Sunday, March 2, 2014

Celebrating the Beginning of March Writing Challenge

I am excited. It is the second day of Slice of Life March writing challenge. For the third year, I am committing to writing a blog post for each day in the month of March. It really is a challenge, but at the same time, the rewards far outweigh the challenges!

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So, what are the challenges that I celebrate?


  • making sure that I have some time each day to write and comment
  • I have to plan ahead for those days that I know I will leave early and be home late--this really teaches me planning and being organized
  • discovering new blogs--sometimes it is just easy to find the familiar names, read something new about that blogger's life and leave a comment there (found a couple of new ones on Saturday already)
  • using  different lenses when writing my own posts--it is easy to follow the same pattern and format that I have used in the past (or use often)

What are the rewards that I know I will get to celebrate throughout this month?

  • I am sure I will many photos of wonderful places that people have visited (I already saw great photos on Saturday)
  • I get to hear about family celebrations (there might even be a baby or two that are born during the challenge)
  • I will be able to read students blogs and read posts written by the next generation bloggers
  • I will get to hear about new tools that I can use in my teaching (A post reminded me yesterday how to look at data as we have a PD coming this week)
  • There will be summaries of workshops or trainings that bloggers will attend (can't wait to read details about Michigan Reading Association conference that is happening in March, but I am unable to attend) 
  • I will be able to use my OLW--DISCOVER--as I discover more about myself as a writer (and see how others--like Julie--who share my OLW are using theirs)

I am sure there are many more challenges and rewards that I will discover this month. But the most important thing to remember is to enjoy the challenge! Let's have fun writing, commenting and celebrating blogging this month!

18 comments:

  1. Jaana, I love your enthusiasm!! Thank you for writing this post! :)

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  2. Looking through different lenses - yes. You will certainly get to use your OWL. So much discovering during this month.

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    1. You are right Terje! We will discover new things and ideas together.

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  3. I love your lists. The one that hit me was writing from different lenses. Reading other blogs makes me feel so "regimented." I feel my writing is like my meals - always the same thing! Maybe it is what I am comfortable with. This is a goal of mine during this month, and I have many mentor texts from which to learn!

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    1. I look forward reading your insights Leigh Anne!

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  4. Love all the reasons why, Jaana. My OLW is wander & I'm trying to wander through the slices, looking for some new ones too. There is such richness in what people write, & of course that means such richness in the people themselves. Thanks for the list of good things!

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    1. I like your phrase "wandering through the slices."

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  5. Isn't it fun to see that OLW return in one's writing life time and time again?!

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    1. Let's see how discover will show itself this month.

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  6. Challenges and rewards that captures it!

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    1. End of March is always so exciting as we get to read all that people have learned (and discovered)!

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  7. I didn't realize we had started slicing at about the same time, Jaana! I love your thoughts about what you will try & what you will discover! (and the fact that you tied in your OLW!) It's going to be a busy but fun month, as always!

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  8. The challenges will be overcome by the rewards of the month. What a journey it's been so far and we are only two days in!

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    1. I'm so glad the beginning happened during a weekend. More people had time to comment more!

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  9. I love that you are already reflecting and it's only day 2! One of my challenges is time. Not time to write, but time to read and comment. (I can't be so hard on myself because there is no way to keep up with the number of slicers!) A reward is reading other slices, but I tend to reach out to those I know first. Last year I set a goal of reading 3 "known" slicers and 3 new slicers...I may need to do that again this year. Thanks for reminding me! By the way, I love that you have added your picture! Beautiful! Happy writing and celebrating Jaana!

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    1. The picture is thanks to my niece who took such a nice pic of me! During the week, commenting is definitely limited. Maybe a little extra during the weekends (or snow days).

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  10. Jaana, love your reminder to enjoy the challenge! I feel so challenged each year that I often refer to my month of slicing as March Madness since we end the trimester in the middle of March also. You've encouraged me to savor (my OLW) this time we spend together.

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