A Word from Miss Clare
What parents are saying about Pages: “Thank you for making class so enjoyable and personal. My daughter’s writing has really expanded since being in classes with you.” ~Brit Riddle “I really appreciate you going through the different areas of reading…
Pages Online Coming SOON!
This coming year we will be offering 5 Sessions of Pages Online, FIVE! We hope that Pages classes, led by our exceptional teachers, will inspire your students to pick up their pencils and share ideas. A sneak peak of Pages…
Let’s Talk Grammar
Grammar is simply the study of how words combine to form sentences. Words are like putty, they can change purpose depending on how they combine with other words in the context of a sentence. Grammar is complex and essential. But grammar…
It’s Spring! Ideas are Blooming…
This time, last year, I was leading an Earlybird Pages session using our Spring Stories thematic unit—such beautiful stories and pictures about spring. Every time we read a new story, we sensed the anticipation in the air. How exciting, to…
Winter Campfire: Review 2023
Tip Number 1. Enjoy the journey! Tip Number 2. “What’s your big idea?” Tip Number 3. Slide of Imagination. Tip #4 Play! Tip #5 Writing is a gift. Tip #6 LOVE the red pen. Tip #7 Write in cursive! Tip…
Campfire for High School: Coalesce
Coalesce is a beautiful word. It means: to grow together; to unite into a whole. This word combines the prefix “co” (which means “together”) with the Latin verb alescere (meaning “to grow”). There you have it. Grow together. Combine. Unite. Fuse.…
Around the Campfire: Essays and Tigers and Poetry, Oh My!
Let’s talk middle school. In our CORE materials for middle school—Level 3 Reading & Writing Discovery Guides—students will continue the good work of writing ideas they began in the Level 1 & 2 units. With Blackbird & Company, your…
Meet Clare
My best memories with my children are of us snuggled up together reading books. We would be on the bed or on the couch, blankets over us. Little bodies breathing evenly in my lap. Little hands touching mine or flipping…
Around the Campfire: Writing is a GIFT
Tip #5 Writing is a gift. I’ve been teaching the art of writing for over 30 years. I DO NOT insist my students wrangle a lasso to subdue their grammar. Remember, Form follows Function. I DO insist they value their…
Around the Campfire: Growth IS robust!
During my 25+ years in the field of education I’ve encountered teachers and administrators throwing around the phrase “growth is not robust” over and over and over again. This euphemism breaks my heart. They are referring to our children after…