Five Minute Friday: Friend

This was my most favorite prompt, yet. I absolutely loved listening to their sweet, little hearts write about what "friend" means to them. I also loved some of the creative twists that were in the mix. We wrote outside today in the sunshine which totally added to the happiness we get from doing this activity together. I am noticing that they are now coming in on Fridays and looking straight to the board for our prompt. And then, their giddy reaction is priceless. I feel the same when I'm writing it. Underneath, I add "I can't wait to write with you!" I mean in from the bottom of my heart. I love them. I love this...



Five Minute Friday with 4A
"Friend"
This is hard for me because there's two people I want to write about. Then, I just start feeling thankful for what a friend is. As you grow older friendships are deeper. Some come, and some go. But some, are forever. Some are unconditional. Some, are the very place where you feel safe. Safe to be completely you in whatever state. There's no trying. Just "being". You, at your best. You, at your worst. There's no fear. Or anxiety or insecurity. Just unconditional love. Some kind of super-natural bond. For me, that's JAE. Old. For me, that's Thomas. New. One is not silver and the other gold. They're both gold. Both, the most precious treasure.

Five Minute Friday with 4C
"Friend"
In my last writing, I mentioned that as you get older, friendships are deeper. I'm sad to say, that at a young age, some or most of my friendships were mixed with acceptance issues. I despise insecurity so much. It's a ghost from my past that sometimes comes back to haunt me. If I only knew then what I know now. And this is not outer. Or about anyone else. This is inner. It's about me. The sad part is- I can't go back. The joyful part is-I can pour out all that I've learned and all that I'm still learning into my students and future children. I can teach them about diversity and uniqueness. I can teach them importance of loving yourself.

Five Minute Friday with 4B
"Friend"
My mom! My mother. My friend. It's one of the most beautiful things in the world to experience this transformation in your relationship with your mother. She's truly one of my best, most sacred friends. One of my most favorite friends. The things we share. The way we share. The way our hearts dance and connect and grow. The way iron sharpens iron. The way softness soothes and comforts and encourages. I'm better because of her. My best friend when I was a little girl. We did everything together. I was her only one. We dreamed of my sister. We fell in love with my brother. Then, jumping into my adulthood we reconnect in a much different way. A deep, rich friendship grew. And now, I'm so much in love with us and with her. More than ever. My mother, my friend.

Miss Bellino's heart- 4/25/14

Five Minute Friday: Paint

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when I saw "PAINT" on Lisa-Jo's page. I knew that I could write about paint, but I wasn't sure if my students would have it them. I was afraid they would be disappointed or their lack of experience would leave them with nothing to write. I was pleasantly surprised by their writings and turned out creative and beautiful. They seem to be able to conjure up just about anything and I love that. I am so in love with doing this with them. It's going to hurt when May is over. But, I live for stuff like this, so I'll take the joy with pain.

Five Minute Friday
4A Paint
The first half of my life I had no idea how much I loved to paint. It was in my college years that the yearning and ideas came. I would spend hours in my parents shed creating what was being created in me. And so that is how it all started. When I fell in love with "painting". With creating. With the ideas. The peace that floods you. The colors. The way the brush dips into the paint. The way the brush strokes the white canvas. The joy. The anticipation. The end result. And you just keep wanting to do more. More hours in the shed. More peace. More colors. More creation.

4C Paint
After my painting awakening it became a big part of my life. At that time I had a little cousin, Annie, who was my best friend. She was 2 and 3 and I was in my early 20's. We used to spend time together almost every day. I'd share my life with her-chasing sunsets, going to parks, eating Subway, nights at the library, sleepovers watching Harry Potter and of course-painting. We'd set up shop in my backyard on sunny days and just paint. I'm not sure if it was the painting that she liked or just spending time with me. For me, it was Heaven. Doing something that I really loved to do with someone I really loved.

4B Paint
After finding my passion for painting, years later, I found that my mama loved to paint too. I started to see how much I'm like her once I got to know her. Growing up maybe I didn't pay attention or maybe she was so much my mama that I wasn't able to see who she was more than that. Now I see all this beauty about her. Like she is a painting with so much vibrant color. So now we have deep conversations, cups of tea and we paint together. We share the peace. Getting lost in the moment-in our painting. Sharing that with her is one of my greatest joys. Lost. Creating.

Miss Bellino 4/11/14

Five Minute Friday: Writer

Five Minute Friday: Writer

I didn't know how this was going to turn out for me or the kids. But, it ended up being so beautiful. A lot of them wrote about their writing teacher, Ms. B. and how she loves to write. I cried. I cried because, you wonder sometimes if they realize how truly open you are...you wonder if they know just how much of your life you allow them to see. They identified me as their writing teacher, but they also identified me as a writer. Someone that is passionate about it and does it in their every day life. They were specific and detailed. They brought up what they learned from me...they brought up journal entries I've read to them. They know me. And I love it. I love we are with each other 35 hours a week and we KNOW each other. Personalities, passions, strengths, weaknesses, moods, quirks. It's the most beautiful thing to me. It's nice to sit and realize the richness of being of being a teacher when you take a moment and just BE with your students. Because we don't get to do that often. We are usually in a tornado that sweeps up through the day and spits us out.

This post is dedicated to them. The crew that I have so deeply fell in love with this year. My 8-3 family. And the realness.

"Don't be afraid to live like a writer. Writers explore. There are two whole universes for you to explore-the one on the inside, and the physical one on the outside. Take your choice; inner or outer. Or best: both."
(I had my students paste this in their writing notebooks at the beginning of the year. It's something Lucy Calkins said in a video we watched.)

Writer 4A
When I think of "writer", I think of me. It was automatic. My whole life I struggled with identity-looking at other people-comparing myself to them. Envying who they are. The older I got, the more I started to find myself underneath this pile of identity crisis. One thing I am sure of is, I am a writer. For so many reasons. God has given me a gift with words and expression. It's so much a part of me. It's so creative. And that's Him-a part of Him in me. He's everything and He gives us pieces of Himself to make-up a whole. I am one who got that part-the part of Him that is a creative writer. And I love Him for it. I think it's so beautiful. Not just the "writer" part, but the way we are all "parts" of God.

Writer 4C
Continued....I think there's a freedom in my first 5 minutes. Freedom from wishing we were or could be like other people. The problem with that is, we are so focused on comparing that we miss what's inside us. We neglect God's beauty in us and it stays covered up. Then it gets worse because we start to really feel that we don't have the beauty that others have. The key is to get a shovel. And dig. Search. For the treasure or treasures within us. What do we love? What are our deep passions?

Writer 4B
I love that my students are becoming writers. Two of my favorite parts about being a writing teacher are watching them grow as writers and getting to know them though their writings. Reading 75 writings at a time is often difficult, but I love reading "them". Honestly, there are times when I don't want to be a writing teacher. It's one of the hardest things for so many reasons. Then, there are moments when I feel like "This. is. perfect!" I can see the big picture. I can see why I'm a writer and I want to give that part of me to them. At the end of the year when you see it-them becoming writers-it makes it all worth it. All the tribulation...it's worth it.

Ms. Bellino 4/4/14

Five Minute Friday: Mighty

I am so excited and proud to announce that I have started doing Five Minute Friday with my students. This was our first week. It's incredibly special and is major blessing to our classroom. With all the heaviness from the STAAR we need this! We need a moment to get lost in writing and to sit with each other and enjoy each other...listening to the hearts and minds of all the parts of our class family.

I have three classes each day. I write all three times with them for 5 minutes straight on the given prompt.

Mighty with 4A
When I think of mighty, I think of strong-I think of superhero strong or God strong. The kind of strong that is more than humans. The kind of strong that saves people. That beats bad guys. That loves people that have been hurt and comforts them. When I think of mighty, I think of no fear-courage. Someone that fights for good or what's right. Was Martin Luther King Jr. "mighty"? He didn't have strong muscles, but he has a strong heart. So, does physical strength make you mighty? Or could it be an inner strength...

Mighty with 4C
In my last writing I started talking about how mighty is strong. I ended up bringing up Martin Luther King Jr. I felt in my heart at that moment that he was a mighty man. Mighty doesn't have to be physically strong. You don't need strong muscles to be mighty. Maybe it's a strong heart that you need. A strong heart to do the right thing. To love others. To fight for them. To not get so caught up in ourselves or the situation and be a part of something that turns the world upside down (That's what he told his mama.).Without violence or hurting another back when they hurt you. THAT take courage.

Mighty with 4B
Mighty is powerful. I keep thinking of the phrase "mighty to save". It's a quote from the Bible. It says God is mighty to save. I believe that means He has the power to save. Think of what that might mean. What do we need saved from? It's everything bad in the earth. Sickness. Depression. A hurting heart. We also might need to be saved from things that might be in us. Maybe we don't like ourselves and we think bad things about our self. Maybe we're really mean to others. God is mighty to save us from those things. I don't always understand it, but maybe it's not about understanding-maybe it's about trusting a God that says He wants to and can.

Ms. Bellino 3/28/14