A Touching Moment

So, Friday appears to be one of those days to either be forgotten or more meaningfully to learn from.  I must conclude that it was far from my best day as a first grade teacher mostly because I had a child who was having a very difficult day and demanded my attention and challenged my direction. By the end of the day, I was exhausted, and I am sure he was too.  But we ended the day with a genuine hug and with the agreement that Monday was going to be a new and better day.  As we were lining up to exit for the day, one of my other boys came up to me and asked if he could hold my hand. I must say that his request, gratefully granted, made my day.  Whether he sensitively felt the angst of the day related to the conflict with my first little guy, or he wanted to assure me that all was well in his corner of the world, I cannot know. But what I do know is that he gave me a gift that reassured me that life was OK, and we, with strength and connection, will move forward.  This little boy is a joy who has cautiously, slowly, but assuredly grown more comfortable and relaxed with our classroom family with each passing week. I don’t know if he wanted to hold my hand because he is finally at the point where he feels at home in our room or if it were because he just intuitively knew that his request would be something that I needed and would love. Whatever the reason may be, he made my Friday wonderful.  He gently but powerfully confirmed that even on days that are very hard and depleting, he reminded me that no matter what, we are all joined together as a school family and will be here for one another. 

Binky the Space Cat

Haha. My fellow cat lover and friend, Cathy, just shared a new graphic novel with me- Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires. It is a silly story full of cat humor but I am confident even those not so fond of cats will chuckle a few times while reading. According to Binky- he is a space cat. In reality, he is a house cat that has never stepped paw outside of the house. However, he is determined to protect his humans from the aliens (aka houseflies). He secretly makes plans to go to Outer Space to destroy the enemies. However, at the last minute he remembers that he has forgotten something really important. This is the first in a new graphic novel series. I can't wait to read more about this fun character!

Have I Got a Book for You

Yay! I found a new Melanie Watt book. And for those of us that love her silly, playful and totally fun books (Scaredy Squirrel, Chester, etc.) - she doesn't disappoint with Have I Got a Book for You. The book reads like an infomercial. Al is a salesman that can sell anything. And since we are book lovers- Al is trying to sell us a fabulous book. And the one you're holding is just for you. Al is pretty tricky in the end as well. Melanie Watt creates another humorous story with engaging illustrations and a character you can't help but like. Hurry- go read it!

I'm Back!

I am still here! I do believe one of my many goals this year is to try and write once a week. I am thrilled to say that the beginning of this year has gotten off to an amazing start. I am teaching first grade. What is even more exciting is that I hope to loop with this group and have them for second grade as well. I can tell already that I will thoroughly enjoy spending many hours with this group of twenty first graders. They are bright, talkative, and always wanting to share. I am so excited about this year, and I can’t wait to share their thinking and mine with you this school year.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Is that how you spell darndest?? Anyways- today in class one of my students had me cracking up laughing. Our conversation follows:

Me: Darlings- you are all crowding me a bit. I am feeling a little claustrophobic.
Max: Does that mean you are afraid of Santa CLAUS?

Poor guy was being serious. It ended up leading to a super conversation about phobias but his original, smart, yet funny comment is the part I enjoyed the most. I love my job!

Catching Fire

I'm back. Although it looks as though I dropped off the face of the earth, I was still very much part of the blogging community over the summer. I religiously check my favorite blogs and did my best to comment on entries that really caused me to think and reflect! Now- it's time for me to share and document my summer reading, thinking and reflections.

What better way to start than to share my thoughts on my favorite read of the summer, Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins? It is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. I read Hunger Games late last winter and LOVED it and I have to say that I enjoyed Catching Fire equally as much. It has it all- GREAT characters, vivid imagery, action, horror, and love. The cliffhangers at the end of each chapter prevented me from putting the book down. I finished it in about 4 hours and my heart was pounding every second. One thing I have to say, I was more satisfied with the ending of this book. The first book ended in such a way that I was bothered by it and itchy for the next book. With the end of Catching Fire, I felt a little more comfortable with the conclusion (however, the story still leaves you with many questions). My only complaint- I have to wait way too long for the third book (Hurry Ms. Collins!!)

Authentic Teacher

After reading (and loving) the Twilight series- I discovered that I am a huge fan of teen/young adult literature. Yesterday, I started reading Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr after reading wonderful things about it on several blogs. I have not finished yet (I will blog when I do) but I LOVE it so far.

Anyways- Franki and Mary Lee at A Year of Reading always take note when they come across a special teacher in literature and Wicked Lovely has got one!! I am currently taking a class where we always end up talking about the possibilities of the workshop model at the high school level. I am absolutely an advocate for it and was blessed to have experienced it myself with my senior level literature course. It sounds like Sister Mary Louise (High School English Teacher in Wicked Lovely) has the right idea. Here is an excerpt on why Sister Mary Louise is Aislinn's (the main character) favorite teacher:

"It was one of the reasons the class was Aislinn's favorite: Sister Mary Louise didn't simply launch into a lecture. She got them talking, and then she slipped in her points, revealing every bit as much information, but with more style than any of the other teachers."

Student led discussion and learning is powerful whether the student is two or seventeen.

I'll keep you posted on Wicked Lovely. So far- it is a WOW!