Not What I Had Planned by Wendy Chaulk

This summer I had huge plans. I was going to Washington DC to tour on my own and then attend a teacher's conference where I would get to visit places like Monticello, Mount Vernon, etc. I was also planning to write every day in a Wonder Woman journal that a student gave me. Well, little did I know, my plans would change.

The day school let out I decided to surprise my brother and jump on his back. He lost his balance. We both fell backwards. My head bounced off a corrugated metal wall, and my brother’s head smashed into my face. I went to the ER the next day only to find out that I had an orbital blowout fracture. I have double vision. Sometimes my peripheral vision is not very good. I am in constant pain and have swelling and numbness on the right side of my face. In a couple of weeks, I will have surgery to repair the damage. Because we don't know how long healing will take, my plans for going to DC are on hold.

Doing anything that requires me to look and concentrate for long periods of time increases my pain level. that means reading, watching TV, checking Facebook, and writing are almost impossible to do. Instead, I will have to learn to use technology to help me write. However, I am so grateful that there is technology available that allows me to voice type (which is what I did to write this)! I am able to experience the joy and frustration some of my students as they use voice typing.

While it doesn't feel like I am actually writing, I know that I am. I will have a journal solo voice typing on Google Docs that I will be able to share with all of my students once school starts up again in August. I can show them but if you really want to write, you will find a way.

My Wonder Woman journal may remain empty, but my writing life will continue, no matter what!



Wendy Chaulk just finished her nineteenth year as a teacher. She has taught fourth grade in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; second grade in Jacksonville, NC; K-5 special education in Rio Rancho, NM; 4-6 special education in Gillette, WY; and currently teaches in a fifth and sixth-grade looping classroom in Gillette, Wyoming. You can connect with Wendy on Twitter (@wluvs2teach). Wendy and her husband of five years enjoy cooking, camping, traveling, and being outside with their dog, Yogi. 

End of Year Noticings by Wendy Chaulk

Looking out at my class
Heads down
Pencils scrawling
Pens flitting
Stories telling
Notebooks filling

Looking out at my class
Smiles flow
Laughs develop
Discussions grow
Caring comments
Questions answered

Looking out at my class
Shoulders drop
Eyes fill
Cheeks moisten
Lips upturn
Sigh escapes

Looking back to the start
Heads down
Pencils breaking
Pens destroyed
Stories untold
Notebooks blank

Looking forward to next fall
Same students and room
Increasing expectations
Knowing they’ll soar
Knowing they’ll fly

End of year noticings
All are thinking
Even me
All are growing
Even me
All are writing
Even me
All are sharing
Even me
All are staying
Even me



Wendy Chaulk is finishing her nineteenth year as a teacher. She has taught fourth grade in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; second grade in Jacksonville, NC; K-5 special education in Rio Rancho, NM; 4-6 special education in Gillette, WY; and currently teaches in a fifth and sixth grade looping classroom in Gillette, Wyoming . She loves teaching, writing, cooking, and camping. You can connect with Wendy on Twitter (@wluvs2teach) and on her blog (https://chaulk-it-up.blogspot.com/). 

How the Wyoming Writing Project Saved Me by Wendy Chaulk

Growing up, I loved writing, until a teacher ripped up a paper in front of me and told me I would never be a good writer. I stopped writing anything that wasn’t required until I joined Wyoming Writing Project.

I was not prepared for all of the amazing parts of WWP. I was petrified at our first meeting. My inner voice kept telling me, “You’re not a writer! What makes you think you can even pretend to be one?” Yet, I went. I wrote and eventually shared my writings with our group.

These amazing people accepted me as I am. They encouraged me to do more than ever before in writing. They pulled me through the rushing rapids of self-doubt and helped me to the other side where I felt free and accomplished. I was able to play with my writing and never feel like a failure. I wrote poetry, narratives, and historical fiction with some romance thrown in for fun. I wrote about my students and my old dog who left scars on my heart. I never felt judged or less than a human when I shared these. Why? Because these other writers were there with me, in the trenches, shaking the dust. We laughed and cried together. We shared stories that were personal, heart-wrenching, and left us wanting more.

We grew as a community of writers and became family.

In the end, I learned that I am a writer! I make time most days to write. I love writing! I am updating my blog more. I am teaching classes in my district to help other teachers improve their writing and teaching of writing. I want my students to be able to say they are writers and mean it. Isn’t that a great goal for us all?



This is Wendy Chaulk’s eighteenth year as a teacher. She has taught fourth grade in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; second grade in Jacksonville, NC; K-5 special education in Rio Rancho, NM; 4-6 special education in Gillette, WY; and currently teaches in a fifth and sixth-grade looping classroom in Gillette, Wyoming . You can connect with Wendy on Twitter (@wluvs2teach) and on her blog (https://chaulk-it-up.blogspot.com/). Wendy loves being a teacher writer and is proud to be a Teacher Consultant for the National Writing Project. 

Reconnecting with My Writing Life by Wendy Chaulk

We had a tall, beautiful, lush pine tree in our backyard. Birds played in its branches. Last summer, I noticed it was turning red. Not all of it, just some of the lower needles. I trimmed some branches hoping to bring it back to life. Over the winter, it became obvious that the tree was a goner. All of the needles turned red and then brown. Branches snapped off easily. The tree was dead. Recently, my husband chopped it down. Seeing it lying there made me sad, but I know that it served its purpose as a tree and now will become mulch or firewood.

    

This tree’s circle of life reminded me of my writing life. Over the summer, my writing life exploded! I wrote every day and I enjoyed playing with words and format. I kept my notebook with me at all times to jot ideas. I wrote with my students and shared openly with them. I was growing as a writer!

As time passed, things changed. I had responsibilities that pulled me from my writing. I was too tired at the end of the day to do anything. I wasn’t feeding my writing life and it was slowly dying; my needles were turning red.

In February, I trimmed some activities and began writing more frequently because a writing hero encouraged me. I wrote daily in March for #SliceofLife. I write several times a week. I am sharing my writing with others again in person, on my own blog, and as a guest blogger. I am growing again. Those red needles are turning green!

This summer, I will keep the circle of my writing life rolling forward. Daily writing. Reconnecting with my writing family. My writing life will grow and thrive, not die and turn into mulch or firewood.



Wendy Chaulk teaches fifth and sixth grades in a looping classroom in Gillette, Wyoming. She is a teacher consultant for the National Writing Project. She has taught professional development writing classes for teachers in her district. If she isn’t reading or writing, you can find her trying to figure out her camera or camping in the mountains. Find Wendy on Twitter @wluvs2teach and follow her blog, Chaulk it Up.

Say the Word by Wendy Chaulk

Say the word
POETRY

Hear the responses

What?
NO!
Why?
Seriously?!

See the reactions
Scrunched foreheads
Evil eyes
Hunched shoulders
Heads down

Explain the plan
April is
POETRY month
Daily reading
Daily writing
Of POETRY

Scan my students
Not happy
Angry even

In my head
Suck it up
Why the hostility?

Begin day one
Immersion
Groans
Technology
Moans
Books
Ignore

Day two comes
Just surround them
Groans
Change out websites
Moans
Find new books
Ignore

Day three arrives
Students see
Links missing
Books gone
Smug smiles
They think they’ve won

Day four changes
QR codes plaster walls
Moving, scanning, laughing, chatting
30 minutes---time’s up
What?
NO!
Why?
Seriously?!
Let’s move on.

Day five surprises
Rushing, scanning, smiling, sharing
Chimes ring; students gather
What poems stood out?
You mean from earlier?
No; today and yesterday.
Poems? No--they’re songs!
But songs are poems
What? NO! Why? Seriously?!
Smug smile.
I know I’ve won!


Wendy teaches in a fifth and sixth grade looping classroom in Gillette, Wyoming. This is her eighteenth year as a teacher and first year as a Teacher Consultant for the National Writing Project. She loves her husband, reading, writing, cooking, eating, and traveling. You can find her on Twitter at @wluvs2teach and on her blog at www.chaulk-it-up.blogspot.com.