Test taking blues...

Hello my bloggy friends...how have ya been???? All is well in this neck of the woods ;) sorry for the long absence last week. Did you miss me? I missed you, yet I have to admit; I cannot even say (as usual) that it was because I was so overwhelmingly busy. Unfortunately, last week our class had a severe case of the test taking blues...YUCKY! If I felt so completely bored and frustrated by testing, I just can't imagine how my kiddos felt. Don't get me wrong ~ without a doubt, I am sure my kiddos kicked that test's keister! Just what a zap to the creative and calm flow of our classroom! Oh well, they (they in this case being the people that get paid the big bucks ;p) didn't ask my opinion about testing, and I know it is a necessary evil. So I guess I will make an attempt to stop moaning and suck it up, as difficult as that may be, wink wink.

We did have a small glimmer of inspiration and lightheartedness when we watched Taylor Swift's: Read Every Day Live Webcast. Hmmm...have I mentioned I am a fan. She did an amazing job, and yes, you know just how annoyingly old you are when you feel a moment of motherly pride for a young lady that you are absolutely no relation to and will more than likely never meet in your life. She was just so cute and sweet in how she spoke to those kiddos about what moved her as a reader and writer and the impact all of that reading made in her life! Hello...I could say that EVERYDAY, ALL DAY (hey wait, I DO ~ LOL) and she probably had more impact than I will. I mean she is way cooler than me, right? Good for her, and good for my kiddos! Be sure to check it out if you get a chance.

We were all very sad to say goodbye to Skeleton Man, but we all stood up and cheered for Molly! Don't want to say too much more just in case you want to pick it up and read. Which of course, you really should! Already have a few flocking to the library looking for more Joseph Bruchac. Yay!!! Reluctant reader buster right there ~ I promise you! 

We have moved on to some nonfiction informational reading as we get ready to head into informational writing. Biographies and lots more information coming soon...still trying to become inspired and conquer those darn test taking blues. Whew, you should see me in April. 

Here are a few more glimmers of inspiration though...I love how my kiddos work so hard for me. Reading these readers' notebooks really make me smile sometimes! Spelling and grammar mistakes aside, I could not be more proud of some of my readers and writers this year! They are setting the bar pretty high for next year's group! I know these are only two examples...way more to come soon!

Love how she uses her post-its :)

   

 

Just look at that intense reading! :) I could watch this ALL DAY!

 

My sweet little pink-out girl and the yummy treat she gave me! If that is not enough to make you smile or cure any blues, I don't know what is!

Just a few picture books to share tonight. I feel as if I am getting behind, but I promise to catch up soon. Remember, biting off more that I can chew. 

Look at sweet Elmer by David McKee. He has been one of my favorite little character education reads for a while now, and this week I found a bag full of 8 more Elmer books. You know I just had to pull him down and share his sweet story. Great read for common themes in literature! I will share a pic of our new books as soon as I can. So cute!

Here is another great read for common themes in literature ~ acceptance and kindness. The Bumpy Little Pumpkin by Margery Cuyler is a sweet, little seasonal story. How boring it would be if we were all alike! Each year I am surprised by how much my kiddos enjoy it. I often wonder if they will feel to old for this story, but so far they all have enjoyed it just the same.

Now my next picture book is just for fun.  I love Tell Me a Scary Story by Carl Reiner as much as Halloween by Jerry Seinfeld. The illustrations are SO FUN! Fun as in creepy, silly Halloween fun. Love it! Students can also make some predictions with this one. I always enjoy seeing if the kiddos can pick up on the clues in the end just before Reiner spells them out for us. 

Happy Reading!

Reader's notebooks and letter after letter after letter

As soon as my kiddos walked in this morning, their eyes lit up when they saw stacks of reading response notebooks across my desk ~ some with books banded to them. They could barely wait until after morning meeting to find out what it was all about. When I explained that Katie Byrd dropped in and was very excited to see what they were reading, they smiled ear to ear! She took time out of her day to respond to many of their letters about their reading. Again, getting them to wait until reading workshop to read their letters and see what she may have recommended was a difficult task. 

Sometimes, I think the most difficult task is keeping up with all of their responses myself. Two classes makes for a lot of reading! Enough to make your eyes cross if you're not careful. ;) Making sure that all students have responded and written their letters, or even simply making sure to get to all that have before they look at me with their "what's taking so long" look can be overwhelming, LOL. Yet, I have to say that this really helps me know exactly where my kids are in their independent reading. I learn so much about my kiddos this way, and boy do they have fun writing back and forth with me. As tiring as it can be, I sure do love it, but I can't wait to tell Katie how excited they were to read her letters.

I will post some pics of reader's notebooks here soon. 

Speaking of morning meetings, thought I might share a couple of morning messages. My kiddos crack me up...they keep me on the mark if I don't give them a message either on time (you can usually hear sighs if I am still writing as they walk in, haha) or if it is too short. That is what the 10-10-12 message is referring to. 

You might notice that we are still focused on practicing what a complex sentence is. I have tried to include at least one, if not two, in every morning message. I also try to use the vocabulary from our read alouds as well.  

Just one picture book for tonight, but it is perfectly fitting for the topic of letters. :) We all love to get them don't we! The Long, Long, Letter by Elizabeth Spurr and illustrated by David Catrow is a great little read for of hyperbole and alliteration. We move through the seasons as sweet, lonely Hetta waits for her letter. Love the illustrations, but if you have been visiting long, you are not surprised. ;)

With that, I will close with a short little post for the night. There is a first for everything.

Happy reading...

Falling in love

We had a great day at school  full of my favorite things, reading and writing! I know I have said it before, but I cannot say enough how much I enjoy watching a new class fall in love with reading every year. Of course there are always those precious students that walk through my door with an innate love of reading.  How I would love to take credit for their abilities in reading and writing, but that would not be quite fair now would it? They would LOVE reading regardless; even as I stand to profess the joy and wonder of all things literacy to those around them. It is like preaching to the choir with these chosen few. One of these days I expect an Amen sister, or an Hallelujah! I sometimes look at them as sweet old souls with the same loves as me. I want to enlist them in my private campaign to transform my classroom into a reading haven. 


I must profess that what I have found so exciting this year, after reading The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller, is that it REALLY is possible to create that very haven in which students walk in ready, and not just willing, but eager to open their books and dive right in! Is it premature of me, here in the first month of school, to hope that the quiet moments of Reading Workshop, that I so enjoy watching and participating in, endure the year! I hope not!



Our "Writer's Eyes" were a smashing success yesterday! I am so proud of my little writers...here are some examples!

       

Again, as stated in a previous post, this project will lead us closer to creating the perfect narrative piece.  Just one more resource to pull amazing ideas from!

In the next few weeks, most of the mentor texts that I share will help with sensory detail and figurative language. These small daily pages and details we add to our Writer's Notebooks will be just be one more tool to help us plan and write that amazing narrative story. Revisited throughout these few weeks will be The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter and Max's Words by Kate Banks. Both of these selections will add purposeful and detailed vocabulary to our pieces. Such fun vocab! 

  

A Long Way from Chicago is still pulling them in every afternoon. One sweet boy came and parked himself directly in front of me exclaiming how close he wanted to be because he LOVES this book! You CANNOT beat that! We really focused on visualization and character today as we read my favorite chapter of the book. We anchored and discussed some of our favorite things about character and Grandma Dowdel.

We have not read this next story together, and I am not sure that we will. So I wanted to add something that we did as a group last year with the fun and realistic characters of Tales From a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume.

Well the hour grows late, and I should head to my bedroom as it calls me. I am sure I will spend a considerable amount of time at school tomorrow as I get ready for the next week and as I continue to get caught up on responding to Reader's Notebooks. It is so (here I want to add about a million o's to "so" because one does not seem to express exactly how "so" I mean hehe) easy to get behind in responses, but I can honestly say that again, yes again, I am very proud of my kiddos letters to me.

  

I am super sad; however, that I did not get to watch more of Justin's game as I would have liked. Mother Nature had other intentions in mind here at the beginning of the season when thunderstorms and lightning rolled through. No worries though, I am sure I will have plenty more time to watch him ~ it just goes by so fast!

#3 Justin Dunn

Headed off to that room now...Happy Reading!