What I Didn’t Do In November

A Month of Gratitude and Reflection

Photo by John Christian Fjellestad on Unsplash

November is full of words for a writer. This month was no different. National Novel Writing Month as a challenge on top of the regular challenges I impose on myself.

There are some things I didn’t do this November.

• I didn’t conduct my annual ANONYMOUS LETTER project. Every November I have my students write anonymous thank you letters to someone in the school. It has to be an adult working in the building currently so I am able to deliver the letters. This could be a teacher, the principal, the lunch lady, the custodian. The rules of the letter are to thank the person for something specific and to give clues to who you are. One of the reason I started this project was because I was tired of the same trite writing of being thankful every year. I also could never remember how to spell “anonymous”. This project hit both those targets. Plus, the ripple effect bonus was the joy and mystery that surrounded these letters. Sneaky smiles and “did you get a letter?” questions as students went past adults added an air of fun and joy. For that, I was truly grateful.
• I didn’t read IN NOVEMBER by Cynthia Rylant to any group of people. Last year I used the picture book as a brain drainer for a Workshop Wednesday I conducted. I love this book for the prose and the imagery.