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 It was outdated then and truly is now with the simple drawings of an old time kitchen- but none-the-less enjoyed by my students...and very useful for rhyming exercises.-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*

First sweep- 31 boxes...

This is how I left my wing today...

and now for spring break!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*ONLY 100 OR SO MORE BOXES TO GO*

16 Boxes

That is how many boxes I have packed. The first box sweep is next week during SPRING BREAK!! I won't be there, but when I return, all those boxes will be in a storage container on the playground. As of this moment, I have no idea where or what I will be teaching- I just know that it won't be in the classroom I have now...the aged, rodent infested, leaking roof of a room with the gorgeous views.

I have way too much to pack, but thankfully two wonderful moms packed 4 of the boxes for me. They also filled plastic eggs for an egg hunt on Friday. I am very lucky- it has only taken 28 years to work in a place like this....I am ready for the next adventure...I should find out Friday what I will be doing if I choose to stay at this school. Then it is SPRING BREAK BABY!!!! Off on adventures with the Captain :)

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*PACK A BOX OR TWO...OR 500*

Darn Leprechauns!

Today was the day I dread...the day after St. Patrick's Day...when the kids can't wait to get into the classroom to see if they caught a Leprechaun!! But alas, not a wee Leprechaun was to be found...just tripped traps, stolen loot and a note to find his missing hat...oh- and he left a gold coin and a chocolate covered coin in each trap - Just one problem...the gold chocolate coins I bought just for this occasion, were hidden in my desk...and mice got to a few of them!

Ghak!

The Green Eggs and Spam pan was waiting for me to clean...the inside of the eggs were really GREEN...I took the syringes from when Daughter #1 was a diabetic (due to chemo,) and made a pinhole in the egg shell and shot in a syringe full of green food coloring! Imagine the excitement when the cracked egg was broken into the bowl and it was GREEN! And imagine that I had the kids the rest of the day all hyped.

Until next year....see ya Leprechaun and your foolishness!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*KISS ME I'M IRISH*

What's worse than packing you ask?

Parent conferences and report cards!

In kindergarten for the past 16 years, parent conferences were in November and May...now that I have graduated to 1st, parent conferences are in November and March. I do like that so the end of the year is not so hectic BUT, pile on packing up my entire classroom to go to storage is insane....along with reading assessments and report cards...I have reached the point where weekends and evenings are getting eaten up with work details.

On top of that, I have no idea what or where I will be teaching. There will only be 3 first grades next year and I am the 4th teacher...just like what happened to me last year as the 4th K teacher...so I pack up boxes of things I used in fall and winter and label them only with my last name...and hope that all 100+ boxes will make it to whatever room and whatever school I happen to move to.

Life is good in my old classroom despite the leaking roof and mice. It is a shame it will be remodeled into a room with built ins with no choice of how to set up. Right now I have no cabinets or built in anythings and I can arrange it however I please....plus my new SMART BOARD is so so cool! I am so lucky to have taught in this room for 2 years...I am hoping not to have to go into the portable with the windows that only open 3" and one door...I will feel like a caged animal. I will miss the sunrise over the trees and the view of the bay....and these little children who I have taught for two years in a row...who came to me, some not knowing letters and now benchmarking in reading!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*I AM ONE LUCKY GIRL*

LOCK DOWN!

So 3 years ago I hit a first in my teaching career...I experienced a tornado warning...which is very uncommon if not unheard of in California. Today it was a lock down...not a first in my career- there was the time we were under lock down in my old school district due to a meth lab bust with an evacuation of surrounding apartments until all the combustibles were taken off the premises. -

But today's was a real lock down as some robbery suspects were fleeing police, they drove into the neighborhood and hit a dead end street just a few blocks from school- and then dumped the car and ran....not before hitting an officer with their car. Thankfully it was not life threatening! The suspects were finally arrested and taken away. But the police locked down my school and the local middle school until they were sure they had all the suspects. When I heard the announcement I went to lock my back door and saw a class out at P.E.- they could not hear the announcement due to all the police sirens. I blew my whistle and yelled to the teacher to go back to her room that there was a lock down. My classroom still does not have Columbine locks so I have to open the door to lock it- thankfully or I would not have looked out on the playground.

My students were really good and continued work as I frantically texted other teachers and my husband to find out what was going on. They are too young to really comprehend Sandy Hook and most parents did not let the children watch the news about that. But the 5th graders were worried...and even mentioned that someone may come with a gun...so sad.

All is well that ends well...now off to a board meeting to present a little on the Running Club that I run at school.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*GOOD THING I CARRY MY

CLASSROOM KEYS AROUND MY NECK*

When Old Tech Meets New Tech

I know...I am spoiled at my new school...I have a SMART BOARD...but I still have video tapes and I am not going to invest in purchasing those in DVD...or pay to have them digitized...

So this morning I googled, hook up a VCR to a SMART BOARD and sure enough...it can be done. I was pretty sure, since I saw the yellow, white and red plug holes that it could be done...but I didn't want to blow up such a nice, expensive piece of equipment. 

And now we have old meets new in Room 14!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*LAUGH HARDER*BECOME

YOUR OWN TECH MASTER*

Small Tale of Worldly People

My daughter met these folks in Laos.
(CLICK HERE)

When I told her I had seen an article about a couple riding their bikes around the world, and they were hit and killed by a pick up truck last month- she gasped and said, "We met them in Asia."

I just pulled up the article, and sure enough it is them. RIP - Small small world.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*SUCH

A BIG WORLD, SO LITTLE TIME*

READ ACROSS MY CLASSROOM

I got to work at 6:15 to set up...to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday, known in the school world as Read Across America. The kids who were in my kindergarten class last year were looking forward to today...and although I had not planned to wear pajamas, on Thursday afternoon the kids insisted. So we voted and 23-1 it was decided....and I was very comfortable today.

I got permission to bring our foster dog as a "reading dog." She loved being in the classroom with children...she has only been to my school on weekends and knows her way throughout the building but she was blown away when the students showed up..and they loved her to death. She was read to many, many times today.

I had a packing meeting at lunch and I had morning snack duty so I had no break in teh school day...so by 3:15 I was more than ready to leave...I packed up and took the dog to meet The Captain at the vista point...he was there but had forgotten my workout bag...so instead of swimming we came home...and I promptly rested with my feet up. That makes tomorrow a run and swim day...so I am off to sleep.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. SEUSS*