Slice of Life: This Day in History

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

I bought my first 10-year diary in 2001. Each page is the same day through the decade, with about an inch of space to write a snapshot of that day in that year. In 2023, I had to switch to a 5-year diary because the original company folded. In 2028, I’ll likely make my own, because you can probably guess from which online store I ordered the current volume. But I digress. Let’s take a little trip through history and find out what March 5 was like for me for the past 23 years.

2001 PMS. Definitely a lifetime ago.
2002 Proficiency Tests. Which have morphed again and again…
2003 International Day of Poets Against the War. Went to a reading at the UU Church. Good reminder that we’ve never stopped working for a better world. It’s just way closer to home now and way more dangerous.
2004 74°. The bird clock fell. New trauma for Troy. I’m sticking a pin in this one so I can write a whole slice about Troy and/or the bird clock. Stay tuned.
2005 Snow.
2006 Dog play with Bender. This brings back bittersweet memories of our dog Bess and her buddy Bender. Another future slice.
2008 Snow and ice.
2009 Gave up on science and popped popcorn at the end of the day. The push-push-push can wait until next week. Yes, I kept a popcorn popper, oil, salt, and popcorn in my classroom for most of my career. Yes, I often needed the treat and the break from routine as much as my students did.
2010 Took a spinning class at McConnell. Another marker of a lifetime ago.
2013 I hate my job. There were definitely days like that. But luckily, more of the “I love my job” kind.
2014 Signs of spring in the change of light at the end of my 6am walk and in the tornado drill.
2015 I have poems in 3 anthologies: Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations, Dear Tomato, and the National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry.
2016 Cake baking day. Maybe I’ll write a slice about the birthday tradition of my three-layer from-scratch chocolate cake…
2017 Waited until 2:00 for the PT to come check for swallowing. Mom was in the ICU. Hard memories. My brother had gone back home. I was in limbo. Six days later, Mom was gone.
2018 Book Club at City BBQ. Elinor Oliphant. So many book club memories! Some of the core group has been together since 1991!
2019 I’ll keep a gratitude journal for Lent. For so many years my college friend and I have cheered each other on as we set goals for Lent. I’m going to pass this year. It’s enough to keep up with the 100 Day Stitchbook Challenge and Slice of Life! I have even quietly let go of the Stafford Challenge. There are only so many hours in a day!
2020 Nothing noted on this date in 2020. One week later, it was announced that schools would shut down.
2021 Lost two more to hybrid. I was an online teacher in 20-21. In the spring after the COVID shutdowns, things were starting to loosen up a bit. Some learners really needed to be back in and in-person setting.
2022 75°
2023 Bluebells are pushing up, there was a bee on one of the new hellebores.
2024 I broke the bathroom glass. I figured it would happen sooner or later. Almost every day I told myself to be careful, that it was risky to have a glass glass on the vanity. This was the day I bumped it and it fell into the sink and shattered. It was a glass that I had snuck out of a bar when I was an undergraduate. Moral of the story: nothing lasts forever.

Which is also the moral of the story of keeping a daily diary of snapshots of life. Except it’s not, really. The moral of the daily diary is that each day and each year have a warp of strands that are core to who we are. This warp is woven with an ever-changing weft of experiences that come and go, making each of us a tapestry.

Slice of Life: Goodbye Amazon

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

So, it’s been 43 days since I bought anything from Amazon, Target or Walmart. Target and Walmart have been easy. I don’t tend to rely on them. But, Amazon. That’s a diffeent story. If you know me, you know for the last lots of years, the Amazon truck came to our house at least once a day delivering things I had ordered. So, saying goodbye to Amazon has been a bit of a lifestyle change.

I decided to boycott Amazon (along with lots of the world) soon after the inauguration. I believe in the collective power of people and I knew that changing my shopping habits was a thing I could and should do.

Not buying books on Amazon has been easy. We are lucky in Columbus to have many, many independent bookstores and I visit those frequently anyway. I have learned that I can wait a few days for a book–who knew? And I enjoy the excuse of a book pick up to visit the local bookstores. We also have a fabulous library system in Columbus and I can get nearly any book I want to read.

But it was the other things that I realized I came to rely on Amazon for that have been a challenge. I think it was a slow process, my Amazon shopping—as it’s been for many of us.  I bought some things, then during the pandemic, I started buying all the things. I stopped going to local stores because I could order things late at night and they’d arrive at my doorstep by 7 am the next day. Convenience was the draw.

Yes, it takes a bit more planning to get the things I buy. Like where did we ever get computer ink before we started getting it from Amazon? But over the last 43days, I’ve realized that I’ve missed going out and about, to local stores, on a regular basis. And I don’t really need something coming to the door every day. The number of boxes alone were overwhelming and I don’t miss that. I don’t mind paying a bit more for a book when I am supporting local bookstores that I love. It is almost less stressful to plan ahead than to have so many things at my fingertips. I am not sure how to explain it but it is a bit freeing—the inability to have the convenience that Amazon provides.

Yes, I got rid of Kindle Unlimited and Audible. (I have been an Audible subscriber since 2012…) I unsubscribed to Amazon emails. I moved from Goodreads to Storygraph. I have loved Goodreads over the years but it is a very easy sacrifice to make and I am happy to support Storygraph. Unfortunately, my Prime membership renewed in early January so I couldn’t cancel that–although I will not be using it.

Halting Amazon purchases was my first step to really thinking hard about how I spend my money, who I support and what I can do during these horrible times. Shopping local is great fun and apps like Goods Unite Us have helped me research larger companies so that I can decide which ones I want to support.

And if you need a little more support to say goodbye to Amazon, Emily Amick has a good piece on her Substack.

This is one small part of what I am doing these days. It is easier than I thought it would be. It has actually been a good thing, realizing how capitalism has such a hold on us all. If I can do it, you can do it. Highly recommend.

*I am no longer posting to Twitter but you can find me at Bluesky @frankisibberson.bsky.social–if you haven’t joined Bluesky, now is a good time!

Slice of Life: Shameless Self-Promotion

40 Poems for 40 Weeks
edited by David L. Harrison and Timothy V. Rasinski
Routledge, 2025

It is a huge honor to have one of my poems living inside this book with poems by so many poets whose work I admire!

This book was inspired by a school librarian who wanted a source for poems that she could share, one a week, in her library. As a bonus, a word play activity — a word ladder — was created to accompany each of the poems. The joy of poetry and the fun of word games, combined! What’s not to love?!?!

In her introduction, Sylvia Vardell, who blogs at Poetry for Children and who, with Janet Wong (Pomelo Books), has worked tirelessly to encourage the use of poetry for developing language skills, lists fifteen solid benefits for sharing poetry with children. One of my favorites is #7 “Poetry has built-in opportunities for choral reading, group presentations, recitals, and performance.” Almost every Friday in my classroom was Poetry Friday. Students would choose a poetry book and a partner (or go it alone), find a poem, practice reading it aloud, then perform for the class. It was a favorite time of the week for the students and a weekly opportunity for me to do informal assessments of oral fluency!

Do you need to get a little more poetry into your classroom EVERY week and month of the year (not just in April)? This is the book for you!

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

Slice of Life: How to Be a Better Teacher

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

The first way to be a better teacher is to join Choice Literacy. Even if you just sign up for the Big Fresh newsletter, you will remember that you are not alone, gain a few new tools or insights, and have the courage to keep going. Take it up a notch and write for Choice Literacy. You’re already doing Slice of Life; what’s to be afraid of? My years writing for Choice Literacy made me a better writer AND a better teacher. You’d be amazed what you can learn about yourself and your students when you look through the lens of a writer.

The second way to be a better teacher, and unfortunately this one came about too late for me, but if I’d had it when I was in my early years it would have been a GAME CHANGER for the rest of my career: Sticky Hope.

Sticky Hope is a movement that helps hope stick, even in the toughest, stickiest situations. We provide tools, resources, and straightforward conversations to support healthy emotional regulation and bring calm back to your day.

In their 15-20 minute podcasts, Ruth and Becca are working through all the hardest things about teaching: behaviors. Both kid behaviors and the teacher behaviors — because there isn’t any among us who haven’t had their very own unregulated moments, if we’re being honest with ourselves.

You’re welcome. Now, go forth and keep doing your good-better-best every day. Your work is sacred, and you are appreciated.

Slice of Life March Challenge: Here We Go!

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

I’m coming to the end of my time as the reading specialist for an after school program. I didn’t have to think very hard about the book I would feature in my final lesson cycle:

Do you know this fable? The forest is on fire and all the animals run away in fear. All except the Hummingbird. She carries single drops of water from the stream to the fire over and over again. Finally, the bear asks her, “What are you doing?” And the Little Hummingbird answers, “I’m doing everything I can.”

If you are feeling bleak about the world these days, read this book with small humans and let them tell you what they know about the ways small actions can add up to a big difference.

Several groups didn’t like that the book ended the way it did. They wanted more. They knew for certain that the Little Hummingbird’s choices were influencing the other animals and that they, too, would get involved and help put out the fire, each using their own talents. “When they work together, they can put out the fire.”

Indeed they can. Indeed WE can.

Poetry Friday: Routine is a Word

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This poem could be subtitled, “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got ‘Til It’s Gone.”

After a childhood spent succumbing to and adapting to the routines imposed upon me, I spent the next huge chunk of my adult life creating classroom routines that attempted to balance the things that HAD TO be done, with the things we WANTED to do. Outside the classroom, adulting brought its own set of non-negotiable routines: laundry, trash day, oil changes, bills. Woven into the mandatory adult routines were the self-imposed ones: exercise, writing, reading. Oh, how I longed for retirement and a lifting of the burden of routines.

Spoiler alert…routines don’t go away when you retire. They change. There might be more wiggle room in the schedule, but the shapes of days and weeks and seasons remain.

Then there is the net of great big routines that seems so distant and inviolable that we forget to pay attention. Our democracy. Social services. The never-ending push towards civil rights. Voting. Representation.

These are the things that were on my mind as I sat down to write my ___is a Word poem. How every day seems the same…which can make me grumble even though I lean into the comfort of knowing that the one time of the day the cat loves me best is morning, when he gets his medicines and treats and grooming; if it’s Sunday, I’ll go swim some laps; if it’s summer, I’ll be looking for black swallowtail caterpillars in the fennel. It’s been almost eight years, but I remember the visceral experience of my every routine shattering the way mom’s arm and hip did when she fell, was life-flighted to Denver, wound up in the ICU, and never recovered. And yet, even within those jumbled-up days, I created what routines I could. Which brings us to now, when the net of great big routines called Life As We Know It In The United States is being demolished and we begin to see response routines emerge. I’m not buying anything today. I’m helping to jam congress’ switchboards with calls using the 5 Calls app. I’m donating every month to ACLU. All very safe and easy to add to my regular routines. I was yesterday years old when I sat for two hours in a community stitching circle and heard passionate volunteers tell about what Food Not Bombs and other mutual aid groups are doing to get good food that is headed for the landfill into the hands of those who need it. Work that is and has been being done to push back against broken systems and make an actual tangible difference in the lives of our neighbors.

It’s time for another change in my routines.

Here’s what the rest of the crew came up with:

Liz @ Liz Garton Scanlon
Tanita @ {fiction, instead of lies}
Laura @ Laura Purdie Salas
Tricia @ The Miss Rumphius Effect
Sara @ Read Write Believe

Denise has this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at Care to Share.

The image is via Wikimedia.

Dear Bookstore by Emily Arrow

Some of our favorite family memories are visits to bookstores. It is something we’ve done together since my children were very little and it is something we still enjoy!

I seem to be a collector of books about books and reading. There are so many great books that capture our love of books and many of these help start great conversations with elementary readers as they begin to build their identity as readers.

Dear Bookstore by Emily Arrow and illustrated by Geneviève Godbout is a new favorite in my collection of books about books and reading! I am a long-time Emily Arrow fan so I was thrilled when I saw she had a new picture book out-the fact that it is about books and bookstores makes it even better.

The simple book does an incredible job of capturing the joy of bookstores as we follow a reader from her very first visit! I can only imagine the kinds of memories and conversations this book might ignite in classrooms.

The illustrations are unique and magical. I love the author’s note from Emily Arrow–about her visit ot Parnassus Books (a bookstore I am dying to visit because who doesn’t love Ann Patchett!?) . Both the author and the illustrator dedicated the book to bookstores and booksellers.

And of course, Emily Arrow has a “Dear Bookstore” song🙂 A great companion to the book!

In this time of reading mandates, book censorship and more, this book came at the perfect time. A reminder of the importance of our indie bookstores and the magic inside.

Poetry Friday: Pick Yourself Up and Keep Going

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LOVE AFTER LOVE
by Derek Walcott

The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

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Happy Valentine’s Day! Don’t forget to share the love with YOURSELF!

Linda has this week’s Poetry Friday roundup at TeacherDance.

Read more about Derek Walcott and hear his poem read aloud at The Marginalian. Today’s image is from Unsplash.

A Book For These Times

Let’s Move the Needle: An Activism Handbook for Artists, Creatives, and Makers
by Shannon Downey (aka Badass Cross Stitch)

You don’t need to identify as an artist, creative, or maker to read this book. Read it as An Activism Handbook.

Shannon is wise and funny, opinionated and knowledgeable. She doesn’t just talk the talk, she walks the walk…and has been for years.

“Build community and make change!” — that’s what it’s all about.

We’ve got this. Let’s go.