to try.

For me, this year’s resolution doesn’t involve novels or unit plans. It is focused on writing for enjoyment. To be clear: this is not simply for my students or career. I want to write for me. I am officially giving myself permission to write badly, revise when and how I feel like it, and enjoy the process. Because that’s what real writers do.

The practical side of my brain is already pushing back: Write the pieces you will expect your students to write next year. Model those pieces for them.

However, the more relaxed, sun-soaked, margarita-loving side of my brain says, “Nah. Write what’s fun.”

I’m going to agree with the latter.

Not only is that side of me more fun — and who doesn’t want to embrace the “fun” in the summer — but she’s more genuine. And a more genuine woman will be a better teacher.

If I want my students to become authentic writers, to write when they are beyond the walls of my classroom, I can’t guide them to that place if I don’t actually live that truth.

Therefore, I hereby resolve the following: my summer writing will consist of whatever I want. I pledge to be messy, creative, spontaneous, and perhaps brilliant. Summer is joyful, uninhibited, and revitalizing. My summer writing will reflect that energy.

After all, midnight and that new school year are just around the corner.


Jennifer Swisher-Carroll teaches AP Literature and English 11 at Edwardsburg High School in Michigan. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University and a Master’s degree from Indiana University South Bend. She is honored to be a Past President of the Michigan Council of Teachers of English. Jennifer resides with her husband and daughter in Granger, Indiana. 

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Spreading My Writing Wings by Jowan Nabha

Photography has been a hobby of mine for most of my life. My pictures are for my personal pleasure, but I put a lot of passion and creative energy into them. It’s one of my favorite things to do.

Recently, I decided to spread my wings and take that creative energy and put it on paper. After taking a children’s literature course at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, I fell in love with writing. I’m indeed an amateur writer and so my main goal this summer is to increase the amount of time I spend on my personal writing.

I was spending about an hour a day writing for academic purposes: papers, discussion boards, etc. I had no time (or so I thought) to write for personal purposes. Now, I find myself spending about 10-15 minutes a day to write for personal use. My goal this summer is to increase this time to one hour a day.

Writing is a different kind of art and takes a certain type of person to grab your reader's attention. Once you have been successful in reaching your audience, the key is keeping their interest alive. This is still a work in progress. Opportunities to write for a blog such as this have allowed me to develop my skill.

I was encouraged by my former college professor and dear friend to take up writing a young adult fiction novel that resonates with the Arab American community. As a passionate Arab American, I fell in love with this idea and has motivated me to take a leap of faith in my writing.

I know that writing children’s literature is far more difficult than I can ever entail. However, I hope my summer days in the largest Arab American community in the country will help spark my creative juices. My same college professor gave me some very solid advice, “Just keep writing, even when you want to quit.” Her words have not left my mind, and I hope one day my words will touch someone as much as her words have inspired me.


Jowan Nabha is a former accountant turned teacher. She is currently studying Early Childhood Education at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. When she isn’t studying, she’s a busy wife and mother of three beautiful girls. She loves sports and loves to travel. She also loves the lake, long car rides, and spends most of her days enjoying the simple life with her family and capturing those moments. 

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Five Tips for Becoming a Summer-Time Poet by Stephen Briseño

After eleven years of teaching, there is one annoyance that stands out to me more than others. It’s not kid’s failing to turn in assignments or meetings that should’ve been emails.

No, it’s realizing that it’s August 8th, in-service starts in a week, and I have little to show for my summer.

Society scoffs at how teachers get summers off. While that topic can be a bit touchy, it forces me to pause and reflect on the gift that is summer. All year long we’ve planned lessons, attended PD, connected with students,  given feedback on essays. Yes, rest is good and we all deserve it. 

Let’s face it: we’re given two solid months off!  It’s like a mini built-in retirement--every year! Make the most of it and write.

This summer, I’ve resolved to write more poetry than I ever have before.

But why poetry?

Nancie Atwell says that no other genre of writing is as compact and dense as poetry. The craft lessons contained in poetry are inexhaustible. Inferencing? Check. Writer’s craft? Duh! Literary devices? Yup. Theme? ABSOLUTELY! Now, imagine the brain power that you’ll be using writing poems! Plus, for those of us that are apprehensive writing fiction or non-fiction, poetry’s length requirements are much more forgiving.

Here are my tips for a summer poetry-writing extravaganza:

Find a quiet place. No distractions, a.k.a. NO PHONE! Play some music that you love and get to work.

Consistent time. 30 minutes? An hour? Every Monday/ Wednesday? Whatever you decide, be consistent.

Read great poetry. Discover poets who inspire and challenge you. Study their moves; notice their use of craft.

Find your “threshold.” Poet Gregory Orr talks about thresholds, “the place [in life] where order passes over into disorder.” There--at your thresholds--is where you find inspiration for poems. Where are those areas of life that cause you rub? Is it a certain memory? An emotion? A topic? Mine those “thresholds” for inspiration!

Just write. Don’t censor yourself. Just get it all out, revise later, and see what you produce. You will surprise yourself!

I can’t wait to see what comes out of a summer of writing! Will you join me?


Stephen Briseño is an 8th Grade English teacher in San Antonio, TX. After 11 years in education, he’s finally decided to be as brave as his students and share his writing with others. Additionally, along with his wife, Kayla, he leads district writing professional developments  for teacher/author Gretchen Bernabei’s consulting group, Trail of Breadcrumbs. You can find him on Twitter (@stephen_briseno),  at his class site brisenoin209.weebly.com, and at trailofbreadcrumbs.net

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The Hidden Gem of Summer Writing by Sara Pommarane

Summer Writing…  The freedom to create, to invent, to grow. 

As a teacher, I spend lots of time on my computer drafting emails, writing report card comments, and thank you notes for the sweet end-of-the-year gifts I receive from the middle of May up until the last day of the school year. 

Summer writing, however, is all mine!

Up until a few summers ago, I did not consider myself a writer.  Sure, I wrote the above-mentioned pieces, but I wasn’t a creative writer who could write on the spot, develop a character or setting, or pluck a line out of a novel that would become the bedrock of a short story that nagged at me to finish.  That all changed when I joined the Wyoming Writing Project.  I saw myself as a writer and that summer I found my voice.

Each summer since I have found that I am a better writer.  Not just because I continue to work with the WWP, where my writing family lifts me up inspires me, but because there’s something about summer that brings the writer out of me.  The freedom, the long warm days, reading books that have piled up on my nightstand, playing with my children, riding my bike along the greenbelt, walking and talking with a good friend in the mornings.  All of these things inspire me and in the summer, I can really pay attention and find the hidden gems that are lurking around every corner.

Find those gems. Use your summer to create characters and worlds you’ve only imagined. Who knows what you’ll find?


Sara Pommarane is a fourth-grade teacher in Laramie, WY.  She is heading into her 14th year of teaching and her first group of Kindergarteners are graduating from high school!  Sara received her National Board Certification in Literacy in 2018.  She is married to a fellow educator and has two children.  Sara loves all things reading and writing.  You will often find her family fishing and her nearby with her nose in a book and her writer’s notebook not far away. You can follow her on Twitter @SaraPomm or through the Wyoming Writing Project @wyowriting.  

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It's My Turn by Carrie Foster

Since students become what you tell them they are,  I often jot on their draft: "You are a writer!"

There are words that I use for the prose less polished, too:  “You think like a writer,” I say.

It works, and they work.  We find spots of strength together, and in their newfound pride of profession, they start to choose words more carefully.  They scribble and tap and pace and revise, and their pieces become more precise and revealing reflections of who they are… as writers and not just as 7th graders.

Now in summer, it is my turn.

“You’re a writer,” I say to myself.  “You forget this sometimes from September through June, but you know you’re a writer, so go bust out some creative grammar and make it dance on the page!”

My teacher brain dictates that I keep a strict schedule, of course.

I wake up, have a leisurely first breakfast.  I exercise, grab a motivating second breakfast.  Make a list full of chapters and word goals and other things that are luxuries between the months of September to June.

Next, I haul my trusty Mac past the tourists and puddle comfortably in a coffee shop. I find myself typing to whatever rhythms the barista blasts.  I drink as much caffeine as I please, and fall into a pleasantly tangential research hole, because in summer that isn’t an issue. (Or at least not one that’s time-sensitive.)

I dawdle over lunch, daydreaming of the perfect words, but trying all the wrong ones first.  I eat things, complicated things of which the cafeteria wouldn’t dare to dream.

I punctuate with a satisfying flourish because it’s mine.  I revise with a critical eye for the exact same reason.

Summer is my time again, and because people become what you tell them they are, in summer I say:  I AM a writer.


Carrie Foster is a National Board Certified Teacher of middle school social studies in Portland, Maine.  She logs her adventures in and out of classrooms all over the world on her blog Follow Miss Fooster, and you can find her on Twitter @carolineadele13.

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Independence Day by Leigh Anne Eck

One of my favorite summer days is the 4th of July.  I love the food - grilled burgers and hotdogs, homegrown sweet corn, cheese potatoes, and pudding cake!  Plus it always includes a pool party with the family and fireworks as the exclamation mark on a fun day.

Summer is not only a time to celebrate our independence as a country, but it is also the time to celebrate our independence as writers.

During our chat Monday night, many teacher-writers tweeted about the freedom of summer writing.  The freedom to play and explore in writers' notebooks,

to discover new genres,

to write early in the morning or late at night,

to develop a habit,

to push ourselves into new writing territories,

to slow down without the constraints of a schedule.

These independence days beckon many of us as our school year winds down.  We long for those summer days with our favorite pens and notebooks, or maybe our laptops and iced beverages.  Those summer days where writing takes over the busyness of our school days and the words flow with much more ease.

Much of my writing this summer will revolve around my work in my graduate program.  But I also have some personal goals that I have set, and summertime gives me the freedom to accomplish them and celebrate them as I choose.

Yes, I look forward to Independence Day.  How about you?

Leigh Anne just wrapped up her 11th year of teaching.  She has taught 4th, 5th and currently teaches 6th grade ELA at a middle school in Indiana.  She is currently working on her Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction at Western Governors University with a goal of becoming a literacy coach.  Leigh Anne has a passion for connecting kids with books and helping teachers develop a writing life.  You can connect with her on Twitter @Teachr4 or on her blog, A Day in the Life. 

Stretching into Summer Writing by Michelle Haseltine

I believe summer is the time when my life as a writer encounters a rebirth or renewal. School year writing is fast and furious and it fits inside the margins of other deadlines and requirements. Summer writing feels free-er to me. I stretch into the minutes and hours of summer writing and allow the words to percolate and bubble out. It's a delicious luxury to have that time.

A few summers ago, I spent a week away at a writing retreat and it changed me as a writer. I was at this retreat...with real writers...to write. I couldn’t hide anymore. I tried. I stumbled over myself when others asked about my writing. I denied my writing self. I uttered phrases like, “I’m trying to write.” That week put me in the company of published writers who accepted me as a writer, even when I argued against it. That week solidified my identity as a writer. That week, I began my book.

My goal this summer is simple. Write my book. Write my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad first draft. The entire terrible, horrible, no good, very bad first draft. I have fifty pages or so already written, but I need it all to come out...ugly and messy and disorganized...this is my primary summer writing goal.

How will I accomplish this? I need three things to guarantee my success. I need time, a plan, and a friend for accountability. The time is there and set. The plan is already printed out in my notebook. Starting on June 19th...that's when the writing begins. The accountability means that I will have someone checking in on me and nudging me and encouraging me. It's like a living deadline. I need to know that someone else will be calling to check in on my progress. Here's to my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad first draft! May it be completed by August 15th.

Happy Summer Writing to you...

Michelle Haseltine spends her days with middle schoolers in Loudoun County, VA. Together they write, read, think, and create every single day. Michelle is a co-facilitator of our #TeachWrite twitter chat and a Teacher Consultant with the Northern Virginia Writing Project. She blogs regularly at One Grateful Teacher and Your Story Matters. Michelle tweets regularly at @Mhaseltine and instagrams at @Mhaselti 

Summer Writing to Build Momentum by Andy Schoenborn

In the twilight of the school year, if you listen closely, you can hear the sound of teachers coming up for air from the deep end of the pool.  You hear it when the last of the final grades are entered.  You hear it in their voices as they reflect on the highlights of the year.  And, you hear it in their contented sighs when the classroom is finally organized again.

It is summer.  It is time to write.

It is time to take the glowing irons out of the writing fires and get to work.  Among my workable irons are presentation proposals, summer institute planning, blog posts, journal articles, and book proposals.  In other words, a lot of writing.

Still, it feels good to have tangible writing goals!  But, in my experience, goals without habit and routine can dissipate like summer morning fog.

Fortunately, I know what it takes to meet my writing goals.  You know what it takes to meet your writing goals.  We need to put out butt in the chair and write.  Every successful writer I know establishes a non-negotiable writing routine - and they stick to it.

The routine I am planning scares me.  It will shake up my usual morning routine of waking at 6:00 am, scrolling through Facebook, checking Twitter, playing Clash Royale, brewing coffee, and preparing for the day.  I am comfortable with this routine.  Yet, I know if I want to grow I need to move outside of my comfort zone - and, if I am doing it right, it will hurt a little bit.

My alarm is set for 5:00 am; the NaNoWriMo goal tracker is set for 500 words per day; the "9 Writing Hacks for the Most Prolific 100 Days of Summer Writing Yet" is fully engaged; the TeachWrite Academy "Time to Write" accountability workshop in on my calendar; and my writing territories are visible:

Truth be told, it seems daunting, but I am not afraid.  These routines will begin a writing momentum that will become easier over time.  Words will flow.  Ideas will generate.  Learning will happen.

All that is left to do is to put the plan in motion.  I'm game.

My habit starts today.

The Long and Low Days of Summer Writing by Jennifer Laffin

Welcome to June!

Did you hear the sigh of relief as you flipped the calendar page this morning?

I love summer days.

Summer days have a different feel to them than the days of the rest of the year.

Summer days are horizontal -- long and low. Time stretches out and I give my energy level permission to match it.

Days of the other season are more vertical -- my energy climbs high quickly, but the time is short. There is so much to do. I go through the day checking items off my To Do List.

Check.
Check.
Check.

In summer, there are items on my To Do List, but they don't get checked off in a day. Their due date is September 1st.

Summer writing is more about building up a habit, with less of a focus on actually finishing a project.

We want our writing to be focused more on ourselves, and not something else like lesson plans, IEP forms, or meeting notes.

Writing that makes us happy.
Writing that makes us feel fulfilled.
Writing that makes us writers.

I've always wanted to write a book and this summer, that is where I will be focusing my writing attention.

I plan to write long and low, to dig deep into my heart as I put the words on the page.

That's what summer writing is all about.


Jennifer Laffin is a teacher of teachers, the owner of Teach Write LLC, and a co-moderator of the #TeachWrite Twitter Chat. She is committed to helping teachers and their students grow as writers because she has seen how writing can transform you both personally and professionally. You can find her learning with others on Twitter at @laffinteach and @TeachWriteEDU or at www.teachwrite.org.