Why I Became a Book Hoarder

Can I tell you a secret? I totally love when someone walks into my classroom for the very first time. Kiddo, parent, teacher, administrator...it doesn't matter. I secretly love the first moment they take in our classroom library.  And each time, I hope they love it even just half as much as I do. This room, this library is truly one of my most happy places. Walking into my class soothes my soul; there is just something so blissful about all of those books, all of those amazing stories waiting to be told. There are books everywhere! In every nook and cranny I can fill, and I am always looking for ways to bring more in.

Our nonfiction library

I can tell you in one word exactly WHY I became the book hoarder that I am today: CHOICE! In my room it is all about choice. My first goal is to create a lifelong lover of reading. That is it! First and foremost before I do anything, I want my kiddos to LOVE reading. I do all that I can to create an environment in which it is super cool to be a reader, and to do that...kids must have an opportunity to choose what THEY want to read.

To do this, I have done all I can to create a library large enough to meet the needs of all of my kiddos. I can honestly say there are well over twelve thousand books in my classroom...and yes, I have counted them. With a library this large, I spend a few weeks each summer reorganizing, cleaning, and culling books, so usually I can quickly place my hands on any particular title when needed. This comes in handy when making book recommendations. 

Why do I add so many new titles each year? For me it is pretty simple...each and every class is so different in their reading preferences. The year before last, I could not bring in enough horror fiction; they flew off of the shelf as quick as I could get them, even with all the titles I already had. Three years before that, Geronimo Stilton was the biggest thing in the world ...so guess who now has two big baskets of Geronimo Stilton books...this girl! 

Five years ago, I had a student that was an insatiable reader and so high in her abilities that I ended up stocking an entire bookshelf just for her. Two years ago, realistic fiction was the hot topic in my room, and the girlie girls couldn't read my Wendy Mass collection quickly enough. Just last year, I had a precious reader coming into her own, falling in love with mysteries...now I have the entire A to Z Mysteries collection; of course I had to fill in the gaps of this collection because I did not want her to ever want a book and not have it. 

Graphic Novel library

The last three or four years I have seen a huge spike in the number of quality graphic novels published for younger students. It had been that this was a boys market forever, and I was quite grateful at how spectacularly these titles transformed so many of my reluctant readers...just enough to open the door for me to show them many other amazing titles. But now with the publication of Smile and Sisters by Raina Telgemeier, my girls can't get enough of them either, and don't even get me started on that Raina has now started illustrating The Babysitter's Club as graphic novels. Oh goodness....I know there will be some great new titles to add this school year. 

So year by year, I buy titles to fill the gaps in the needs and desires of each class, and I guide them to what titles I already have by making book recommendations. When I see that a kiddo is just about to finish a cool series, I search to find him a new one. If I can't find what he is looking for already in my room, I will pull him over for a conference and pull up Amazon right then and there. It doesn't take much to find inexpensive used books, and that moment of buying a book just for him is such a motivator. Don't think that my other kiddos don't take notice of that moment either. 

More than once after reading and responding to readers' notebooks over the weekend, I have found myself in Books-a-Million to pick up a recommendation that I did not already have. As my library grows, that happens less often, but when my kiddos see that I am willing to invest in their reading success, they often invest in themselves.

So with all of these titles and a goal to make my kiddos fall in love with books...we start the year with a book frenzy and establish our "to read" piles. This crazy reading workshop launch is another reason that having so many titles is a must for our room.

We launch our reading workshop with a huge, and frankly quite messy, book frenzy! Stacks of books are given to each kiddo. Each stack contains books just below, comfortably within, and just above their expected reading levels and lots of their favorite genres, subjects, and authors. Watching students make their final selections and conferencing with them will clue me in to just how well each kiddo makes appropriate book choices. I have learned that this is sometimes a leap of faith... having enough faith in the kiddos to make the best reading choices until we can conference and learn together is sometimes challenging. I have often found that giving them that trust is simply one more way to invest in their reading and to invest in our relationship.

Garrett (last year's student)
checking out blurbs to create his
"to read" pile in his cubby

Stacks of "to read" piles in cubbies...as we conference and work
together on reading; adjustments will be made to help kiddos
continue growing and motivated in their independent reading

Of course, my ultimate goal is to get them reading and responding to the books they love as quickly as possible.... AND to do as much of that as possible WITHOUT unnecessary interruption from me.

Their "to read" stacks are fluid and always changing as their tastes in reading grow. This is merely our launching point, and as I get to know them more from their notebooks and our conferences, we find which books move them the most, which books they cannot wait to read next, or which books they cannot wait for their friends or me to read.

Our largest fiction library.

As my students begin to recognize just what moves them as readers, they can pull from most of the libraries in the room on their own to add to their to read pile. Books are grouped in a number of ways. There are baskets arranged by subject, genre, series, and author to help kiddos find what they are looking for quickly and efficiently. 

Baskets and books are numbered to help students return books to the correct basket.

 

Our nonfiction library.

Our mentor text library! These are the books I use for guided mini lessons...
Since each year each class has different needs, I choose books accordingly.
Although I do have some all time favorite go-to books. :)

Books are alphabetized by author...

This library is for multiple copies and teacher recommendation.

 

These books are simply organized by like subject/ author. Not sure of the rhyme or reason, but it works for me. I can usually find what I am looking for pretty quickly, and because each section and book is lettered, kiddos can usually return books to the right place just as easily. 

 

Being a book hoarder can be an overwhelming amount of work sometimes, but I don't think I could do it any other way now. 

It makes my heart happy to see a new book and instantly know which kiddo would choose that book if they could. All of this book buying and recommending is just one more way for me to give my kiddos choice.... to let them find what moves them, to let them find their own love of books. Watching kiddos make those choices and watching them fall in love with reading, makes all the book hoarding worth it.

Happy Reading, friends!

The Hardest Thing I Have Ever Done

As I sit here staring at my blinking cursor, I struggle with where to begin. In the short time I have been on this blogging journey, this year was the most challenging. This year, life outside of school pushed and pulled and demanded so much of my time that my little corner of the blogging world was simply set aside and neglected as the needs of my family and the needs of the kiddos in my class took precedence.

As I mentioned in my previous post...way back in April, goodness!...the biggest reason for my absence was my father's illness. Pancreatic cancer is such an ugly and relentless illness, and it moved incredibly fast and assuredly to take my father from us. From the moment of his diagnosis, life spun past me in a haze, and only now that he is gone am I able to take time to reflect on those fleeting moments. However, in all honesty, I would redo every second of those crazy months to have my dad back because saying goodbye was the hardest thing I have ever done.

 

My dad with his twin brother.

Two of my favorite pics of my dad. :) I will forever miss that smile!

We knew that we had very little time, but still I don't know that you can ever be prepared when that time comes.

Through it all, the support of family and friends was such a blessing. Watching my teaching family walk through the door at my dad's visitation gave me that extra boost of strength to get through the day, and the love of my students and their families supported me in the weeks that followed. I cannot thank all these people enough, and I hope I have shown them how much I appreciate them.

As hard as those days were, our sweet class still worked hard on everything they did, especially their Project Based Learning, and I promise to share that soon. They worked diligently preparing for their presentations, and when the day finally came, it was all I could do not to burst with pride. Oh how I loved this sweet class!

There are so many posts that have run through my mind recently, and I have started a list of all of the things I can't wait to post as I get back into the groove of sharing all that we accomplish.

I so can NOT wait for you to see our classroom reveal. This year will be my all time FAVE!

Here is a sneak peak of what is to come. :) So excited!

I will also be doing a big post about our classroom library....one of my most favorite things in the world and quite possibly an illness known as book hoarding. LOL... don't judge!

Just one of the many libraries around our room.

So please be on the lookout for more posts in the very near future, and thank you so much for your patience as I get back to blogging they way I love.

Long time

It has been forever and a day since I have had a few moments to update our blog...and goodness, I have missed it so!

Just look how new and different our class looks compared to my last post. What a difference a few months can make when awesome parents and an awesome community are involved! We are LOVING our classroom makeover. I have wished more than once that I had pulled my desks out long ago! The possibilities are endless, and can't wait to see what I come up with this summer.

Many of you know that the reason for my long absense has been the recent illness of my father. In early February he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We knew something was truly wrong even before the diagnoses, but still the news was heart wrenching.

 

He chose to have the surgery that would remove part of his pancrease and his spleen...any extra time is precious, and we are greedily taking it.  My sister and I have spent as much time as possible at his bedside, sharing stories, giggles, and many tears. When I am not at school, you can usually find me there, so thank you all for your sweet patience in my neglect of Flamingos and Butterflies. Your kind words and prayers have meant so much. Even more, my precious class has been such a blessing to me with their own thoughtfulness and kindness with daily regards for my dad. Not a day goes by without my kiddos checking in on him. 

All sadness aside, my class is and always will be a place of comfort and happiness for me. Falling into work is an easy therapy of sorts, and again, it is hard not to count my blessings.  

We have begun work on our very first PBL, Project Based Learning. Oh my...this is my first time to venture into this world of learning, and boy can it be quite daunting to a newbie. 

Mrs. Hanna introduced this project to the kiddos, and the buzz of excitement quickly filled the air. The kiddos would have ownership of their own learning...they could guide their own goals and accomplishments each day! Yes...very definite buzz filling the air.

So we have begun this new and exciting journey, and so far...so good.

 

It has been a joy to watch the excitement of students learning from each other. Eavesdropping on their conversations has been quite comical at times and impressive at others. I find myself either scratching my head in confusion, laughing out loud, or looking on in awe of the intelligent creativeness of my kiddos.

I will spend more time updating you with details soon...just wanted to touch base and let you know we are still around and still working hard.

Currently a class without desks

Goodness...it has been so long since I hooked up with Farley for her monthly Currently, but I am super excited to join the party...even if I am a little late. Be sure to remember her rule of 3... and stop by and check out all the amazing bloggers that have also hooked up! 

Listening:  I am currently obsessed with Pentatonix! So beautiful.

Loving: I cannot tell you enough how blessed that I am to have a principal that lets me take chances and try new things with my kiddos. After talking with a friend and coworker about an observation she had of a classroom without desks, I couldn't get the idea out of my head, and after speaking with my principal, I decided to give it a try.

My initial thought was to pull the tables out during Christmas break, but talking to the kiddos about it proved that waiting would not be an option...talk about excited.  Check out what our room normally looks like here. 

My goal is to add additional seating options as the year progresses, but right now the kiddos are loving the bean bags, pillows, and futon. I did leave two tables for those students that just need that structure. 

Here are some pics of the kiddos working this week...best ever reading and writing workshops!

  

 

  

The kiddos could not have been happier with our arrangements this week. By Friday, we were rocking and rolling.... with most of the kinks worked out. This is still a work in progress, so I will give lots more detail soon.

Thinking: I will super-duper miss my student teacher very soon...this is her last week with us. Well, last three days with us. Goodness... she leaves us on Wednesday; her time went so fast! Super sad....we have all loved her! This is her reading aloud by the YouTube crackling fire on a very rainy, dreary day.

Wanting: Now anyone that knows me, knows how much I love spending time at school with my kiddos. Actually...my classroom with or without kiddos is truly one of my favorite places to be, but I am looking forward to some relaxing down time with my hubby. He works so hard, and I rarely get to see him. That being said... I CAN'T wait to have a few lazy days at home. :)

Needing: Needing to finish up a few last minute gifts, but I am almost done. If you have followed me for long, then you know that Christmas is not my holiday...I am more of a Thanksgiving girl. With four kiddos, Christmas tends to be a bit on the stressful side for me, and this year in particular is more than a bit stressful... personality flaw I am sure....but for real...my hubby calls me The Grinch.

Seriously! This is the screen saver on my phone.. so there you have it, people...I AM THE GRINCH. Actually, he may be cuter than my stressed out self. hahahahaha.

Ok...all kidding (or not so kidding) aside. I actually have my Christmas tree up. I mean it is pretty early in December and that baby is UP! That is a Christmas miracle all by itself. 

Giving: Honestly, I don't have much to give this year...other than my love and appreciation. Stressed or not, I am truly blessed by some amazing kiddos, their families, my friends, and of course my family! I love them all, and they make me smile. I have lots of hugs to share, and I can't wait to start.

Happy Reading, friends!