Currently Enjoying a Three Day Weekend

Well it is already the 6th of September, so I am hoping I am not too awfully late to join Farley's Currently party. It is the beginning of the year, and I have a sneaky suspicion that I will not be the only one late to this party. :) We are all tired...first weeks of school teacher tired! Late or not, I am always excited to join this fun linky party. I could get lost for days looking at all the wonderful teacher blogs out there. Well....sometimes I do lol....Don't miss out and take a few moments to look around; just remember her rule of 3. :)

Showing our Panther Pride!

As always...we spent our days reading and writing away!

We are still sharing our stories and much discussion about where writers get their ideas. 

When I think about what we know first and what we might have to share, these are my go to read alouds... 

  

When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant and What You Know First by Patricia MacLachlan are both beautifully illustrated examples of writers writing from what means the most to them. When thinking about why writers write, these are perfect mentor texts. 

AND... I LOVE LOVE LOVE sharing this song and video by Miranda Lambert. The House That Built Me reminds me that we all have so many memories to share as writers...we are all writers and storytellers.

This anchor, A Writer's Notebook, is an anchor I work to create every year with my kiddos, and we build on it for most of our launch of writing workshops. We share a lot of great stories and discussion around this one, all of them a great lead in to our own writing.

I am having tons of fun grading our reader's notebooks... you can learn so much about a kiddo from what they share in their notebooks. This is one of my most favorite entries this week.... "a black hole like your desk, Mrs. Dunn"..... oh my...hahaha :) Love this group so much already.

So...this week I was super proud to complete a 100 miles to Labor Day challenge! In the past 6 weeks I have walked or biked 100 miles! Whoo hoo! I put a lot of miles on those shoes this summer, and my goal is to keep going...step by step by step!

My sweet, sweet friends treated me to a wonderful dinner at my favorite restaurant, Kan Pai, as a yummy birthday celebration. Such fun times and great laughs with these girls. 

I received the first of Joshua's senior pictures. The last of my own babies is a senior, and I have absolutely NO idea where in the world the time has gone. We won't be able to use the picture of him with his lamb, Riley, in the year book, but it was certainly one of my most favorites. He has always been so good with animals, and the path that has led him on has been so good for him. So proud to be his mom!

OK... time to talk books! I haven't done this in a while, but I haven't stopped reading. I will have plenty to share as I catch up, and soon I will have the kiddos sharing their own!

How perfect for me to start with this amazing story by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Fish in a Tree is such a sweet story, and I have no doubts that most of you know this already as it is blowing up on most social media. I cannot scroll through our Instagram feed without it popping up at least once a day, if not more. 

Although I had heard a bit of buzz about this one, it wasn't until my favorite summer reading professional development...So Many Books So Little Time...that I just knew I had to pick it up. This made the top of the list by Ken Stamatis, so I had no doubts it would be a great one. According to him, this is a "teacher's book," and I most certainly agree. 

I have taught so many kids just like the sweet and quirky characters in this book... sensitive and frustrated Ally pushes me to be a better teacher just as Mr. Daniels inspires me to do the same. And secretly I love Albert, the "walking google page."

As I read this story, I was frustrated right along with Ally that no teacher before Mr. Daniels picked up on her issues, and I couldn't help but be reminded of Patricia Polacco's, Thank You, Mr. Falker. I laughed more than once and cried just the same. Sweet and moving and a perfectly inspiring read for any teacher, and I am more than sure that I have a few kiddos that can relate to one or more characters in this one. I cannot wait to share this as a read aloud this year.  

With that I will say goodnight for now and finish linking up with Farley... have a wonderful rest of the long weekend...and kiddos, get ready for another busy week!

Happy Reading, friends!

Read Aloud Linky Party

Hey guys...

I thought I would join Tracey at The Teacher's Chair for a linky that is close to my heart ...beginning of the year read alouds!

Those of you that know me...well, the hardest part is to not drop a ton of book titles here.

Hahaha...let's see..here are just a few faves..

 

I always start the first day of school with this cutie patootie from Melanie Watt!

My goal every year is to create a fun and safe place to learn, a place where every student is comfortable enough to step out into the unknown - something that cute little Scaredy Squirrel is just too afraid to do.

Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watts

This is always a student favorite (a teacher favorite too, but they all are it seems lol.) There is something silly and lighthearted about Scaredy Squirrel and his minute by minute schedule and list of fears. My kiddos are eager to find out if Scaredy will make it out of his tree. We refer back to Scaredy often as we talk about taking risks and being comfortable with our choices. Scaredy becomes our poster child for stepping outside our comfort zone and trying new things.

I also read another fun favorite of mine, Bark, George by Jules Feiffer. This is another of my just "put a smile" on their face stories. Even though we giggled along with it, we will come back and revisit this when we talk about different kinds of endings in our own writing. This is always a surprise ending for the kiddos, and it cracks me up to see those gaping smiles every time. 

As we continue to build a safe place to grow and learn from each other, this book is a MUST! The fact that it is illustrated by David Catrow only helps. I love anything illustrated by Mr. Catrow and usually will buy it without even reading it. There are a few of his that I will share early on, but let's start with Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell.

I feel like I say, "This is such a sweet story," so often, but this is really a sweet story! Not sure of how many other ways to say it. Molly Lou Melon is a precious character who is not afraid to be just that, her very own character. In our room it is perfectly fine to be different; that is what makes us special, and we will revel our differences and use them to help each other in every way possible! 

"Walk as proudly as you can and the world will look up to you."

This next one is a new one for me....I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ribbit! by Rodrigo Folgueira! Holy Cow...I couldn't get my own copy in my hands quick enough.  

Any..who....I must tell you about this precious story. Again, another awesome look at characters and common themes! I cannot say enough how much you will fall in love with this precious pink pig as he tries to win the hearts of a frog family that was firmly attached to their pond! In the end, the old wise beetle opens their eyes to the simple truth to their questions...who is he...what does he want?

The illustrations by Poly Bernatene are pure magic! I have spoke of him before in this previous post. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of his amazing work!

Just look at those frogs...LOL

It does not get any better than listening to a little wit and wisdom from Grandma Dowdel! A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck is a book that I read early each year because without a doubt, we will refer back to it all year long! Grandma is such an amazing showcase of character traits, and the story is littered with figurative language! I usually have students won over with the first chapter, and I can also promise you the minute I read the last page, students are clamoring for the next book! Who would want to miss that? 

I was very fortunate to meet Mr. Peck at the Arkansas Reading Conference. "Giddy book nerd" does not even begin to describe what I looked like in line waiting to meet him, but what fun! I would just love to sit down and pick his brain for a while; such amazing talents he shares with his stories and unique characters!

Special day for me! LOVE me some Richard Peck :)

Like I said, I could go on and on...These are just a few of my faves, and those of you that have been with me from the beginning are probably familiar with them. If you have just started following me, well I am sure that you will see them again; hopefully with lots of new ones added!Happy reading, friends.


I just saw that Looney's Lit Blog is hosting a Wild About Read Alouds Linky...Deanne at First Grade and Fabulous is hosting a Picture Books for the First Week of School Linky and Jennifer at Elementary School Garden is hosting a Back to School Read Alouds Linky! How perfect... so I thought I would join in the fun!

Be sure to stop by their corners of the blogging world!

    

Looks like everyone is thinking about all the wonderful read alouds for the beginning of the year!

Testing Mrs. Dunn

Whew....so I know that the count down to our state Benchmark test has been quietly (and relentlessly) counting down in the background for a while now...but goodness, as we approach next week, it is pretty much all that I hear these days. I am so ready for it to be done and over!

Found this on Pinterest ...

I know that my kiddos are as ready as they can be. I have gone on and on about how sweet and hard working this group of kiddos is. I am very proud of them, and now that it is crunch time, I have no doubts that they will step up to perform at their VERY BEST.

I am excited for them to get it over as well. I am sure they are ready to get back to the fun of school as much as I am. Our next units of study are bright and exciting with a bit more independent learning, and I am sure the kiddos will have a blast with them.

In our writing this week, we have continued looking at stretching. We all did an awesome job with our snapshots, and yes, I am still working on getting some examples out to you. Some of my most reluctant writers had a great time with snapshots, and I was just as proud of their exploded moments!

OK....in case you have missed it, I am a huge fan of Mr. Barry Lane! I just LOVE, LOVE his Hooked on Meaning! He has such a simple way of reaching kiddos and an even better way of teaching teachers, LOL...

As we prepared to "explode" our own moments, I read one of the most famous exploded moments I could think of at the time. Ernest Lawrence Thayer's, Casey at the Bat. I have a copy illustrated by the great Patricia Polacco. So fun! Now I didn't read the whole book....just that moment he stepped up to bat and the entire moment that was exploded into all of its slow motion glory!

I know that I mentioned in my last post that we finished our last read aloud, The One and Only Ivan. I miss that sweet story! Well....as hard as it is to leave new books and characters when we finish reading them, we had to move onto our latest read aloud.

Of course the kids were clambering around me, wanting to know what we would read next. Secretly, I just love that excitement they have as we continue on in our reading journey...

Well, I picked up one of my all time faves! We began reading the book that turned me into the reader that I am today, in fourth grade as a matter of fact. :)

I mean...I loved Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume as a young reader...lots of realistic and humorous fiction, but it wasn't until I read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle that I truly, truly fell in love with reading. There are parts of that book that even as I read it today, I remember the wonder and excitement I had as a fourth grader. Each year I have kiddos revisit me, and always they ask if I have read it to my new class. I hope that means they loved it half as much as I did.

    

     

Of course...I have a few wonderful picture books to share with you today. 

Hmmm....let's see where I should start...how about Testing Miss Malarkey! Judy Finchler has hit the nail on the head with this one. (Are you seeing a pattern in my thoughts here...LOL)....Poor Miss Malarkey has to give her sweet kiddos the I.P.T.U. standardized test, and boy is she a mess! I love the characters in this book. Mrs. Slopdown, the cafeteria lady, starts feeding them fish because it's brain food ~ "Some of you need to eat a whale," she says! hehehe Besides, you can't go wrong with illustrations from Kevin O'Malley!

The next book to pop into my mind was A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech. Hahaha....I know I am being facetious here...but I just can't help myself! We read this one a while back, but how appropriately fitting when I think of all that school should be and all that we try to make it be. Well, NOT me...those lovely legislators that have never stepped foot in a classroom try to make it be. So we giggled and discussed just what Sharon Creech might be trying to say in this thoughtful story. Boy do the kiddos ever get it! 

OK...now one without such a not-so-subtle hidden meaning behind it and one that we read for the fun of it...I love Chameleon's Colors by Chisato Tashiro. This story reminds me a lot of Elmer by David McKee. I shared that colorful story in a previous post. Both stories are wonderful examples of why it is so important to be ourselves! This is a great read for looking at the theme of a story. It is easy to find as we follow Chameleon's efforts to first be noticed and finally to be himself. So sweet and powerful!

Happy Reading!

Spring Break

Holy moly...time sure does fly when you're having fun!  I can't believe that we are half-way through our spring break.

I must say that I have been decisively lazy this spring break...spending days surrounded by books and the comfort of few obligations to weigh upon me.

I do miss my kiddos though. We ended our last days together in parent/teacher conferences. I could not have asked for an easier week of conferences with this precious group of kids. This is truly a sweet little class; again time sure does fly, and sadly the year will be over before we all know it.

I have to say that one of my favorite things to hear during conferences is something that I can never hear enough..."This year my child has fallen in love with reading!" I could not think of a better gift to give these kiddos than a true love of reading!

Even more fun was sharing my own love of reading with some of my parents! More than a few have begun reading one of my all time favorite series.

Not only do I get to ohh and ahh over books with my kiddos, but now I get to do it with my parents, too! So fun! We pretty much have our own little book club, growing by the day! LOVE IT!

I just have to share our latest read aloud. We were so sad to finish Dark Life by Kat Falls, and I could not think of a book that would be strong enough to take its place.

The One and Only Ivan, the 2013 Newberry Winner, has boldly stepped up to try. You must know by now that I have a weakness for an author's note, and Katherine Applegate did not fail in capturing my heart with hers. You must check out her amazing website where she shares the special and one and only Ivan with us all. 

The TRUE...One and Only Ivan

There is something so tragically beautiful in Applegate's story of Ivan. So often as I read it, I have to stop and reread a small passage or line just so that the kiddos and I can marinate in the magic of her words.  I cannot wait to see how it all unfolds! I will be sure to keep you posted, but if you Google "The One and Only Ivan" or "National Geographic Urban Gorilla" you may just join us on this journey!

As I sit at home this spring break, I cannot even think about the last picture book I have shared with my kiddos....I've slept since then...or I'm getting to old to remember....or a bit of both!

After I stop by the school for some major planning, I will be sure to update you with a plethora of wonderfully imaginative titles...so until then, happy reading!