Author Archives: Annie Campbell

“The geranium on the windowsill died but teacher you went right on…..” Albert Callum The Empire of Mali is a third grade Standard of Learning: Virginia Social Studies 3.2. Mali has a magnificent past.  When the light of learning in … Continue reading →

October.    September is gone, proving once again that even a month lived intentionally, day-by-day and hour by hour, will fly by. September is a methodical month.  At the beginning of September, I tell my third graders they don’t have to … Continue reading →

They were my first class.  They were first graders and they taught me to notice missing teeth and new shoes.  I remember my first day as their teacher.  I hoped that my students would welcome me, and I hoped that … Continue reading →

Whether we are conscious of it or not, we think and speak in metaphor.  Metaphor is the picture language that lays track from heart to mind and back. Metaphor stirs the imagination and helps us mix what we learn with … Continue reading →

My class and I are coming to the end of Charlotte’s Web. O Charlotte.  You.  You’re the one. You are the greatest heroine in Children’s Literature. I can make such a bold statement with veracity (she would approve of that … Continue reading →

Writing slows life down and I have been too busy living life to write about it.   I’ve lived it headlong, fully engaged… and, well, face first. Mrs. Campbell took a tumble, Mrs. Campbell had a stumble, Mrs. Campbell tripped on … Continue reading →

I used to get in trouble for looking out the window when I was in third grade, but that was a long time ago. Now I am in a  corner classroom with two walls of windows. And yes, my children look … Continue reading →

It was weeks ago, but it stays with me: Grace brought a microscope to school. Usually we have outdoor science on Thursday, but this was Tuesday and the outdoors called us. Earlier, through the windows of Room 204, we’d seen … Continue reading →

I’d read about the concept of One Little Word on my very favorite teaching blog : Two Writing Teachers.  Stacey and Ruth give credit to Ali Edwards, another blogger.  The idea is this: choose a word to live intentionally for … Continue reading →

Tradition loves to be found and, once discovered, it likes to be named to be fully uncovered. This year I found tradition in  carols sung and in the ornaments  hung. Tradition wafted from the kitchen as gingerbread men (and girls)  … Continue reading →