Writer's Recipe

Today was a great day for sharing!  I had a lot of notes and my favorite metaphor for our project was baking the "Hero Cake" so I called it.  Francis's question was, "So how are you all doing with the ingredients that you have gathered so far from our little cooks,(4th graders)?"  Here is how she catergoized the process:

• We have just added the ingredients and stirring up the ideas
• We still have to taste the batter to know if we need to add more ingredients to acquire the flavorful batter?
• Lastly, and important, if it looks and tastes right, "How are we going to bake it?"

It is so true that like baking, writing is a process and is not perfected the first time around.  We are always taste testing to find that delicious flavor of the finished product.  Loved this connection!
Another important topic was the bad and sad memories of the heroes that our little fellows have selected.  How do we deal with their stories?  I like how it was suggested that these memories are a gift and that by sharing them, we all take part of the special gift and the story does become more meaningful to our student. 
One more topic was the sharing of personal events in our lives as coaches, do we share and how much of it do we share for example;  alcohol or drug use that our hero may have used.  The answer is important and that was to use common sense by selecting only what a child that age could understand.  The lesson learned from the dramatic moments so that there is a reason that person is not "Your Hero."  Excellent day!http://unm-elds.blogspot.com/