Celebrate Good Times, Come On! 6/28

Each Saturday  Ruth Ayres invites us to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week. Looking for celebrations has certainly improved my outlook on my week. For that, I am certainly grateful to Ruth and to all of you who choose to celebrate with me

This week was the half-way mark for my summer.  I refuse to be brought down by the thought, so I celebrate the fact that I still have five weeks left!

I celebrate the joy of doing what brings you happiness.  A couple of weeks ago my son's band played in Bloomington, Indiana.  This was their first "public" performance, and I was impressed by the musical talent of these four young men.  Playing his guitar brings him such joy and happiness, that it is hard not to celebrate with him.  They have a few more performances this summer here in our hometown, so many more people will be able to listen to them play.

Ethan is the one on the right.

I celebrate the people who go out of their way to get to know you and make you feel comfortable.  I have not written much about All Write because I came back with so many mixed feelings.  Yes, it was certainly a celebration, but it also left me feeling inadequate.  Maybe one day I will sort through this, but until then, thank you Ruth!

I strongly dislike getting my picture taken
 but so glad I agreed to this one!

Have a great week everyone!  May you have many reason to celebrate!

Thursday Thoughts

Reflection is good for the soul.

It helps us see from new perspectives.

~Lester Laminack

Not a Typical Summer

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating a place to share our Slice of Life. Read more slices or add you own here.

The end of this week marks the half-way point of my summer vacation.  I was looking forward to the typical summer.  You know, reading, writing, blogging, going to the pool...

But not this summer!

The end of the school year found me at a point where I needed to make an important decision.  I was offered a 6th grade ELA position at our middle school.  I just finished my 6th year in 4th grade, and teaching was like wearing my favorite pair of sweats.  It was comfortable.  I knew what I was doing.  I had been offered the position last year, but turned it down because it was the week before school started, and I had everything ready!  I thought being offered it again was a sign, one that I could not ignore.  I said yes!

This was not an easy decision to make, because it is hard to walk away from a place where I have been going for the last 17 years as a parent volunteer, a substitute teacher, a classroom aide, and a teacher.  

Many things went into the decision, but it always came back to the fact that I get to teach the two things I love most, which is reading and writing, to almost four times as many kids - a dream job!

My one little word for this year was REACH and when it found me, I had no idea that it would lead me to this.  I am very excited, but I will miss the friendships that I have with many of my colleagues.  They were the hard part of the decision.  Many of them were why I became a teacher in the first place, and many of them kept me going each day, even when some of those days were difficult. There are many memories contained in those two buildings, and packing up my room has been very emotional. Walking out last week for the last time was definitely an emotional level of a Hallmark commercial!  It was tough.

My home-away-from-home for the last six years.

I am moving from a school which is 100 years old to a school which is going on five years old.  I began unpacking my room yesterday, and it was overwhelming, but exciting.  I kept saying "one box at a time...just one box at a time."  It is hard for me to envision because right now, my room looks like this.

But the next few weeks, I will be settling in and creating a new classroom.  No, it has not been a typical summer, but I am OK with that.  I know new stories are waiting for me, and I can't wait to share them with you!

Celebrate Good Times, Come On! 6/21

It takes a whole community for a writer to be sustained ~ Ruth Ayres

Each Saturday  Ruth Ayres invites us to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week.  After meeting her this week at All Write and listening to her keynote, this weekly celebration has taken on a new meaning for me.  I am certainly grateful to Ruth and to all of you who choose to celebrate with me.

I have so much to celebrate this week!

One - This week I attended All Write for the first time.  I plan to write more about this, but I celebrate meeting bloggers from this community.  I wish I would have been able to spend more time getting to know them better, but I feel blessed for the moments I did have.

Two - I celebrate the first day of summer!  I have been out of school since May 23rd and I have been going nonstop since.  I plan to write more about this too.  Today I was able to spend the afternoon at my sister's pool and enjoy the beautiful day - my first real day of summer!

Three - It is official!  This fall I will be teaching 6th grade reading and ELA at our middle school.  I celebrate my transfer to 6th grade.  I plan to write more about this too.  I will be teaching what I love the most to four times as many students.  THAT is a celebration!

As you can see, I have many stories to share in the coming days!  

For this, I celebrate!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers cohost It's Monday! What Are You Reading?  Be sure and stop by to participate or see what others are reading and recommending this week.

My reading took a nose last week due to preparations for a writing camp that I am working at this week.  But I did manage to get two books read which I want to share.

Duke by Kirby Larson

I hate to admit this, but Duke is the first book written by Kirby that I have read - although I have Hattie Big Sky on my TBR pile.

This book is about a boy and his dog and the effects that war has on both of them. This is great middle-grade novel which would appeal to both boys and girls, but would strongly push towards my reluctant boys.  I am a heart fiction reader, and I would have liked for this one to tug a little harder, but it is a wonderful story about the sacrifices one makes during a time of war.

4 out of 5 stars

Gifts from the Enemy by Trudy Ludwig

I was blessed to be given a signed copy of this next book by the author.  This new book by Trudy Ludwig is a wonderful book for all ages. It is a true story about the life of Holocaust survivor Alter Wiener and the acts of kindness of a German woman.  If you enjoyed reading Ludwig's The Invisible Boy, then you will love Gifts from the Enemy.  I will be writing a full review which will include links to teaching resources soon.

5 out of 5 stars

What's up for this week - I am about half way through The Fault in Our Stars.

Happy Reading!

Celebrate Good Times, Come On! 6/7

Each Saturday  Ruth Ayres invites us to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week. Looking for celebrations has certainly improved my outlook on my week. For that, I am certainly grateful to Ruth and to all of you who choose to celebrate with me.

This was not my original celebration post, but in light of some Twitter happenings this week, things changed!

Today I celebrate standing up for what you believe in, perseverance, and persistence. Or in other words, I celebrate Donalyn Miller.

Many of us are faced with challenges or attacks on what "belongs" to us (and I use that word very loosely here) or on our character.  This is not an easy situation to be in.  Many times this takes perseverance and persistence.

If you were on Twitter at all this week, you may have seen where a publishing company is using the hashtag #bookaday.  For those of you who "know" Donalyn, you know this hashtag is associated with a reading movement she started many years ago and was published in her book, Reading in the Wild.  You can read more about the Book-a-Day Challenge here on the The Nerdy Book Club.

I started tweeting at the end of 2013 and was looking forward to my first book-a-day challenge this summer.  Now, this anticipated experience has been tainted.  To quote a tweet, Donalyn says, "...because of you, an event for teachers and librarians is getting spammed with garbage."  This is so true.  I looked forward to reading and sharing books this summer with teachers, readers, and librarians and challenging myself to a book-a-day.  Now the hashtag leads me to junk I have to sift through.

I have never met Donalyn, but I do believe that she will prevail due to her persistence, her perseverance and the way she stands up for what she believes in.  I look forward to meeting her in a couple of week at All Write, but until then, I will continue to celebrate what she does and what she stands for.  And I will continue to celebrate and support #book-a-day.

According to another tweet, I believe she has a plan.  I hope you will join her in her quest for persistence, perseverance and standing up for what you believe in.  I know I will.

*UPDATE - Donalyn announced today that The Borough Press has changed their hashtag to #bookadayUK, therefore leaving the real #bookaday for teachers, readers, and librarians, which is where is should be.

This is a celebration of persistence and perseverance!

The Writer's Notebook

This spring I took some time here to think about where I want to go with my blog.  I do know one of my summer goals is to reflect more about my teaching.  I want these posts to be similar to a classroom show-and-tell.  Still working on the what that looks like exactly, but I do hope teachers will share.  Sometimes tweets are just not enough, and I find myself wanting to know more.  Hopefully this will be a place to do that.

Teacher Show-and-Tell

I wrote here about the changing of professional development and how that affects my own PD.  Twitter is a constant source of do-it-yourself PD.  Tuesday night was no exception!  I participated in a debut chat, #ReadWriteChat, with moderator, Rachel Small and author/writer, Ralph Fletcher.  And what a chat it was!

Our discussion was centered around writer's notebooks.  Writer's notebooks are many things to different people.  This is an area of weakness for me as a teacher of writing.  I have tried organizing and using notebooks in different ways, but have yet to find the "right one."

Ralph tweeted that he was afraid "the notebook was in danger of becoming a workbook.  Teachers direct kids to try this or that."  I am not a worksheet teacher, and I do not want their notebooks to have this image tied to them.  But I do think a writer's notebook is a safe place to try new things such as a different lead, writing with descriptive words, or playing with words and dialogue.  His comment still has me thinking.  Is it a playground or is it a workbook?

I spend the beginning of the year launching the notebook, starting with making lists of topics and moving to writing entires.  This is where my dilemma begins.  Because I teach 4h grade and they don't care for rewriting things over and over, I try to make entries more of a "snippet" which leads to longer pieces.  I do not want them to write long pieces in their notebooks.  Instead we use yellow legal pads for drafting.  The latter part of the year, we typically do not use the writer's notebooks because we are more focused on our state writing prompts for our standardized tests.  If I only use these in the beginning of the year, what is the purpose of them?

During this chat, I thought I would ask Ralph how he would define the purpose of the notebook.

I loved his answer - "A place to collect the richness around me."  I agree with that.  I want students to capture in words their world around them.  To have a place to keep these words.  I just don't know how I want that to look.

Defining the purpose of the notebook and how to organize it is the question I have for you.  If you have some wise words of wisdom or thoughts to share about writer's notebooks, please leave a comment or write your own blog post and link it here in the comments.

Thank you for reading my first (and hopefully not the last!) Teacher Show-and-Tell!

Thursday Thoughts

Not everyone can explore space.  

But we all have our own moons to reach for.  

If you set your sights high, 

You may accomplish more than you ever dreamed was possible.

~Buzz Aldrin

The Evolution of Professional Development

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating a place to share our Slice of Life. Read more slices or add you own here.

I am addicted to professional development books.  

I know it is an addiction, or maybe an obsession would be a better word.  I am one of those people who constantly try to get better at what I do.  School ends, and I begin reflecting on what worked, what didn't, and what I want to change.  Reading professional development books sparks change, encourages reflection and is a catalyst for new learning.   As a result, I become a better teacher.

Typically each summer I choose a specific area in which to concentrate.  The summer of 2012 was devoted to how to teach reading without using a basal.  Last summer it was writing.  I cannot yet divulge what this summer will be about - but hopefully I can by next week!

My stack of PD books constantly grows.  Do I read each one from cover to cover? Most of the time, but not always.  I may read bits and pieces or certain chapters with highlighter in hand, notes in the margins, and sticky notes poking out.  There are a few books that I read every summer such as The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller.

Here is my stack of new books to read this summer.  Looking at this stack leaves me with many questions.  What does professional development mean to me?  What does it look like?  How has it changed?

Professional development is important to me as a reflective teacher and learner, and it is becoming more important in teacher evaluations.  Actually defining professional development is more difficult as social connectedness becomes stronger.  Teachers are learning from other teachers via Twitter chats, blogs, and Facebook.  Is this professional development?  Is reading books written by experts in the field professional development?

I recently read a post on Edutopia titled "Professional Development:  More Than Just a Checkbox on a Form."  and written by Tom Whitby.  It discusses the evolution of PD from full day conferences which are paid for by school districts, to do-it-yourself (DIY) PD which many teachers take part in today.  Professional envelopment is rapidly changing.  But are school districts keeping up with the changes?

The post further describes what they call "The Proof of Concept Model."  Basically it suggests that when teachers take part in DIY PD and demonstrate their learning and new knowledge successfully in the classroom, it should count as professional development.  I know I have learned so much by participating in chats, making connections with other educators across the country, and reading PD books. I take this information and use it in my classroom, tweaking it as I go.  Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.  But it continues to challenge me, and I continue to be a learner and a better teacher.  That is professional development!

"A real-world application of learned PD is far better than a piece of paper verifying seat time in a workshop." -- Tom Whitby

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers cohost It's Monday! What Are You Reading?  Be sure and stop by to participate or see what others are reading and recommending this week.

Rump by Liesl Shurtliff

I am probably one of the few who has not read Rump!  It was on my Must Read in 2014 List, and as of this week, I can now cross it off.  I am not much of a fantasy reader, because I don't enjoy keeping track of all the make-believe.  Rump was not one of those.  I loved reading about the Pixies, the Gnomes, and the Trolls and the true story of Rumpelstiltskin.  An important lesson from the book comes from this line:  "Simple needs make a simple life."

Wendell Minor - Artist and Author

Last week on Twitter I came across a tweet from Mr. Schu about the new book, Sequoia by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Wendell Minor.  The tweet led me to Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast and an interview with the artist, Wendell Minor.  If you have not read this interview, I encourage you to do so.  I will wait because then you will better understand why I read the next three books on this list.  After reading this post, I went to our library to find books with his beautiful paintings.  I am in awe of this man's talent.  

Wild Rescue Series by Jan Burchett and Sara Vogler

If you could imagine Jack and Annie from the Magic Treehouse, the Spy Kids and the Kratt Brothers all rolled into a book series - Wild Rescue would be it!

Ben and Zoe Woodward are twins who are operatives in WILD, a top-secret environmental organization.  Their missions take them to different places all over the world, but they have one goal - saving animals in danger and protecting the environment.  I have read four in this series and I think these are perfect for third and forth grade students who are reading chapter books but still need some pictures and a larger font. This is also perfect for those animal lovers!

 Happy Reading!

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

Each Saturday  Ruth Ayres invites us to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week. Looking for celebrations has certainly improved my outlook on my week. For that, I am certainly grateful to Ruth and to all of you who choose to celebrate with me.

Today I have a short list of random celebrations.

Celebration #1 - My son turned 18 on Thursday.  Time moves too quickly and it is days like this that remind me to enjoy each day with my children - even as they become young adults.

Celebration #2 - I renewed my teaching license yesterday for another five years and the process was not as bad as I thought it would be.

Celebration #3 - Our student council sold friendship bracelets during the last week of school.  I just made the deposit, and they raised over $600 which will go toward new books for our school library!  I can't wait to start suggesting titles from all of my Twitter and blogging friends!

Celebration #4 - Our pool opens Tuesday and THAT is when summer officially starts for me!

Have a great weekend and I hope you find many celebrations!

Apples to Apples

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating a place to share our Slice of Life. Read more slices or add you own here.

I love summer holidays!  We typically spend them at the pool complete with all the menu requirements of a cook-out:  burgers, brats, hotdogs, strawberries, sweet corn and watermelon.  This Memorial Day there were some issues with opening the pool, so we had to succumb to an indoor party.  But this lead to playing games, specifically Apples to Apples.

I have a nephew who just finished first grade and was home visiting from Tennessee. The last time we played this game, which would have been Christmas, Brooks was with a partner because many of the cards he could not read, and he needed help.

But not this time!  Now, that he "is second grader" he got to play by himself.  He didn't need any help.  It was so much fun not only watching him read the cards, but watching him think through his choices.  Watching him use his reasoning skills to decide which card was the best answer.

One round he had the card snow cones and he played that card.  The next round was the word delicious.

"Oh man!" he said.

"What's the matter?"  I asked.

"I should have saved snow cones for this one, because they are delicious!"

Although it was a summer holiday with no pool, I had a great time watching my nephew think - it must be the teacher in me!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers cohost It's Monday! What Are You Reading?  Be sure and stop by to participate or see what others are reading and recommending this week.

Our last day of school was Friday, so it is time for summer reading and the summer Book-a-Day Challenge. Read here for more information about Donalyn Miller's summer reading challenge.

A Hundred Horses by Sarah Lean

This is a book by the same author who wrote A Dog Called Homeless, which I loved! Both books had moments of breathlessness.  A moment when I literally stopped breathing and goosebumps tickled my arms.  This is a book about family, friendship, and belonging.  It is a book that makes you question why things happen and why people are placed in your path.  I am a "heart fiction" reader and this book belongs right there.

Nell spends the beginning of a school vacation on a farm with family members she doesn't know.  She meets a young girl named Angel and with the help of a hundred horses and each other, they learn lessons about belonging.  

The Riverman by Aaron Starmer

I have read so many tweets and reviews about this book, but truly did not understand until I read the book.  This book left me with more questions than answers.  I was thrilled to learn that the answers will come because it is the first book in a trilogy.  This book is definitely on the higher end of middle grade and will certainly push you as an adult reader.

Fiona tells her friend Alistair about the Riverman, a creature who is out to steal the souls of children. Her soul could be next.  Does Alistair believe her and try to help her, or does he choose to believe something else?  

Tornado Alley by Marlane Kennedy

Because I teach 4th grade, I am always excited to come across books for lower reluctant readers.  If your students love the "I Survived" series, then they would enjoy this book. This is a great book for early chapter book readers who need plot-driven stories. The story line moves quickly, keeping the reader engaged!  This is the second book in the series with a third coming this fall.
  

Happy Reading!

Celebrate Good Times, Come On! 5/24

Each Saturday  Ruth Ayres invites us to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week. Looking for celebrations has certainly improved my outlook on my week. For that, I am certainly grateful to Ruth and to all of you who choose to celebrate with me.

Let the summer begin!  What a great week this has been with so many fun activities, but I will celebrate just a few.

Celebration #1 - Our last day of school was yesterday, and as much as I will miss this class, I am so ready for a break.  It is a time for me to rejuvenate, review my year and think about changes for next year.  Reading of course, takes center stage along with pool time.  Last year I "unofficially" participated in #bookaday because I had just entered this blogging-tweeting-sharing world and was just getting my feet wet.  This summer, I am ready for #bookaday.  Click here to read a post about the #bookaday challenge by Donalyn Miller at The Nerdy Book Club.


Celebration #2 - This week I celebrated books with my students.  At the beginning of the year I challenged them to read 40 books as suggested in the Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller.  I think my students were surprised and proud of the reading they accomplished this year.

Celebration #3 - I received two Barnes &Noble gift cards from my students, so I will be making a road trip very soon!  My TBR list is so long, and it seems like each day I add to it thanks to my blogging friends and Twitter!  Please feel free to share any reading recommendations with me in the comments!

Celebration #4 - Thursday we had first annual Franklin Fear Factor.  I will say this day ended up being much more fun that what we first anticipated.  The teachers were divided up into teams and we had challenges such as catching crickets and worms, holding a 6ft. snake, drinking pond water (ginger ale with cilantro and relish) and passing crawdads.  We even had three teachers catch a worm in their mouths for extra points.  Here is a picture of two of my teammates - and YES she caught it!  The kids loved it!

Celebration #5 - We had our first annual book swap.  Students could bring in books from home and swap for new-to-me books.  For our first ever swap, it was a huge success, and so many kids were able to take home books to read this summer.  This was an easy project and would highly recommend it to any school!

For those of you stilling waiting on summer - hang in there and remember to find time to celebrate this wonderful time of year!

Trust

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating a place to share our Slice of Life. Read more slices or add you own here.

Throughout ones life, there are many people we are supposed to trust.  When that trust is broken, life becomes different, difficult, damaged.

Today, trust has been broken.  I know I shouldn't put people up on pedestals - that is a fault of mine.  It makes the fall that much more difficult.

A heavy heart

Afraid to trust

Trust has been broken

Damaged

Destroyed

How do we rebuild 

On a crumbling foundation

How do we pick up the pieces

Are they worth saving

If trust is gone

Celebrate Good Times, Come On! 5/17

Each Saturday  Ruth Ayres invites us to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week. Looking for celebrations has certainly improved my outlook on my week. For that, I am certainly grateful to Ruth and to all of you who choose to celebrate with me.

Celebration #1 - My students wrote and illustrated a book made of prepositional phrases.  We use Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins as a mentor text.  As a way to share our learning, we read these books with our kindergarten students because most of the prepositions are their sight words.  My kids are always impressed by their reading skills.  This is collaboration at its best!

Celebration #2 - Wednesday night while I was on Twitter chatting away, I heard my husband and two children laughing at "Looney Tunes" cartoons in the living room...my children are 21 and 17!  That makes me smile!

Celebration #3 - Yesterday was one of my students' last day.  It is never easy when students move on to the next grade, but I know I will get to see them next year.  It is another thing when they move two states away, and I know our paths will probably never cross again.  This morning when I woke up, I checked my email, and there was a notification from Kidblog.  It was from Zach telling about his arrival into Memphis and all about the hotel he will be staying in while they search for a house.  I was thrilled that he shared this with us on the class blog.  Celebrating connections!

Have a wonderful week and I hope you find many things to celebrate!

The Invisible Boy

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating a place to share our Slice of Life. Read more slices or add you own here.

A month or so ago people were tweeting words of wisdom spoken by Ruth Ayres. She was speaking at a conference, and the tweets were flying!  Seems everyone was talking about a book that she had "blessed" - The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig and illustrated by Patrice Barton.  Within minutes it became unavailable on Amazon, but I ordered it anyway, and I am so glad that I now own this book.

Goodreads Summary  


Meet Brian, the invisible boy. Nobody ever seems to notice him or think to include him in their group, game, or birthday party . . . until, that is, a new kid comes to class.

When Justin, the new boy, arrives, Brian is the first to make him feel welcome. And when Brian and Justin team up to work on a class project together, Brian finds a way to shine.







As we read the book, we stopped and talked at key points.  We discussed how we would feel if we were Brian, being unnoticed by classmates and teachers.  Many said they thought they knew someone who was like Brian.

The discussion moved on to not being picked to play games at recess or not being invited to birthday parties.  Again, many made personal connections.  We talked about new kids coming to our school, which doesn't happen often, and what they do to help make the new student feel comfortable.  They realized how sometimes it only takes one person or one act of kindness to make a person feel noticed or special - as in the case with Brian and Justin.

In the story kids laugh at Justin, the new boy, about what he is eating for lunch.  Brian notices this and wonders, "which is worse - being laughed at or feeling invisible."  I asked my students this same question.

Surprisingly, most of my students, said they would rather be laughed at than feel invisible.  This age group has grown up with anti-bullying campaigns and programs as part of their curriculum.  They know the affects of teasing and bullying, yet they felt they would welcome being the target of that behavior over being being unnoticed.

One student replied that even though she may be laughed at, she would still be getting attention.

This discussion left me with many questions.  Is this where we want our students to be - negative attention is better than no attention at all?  Are they that starved for attention or so focused on themselves that all the attention, negative or positive, has to be on them?  Can they not be content with being in the background and not on center stage?

I guess because I am more of an introvert, and I want people to like me, I would have chosen feeling invisible to be the better option.  Maybe I am reading too much into this.  I know that neither situation is good for children, but I was just surprised at the direction our conversation took.

If you have not read this book or do not own it, I highly recommend you fix that.  It is a book that needs to be shared with any age group.  The "Brians" of our classrooms need us to help them feel important and not feel invisible.