Storytelling. Fact and fiction. One word at a time.
I’ve been feeling like my job as an educator has corralled me. Funny that it’s also the Year of the Fire Horse. I want my influence to be greater than trying to convince teens of all the amazing things in the world around them. Their brains, in so many ways, just aren’t ready yet. They’re... Continue Reading →
Last week's post (you can read about it here), where I found an envelope of photos, made me think of a time I found a purse in my hometown. The Purse I was on a trip with my sister, her husband, and their children. We were in our hometown — the town my parents were... Continue Reading →
Always check inside books because you never know what you will find. At the free little library, I found Gwyn Hyman Rubio's book Icy Sparks. I took it home. I always look inside used books in case there are treasures hidden in the pages. I’ve found block-print images of bees (which I loved), cute bookmarks,... Continue Reading →
I found the following quote cut up and taped together in one of my bins of collage materials that I’ve been curating for over three decades. A completed sentence ends with a small black dot, but that’s how epiphanies begin. A coffee bean. A tiny, good thing from the earth. But the best ones have... Continue Reading →
One of the staple rules of my class is that students are expected to leave their phones on the table near the door. I introduce this rule at the beginning of the year. In the fall, a lot of kids groan about it, buck against it. But rules are rules, and with a little nagging... Continue Reading →
On my way to Edmonton for the Oilers–Bruins hockey game, my friend Ashlee sent me a message wishing me a safe trip. She included a screenshot of a conversation she’d had with a colleague on their work chat platform. Colleague: Good morning, Ashlee. Are you the Ashlee Ballan that Angie Counios acknowledged in her book... Continue Reading →
*Stories that did not make it into My List, My Rules: The Year a Checklist Changed My Life *Goal #67 may be inaccurate as far as numbers of my list go. If so I'll fix that later. Goal #67Make a Drawing While Blindfolded In all my years of teaching, I’ve had a lot of unique... Continue Reading →
I’m not a fan of shopping or buying much, but what I have bought into is Christmas. It took some time, but I did it. I love Christmas. I fell in love by the spoken law of a beautiful older Greek woman. You can read about it here. And over the years that I have... Continue Reading →
I burned past agendas and day planners in the fire pit in my backyard. On a social platform—don’t ask me which one because I don’t remember—I came across a woman who said something like, “There are things in your home you should get rid of, even if you don’t think your place is cluttered.” She... Continue Reading →
New Year, New Me?Nah. I like the current me quite a bit. I like the tenacity I’ve shown over the years of teaching and writing—lugging heavy boxes of books to book fairs, chatting with new readers and fans of our books. I like the openness I bring when welcoming new folks into our book world.... Continue Reading →
Angie Counios 