Today was the perfect day to listen to holiday music, drink hot cocoa, relax with a seasonal read-aloud, laugh a lot, and enjoy the creative aspect of our latest writing endeavor. We are winding down now with our Christmas/Holiday stories. Second, third, and sometimes fourth drafts have been conferenced and tweaked. Students have learned that the process of writing includes multiple layers of revision--new ideas often replacing old ones as the stories take on a life of their own. Editing has been necessarily slow and methodical as every story line, character, word choice, and punctuation mark has been discussed. Beyond the writing, students have immersed themselves in creating the perfect illustrations to accompany each page. Lots of work, huh?I'm still holding Friday as the date for book completion. It may be that some will need to have until Monday, but I can't guarantee that students will be able to take the books home for Christmas if that happens. I hope to post a few stories on the blog for you all to enjoy. (First, Mr. Wright has to teach me how to do that... sigh.) Next week, we will share our stories with the Kindergarten and first grade. (I must say, that is my favorite part; I'll take pictures and post them here for you.)
It was good to see many of you at last night's concert. It's hard to believe that Christmas is little more than a week away!
Take care,
Teri
