Note: I’m going through my drafts in preparation for the Two Writing Teachers “Slice of Life Challenge” when I got the notification that the blog for this challenge was posted!

#excitedaboutwriting

The Slice of Life Challenge is just that, a challenge to write about your slice of life! It’s in March, and in order to “win” the challenge, you have to write a daily blog, post the link to the SOL Challenge page AND comment on at least three other posts on that challenge site.

#seemseasy

#whatisthecatch

The catch is, you have to write for 31 days straight. That’s why I’ve been carrying my handy dandy notebook (I miss Blue’s Clues) around to just take down ideas, thoughts, things, things I notice so that when March 1st rolls around, I’m set. Now, it sounds easy, but life gets in the way. Two years ago, I was with my wife and daughter in Washington D.C., and that was my first “missed” day of writing on the challenge. Our anniversary is during this month, so planning in order to make sure that there’s something to write about AND it gets posted correctly AND I’m able to comment.

#oknotsoeasy

In reality, you make the time for things that are important to you. During the month of March, this is important to me. Even though I don’t teach ELA any more, I’ll have my students participate in the challenge because it forces them to pay attention to the things around them AND write every day. “But I can’t take the weekend off,” is the typical complaint. Nope, to be good at anything, you need to practice. This is part of that practice, being fluent with your thoughts.

I started this blog in August of 2011 (good grief) and I’m not even sure of the reason why. However, it’s become a book of my thoughts, feelings, and memories of the last nine (NINE!!) years. The Slice of Life showed up for me four years ago, and I cannot imagine March without it. It’s a time to really dig into what goes on around me, but also a time to read the writing of some amazing educators.

So, if you are an educator, I encourage you to check this out. Heck, even if you aren’t, check it out. 31 days of writing it a challenge, but in a good way.

And everyone loves a good challenge, right? 🙂

#right