The Metaphor Game
Holiday season is the best time of year for playing games – at parties, in the classroom, or at a dinner. The Metaphor Game is one of my favorites. You don’t need any props – just your imagination. Want to find out how to play?
Author: winslow eliot
Happiness 12-5
a bald eagle soaring over a cliff; cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg; being randomly kissed by your lover on the sidewalk
Happiness 12-4
the snowy Alps pink with dawn; painted toenails; a strong philosophical argument with a friend.
Genie in a Bottle
Words are the genie in a bottle. They are magic. Magic creates something: a flying carpet, a fabulous dinner, a friend, a journey. All these things are created out of the magic of writing. Read more for a fun writing practice.
Happiness 12-3
the quiet of the middle of the night winning a raffle Piazza Navona
WriteSpa #15 – Sense of Wonder
WriteSpa – An Oasis for Writers An intense, although short-lived, flurry of snow fell dramatically during class this week. The seventh graders were entranced. Their exclamations were awed. At recess they hurried outside to run in it, to jump in it, to catch snowflakes on their tongue. We had begun the week with a quote Read more about WriteSpa #15 – Sense of Wonder[…]
Happiness 12-2
finding a hidden door behind thick ivy; friendly neighbors; barging slowly through the Norfolk Broads.
An E-zine for Eclectic Thinkers
For a couple of years I mysteriously received a daily musing in my inbox from a stranger. I did not know who Mark Kolke was, but I was captivated by his musings. He would set off every morning with his dog, Gusta, describe her wellbeing and the weather, and then launch into an intriguing, thought-provoking Read more about An E-zine for Eclectic Thinkers[…]
Happiness 12-1
stacking wood for the winter successfully rounding Cape Horn Cary Grant
Happiness 11-30
a box of unusual, colorful buttons sunshine on closed eyelids a windfall
Happiness 11-29
blowing glass on the island of Murano being asked to dance by a stranger at a wedding the blue of morning glories
Happiness 11-28
climbing to the top of Diamond Head; the wind in your face; a hearty handshake
Happiness 11-27
the aqua light of tunnels carved inside a glacier; sitting beside someone you’re crazy about at the dinner table; lip balm made of honey
Thanksgiving: Worship Privately, Rejoice Together
I was eighteen when I first moved to the United States after having lived abroad since I was two. Experiencing my first Thanksgiving here, I was cynical. Like the dubious celebration of Guy Fawkes Day in England, Thanksgiving seemed historical propaganda with little resonance of either spirit or nature. My cynicism increased over the years: Read more about Thanksgiving: Worship Privately, Rejoice Together[…]
Happiness 11-26
knowing what the lines on your palm mean; authenticity; a lush meadow of scarlet poppies.
Happiness 11-25
sailing solo around the world; satin ribbons tying a present; the mouth of a river
Mini Memoirs
When I try to explain about how to write a topic sentence for an essay, the eyes of my students tend to glaze and the chatting begins. But when I offered them the opportunity to write a story in six words or less a la Hemingway, they were captivated. Ernest Hemingway wrote perhaps one of Read more about Mini Memoirs[…]
Happiness 11-24
watching a blacksmith at work; a sense of honor; the red sandstone carvings of Banteay Srei
Happiness 11-23
discovering a rare sea-creature while scuba-diving; painting a barn; realizing something you’ve always known.
Language Arts in 7th Grade: Wonder, Wish, and Surprise
Seventh graders have a rich emotional life which may leave them feeling inwardly chaotic. They are excited one moment, despairing the next; they are confident then miserably insecure; socially they swing from being best friends to sworn enemies. How to find balance?
Happiness 11-22
climbing into a cave behind a waterfall riddles cartography: the study of maps
Happiness 11-21
a promise keeper lots of rubies sparkling in the sun history