This was an 8th grade Friday, which always means high activity. Mrs. Long and Mrs. Graham take turns in the class periods that overlap, so that each teacher brings all four core classes, meaning the entire grade level, through in the course of one day.

Today Graham & Long gave me the gift of a little extra time with their students. I got a chance to share with them an activity I used to do in my classroom with my own students. I have collected a whole bunch of leaves from Stephens Lake Park, pressed them under clear contact paper, and stuck them to the tables in the Media Center for easy leaf rubbing. Once the beautiful shapes of the leaves have worked their way onto the page, I asked the students to write their reflection of fall. The could use rhyme, memory, hopes, thankfulness, or just a collection of words that mean fall to them. Every student got to choose if their work stayed with me, went to their teacher, or was kept by themselves to become book marks, cards, or wall art for their home. Their work was lovely. It was clear many had done this type of work in the past, and some were experiencing it for the first time. I was grateful to every student who put crayon, and then pen, to paper to share in my fall appreciation.