Celebrate 9/26

It's Saturday and that means it is time to reflect on the week and celebrate things both big and small. Join our community and celebrate this week by linking up or just stopping by the host Ruth Ayres' blog to read others' celebrations.

How did it get to be the end of September already? How the time flies!

This week I am celebrating...

• Peaceful Independent Reading time and an increase in reading stamina among my students. 
• A smooth start to conferencing with my students. Some of them didn't even notice that I had started.
• Vitamin String Quartet music on Amazon Prime that helps us have peaceful work times
• Writing enthusiasm among my students and the variety of genres and topics that they explore each day
• Enjoying Rump together and hearing the insights and predictions of my students as we read
• Joyful, happy noise of our weekly board game time--we got out the Hot Wheels cars and ramps this week...
• A really fun curriculum from Hot Wheels for 4th grade Science. (Speedometry is the name of the curriculum...it's free and aligned with NGSS)
• A nice stack of Student Council applications to sort through and the excellent ideas these middle school students have
• Barre classes and the enthusiasm I have for getting back into workouts because of the studio I go to
• PUMPKIN everything! I love this season! 
• The cool fall nights that have brought some relief from hot days in the school
• GoNoodle---a great resource for brain breaks in the classroom...so fun!
• My new Birkenstocks and my orthotics that will help me have good arch support and hopefully heal the tendonitis in my ankle (and keep me from needing a boot for the same reason).

What do you have to celebrate this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 9/21

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? --From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

Books I Finished This Week: (or in the last few weeks)

I Crawl Through It by A.S. King is not my favorite book by her. I think it was really just the style that threw me. The surrealism just really was hard for me to swallow. I really liked and sympathized with the characters who had some really big challenges and trauma that they were dealing with. I would still recommend this book for high school and up, but I would just warn that it might be kind of confusing for people who are not willing to suspend their disbelief for the surrealist elements of the book. It was a big stretch for me. I am sure others will absolutely love it and I am impressed with this author for taking a big chance and writing another important YA novel.  I got this copy from NetGalley. Look for it when it comes out this week.

The Mark of the Thief by Jennifer Nielsen was a fun read. I enjoyed the adventures set in Ancient Rome. It was a fun book that I had a hard time setting down. I would definitely recommend this one for grades 4 and up. I am looking forward to finding the second book in this series to read more of the adventure.


Books I am Currently Reading:

I am reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. It is an interesting read. I love watching Master Chef and Top Chef. It is fun to get a glimpse into restaurant life through this gritty memoir. There are a few things I will change in how I order when I eat out as well. I am also reading Rump aloud to my class. They are eating it up and they love to speculate about the character's motivations.  SO fun!

What's Next?

I have no idea! There is so much involved with the beginning of the school year. I do read every night but usually end up dropping my kindle on my face. We'll see what this week brings.

What are you reading this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

Celebrate This Week! 9/19

It's Saturday and that means it is time to reflect on the week and celebrate things both big and small. Join our community and celebrate this week by linking up or just stopping by the host Ruth Ayres' blog to read others' celebrations.

I have had such a hard time getting to my blog lately. As I am getting back into a school year routine, I am working to try to carve out the time for everything I want to do. It doesn't help that the school year always starts with super hot temperatures and humid conditions which make it hard to get through the school day in a building that is not air-conditioned. Since I now know that I have MS, the extreme fatigue at the end of a super hot work day makes much more sense to me. At the end of one of these days, the only thing I want to do is veg out on the couch and go to bed early.  And so, the first thing I am celebrating today is the fact that I remembered and made the time to write a blog post.

I have had a great week! 

On Wednesday, Liesl Shurtliff came to do an author visit at my school. I was super excited about this visit and so were the students! We loved her presentation and I know there will be a lot of kids reading both Rump and Jack this year. I know that I will be able to celebrate the release date of Red: The True Story of Little Red Riding Hood this Spring with many students at my school.  

At home, my new cabinets were delivered on Wednesday. We are now waiting for the contractors to come to unbox them and inspect them and then we will have a schedule for the kitchen remodel. It is pretty exciting to think about how my kitchen will look at the end of the remodel, but it is also quite nerve wracking.  Today, the dishwasher and range hood will be delivered also. 

Last, but not least, I am celebrating a great start to the school year. I have a very sweet and eager class of students. I am really enjoying the first few weeks of getting routines and rituals started in the classroom. My students have built up 20 minutes of stamina in independent reading and are also doing well with stamina in writing time. I am really excited about the community that we have already started to build in class. 

What are you celebrating this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 8/31/15

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? --From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

This week I had a crazy busy time. I was able to get in my classroom to start setting things up on Monday and officially started work on Thursday. My sister and her family chose this crazy time of year to come visit from California, so they were staying with us on Thursday and Friday nights. Love the time with my nieces and my sister and her husband, but I was so exhausted by the time they left! This weekend was spent supporting my husband who is still a relatively new teacher and is struggling a little bit with designing courses and planning for four preps without spending hours and hours working. I am trying to help him streamline, but we think differently so it is sometimes bumpy. That being said, I am proud that I actually finished a book this week! It is much less than usual, but I will take it!

Books Finished This Week:

The Traitor's Smile is the sequel to The Pale Assassin by Patricia Elliot.  The books are set in revolutionary France. The main character is an aristocrat and therefore in danger during this time. Both books are full of intrigue and were interesting reads because I learned a lot about that time in history in France. I would recommend this book for grades 8 and up.


Books I am Currently Reading:

I am reading I Crawl Through It by A.S.King. I got this copy from NetGalley. I am having a hard time with this one. I really love all of this author's books and I know I will probably love this one once I understand what is going on, but I am really confused right now.

What's Next?
Frankly, I have no idea what I will read next. My students start tomorrow so this week is just surviving and getting everything prepared for the first few days of school. I do know that I will be reading Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin for my first read aloud because Liesl Shurtliff is coming for an author visit later this month!

What are you reading? Do you have any recommendations? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 8/24

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? --From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

I didn't plan to do so, but I seem to have taken a break from blogging for the last month or so. It was kind of nice to really not worry about what day it was and live in total vacation mode. Going back to work later this week makes it important to actually know what day it is. And, oh, guess what? It's Monday! Here are the books I've been reading:

Books I Finished:

Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat was a beautiful, but deeply disturbing book about growing up in two cultures and coming to terms with your past. It is definitely a novel I am glad I read but some of it was quite difficult to read. This is a book I would recommend to adults. 

Stella by Starlight is another fabulous book by Sharon Draper. The Ku Klux Klan has moved into Stella's town and now tensions are really high and everyone needs to be extra careful. I read this book thinking it would be too much for my fourth grade students, but I don't think it would be too difficult for them content-wise. I was impressed by the way the author dealt with this sensitive and scary subject matter in a way that I would be able to incorporate into my classroom. Of course, the book is also very appropriate for older grades as well. I would highly recommend this one to grades 4 and up.

I loved The Island of Dr. Libris by Chris Grabenstein, but not as much as I loved Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library. I still would absolutely recommend this excellent adventure to kids in grades 4 and up. 

I loved how Liesl Shurtliff wove together the worlds of Rump and Jack. I read Rump with my students at the end of the school year and they loved it. I know they will also love Jack! What's awesome is that my school has an author visit scheduled for Liesl Shurtliff to visit in September. I cannot wait to share this book with students and have them fall in love with this author too!

I finally got my hands on a Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales graphic novel. This one is The Underground Abductor. It is about Harriet Tubman. I actually learned a lot and I know my students will love this graphic novel. I highly recommend it!

The Trap by Steven Arntson is a really interesting fantasy which explores an idea about being able to have out of body experiences. I would recommend this one for grades 6 and up. 

I LOVED The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen. The story fascinated me from the very first page. I was able to connect with the main character from the very beginning. I liked the way the author really highlighted the idea of really seeing the people around us who are disabled and not seeing just their conditions. 

I have also been reading a bunch of the Who Was and What Was books. I love learning more about some of these things and I know my students will enjoy these books too.  

Have a great reading week!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 8/3

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? --From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

My poor blog has been quite neglected and pitiful this summer. I am enjoying my summer and it has been nice to just play it by ear and not necessarily stick to a schedule. This blog post will include the books I have read in the last two weeks since I didn't get to write last week. 

Books I Have Finished:

I bought Life After Theft because I was really interested in reading it after seeing Aprilynne Pike talk at an event. She is so funny! I really enjoyed reading the book. The characters are witty and clever. This is a fun read that many young adults would really love. I highly recommend this one for a light read.

Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori Lee is a very intriguing fantasy book. It captivated my attention from the first page. I highly recommend this book to grades 8 and up, especially fantasy fans. 

I love Rainbow Rowell and all the novels she has written! Landline is a novel written for adults and is a realistic look at marriage and the way people choose their priorities. The way the author weaves together a science fiction element and the great story about relationships is magic. I really loved this one and would highly recommend it for adults, especially those of us who can remember having to memorize a friend's number and call back multiple times in order to reach our friend. 

Milo gets pulled into a world full of Ogres and needs to figure out his way back home. He goes on a big adventure with lots of dangerous escapes. I know my 4th graders will love this book! I can't wait to share it with them when it comes out in September!

I have seen a lot of great things said about this book. I completely agree with all of them. What a magical story! I cannot wait to share this story with my students. I would highly recommend this one for grades 3 and up. 

Currently Reading:

I am reading The Witch of Lime Street: Seance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World from NetGalley. It is a fascinating historical account of how science tried to prove that the psychic world exists. I am really enjoying learning about this time in history. I am also reading Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat and listening to Rebecca.  

What's Next?

I am not sure what will be next. I do have a pile from the library and a shelf full of books from my class library that I wanted to read this summer. 

What are you reading this week? Any recommendations for me? I would love to hear from you in the comments! 

Summer Reflections-The Best Year Yet

     This summer, I have been lucky enough to attend multiple professional development events and to read some great professional books. All of the reading and reflecting has my head spinning with the possibilities in my classroom this next school year. I have been reminded this summer of the vision I have for a truly student-directed learning environment in my class.  I also have been inspired by truly excellent ideas for innovation in education such as flipped learning, genius hour, and gamification. Now, I need to begin to synthesize my learning and to decide what to focus on for the coming school year. There are some beliefs that I know I need to adhere to when thinking about my classroom:

• Classroom culture is the single most important thing. It is imperative to spend the time needed to teach students to respond to each other with kindness and to give them opportunities to collaborate with each of their classmates. 
• Students should be leading the learning. I want them to be setting goals and keeping track of their own learning and communicating that with their parents. 
• The classroom is OUR classroom. Involving students in setting it up and establishing some of the routines is important to me. 
• The workshop model is what works best for me and what I think is best for students. 
• READING is essential. Read aloud and independent reading need to happen every single day. 
• Encouraging a growth mindset is also imperative to helping students succeed
• Involving families in our learning is important. I want parents to have a place to go to see what we are doing each day in our classroom. I want them to feel like they are part of our learning. I want them to truly understand the standard-based report cards they receive each trimester. 

When I picked up Learn Like a Pirate by Paul Solarz, I expected to get a few good ideas from the book. I didn't expect to be reading the perfect book for my professional journey. I want my classroom to look like Mr. Solarz' classroom. I want my students to be able to feel the ownership that it seems like his students feel. I know that I will be going back to that book again and again as I consider how I will start the school year and what procedures and routines I want to establish. One of the absolute musts in my book will be establishing the student jobs that I know will make our classroom function more smoothly. I love the idea of the students who have the specific job of reminding other students to complete morning duties. I also love the idea of having a student who is responsible for getting the Smart Board up and running if I haven't already done so. I am also thinking that it would be good to have a student responsible for picking the GoNoodle brain breaks and navigating there when it is time for those breaks. I also loved his ideas for how to handle the end of the day. I will definitely be doing something similar this year. 

I also know that I need to establish a Genius Hour in my classroom. I want my students to have the opportunity to explore and learn for the sake of learning. I think this is one of the most important lessons we can give students. I still am working on thinking about how to make this work in 4th grade. When I was switching and had multiple classes for shorter amounts of time, it was easy to figure out 20% of the time. We spent one class a week on Genius Hour. With 4th grade, I am with them for so much more time. I am pretty sure that I want to establish a time every day or every other day to work on projects. I also want to encourage maker space type projects and working on challenges to solve problems. I don't know whether to create a separate time for that or to include it in my Genius Hour time. Perhaps we could do Genius Hour projects four days a week and then have a challenge problem on the fifth day. My biggest issue is how to have students record their work and set goals. I think it would be good to have them decide on the standards that they are working on and to assess themselves on those standards. 

I know I also want to use flipped learning in some way in my classroom this year. I don't yet know how I will use this idea. I also am really interested in gamification. I think I could perhaps connect the game to ClassDojo in some way. The issue that I have is that it will promote some competition among my students, which is counterproductive to the collaborative classroom culture. These are two innovative ideas that are still bouncing around in my head. The trick this year is going to be to take small steps and not to leap into too many big changes at once. 

Looking back over the reflections thus far, I see the need to carefully plan the first weeks of school so that I will be focusing on those things that are most important to me. I need to make sure that I have thought through everything and am absolutely prepared for the beginning of the school year. You would think after 15 years that this would be easier to do. I am determined to make this the BEST SCHOOL YEAR EVER! 

What are your ideas for the new school year? Are there things that you are considering adding into your curriculum for the year? Do you have routines that you deem to be crucial to creating a collaborative culture? I would love to hear your feedback and ideas in the comments!