Saturday, July 14, 2012

Saturday Sayings: Squirt. Squirt. Squirt.

(Lots of previous Saturday Sayings are a click away.)

My thought for the day comes from Bill Martin, quoted by Ralph Fletcher in his book What a Writer Needs.  Enjoy.


Squirt.  Squirt.  Squirt.  Guilty.  I know I can get stuck in this mode.  Anyone else?  There's this little thing called time that causes us to commit to practices that don't mesh with our pedagogy, as well as convince us to abandon those we know are worthwhile.  That nagging sense of time haunts our thoughts with the long list of what must be accomplished.  Thus, instead of inviting our kids into the splash zone, we send a few squirts their way and move on.  When we squirt and they squirt back, the kids don't get our best and neither do we get theirs.  

While thinking about this Saturday Saying, I was reminded of a post from Lori at Conversations in Literacy about surface level vs. deeper level thinking.  The surface level is where the squirting occurs.  It's when we take time to get to the splash zone that we get to that deeper level.  The kids get our best and we get theirs too.  I'd like to hang out there much more this year.  Welcome to the splash zone kids.

(Click here to visit Lori's post.)

  
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14 comments:

  1. Squirt!!! That is soo true!
    ❤ Sandra
    Sweet Times in First
    sweettimesinfirst@gmail.com

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    1. Sandra, so very true. Glad I'm not the only one it's true for. :)

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  2. And then we wonder why they squirt back!! *duh** :)
    Great post, I always look forward to them!
    Julie
    Light A Fire in Third

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    1. Thanks Julie. I look forward to you dropping by!

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  3. Thanks for the shout out, Tammy! I am guilty too of just squirting at times. That whole time thing is what gets me. I always want and need more time to dive a little deeper into the splash zone and not squirt!
    Lori
    Conversations in Literacy

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    1. Lori, you're very welcome. I hope to show my kids your golf ball demo this year. We need to get to some deeper thinking.

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  4. Good thoughts, Tammy! Digging deeper is so important and you are absolutely right about not always having the time to do it!

    Crystal
    Teaching Little Miracles

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    1. Crystal, time sounds like a problem for many of us. We're going to have to find a way around it, huh?

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  5. Squirt. Too true. Love your sayings...take the kids to the splash zone and submerge them in learning :)

    Teach~Play~Smile 200 Follower Giveaway!

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    1. Keri, my goal is to get some kids soaking wet this year. :)

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  6. That's a REALLY good way to describe that shallow kind of teaching. I like that -- squirt! We're probably all guilty of that now and again. I know I am. That's one of the reasons I ordered Lucy Calkins Year Long Units of Study, cause it tends to be in writing where I jump around a lot (from one shallow puddle to the next :)).

    ❀Barbara❀
    Grade ONEderful
    Ruby Slippers Blog Designs

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    1. Barbara, you'll love Lucy's stuff. There's nothing shallow about her. Thanks for coming by again and again and again. :)

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  7. Thsnks so much! this Saturday Saying I really think hits the nail on the head of one of the things I need to concentrate on more in my classroom. Many times I get so carried away working on those pesky sight words and math facts that I don't give my kids a chance to dive in.

    Kelly @I'm Not Your Grandpa, I'm Your Teacher

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    1. Kelly, many (maybe all) of us need to work more on this. You're in the best of company. :) Thanks for your comments!

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