Students are really enjoying this exercise!

• Siblings have been enjoying commenting on sibling blogs (”You never tried octopus, how can you say you like all seafood?”)
• Some students find it frustrating not knowing who made a comment.
• Students are replying to comments on their “blogs” and inviting conversations.
• Students are discussing the pros and cons of keeping negative or nitpicking comments.
• Some conversations are between students who never knew they had a common passion.
• A bevy of intermediate students asked permission to head for the library to “check their blogs” during their lunch break!
• Favorites include pea soup, and root beer floats with mint chocolate chip ice-cream.

Conversations have opened up about family customs (Monday night milkshakes), ethnic foods, our diversity of taste, and body image. The body image discussion really impressed me, as one student complained that she couldn’t eat her favorite food because she was “too fat”–other students argued that she was lovely and should know that; that she shouldn’t worry about dieting if she usually made good food choices; that there were less-fat versions of her favorite; and one offered a recipe and shared that she was dieting, too.

Having the 5th grade girl and the 3rd grade boy and the 8th grade boy all learning that they share a passion for shrimp with cocktail sauce may not change their lives, but it has been a nice way to connect with each other. As we prepared to leave for Spring Break yesterday, I saw one student crushing a comment slip in a hug before replacing it on her “blog”! I am so glad we are helping these students feel the excitement of blogging in our small community, rather than online.