My Caldecott Nomination (so far)

Friday My Radio Flyer Flew by Zachary Pullen is full of AMAZING illustrations, fun alliterations and interesting words. A boy and is father find an old radio flyer wagon in the attic and thats when all the adventures start. This little boy has some big dreams, including wanting to fly, and maybe.. just maybe that old radio flyer will be just the thing he needs to get his feet off the ground! I had to read it several times within minutes of having it. The first time I read it I could not get pass the beautiful oil painted illustrations that are not only eye catching, full page spreads but, also, are an instrumental part in telling the story. The second time I noticed the inspirational and dream like story (gotta love the dad). A child's imagination really is an amazing thing. The third time- I realized the story takes the reader through the days of the week while playing with alliteration and some really neat words (hmmm....authentic word study??). Thank you to Cathy (our amazing librarian) for putting this beautiful book that reminds us to dream big into my hands!

Summer Goals Revisited

Franki and Mary Lee at A Year of Reading tagged me for my summer goals of 2008 back in June. After a whirlwind of a summer, it is nice to take a look back and see if I happened to actually accomplish anything.....

Summer Goals 2008:
1. Stay sane on the road to getting married on July 5th
- Mission Accomplished (it was perfect!!)
2. Find a rug for my living room
- Mission Accomplished (believe it or not- thanks to walmart)
3. Revamp my Word Study Program
- In the process and I am feeling really good about it (thanks for the thoughts Katie)
4. Rearrange/organize my classroom library
- Working on it
5. READ more professionally and simply for the love of reading
- I definately read more than ever this summer (mostly for pleasure but I am anxiously awaiting Debbie Milller's new book)
6. Do not add anymore items to my goals for now as it will defeat my purpose to focus.
- (Well...it seems as though I have an endless list- so I should have changed this to- Do not beat myself up for not getting EVERYTHING done)

My return from the Wild....

So after reading several reviews on Out of the Wild (see Year of Reading blog), I decided I had better read it! Clearly, I had to read the prequel, Into the Wild, first. I did so on the many hours in the airport on my honeymoon travels to Costa Rica. I LOVED it and can hardly wait to read the sequel. However, instead of doing a review or summary (which I am sure you can also find on Year of Reading), I decided to blog about some of my thoughts while reading. Lately, I have been drawing many analogies between life and education (idea inspired by several of my favorite blogs). In this case, I cannot help but draw the parallel between the WILD and high stakes testing/standard/prescribed curriculum. As the Wild says, everyone has their role. You know what to expect and you are expected to follow ideas set by others. Sometimes, it even feels easier to follow rules/lessons created by the Wild (high stakes testing). But it would certainly get boring and stifling- reliving the same story, reteaching the same lessons despite the desires and world changes around us. Isn't it worth being a hero and writing our own stories? It is so much more rewarding to allow children to have input in their learning, to be inspired, to take charge, to write their own happily ever afters. It can sometimes be scary to be the hero (teacher) in this scenario. There is so much left to the unknown, so many obstacles standing in the way (testing/differing points of view), especially the inevitable mis-take but I think it is worth making the wish, taking the chance and seeing what wonderful things can happen when we write our own stories. This is when authentic, meaningful, life long learning can occur for our students. We show them that taking risks (and sometimes making mis-takes) are what makes life exciting and pushes us forward.....

Summer Meme 2008

Franki and Mary Lee at A Year of Reading (trying to figure out how to add links to my blog- HELP!!) tagged me for my summer goals of 2008. I always find setting goals (and making lists in general) refreshing, particularly right as summer gets started as I find myself losing focus due to the feeling that I have too many things to focus on. I am thinking this list will help me prioritize, my professional and personal (which is super busy this summer) lives. So thanks ladies for providing some focus....

Summer Goals 2008:
1. Stay sane on the road to getting married on July 5th
2. Find a rug for my living room
3. Revamp my Word Study Program
4. Rearrange/organize my classroom library
5. READ more professionally and simply for the love of reading....
6. Do not add anymore items to my goals for now as it will defeat my purpose to focus.

48 Hour Read Kick Off

So I had every intention in the world of giving the 48 Hour Read my best shot this past weekend but the truth is life got in the way. I feel so torn right now. I am trying to take the time to slow down right now and let everything sink in- the end of the school year, my upcoming wedding, the new house....I am so blessed. But, of course, life has a way of getting so busy, I forget to stop and smell the roses. In this case, the 48 Hour Read, would have been the roses. Perhaps next year, I will follow the rules and actually read on the correct weekend for the 48 hours as close to non-stop as possible. This year, I make the more realistic vow to read for 48 hours in the entire month of June. The following are on my list so far (most are recommendations from friends):

1. Before I Die, By Jenny Downham (sounds kind of sad but my friend swears it has a powerful message)

2. Five Quarters of the Orange, By Joanne Harris (this is WAY out of my box but it'll be good for me)

3. Anything Sisters Grimm (I read the first one with my class and we LOVED it so I figure I will continue the story)

4. Greetings from Nowhere, By Barbara O'Connor (recommedation from my fellow Columbus bloggers)

I best get to bed so I can read.....

Books about Letters

I have to say that through the authentic experience of writing letters to pen pals this year, my students have really grasped the mechanics and ettiqutte of friendly letter writing. However, we still LOVE the occasional book that helps reiterate the ideas of friendly letter writing in fun and engaging ways. Here is a list of titles we have found that use friendly letters:

Title: YOURS TRULY, GOLDILOCKS
Author: ADA

Title: WITH LOVE, LITTLE RED HEN
Author: ADA

Title: DEAR MR. LEPRECHAUN: LETTERS FROM MY FIRST FRIENDSHIP
Author: BURTON

Title: FIRST YEAR LETTERS
Author: DANNEBERG

Title: DEAR MR. BLUEBERRY
Author: JAMES

Title: DEAR LITTLE LAMB
Author: KEMPTER, CHRISTA

Title: LETTERS FROM A DESPERATE DOG
Author: EILEEN CHRISTELOW

Title: DEAR BEAR
Author: HARRISON

Title: MY GRANDMA, MY PEN PAL
Author: KOUTSKY

Title: HELP ME, MR. MUTT!: EXPERT ANSWERS FOR DOGS WITH PEOPLE PROBLEMS
Author: STEVENS

Title: DEAR MRS. LARUE: LETTERS FROM OBEDIENCE SCHOOL
Author: TEAGUE

Meme

I was tagged by Katie DiCesare from Creative Literacy for a MEME and here goes...

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.


What were you doing ten years ago?
getting my driver's license
going to prom


What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
work on my wedding vows
paint the bathroom at the new house
workout
grocery store
buy the paper for my wedding programs

What are some snacks you enjoy?
cool ranch doritos
chips and salsa
mini snickers
granola bar
string cheese

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
buy a mini cooper
put a half bath in my house
hire a personal chef and trainer
open an after school activity center for inner city students


What are your bad habits?
cracking my knuckles
collecting junk
letting mail pile up
not finishing projects I start
lack of portion control

What are five places where you have lived?
Youngstown, Ohio
OSU campus
Grandview, Ohio
Clintonville, Ohio

What are five jobs you have had?
Stable hand (cleaning up after and riding horses)
Ski Limited
Hostess (Cap City)
Admissions Assistant at OSU
Teacher

What people do you want to tag?
hmmm.....all my blogger friends have already been tagged....