Books!

The other day I went to the Goodwill (not only do I give them things but I buy things there too!) and of course, I stopped to look at the book section.  I am a sucker for books as anyone who knows me realizes, and I found a few books that I didn't have. Hard to imagine, I know. I flipped through the pages of the books just to make sure they were clean and not torn but didn't read them until I got home.  One of the books that I got was just hilarious and will become a perfect book to teach reading strategies and friendly letter writing at school.  Even if you are not using the book as a teaching tool, it is a perfect read-aloud at home that would get children engaged in the story.  The book is called Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague.  The main character is Ike, an overly dramatic dog who gets sent away from home to a dog obedience school for stealing food right off the counter, chasing the neighbors cats, howling whenever his owner is away, and tearing her camel hair coat while she was crossing the street.  Throughout the story, Ike complains about being mistreated by the school and begs to be taken back home.  Immediately.  He conveys his feelings in the form of letters to his owner at home, Mrs. LaRue.  The illustrations are one of the best parts of the book and cleverly depict Ike's perception of the events at school in black and white (oh the horror of it all!) with the reality of the events depicted in color.  What a perfect way to introduce comparing and contrasting as well as point of view!  I also found a fun friendly letter writing assignment online at writingfix.com that uses the book to teach how to write a persuasive friendly letter.  I won't tell you the end of the story, but will say there are sequels to Ike's tales that I am excited to read.  Here are the titles:
Detective LaRue: Letters from the Investigation
LaRue Across America: Postcards from the Vacation 
LaRue for Mayor: Letters from the Campaign Trail
I think the last book might be a great way to introduce local government concepts.
Enjoy reading Ike's letters, but don't believe a word he says ;-)

Learning to Let Go

Sometimes to go forward on a journey you have to go back and that is what I did yesterday. After living in the same house for twenty one years, I have accumulated a lot of stuff.  In the past, as soon as I get rid of something, I need it again.  In fact, in order to not have to retake a Life Science class when I was getting my teaching certificate, I had to prove that another class that I had taken met those requirements.  I needed to have a copy of the syllabus and a copy of the table of contents of the book that we had read for the course.  Because I had those things (from a class I had taken years ago) I was able to get credit and save money too!  I used this as a reason to keep the many course notebooks of my many classes over the years, as well as the fact that there was lots of great information in those books. Unfortunately, I didn't often consult them when I needed information on the subjects that were in them.  So yesterday was the day to go back through those notebooks (that I hadn't looked at in years) and get rid of them.  I just kept reminding myself that most of the information was on the internet anyway and that methods have changed over the years.  What do I do when I want to research information about a specific topic?  I look online, ask a colleague, or look in a book that has the latest research. 

I filled our recycling bin with papers that had been collected over the years and filled five bags that will go to the Goodwill.  For me, knowing where to start actually starting was the hardest thing.   I started by making a goal.  My goal is to have a small area where I can do a craft or make a card and not have to set it up and take it down.  My inspiration came from a Better Homes and Gardens article.  I decided that area will be in a large walk-in closet that I have upstairs.  When I began, the closet was stuffed with things like games (three backgammon sets...really?!?!), craft supplies, toys the kids had when they were little, costumes, gift wrap, and a number of other random things like a bag of old neckties that I was sure I could recycle into some cool thing.  

To make room for my new area, I needed to find places for some of the things that I did want to keep in that closet so I started by cleaning out the closet in the guest bedroom.  Goodbye notebooks, plan books, old clothes (if I haven't worn that dress in years because it is too long, I will never wear it, even if it is cute and I SHOULD just hem it up), and random toys.  I made a small dent in the things that I need to get rid of (mind you my things are stored neatly in closets and you can walk through our house!) and am going to keep at it so that my children do not have to do this later :-).  Now, my guests who are coming to town for my son's wedding (hooray!) will actually have a place to hang their clothes and my craft area is beginning to take shape!  By looking back at items of the past and deciding what to do with them, I am now able move on to new opportunities.  Oh by the way, I did keep the big stuffed Ninja turtle.  It will make a good wedding present don'tcha think?!?!

We Are Family

I went to my mailbox today and was happy to find my free (+ shipping and handling) DVD that I got from the We Are Family Foundation.  This organization promotes tolerance, peace, respect and hope.  The DVD features people, cartoon characters, and Muppets singing the song, "We Are Family."  The DVD encourages thinking about the idea that family extends beyond the traditional family unit.  It even comes with a sing-along with highlighted lyrics.  Fun!  I thought that this will be a great visual to show my students at the beginning of the year as we form our learning community and focus on differences and commonalities.  Other books that will reinforce the ideals of tolerance, peace, respect, and hope are Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud, I Am America by Charles R. Smith, Odd Velvet by Mary E. Whitcomb, and All Kinds of Friends, Even Green by Ellen B. Senisi.  Even though it seems like we just barely got out of school, it will begin again before I know it!

Summer Planning

It is great to be able to take the time to plan for the new school year during the summer.  This summer I have several plans that will help make the learning journey with my new second grade class more fun.  Yesterday, I received a great book from Amazon that I am planning to use to introduce the concept of interesting words and the writing process to my students.  It it called Max's Words by Kate Banks.  It is a great book that features a little boy who wants to have a collection like his brothers do.  His brothers will not share their stamp or coin collections with him so he decides he will create his own collection.  He begins to cut out different words from magazines and newspapers.  He starts with small words and moves on to bigger words, and then words that make him feel good.  He collects words of things he likes to eat and his favorite colors.  Then he uses the dictionary (great introduction to where our class dictionaries are located!) to find words he does not know.  He begins to make sentences with his words to show his thoughts and as he starts to create a story with his thoughts, his brothers become interested and want to share in the story process.  Do his brothers ever share their collections with him?  I will let you read the end of the story to find out but I think this book will be a fun way to introduce important concepts at the beginning of the year.  Do you have favorite books that you use to introduce concepts?  I would love to hear about them!  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.  
On another note, I found some great Dr. Seuss reusable bags at Target for a dollar each. I bought 25 and will decide how I am going to use them as the journey continues...

My Technology Journey

I have always wanted to write a blog but never really knew what I would write about.  Lately, it seems like I have been taking many different journeys in teaching and personal life so I thought looking at the journeys we take on the road to learning new things would be a good focus.  My most recent journey has been one into the wonderful world of technology.  I do love technology but it seems like it takes me SO much longer than other people to really get a handle on what I am learning.  As soon as I learn something, there is some new twist and I have to learn a whole new way to do the same thing that I just learned how to do!  That happened when I recently created a slideshow for my second grade students.  I was pretty good at making Proshow DVDs but then I made the switch from a PC to a MAC.  It took me quite awhile to figure out how to create a slideshow (and have the pictures match the words to the songs) on my new computer which means I am now meeting with families to pass out these DVDs after school has been out awhile.  When the going got tough and I had to make the DVDs for the third time, I reminded myself the process would be worthwhile it in the end when the kids have their DVDs to view at home and are reminded of the fun things we did together over the year.   It is always good to challenge myself to learn new things (or old things in a new way) because it reminds me to of how my students might feel when they are required to learn new things that are not easily understood.   Together we can talk about how it is hard at first, but the journey does get easier once we figure out the new information or how to complete a new process.  Now, on to learning more about creating a blog!