Wonderful When the Grandkids Come Around (Thanks, Oona). My Snap Chat Selves are Much Better than the Real Thing

Pam had friends over for dinner, including Jack, Oona's grandson from New Jersey. Jack wanted to play on my phone, and Pam and I are all about playtime, especially when we have opportunities to look younger and more intriguing that our middle-aged selves. This was my favorite, although the 1990s versions of ourselves are good, too (it's just that they look like older photos...at least with animation, there a little more class). 

Yesterday's rainy morning (and Abu's later-than-usual-sleep schedule) gave me ample time to create contracts, to think ahead to next week, and to think forward with remaining grant money. The clouds cleared, though, and Abu got food for the week, planned out the schedules, got tickets to to Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) in Wallingford, and chilled the rest of the night away watching soccer. 

Now, I really want to jump into anime land because I like the way we all look with our cartoon features. Ah, but we have the Euro Cup final, as well at the COPA final today (pizza day) and I really should be proactive with more planning. Fascinating to live as we do in this moment in time, because I'm unsure if opportunities to be whacky, wild, and American free will be in the future given the realities since 2016. We're still living in a nation that is hard for me to recognize.

The audiences of Jerry Spring are now adults loving a Jerry Spring world. It's not supposed to make sense, it's all about the drama, and the whackier you make it with human behavior, the closer it hits to home on psyches and self-fulfilled prophesies. I now want to skip ahead 100 years and read what is written about the years I'm currently living. Fascinating, and paradigm-shifting, indeed. 

Humans continue to be...well, humans. 

A Hammerhead and a Unicorn Walk Into a Bar...Actually, a Spaceship and with them are 38 Young Adult Literacy Labs Novelists

They had a tall order this week, and we are thrilled to bring John Fallon into the mix...an English teacher at Laurelton Hall who loves science fiction (and is partnered with Allison). We decided early in the week that he'd have to be initiated in the Scripted workshop, and I knew immediately I'd make him a unicorn, as his youngest daughter, Cordelia, is obsessed with the magical creatures.

My week was pulled towards Little Labs more, so I didn't get as much play time and conference work with the middle and high school novelists. It's a funny program, too, because the kids really don't want to be bothered with the adults - they just want a space to write all day (which we give them with mini-lessons, workshops, demonstrations, and a reminder we should build a community, too). I always love the way friendships begin in this program and little coteries are formed. A previous colleague once told me, "CWP is where she found her people."

I'm writing this morning watching the skies dump the ocean onto Connecticut. It's been a wall of water since 7 a.m. (and I'm thankful I chose to mow the lawn at the last minute before I went to bed last night). Looking like quite the wash today and I didn't know it was coming - this is probably because of the 14-hour days of keeping the programs going...I don't think about the weekends.

Abu and I watched Inside Out last night on Disney because he heard it was good and he wanted to get ready to watch Inside Out 2. The Pixar fill is really good and I can't help but think about all the emotional creatures working inside my own mental control room. When I think about the work I love doing, but the reality of where I'm doing it, I think every emotion hired to control my brain goes into battle. 

Here's to Noah's Arc...the rain...and the spectacular week that just was. We repeat the greatness again starting on Monday. 

Nothing Like Seeing the World through the Eyes of Little Labbers with Big Imaginations. Week Two of Summer Programs are Coming to a Close

Working with 3rd-5th grade writers is simply a tremendous treat. The way they think about the world and the humor that guides them is remarkable. Every task is a welcomed challenge and they have such confidence in what they set out to compose. This is why the Anton exhibit at the Walsh Gallery was such a hit. I took teachers their last week (the pop tart), and this week the teachers brought the kids. You can see the big-eyed happiness for exploring such work...

...we went with a theme of Cooking up Words and the weeks focused on culinary writing experiences (which we'll continue next week with much variation). Many of the kids choose to come back for a second week so I want the experiences to be different. We're tapping the summer Olympics for sure with Recipes for Excellence. 

I enjoyed hearing the young people tell me how much fun they were having and how this is making them writers. I also love hearing the parents tell me that the kids go home and continue to write after dinner. We've been doing this for 13 years...at this point the data seems to lead to consistent findings that what we are doing works. There are a few, of course, that don't jive with the work but I can count those kids on one hand (and zip code demographic of Verooka Saltz-type kids...they made themselves extremely memorable...as do their parents).

Today, the young people display their writing ... novels, poems, drawings, comics, stories, and jokes. We record presentation for the parents, still drawing on the Covid reality of smaller crowds whenever possible. No one likes to get sick.

I'm looking forward to unwinding, however. It's non-stop from sunrise to sunset while all is in action. Weekends I need to recover.

I definitely need to get rest.

And I Interrupt Summer Programs to Celebrate the Terror-ier Black Nosed Cur Dog's 28th Birthday (Well, She's Four).

Actually, Karal is probably a little older than 4, but yesterday was the anniversary when I picked her up. Chitunga moved out, I swore no more dogs, but then she appeared on a timeline and within seconds I was intrigued. Didn't really discuss it with anyone, but drove to Rye-Harrison and sat with the care-take for over an hour because...well....her behavior didn't convince m she would be the greatest companion. She barked at every dog and never sat still for a second. It wasn't until I made up my mind that this probably wasn't the dog for me, when she suddenly ran over to me and sat by my side loyal. It's like she knew she was mine, but didn't want to adopt me until I was getting ready to leave.

She's always been good on a leash, has been trainable for tricks, but no coaching gets her from jumping and nibbling on clothes and shoelaces to get attention. Not mine. She can care less about me; she's only interested in those that aren't me. She pesters them (annoys them) for attention. I've tried everything to calm her down: trainers, treats, videos, and she is simply spastic. Hoping in her 28th year, she settles some.

Karal has excessive energy. Her zoomies can last 30 minutes and she's in full greyhound sprints. She loves her bay window like Glamis did, and when it's just the two of us, she insists on lying on my shoulders, at my feet, or in my lap. She barks at me at 8 pm to put her to ged (which means she wants me to lie with her and give her a doggie massage. She's also great friends with Jake, which was inevitable. 

And today, it is editing day. Fridays are always a mountain to achieve the impossible, so Thursday is about peeling the layers backwards. The kids have been their usual amazing selves and now it's time to simply get the work done.

While Many Prepped for the COPA and Euro Cup Games, Our Youngest Writers Invented Foods Out of Play-Do...Including Watermelon Pie

I'm not sure watermelon would hold up in a pie, but the concept intrigued. Also wasn't sure about grilled cheese Oreo cookies. The traditional Guac and taco dish, however, made sense to me, but the Everything Pizza (which had everything on it, including the Kitchen sink) was not that appealing, although it did give me opportunity to talk about everything bagels, which are my favorite.

Meanwhile, in the Novel Writing labs, students had options to develop demons, other worlds, or plots with the three instructors. They pulled into separate rooms and I was amazed by how much work go done. The plot room fascinated me, because there is no single writing process...these kids prove it. They have multiple writing processes and I love observing every second of them putting their ideas to together.

Abu and I made it home for the Spain/France game, but only the second half. Then it was COPA in the evening, Argentina and Canada. Believe it or not, I fell asleep during the first game. I'm getting old. Teaching all day and then planning all night is tiring. That, and a local deli charges a 3% credit card fee that they don't put on the receipts they give you. The result? When you share the receipt with the University accountants, they won't accept it...so you go back to the deli and they say they can't retro receipts with the extra charge, so you you a take a photo of the miniature taped line at the register that says there is a fee.

Not ordering from there again. That's not how you run business

Today, it's more writing fun...hump day, so a lot of writing has to occur...tomorrow we need to edit. And there are two more soccer games on tonight. Bonus week for Mt. Pleasant. 

The secret of writing success is hiring the best, most creative, and thought-provoking teachers we can. CWP rocks. I love these people. 

An Extra-Special Summer with @CWPFairfield Teachers, Especially Those Returning from Last Year - Love Being Able to Celebrate Them

CWP-Fairfield Young Adult Literacy Labs and Teacher Institutes received a 2025 Divergent Award for Literacy Implementation. It was an honor to be sent the email acknowledging the nomination, and now it is time to share the award with each of the teachers who help make our literacy labs a success. One by one I'm putting the award into the hands of the educators and youth literacy leaders who have helped us to reach and publish thousands of young writers over the years. It is their dedication to the work that makes it all worthwhile.

And we all admit to each other, it's the summer work that rejuvenates us and makes us believe what is possible with kids and teaching, after a year of being let down and disappointed by the bureaucracies of our institutions. Here, we come to have fun, to read, to write, and to celebrate humanity.

My goal is to get the award into all the hands of the people (humans of our lil' corner of the National Writing Project network) to watch the smiles grow. 

These are dedicated, brilliant, creative, clever, and hardworking teachers who make the work so much fun - they restore the faith in the profession we all had when we first started out.

Day two of the youth work beings in about 3...2....1....

2013 - 2024. Phew. The Redirection of Young Adult Literacy Labs and Abu Bility is Here for it All. 11th Year of the Work. Let it Begin

Kris and Dave, with Ish, came for the night. They were dropping off Isaiah in Hartford who is doing work for Blumenthal. Meanwhile, Abu came from Syracuse for another summer of Young Adult Literacy Labs. We had a make-shift dinner and the rest is history. Today, at 9 a.m. everything kicks off.

We've covered barbers in State College, played corn hole in Stratford, visited with Pam, fed Ishmael, checked the clothing of Isaiah in Hartford, and updated the accidents that could be so much worse. Definitely 24 hours of Connecticut life. 

And this morning we're off...100 kids, many programs, and it's officially Shark Week on the Weather Channel. We got this. Karal is confused. She wants it all to be about her.

Here's to summer camps beginning every where this year. It takes off at the snap of a finger, and then it has to be what it is. 

I'm upset, though. I finally redid the tub with non-slip stickers (a gift from Casey after my fall), and then Ish took a shower and reported all the tub stickers floated to the top of the service (well, the tub non-stick stickers were a gift from Casey....figures they floated to the top of the tub and didn't stick). Moral of the story...be careful in the Crandall tub...you'll fall and crack you head open. 

Well, I tried. When Ish came downstairs and said, "All the stickers on the tub floated to the top of the water," all I could say was, "Well, they were a gift from my little sister. Don't crack open your head."

Crandall luck. She would send me tub stickers that don't stick, but float. C'est la vie.