Thanks to the inspiration of one of my favorite bloggers, Teach Mama, I have brought back our magnetic letters. They were on the refrigerator for years when Caroline was tiny and then went away in those years when Caroline lost interest and when Katherine would merely teeth on them. I am thrilled to have been […]
Read moreBoth of my daughter’s schools encourage lots of parental volunteering and I have jumped in head first. I am a ‘reading mom’, a ‘read aloud parent’, a ‘library aide’ and and an ‘art docent.’ Fortunately, at the start of the school year, I realized that I had to focus on killing two birds with […]
Read moreThis month has been all about planning. Before Thanksgiving arrives, I will have given three presentations, begun teaching a parent-child literacy class and made significant progress toward deciding this year’s choice in the Cybil awards. While I may be struggling to find time to blog through all my planning, I do continue to read to […]
Read moreI am in one of those points in life when my personal and professional life are completely intertwined. The reading I do for “work” is so directly related to my own children that I often step back and think how lucky I am to be passionate about something that is truly important for my own children. I […]
Read morethe most fantastic resource! I am in the process of putting together a parent seminar anda parent-child class each called Growing Readers. The process is both exhausting and truly exhilarating. It is so wonderful to be doing work that really and truly does not feel a bit like work. As part of my preparation I am […]
Read moreThis week, my oldest daughter read with her teacher. While she was excited to tell me that she had gone up a reading level, she was most excited to let me know about her teacher’s subjective comments. She let Caroline know that she read with beautiful expression. And then that teacher must have gotten her […]
Read moreYesterday, the girls and I were lucky enough to meet Tad Hills, author of the Duck and Goose books and most recently, How Rocket Learned to Read. Rocket, we learned is modeled after Tad’s real dog which is no surprise. It was interesting, though, to hear how, when Tad decided that the bird in the story would […]
Read moreMy school district uses leveled books which is a method that I stand firmly behind philosophically. Thank goodness. I have fielded question upon question from parents who are frustrated by the system and feel like their children are lagging behind in reading. Leveled reading takes place within a guided reading curriculum. According to Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell, authors of […]
Read moreSo… for those of you who are in to tv, imagine being asked to sit on the panel for the Emmy’s? If you like movies, suppose you got to choose this year’s Oscar winners? Well, welcome to my excitement! Since the Cybils began in 2006, I have been following the nominations and the winners closely. The Cybils, […]
Read moreI must admit that I get a little bit star struck by authors. I am so amazed by their talent and the worlds they create in their minds. A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to meet Suzanne Collins, the author of the wildly fantastic Hunger Games and instead of the thousands of questions I […]
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