Eric Carle Camp

Today was the first day of Eric Carle Camp- Club Ed. I had 6 students on my roster on Friday and this morning had 11. Good thing I bought extra snacks :) 

Coming off a loooong week last week where I got very little sleep- due to:
*Report cards
*Moving my classroom- complicated by the speech teacher who was "working" and didn't pack up her things so I could move in...until Friday WHEN EVERYTHING I OWNED HAD TO BE OUT OF MY OLD CLASSROOM!!!!

*Student awards
*Silly awards
*Completing embroidered towels for every volunteer mom/dad in my class.
*Writing thank you notes for each mom/dad who volunteered.
*Copying off worksheets for summer letters that I send to students- 5 over the summer.
*AND collecting items that had to be moved to my garage for the Teacher's Rummage sale that I do in August and do as a fundraiser for Camp Olizu- a cancer camp for children.

My mind did not spontaneously combust and I survived.

Last night was Trivia Night a little pub and THE LAND SHARKS won one round...GO TEAM! Then we walked home and I got things ready to bring to my classroom...today we made Very Hungry Caterpillar scenes...which turned out very well.

4 more days of camp :)

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*SUMMER VACATION IS HERE*

 

What are the odds....

... that two of my students would have appendicitis this school year?

I am not even sure how many 6 or 7 year olds get appendicitis...but the odds should be somewhere like winning 5 of 6 lottery numbers on a quick pick wouldn't you think? But it happened it room 14 for the second time yesterday.

At any rate- TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY OF FIRST GRADE!!

I will be moving every last thing out of my classroom and returning it to the state it was in when I moved in two years ago....nothing but a telephone...only this time there will be a white board on the wall....and a whole lot of drawings that I let my kids do...with Sharpies right on the wall...because the walls are coming down. How often do you get to do that to the classroom walls? Without it being something you would be in trouble for.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*SUMMER IS HERE*

5 MORE DAYS!

For the 2nd time in my life there are only 5 more days of first grade....the other was way back in the 1960-something....when I could spend time playing all summer with my friends Kathy and Susie- going to the beach with their families and roasting in the So. Cal sun.

This morning I would go for my usual 5K run- BUT last Sunday as I ran down the hill to do my 5 mile Sunday loop I didn't make it. On the way down, I can feel like I am 20 again...running a sub 8 minute mile pace for the first mile(all downhill)...then it levels off and begins a slight uphill grade and I resume my old lady pace....so here I was speeding down the hill like my old 20 year old self, when I stepped on a branch that someone had pruned from their tree (and did not courteously not disposed of properly,) I rolled my ankle- I stopped- sat on the curb and rubbed it. It stung, but has before and was fine. So I put my shoe back on and proceeded to run slowly down the hill. But my ankle did not feel better. So I walked to the school parking lot and called The Captain to come get me. By the time I got home and walked down my slopping driveway I decided to go to Urgent Care. 

Thankfully no break. So some ice, a wrap and a cane later I came home to rest it. Monday and Tuesday I hobbled around work on a cane. But I still had to move boxes to storage and to my new classroom...I  had 5th graders help push the cart and unload. I was able to swim on Wednesday and yesterday I rode the spin cycle and but not the stair climber.

I need to have a healthy ankle for the Stanford Lucile Packard Children's Hospital run on the 22nd...Daughter #1 runs as a honoree and I am honored to be her mom.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RUN CAREFULLY*MOVE 

A ROOM*5 MORE DAYS OF 1ST*

Reading Assessments Part II

I have a giant box for reading assessments....everything you wanted to know and more. My job is to level the each student's reading...which means I listen to each child read a book from the giant box (and mark errors on a paper, time the reading then add and divide errors by self corrections and then figure words read per minute )... There are two books from each level; a non-fiction book and a fiction book. In the fall I used fiction books...generally easier to read and appropriate for beginner readers. 


This first grade reading stuff is all new to me...I didn't have texts or a reading program to use so every month I went to the library and checked out 70 books from a leveled book list online and we read...and read. I read Henry Huggins and Beezus and Ramona books aloud....Magic Tree House books (ghak!!!,) and every book about silk worms and caterpillars and the water cycle I could find....and hatching chick eggs and every Mo Willems' book at least 50x. We looked at books inside and out....where was it published?...when was it written?...Who was it dedicated to?...Does it have a table of contents? We learned to read the pictures...starting with Rosie's Walk...did you know the inside cover has a map of the farm? And you can follow her path by studying the each picture?

And consequentially, the kids learned to read....some of them so well that they surpassed the benchmark for end of year first grade and well into second and some at beginning third grade. I guess I did something right.

So here I am at the end of the year, listening to each child read to me from the non-fiction books in the assessment box. And that stupid bubble book is one that every child has read to me....it is actually a fun, factual book....but after hearing it read, 9 times in the two hours I had to assess on Thursday, I could feel the heat rising from the vapors in my brain- my cerebral cortex ready to explode- or spontaneously combust at any second. I do believe I heard it in my sleep Thursday night...I think the dog was reading to me....

But FRIDAY morning, when I opened the inbox of my work email I found wonderful news!! I was accepted into the Reading Institute at Columbia University in August! I was on the wait list since the end of March...I had been in contact with the person who does the admittance and I think that helped get me in. So I will be flying myself on airline miles to New York City!! I will be paying my hotel- since the dorm rooms are all booked- and my school will pay the $700 institute fees. I was able to attend two years ago when I was enrolled in the Kindergarten institute....but teaching reading beyond kindergarten is a whole different ballgame...and moving onto second grade in the fall I feel totally in need of assistance. I am sooooo looking forward to this....and I love New York City! I love the heat smacking me in the face when I leave the hotel in the morning and how the transit system can take you anywhere at anytime. I am very lucky to be returning to New York!!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*LEARN TO READ*

 

Reading assessements.....

...if I hear the book about bubbles one more time my mind may just spontaneously combust!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*LISTEN TO FIRST 

GRADERS READ ALOUD*

31 Years

Memorial weekend waaaay back in 1982, the Captain and I got married. 31 years ago...but our actual anniversary falls on Wednesday this year. I pulled this post from my LMNOP blog from 4 years ago since that blog has most posts in draft form, I decided to share here.

My mother- who did not have a formal wedding, and was married right after WWII, commandeered my wedding as her own. I did not have a hand in planning- except for the dress which I absolutely loved then- (GHAK!! I still fit in the hideous thing!) and I have told my children they will get to plan their own weddings and I will gladly help :)

May 29, 2009

  It was 31 years ago today...Sgt Pepper taught the band to play that the Captain and I got hitched!


...to think that the Captain was the age that Daughter #1 is when we got married...just turned 22, is a little frightening...
We weren't allowed to take pictures in the church during the ceremony...so we had to stage the photos afterwards....this is one the photographer got away with!

Our dog, Uncle Wally was supposed to wait in the truck...dressed for the occasion in his white collar and tie of course...but he was not happy waiting in the truck...so he jumped out and met us as we exited the church- he was a good boy and knew he should not go inside. He even came with us on our Honeymoon!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*LAUGH HARDER*
CELEBRATE 31 YEARS*

RUN BIKE SWIM!

WE DID IT!

We ran...

 

She took 2nd place in her age group....I took 5th in mine...she beat me by 6 seconds.

Next we ran to the car and drove to SMAC where we quickly changed and signed in to SWIM ACROSS AMERICA!

We swam... 

 



This is after....Daughter #1 and I and then with our teammate Annie...she is 84! I set a PR in the mile swim!

Then we cheered on the other swimmers and the youth swimmers...and ate bananas and oranges and enjoyed the sunshine.

Then I went inside and I rode 15 miles on a spin bike. I really tried to do 15 miles in a half hour...but I just couldn't....35 minutes was the end result...and I tried to finish before noon but missed that by 3 minutes.

But what an adventure! I collected $669.00 for cancer research! 

And a total of $41K was given to UCSF Children's Hospital and Children's of Oakland for research! We all want to kick childhood cancer's butt!

LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*PARTICIPATE IN A BACKWARDS TRI*

The Very Mixed Up Tri...

It usually goes, SWIM BIKE RUN...
But on Sunday I will RUN SWIM BIKE...
It isn't an official Triathlon...it is a combination of events that just came together.

SWIM ACROSS AMERICA is an event to raise money for childhood cancer research- dear to my heart as Daughter #1 battled childhood cancer for 2.5+ years. Daily chemo- as in everyday. When I saw the flyer and heard the recipients of the proceeds speak about their research, I knew I was going to sign up.

BUT...it just so happened that the Swim was on the same day as our Hometown Days Fun Run...which I usually run in the 10K because I can place in my age group...but because I have to be at the pool for a 10 swim, I will only get to run the 5K which starts at 8:30.

Daughter #1 and I will run, then swim and then...we decided to complete the day with a bike ride of 15 miles....you know....just because it will make it a Tri, backwards non-the-less...and because. Because back in 2002 we didn't know if Daughter #1 was going to live through the night in ER- but thanks to cancer research, and all of those who went before her, she is alive to swim and bike and run.

SO if you can make a minimum donation of $25 to help SMAC out cancer, I will make you a personalized dishtowel or bar towel embroidered with whatever your heart desires and mail it to you.

Click on 
http://www.swimacrossamerica.org/site/TR/PoolSwim/NationalPool?px=1218401&pg=personal&fr_id=2160

to see our home page and donate.....see below for a few photos of my custom embroidered towels that can be yours :) I can do any theme or name or idea!

 

 

(My friend's last name really is Lord)

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*MAKE A DONATION TO 

HELP SMAC OUT CANCER*

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I am fortunate to be a mom to 3 kids...well, adults now- but always my kids.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MY FRIENDS....

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*LOVE A MOM*

Is it 12 or 13?

I can't remember my first one...but I do have many of these photos...although this is today's...I arrived just as the "Energizer" Station was being set up....there was coffee...(yuck!) bagels and banana...and a cool bike bag filled with goodies.

Last night I got out my work bike- BUT Daughter #2 rode it home from work and got a flat- of which I did not want to fix...so I took the wheel to the bike shop BUT the tire was too worn...I tried to take the Captain's wheel and trade it with mine BUT I couldn't get the quick release brake to release- sooooo, I got out my road bike- which cannot go off roading on the trail I ride to work. Sooooo I rode to the Energizer Station, got my goodies and took the bus up the big hill to work. So my bike ride was only about 3 miles. This was the first time I put my bike on the front rack of the bus- I had watched a YouTube of it and it was actually quite easy.

The way home I took another route straight down hill and added 3.7. Now that it is lighter earlier I can start riding my bike again...I am afraid of bobcats if I ride before sunrise.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RIDE YOUR BIKE TO WORK*

Coincidental Ladybug

I swear I did not make this up...

For Christmas, the parents in my class each pitched in $8 and got me a $200 VISA card. I have kept it in my wallet waiting for the right thing to come along.

Last week, my class field trip was a 2 mile walk to the the local public library. We had a tour before it was open to the public and while I was standing next to a giant ladybug bookshelf I happened to mention that I would LOVE one of those in my new classroom. I was sure the Captain could build one....but right now he desperately needs to finish the truck he is working on because this one car stuff is wearing on me. A mom was standing near me while I was drooling over the bookshelf....and on Friday she came to school with a $50 Home Depot gift card in hand with a note- "We hope you can use this to start your ladybug book shelf this summer."

Now The Captain is going to kill me....so I went online and found the ladybug book shelves for sale- $1,300!!!! (And $455 shipping!! AND $60 if you are not able to help unload the box from the freight delivery truck!!!) That is mortgage, tuition, food, gas....not a ladybug bookshelf! So I googled ladybug bookcase images and found one...I clicked on the link and it took me to a Dan's 2nd Hand in.....get this- Colorado Springs!!! Well, who has a son at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs?? So I got in touch with Dan himself- it was still available...then I woke up the boy at 11 and sent him right on over to check it out. If it was in good shape and could be taken apart then he was instructed to buy it- with my gift card!!! There are side shelves missing but I would have had to remove them on one side because it will need to go against the wall in my new rat trap of a classroom...I am so excited!! I swear my kids and husband think I am nuts but wouldn't you really, really love to read a book taken off this bookshelf?

 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*WHAT WERE THE CHANCES OF FINDING ONE OF THESE?*

*Seriously for the first 20 years of my teaching I worked in schools  where there were no Christmas gift cards- no PTA money to use in the classroom- E.V.E.R.Y.H.I.N.G I purchased to use in class came right out of my pocket. I never knew there were places like this...so I am enjoying every second of it before I retire!!!

May Day

This morning 25 first graders and 29 fifth graders carried the colorful pots they decorated with petunias inside and knocked on the doors of neighborhood houses on the street leading to our school. If the neighbors answered the door, the children shouted "HAPPY MAY DAY!" 

If the neighbors were not home, they returned home to find the beautiful decorated pot of flowers on their porch. This tradition was school-wide at my old school and done by a few classes at the first school I worked at many moons ago. So of course it must continue at my new school.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*HAPPY MAY DAY!*

Z is for.....

...the love of hockey! 
Seriously...if you have a little hockey fan around, you want this book...you need this book.


 


And with this, I conclude A-Z April. Just like that...in a rush of 30 days I bring you 24 books- okay so I cheated on my birthday and the day after the Boston Marathon bombing. It's been fun....see some of you next year!

 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONG*LAUGH

 HARDER*READ A BOOK ABOUT HOCKEY*

You say it's your birthday...

You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too--yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party.

I would like you to dance--Birthday
Take a cha-cha-cha-chance-Birthday
I would like you to dance--Birthday
Dance

You say it's your birthday
Well it's my birthday too--yeah
You say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you. 

You guessed it...Y is for it's Your Birthday...and it is mine today....and what a day I have had!

I wished I had done this years ago...I changed my school birthday to Feb. 14....when we have a party for Valentine's Day and I don't waste any teaching time celebrating my day....which is a big thing in first grade!

So no guilt today at all as I slept in, went to the freestyle swim clinic at the college...headed to Athleta to pick up a dress I had hemmed, got things for a BBQ at Costco...came home and made cookies and potato salad and beans for dinner...then went to Filoli to pick up Daughter #2 but first, she gave us our own private tour of the gardens....(if you don't know about Filoli...google it- the house was on the opening of Dynasty, the TV series in the 80's...

THE WEATHER WAS ORDERED JUST FOR ME! It is in the high 80's...I love me some warm weather and today was it! The gardens were beautiful. Daughter #1 is working an internship there...she graduated in Botany and is getting experience here for 10 weeks of intense work.

Last night The Captain and a friend of ours walked to a little pub, celebrated and then walked home...after a pizza dinner...and drinks....and I was still able to get up and have a rockin' day!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*ENJOYING 
MY BIRTHDAY ON Y DAY*

X is for...

Xigua! Which is watermelon in Chinese...I have to stretch here as there are no Children's books beginning with X that I recommend...instead I bring you this:
 

Lois Ehlert does a wonderful job with a fruit and vegetable for every letter....and letters like P take up two pages!

The letter X, which I don't have a photo of because my books are packed to move...is the closest X I could find. (And google images show many pages but not X!) Plus Lois Ehlert is another favorite...and this colorful book is great for teaching nutrition, introduction to fruits and vegetables from other cultures and IT IS FUN! The last pages of the book give a definition of each fruit and vegetable in the book...another of her original, wonderfully designed books.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*EAT 5 A DAY*

W is for ....

We Are in a Book!


 

Now if you were around for letter E, you already know of my LOVE for Mo Willems, who is the 21st century Dr. Seuss...my students are learning to read from this funny, funny author.

BUT, this book is the best...it introduces children to being the actual reader....Piggie frantically realizes that the end of the book is coming...you can see her flipping the pages back on the cover to see how many more pages there are for her to "be read." Gerald, the Elephant, tells her a secret so that the reader will continue to read....it is hilarious. This simple series with two stars and simple backgrounds in the stories keep my kids returning again and again to these books. The drawings are easily copied by young children allowing them to make Piggie and Elephant books of their own.

If you haven't read this book to a youngster, do so next time you have the chance.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*BE A READER*

Without a doubt, V is for...

The Very Hungry Caterpillar...



Of course....

Eric Carle is still publishing books....with his hand painted tissue paper collage pictures and wonderful stories. I love that the inside cover of each book is a different print that distinguishes his style. HIs museum is on my bucket list.

How much do I love Eric Carle?I teach a summer camp class every year called "Eric Carle Camp!"

I am off to Open House at work now...

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER

*READ AN ERIC CARLE BOOK*

U is for...

understandably, undeniably unable to find a U book worth posting...although this is a "challenge," I cannot post a book that I do not care for...while The Ugly Duckling is a tale with a moral...I do not have a version that I "LOVE" the pictures in....so instead I am posting....
U is for Upset. I applied too late for The Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University in New York for this summer...so much for that. So I will be seeking alternate learning for my upcoming grade level change....and a new vacation spot.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*I NEED SOME SUMMER PLANS*

T is for

A Tree is Nice 




 So the last 2 letters have taken me back to the 1950's....classic books with a story that is timeless...(well, except for the line, "A tree is a place to lean your hoe,") otherwise a timeless story I read to my class each year when we study plants.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*PLANT A TREE*

S is for ...

The Sleepy Book.....by Charlotte Zolotow who is still answering letters children write to her at 98!

While this is not my favorite book that she has written, it has been a test of time. Written in 1958, and printed 2 more times since with updated pictures, it is still a classic read for children.

Charlotte says she can't quite remember how she came to write Sleepy Book. "Someone, I think Jean George, mentioned to me that horses sleep standing up.  I never thought about it as a book but later someone, maybe Crescent, mentioned fish sleeping with eyes open, and it began to form for me. " (Left, Vitale's brilliant tropical fish snooze among the seaweed, eyes wide open, while Ilsa Plume's golden koi, right, doze beneath water lilies) "But maybe it had its origins even earlier. Maybe it was thinking about both Crescent, then Ellen, and Steve, my daughter and son, staring up at me wide awake when I hoped they were about to go to sleep, that may have given me the idea. Also, I remember Jupie (Jupiter, the family Weimaraner in the early '50's) wanting to sleep near Crescent/Ellen's crib, and Cleo (the family poodle in the 60's) wanting to sleep near Steve...

"But maybe the idea just popped into my head one day....who knows?"

Who knows indeed? But as Charlotte has said many times, her books are double or triple exposures: it could have been all these things laid over each other.

So if you look for her books at the library, please look for, "Do You Know What I'll Do?"  It will make your heart sing.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER* GO READ A BOOK*

R is for....

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf...

"It was born long before I was. The wind blew the leaves from the big maple tree in the woods. They twirled and whirled as they fell to the ground."

Lois Ehlert is one of my favorite children's authors because she combines fiction and non-fiction. Her stories have facts combined with a story that inspire the reader to plant, build, sew, etc. Her bold, bright pictures are generally collage...and the way her words flow are soft and soothing. If you have a small child, check out Lois' work under "E" in the library. There will surely be crafts in the works after your reading.

 Happy Saturday my A-Z friends...

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER* REJOICE THAT THE 

BOMBER IS IN CUSTODY*

Q is for....

 Great for teaching similes..or just for smiles as a bedtime story. 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*AS SWEET AS SUGAR*

P is for....

PARTICIPATE...

(so much for the theme today....if I had continued it would be the children's book Pig Pig Grows Up, about a selfish little pig who refuses to grow up and his mother goes along with it....a lot like many students I have taught,)

But instead I bring you this:

6 Olympic swimmers!
2 children's oncologists!
All part of Swim Across America!

There was a wonderful talk by the oncologists and one heartbreaking talk by a mother whose son had the same cancer as my daughter. He relapsed twice and died after an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant. The event is raising funds to help research and survivor support at the two local children's hospitals...a very worthy cause since so little research is done on childhood cancers.

And I got the Olympian's autographs...

 my first graders will think it is the coolest :)

Sue Heon-Preston 1984 Olympian, Allison Wagner 1996 Olympics silver medalist 400 meter indiv. medley, Mike Bruner 1976 gold medalist 200 meter butterfly, Sean Killion1992, Mike Kiedek 2000- all participating in Swim Across America!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*GET AN AUTOGRAPH TATTOO*

O is for

Opal....my favorite book! 

 Although not a children's book, it is a book about a child, reconstructed from her diary which was written on scraps of paper. It was begins just prior to 1900...she was an adopted child, most likely orphaned by immigrant parents. She grew up in the lumber camps of early Oregon. As a teacher, her early writing touches my heart. For anyone studying history, it is an insight from a child's perspective. Opal loved animals and life but her enthusiasm was squashed by "the mama." She thoughtfully writes of "Angel Mama" and "Angel Father," in sad snippets throughout the story.

It is a book for non-fiction lovers, U.S. History lovers and teachers of young children.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*READ A FUN BOOK*

N is for

No post today....nothing...nada...
my heart aches for Boston...
for runners...
for innocence....
for the dead and injured...

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*PEACE*

M is also for Marathon...

one of which I have run and never plan to run another....too hard on the body...too much time training.

But the point of this post is about today. That some sick person planned to bomb the finish of the Boston Marathon. The first thing I did was text my friend to make sure her daughter and husband were not in this year's event. They ran the previous 2 years...I just needed to know they were not there. For their sake's, they were not- but it doesn't stop the ache inside of all those people who were hurt or killed- and their families suffering...and the little children...

May the people in Boston find some peace tonight.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*PEACE*

M is for....

Did you ever wonder what would happen if your teacher really knew what happened when the substitute teacher was in class?

Well the kids in Room 207 find out- their teacher Miss Nelson disguises herself as Miss Viola Swamp...Miss Nelson decides to be sick after her class is unruly-spitballs are stuck to the ceiling, paper planes whizz through the air.....they were the worst-behaved class in the whole school. They learn a lesson in this book...one they will never forget. I sure wish I could pull this off in my class!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*JAMES MARSHALL BOOKS ROCK*

sundAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!!!!

Daughter #1 and I are off to run a 5K...we are Team "LAND SHARKS,"
This run has a special category for parents and child...the only rule is that you have to cross the finish line at the same time.

--------
10:45....we're baaaack....

We weren't the oldest team....but we came in 7th....if we had run the 10K we would have been 1st as there was only one team running it and they finished in way over an hour....but my daughter just returned last night from a science conference in Texas and the week before was spring break and she was at the Grand Canyon...so it was a good thing we only did the 5K. Happy Sunday my friends :)

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RUN WITH YOUR KID*I WONDER IF WE WILL BE THE OLDEST TEAM?*

L is for ....

Little House on the Prairie....

I have always loved non fiction- in elementary school I read every biography in the school library...and I had always wanted to travel in covered wagons. When I read my first book by Laura Ingalls Wilder I was in love! I read the series. One year when I was teaching 3rd grade, I had a class that loved silent reading time. I re-read the books and passed them from student to student. Even the boys got on board reading Farmer Boy. When I read these books with my own children I discovered books that Wilder had written for adults also- Letters from Home and The Road Back...basically all the little things young readers should not know...her baby's death, discovering a book meant for Santa to bring, etc.

Reading these books brings appreciation of what life was like for our ancestors and how thankful we should be for all the comforts we have. Life was hard-but life was celebrated with small bits of luck and love.

For my few followers of my regular non- A-Z blogging, below is my SMAC out Cancer Site for my Teenaged Cancer SURVIVING Daughter and I. We will be Swimming Across America on May 19!

CLICK HERE

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*READ A GOOD BOOK*

K is for...

K is for Katy and the Big Snow....

This book was "old" when I was in kindergarten and it is definitely old now...like 70 years old, yet my students love it as well as newly released Piggie and Elephant books.

VIrginia Lee Burton wrote Mike Mulligan and Maryann in 1939, after her first book failed with 13 publishers. She read that failure of a book to her son and he fell asleep before she got to the end...so from then on that was her test...reading the book with her own children. Then Mike Mulligan and Maryann was was published after passing her kid proof test.

Katy and the Big Snow  published in 1943, takes you through the big snow behind Katy the plow as she rescues the town of Geoppolis. Heart warming and a sweet story to go to bed by.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*

LAUGH HARDER*TGIF!*

J is for.....

"Joey & Jet"
Written and illustrated by James Yang

I  cheated today....spring break is catching up to me...after 3 days of work, running club that I am in charge of Monday and Wednesday before class and working out hard Monday and Wednesday after work I am spent...so I browsed through Amazon and  copied the review for Joey and Jet - (Not to mention that I had no favorites beginning with the letter J!)
:

A quick moving, stylishly cartoonish romp, with a loyal dog (Jet) chasing a ball thrown by his boy (Joey). The ball goes past birds, through the woods, over the water, into a cafe, down a hole etc., and yet the energetic Jet zips along, finally fetching the ball and bringing it back... only to have Joey throw it again!! Writer/artist James Yang does commercial graphic work for a number of national magazines, and this digitally-rendered book bops along at a brisk pace, delivering its zippy punchline after an action-packed outing. 

This is a great book for teaching positional words and phrases. A great pre-reader for kids to memorize and then "read" aloud.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*

I WILL SLEEP WELL TONIGHT*

I is for....

I Can't said the Ant...

 

A 1961 classic rhyming story about an ant who tries to help a tea pot back to the counter top after she's fallen to the floor. Help her up said the cup- That's the ticket said the cricket...All of the kitchen’s inhabitants, from foods to pots and pans, and even the trash - chime in with advice and encouragement.

This is a book I do remember from the primary grades. It was outdated then and truly is now with the simple drawings of an old time kitchen- but none-the-less enjoyed by my students...and very useful for rhyming exercises.- That's swell said the dinner bell! 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*PUT A LITTLE RHYME IN YOUR LIFE* 

H is for Henry Huggins...

Before I was born, Beverly Cleary began writing about Henry Huggins and his friends...in 1950 or so, when she was a librarian, a boy asked her, "where are the books about kids like us?" That sparked her to write the series of Henry books.

I remember my 4th grade teacher reading these books to the class after lunch. I read a few with my own children, but my class this year LOVES Henry. They don't quite get the idea that Henry buys gum for 1 cent, feeds his dog Ribsy horse meat from the pet store and that Henry's parents can't afford a new bicycle for him. Henry doesn't dare talk back to his mother, even when he is right, and he gets in trouble for simple things that would never happen these days.

One assignment in my class this year was to write to an author. So far, 6 have returned letters- and I am impressed that only one was a form letter and the others are hand written postcards. As a class, we wrote to Beverly Cleary, who is 97 years old and living on the coast of CA. The letters were returned from the publisher...I have to find a way to get them to her- I know she would love to hear what my students have to say.

Do you remember reading any Beverly Cleary books? Do you remember Henry's paper route, the milkman or how Henry acquired Ribsy?

 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVEASTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*REREAD A KIDS' BOOK*

G is for...

The Girl Who Wore Snakes.....

At the zoo, Ali asks to hold a snake...she falls in love. Later she buys snakes at a pet store and wears them home.  story for those who love snakes and for those who may be apprehensive....well you won't be by the end.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*BACK TO WORK TODAY* 

Spring break is over....

So sad to say good bye to a fun 9 days....last Saturday, at 3 a.m. the Captain and I took off for L.A. We arrived in time to check out my mom's house that we are renting and then to have breakfast at a local hole-in-the-wall that we miss so much. Good, hot food cooked to order- plus the best owners and workers ever. They remembered us from 2 years ago when we were working on the house every weekend and holiday.

Then to my sister's to check out the type of crown moulding that we were going to install...and then proceeded to put up 187 linear feet! We patched the nail holes, installed a new thermostat, a new door bell- patched the 1,000 holes we made putting up the moulding and then sanded the and shopped for new paint.

Wednesday we headed to San Diego to stay and visit with college roommates...and take bike rides on the boardwalk and around the bay...and two 5 mile runs around the bay and Lake Miramar. It was sad to pack up Saturday afternoon and drive to San Simeon. It was a long drive, getting in just in time to have a little dinner and go to bed. We got up early and headed up to Hearst's Castle since The Captain had never been there...then to Nit Wit Ridge to see a crazy house built by "Captain Nit-Wit," and then the drive home.....I am finishing laundry and then off to bed.

My college buddy Carol...and the lake we ran around...I am not an Amazon woman...this photo just looks like it...Carol is a little over 5 feet tall...and I once upon a time was 5'10", but I swear I look like I am 6'5" here!

More S.D. and castle photos to come :)

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*GOOD BYE SPRING BREAK*

F is for... From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

This is one of my all time favorites...as a child, I imagined myself living in a museum just like Claudia and Jamie did...but not until two summers ago did I actually visit the Met in New York. If you don't know of this book, it was written in 1967, and won the Newberry Award...and was chosen by teachers as one of the top 100 children's books.

I will read this book to my second graders next year, the same as I did introducing them to Henry Huggins books this year. Books that go back to a simpler time- before cell phones, Wii, iPads and missing children on milk cartons. These two runaways solve a mystery- live in a museum without being detected and manage to meet the beloved Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler in the end....and get a ride home in her limo. This is a quick read for adults and one enjoyable book to read to children who are ready for chapter books but not quite at that reading level. This is also a good read for 3rd or 4th graders to compare and contrast to living in the 21st century.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*ENJOYING MY LAST DAY OF SPRINGBREAK IN THE SAN DIEGO SUNSHINE*

E is for Elephants Cannot Dance

My newest, favorite children's author is Mo Willems...and for today E is for Elephants Cannot Dance.
 

Mo is the author and illustrator of the Pigeon books- Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, and the Knuffle Bunny series. His humor and short lines for each character, usually in word bubbles, make for easy reading for the youngest readers....he is the new Dr. Seuss!

My students learned to read with Mo last year. We wrote him letters and although he says he does not have time to answer personally, he did autograph a poster and write a personal message to my class...

...oh, if you still want to know if Elephants can dance....yes! Gerald does end up dancing.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*DANCE TIL YOU DROP*

D is for DRAGON SOUP

D is also for Dragons...two of them who concoct soups in their cave- one soup sweet and one soup sour. They have argued over the better soup for years...but as a reader you do not know this until Tonlu ventures into the cave to steal some fortune to save her family's farm.
 

The adventurous girl believes she will become part of the soup after she has been captured by the dragons while to stealing a giant pearl from the sleeping dragons. The tale ends happily but not without suspense. I read this book during Chinese New Year's yet it is perfect for teaching about cultures and morals. It is great for all ages with its magnificent drawings and dragons.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*ENJOY SPRING BREAK

 WHICH I AM DOING RIGHT NOW*

C is for CALIFORNIA

This book is actually part of the "Good Night" series, but I chose California for "C." Adam Gamble, creates board books for most states, major cities and even the world. Each book covers specific landmarks that are memorable that area- a great way to teach geography. As a parent, I used board books with my own small children because of durability. After attending The Reading and Writing Project at Columbia, I totally brought board books in my first grade classroom....I thought the children would shy from "baby books," but they have a brand new love for these books from their first years...and now used to master reading.

In Good Night California, you travel from the Pacific, to Yosemite-(my favorite as I have climbed Half Dome,) to the Redwoods and Golden Gate to farm lands and zoos.

No matter where you live, there is most likely a book like this for you....or where you plan to travel...or for the little one you want to share the love of books with.

 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*GOOD NIGHT HALF

DOME, I HOPE TO GET A PERMIT

TO CLIMB YOU AGAIN THIS SUMMER*

B is for BATS AT THE LIBRARY

B is for BATS AT THE LIBRARY....

This book is extra special this year as it was one of the California Young Reader Nominees. A cute tale of Bats who get word that a library window was left open and that changes a dull evening into a spectacular event. The bats spend the night rhyming their way through a library adventure- "Can it be true?- Can it be? Bat night at the library!"

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*READ A GOOD BOOK*

A is for Alison's Zinnia

Today s the first day of the A to Z Challenge...I just barely thought of a theme...

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

....appropriate for a teacher who has more than 1,000 books in my classroom alone...not counting what I have at home. But these books are not just for children- they are also for adults who love a good laugh, or cry or just enjoy the pictures.

A is for ALISON'S ZINNIA ...

In this book, Anita Lobel uses girl's names, flowers and verbs to make the alphabet of flowers come alive. Alison acquired an Amaryllis for Beryl.... Beryl bought a Begonia for Crystal...Crystal cut a Chrysanthemum for Dawn...all the way to Zena zeroed in on a Zinnia for Alison. The photos are suitable for framing...and the book is a wonderful gift for a gardener of flower lover...I bought this for my daughter Alison when she was just a few years old.

 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*

LAUGH HARDER*ENJOY A GOOD

 CHILDREN'S BOOK NO MATTER

HOW OLD YOU ARE*