I am always on the look out for books for emergent readers. You know emergent readers. They are the ones who are so close to reading that they can almost taste it. The ones who can sound out cvc (consonant-vowel-consonant) words with only minimal effort. The ones who can recognize lots of sight words. The ones […]

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Jules, of Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, wrote eloquently, as always, about a fabulous series, The New York Review Children’s Collection. Why hadn’t I ever heard of such a thing, I wondered? And then I read the description posted on their website: The New York Review Children’s Collection began in 2003 in an attempt to […]

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Sometimes the creative blogging juices just aren’t there. Today would be one of those days. When this happens, I flip back through my pictures for inspiration. Today I found this… They are just some of the many bookcases at a fantastically wonderful bookstore we visited during our time on the Cape. I think I could […]

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I truly believe, for the most part, that children gravitate toward the materials that surround them. In this house, those materials would be books, paper and writing supplies. The girls are both avid readers and writers, in part, because of the things that are around them every day. Lately too, I’ve noticed another benefit. Caroline, […]

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with Bear and his friend Mouse, a delightful duo created by the author Bonny Becker and the illustrator Kady MacDonald Denton. Last night, Katherine and I read A Bedtime for Bear and we just couldn’t get enough. From the adorable illustrations to the wonderful vocabulary to the insightful but subtle message, this book has it all. Katherine […]

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So I am a little late to the party. Or maybe a lot late. To be totally honest, I completely forgot about one of my favorite collections of blog posts from last year and couldn’t have been happier when I stumbled upon it yesterday. Cathy Mere of Reflect and Refine: Building a Learning Community and author […]

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I often have visions of beautiful sunny days when sisters play quietly like the best friends they really are.  Sometimes, we actually have those days. Yesterday was not one of them. All day long I heard, “I’m bored!” “Everyone’s on vacation except us!” “What can we do!?” By mid afternoon, I realized that my vision […]

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My inbox of full of education related news. I sign up for tons of newsletters from places like Reading Rockets, The National Council of Teachers of English, and The International Reading Association. I love reading all the teaching tidbits, book recommendations and policy news that comes my way. Given the climate in public education today, […]

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I can’t think of a much better scene to stumble upon than the one I just did. May it go on and on…

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Preschooler at the library: “Can I get this Thomas movie?” Her father: “You are too old for that.” Preschooler: “Please!” Her father: “It’s too Christmasy.” Preschooler: “Can I get it at Christmas time?” Father: “Sure. If it’s still here.” Preschooler: “Great. I’ll hide it.” So… Funny conversation for sure but it also got me thinking. […]

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