Out of Her Mind -- Musings on Education and Life

Originally published 1/14/2009.  Updated 11/4/2023 The possibilities are infinite--ish when you use online magnets to get creative. No refrigerator necessary. Free online kits here . Poetry, with its mesmerizing ability to encapsulate emotions, stories, and ideas within the boundaries of words, is a true art form. But there's a particular type of poetry that holds a special place in my heart—the kind that challenges our traditional understanding of language and syntax. I'm talking about magnetic poetry, the quirky, wordplay-filled realm where creativity knows no bounds. I love this type of poetry! It really makes me think in a different syntax, playing with a strange juxtaposition of words. Often, I use this format when I am bored or if I have NO IDEA what I want to write about! The beauty of magnetic poetry lies in its simplicity and boundless potential for creativity. It's an art form where words become movable puzzle pieces, waiting to be rearranged into poetic masterpi...

10-31-08 Halloween! What a crazy day to have a controlled-chaos type of project going on, especially since our students are allowed to dress up! Today, students shared the genres they brought in. We looked at a menu from a Chinese restaurant. It had the restaurant's name, address, telephone number, and business hours on the front, as well as an attractive picture. It folded in two, with printing on all possible sides. The courses were broken up into appetizers, lunch and dinner specials, drinks, side items. There were pictures of the more popular items, and each item had a tantalizing description and a price. Then, we talked about how a menu might be used to share a story or a moment from our lives. One boy decided to use a menu to write about his favorite Thanksgiving, rather than the journal format he had chosen. He decided that he could title the menu "A Pendley Thanksgiving, 2007" and that he could, as part of the description, list who cooked the food. I liked the id...