Tonight, Katherine was having a hard time falling asleep. In fact, she begged me to sleep with her. She asks this all the time which is strange because we have never been a co-sleeping family. The only time she has ever slept with me is when we go on vacation and the number of beds available make sharing a necessity. For some reason though, this fact never stops her from asking. She was so desperate tonight that she asked if maybe I could sleep with her on her birthday. While it sure would be a cheap present, I have to imagine I will be able to come up with a slightly better gift.

But anyway, back to tonight. She was really having a hard time letting go so I asked her if she wanted to give me one more hug or three, a simple strategy that continues to work. Or I should say, that continued to work before tonight. She countered with “100 hugs!” and then proceeded to hug me until she had counted all the way from 1 to 100.

While I think I developed a cramp in my neck around 37 and was having a hard time breathing by 62, it is nice to know that I am loved enough to receive one hundred hugs…

 

 

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A few weeks ago, I was talking with friends about the writing in the Twilight books. The consensus was that while not necessarily high quality literature, the story was not to be missed. I lost an entire day when I first read Twilight. I literally sat down in a chair right after I dropped the girls off and did not stand back up again until I finished the book. In my mind, any writer who can tell a story that compelling is talented.

And I feel the same way about the Hunger Games. Again, I lost days reading each of the books. I am thrilled by what The Hunger Games have done to bring books and reading into the mainstream. Teenagers and grown ups alike can talk on and on about the fictional world of Panem. My husband brought home an article from today’s paper about the upcoming movie release. People are talking.

And in case the picture is not clear, The Hunger Games have made the big time. On the same shelf as the Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Issue, sit two magazines with Hunger Games cover stories. If the small, quiet books are having a hard time pushing to the front, at least we can celebrate that good story telling in book form is still popular and still appreciated by the masses. Even if it takes the movie form of the book to make that happen…

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Last night, Katherine and I finally read the amazing, My Name is Elizabeth, by Annika Dunklee. I have been wanting to read this title for ages and am so glad we finally got to it. The story is wonderful. A young Elizabeth absolutely does not want to be Liz, Beth or Betsy and in fact, will answer to none of these names.

But my true  love of the book came when we got to this illustration:

Matthew Forsythe, a brilliant illustrator, has shown Elizabeth’s mouth making each of the sounds in her name. Now, as a speech therapist and reading specialist I absolutely, positively started doing a happy dance right then and there on Katherine’s bed.

My Name is Elizabeth will now be my go to book for showing clients how sounds feel in their mouths. For many struggling readers, this is the step that is needed for them turn letters from a clump of lines and spaces to a word.

My Name is Elizabeth is in my tutoring bag right now. Hopefully Elizabeth will help a little girl this very morning…

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I read to the girls all the time as they grew. I always had great new titles scattered all around the house. I did what I  could to turn my girls in to readers. Now that Caroline is nearly nine and a voracious reader, I try to give her lots of independence and let her choose what she wants to read.

As a result, I am learning that Caroline is indeed, her own person, in book choice as in life. I rarely, if ever re-read. There are just so many great books out there and so little time. I just can’t bear to read something I have already read at the expense of a book I have not yet discovered.

But Caroline has read very few new books over the past few months. She is re-reading and re-reading and re-reading. It’s as if she can’t get her fill of comfort reading. The literacy consultant in me says, “She’s reading. That’s what important.” The mom in me says, “She’s happy. That’s what matters.”

But the fellow reader in me says, “Look at everything you are missing!! Get to something new!!!”

I suppose patience is required here but I am getting antsy. Any fellow readers out there who want to share their thoughts on re-reading? I’d love to hear from re-readers and non-re-readers alike…

 

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The good news is that I got the new lap top that I have wanted for a very, very long time.

With it, I am going to introduce all sorts of cool things on this blog. Imagine videos, on-line classes and more.

The bad news is that there is a bit of a learning curve. It has taken all of my mental energy to create this post on the new computer.

Off to rest my brain with promises of beautiful things next week…

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So I think I made it pretty clear on Monday, that the Highlights Foundation workshop I went to last week was awesome. Now I’m even more excited about it.

You see, I have been on Twitter for ages now but I must admit that I never understood it. I found the whole thing so overwhelming that I decided I was a touch too old for it and I’d let it go. And then I listened to all our wise faculty last week, especially Katie Davis and Lindsey Leavitt who talked on and on about how much they learned through Twitter.

I decided that I would give it a go and I can’t even begin to explain about all the interesting articles, blog posts and thoughts I have read since last week. Among all the greatness though, one new piece of information rises to the top.

There is a March Madness of children’s literature. It is called the Battle of the Kid’s Books and you can read all about at School Library Journal.

Now if you are a reading nerd (and I say that fondly) like I am then take a deep breath before I continue.

Because there is even a bracket.

Every year, I fill out a basketball March Madness bracket because I like to be part of the excitement. And every year I realize how little I know about basketball. I end up picking teams because of their geographical location (‘Oh, my dad used to live in New Mexico, I’ll go with them’) or the color of their uniforms (‘I love a good Carolina blue’) or a heartwarming story I heard about their coach (Arizona’s Lute Olson struck my fancy one year.)

Now this year, I will have my own bracket and I will know what it’s all about. I will pick books because I know about them and love them. I will have real emotional connection with the outcome. I will truly care who wins or looses.

Hum… Maybe I’ll even develop a great understanding about why certain people (read: Rob) pay so much attention to the television during March… Or maybe I’ll just have Rob fill out a Battle of the Books bracket to see how I’ve felt all these years….

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When teaching children to comprehend what they are reading, one of the simplest and most effective strategies is to encourage them to make connections. Connections to other books they have read (Wow! The Humming Room reminds me a lot of Secret Garden), connections to themselves (see below) and connections to the world (Gosh! I think the Lorax is reminding us about the importance of recycling.)

As effective adult readers, we make these connections in our minds all the time without even realizing we are doing it. Strong teachers will model these thoughts with their students during read alouds encouraging children to bring these strategies into their own reading.

Last night,  I was reading the book, Silly Billy  to Katherine before bed. I had picked it up off the shelf at the library because it mentions ‘worrying’ and Caroline is the greatest worrier of all time. Of course, Katherine was the one who was drawn to book but doesn’t that kind of thing always happen?

In the story, Billy gets a set of worry dolls from his Grandma. As I was reading, Katherine shouted out, “I have a connection!!! Billy’s grandma gave him  his worry dolls and our grandma gave us worry dolls!!!” She was so excited, she literally jumped out of bed and ran to tell Caroline about the connection she had made.

There is no doubt in my mind that Katherine’s wonderful kindergarten teacher has been making all sorts of connections in the classroom.

As Katherine calmed down, she continued to talk about all the similarities between her and Billy as well as the differences. She even asked me to find books by the same author and to find more books about worry dolls. Connections, connections, connections.

How amazing to know what a strong little reader we are growing here…

 

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Every so often I stumble upon a perfect book.

Well, ‘stumble’ isn’t quite fair. I found Wonder after reading about it on one of my favorite blogs, A Year of Reading.

And then after I started reading it, the book showed up everywhere. Like how when you talk about someone you haven’t seen in ages and then you start seeing them again, everywhere. I read reviews and blog posts about Wonder and crossed my fingers that it would live up to all the hype. I hadn’t read something truly engrossing for a bit and I needed a book to remind me why I love to read.

Wonder was up to the task and then some.

Wonder is the story of a boy with a genetic condition that leaves his face unbelievably malformed. August says at the beginning of his story, “I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.” And then as a reader, you are taken into the life of this boy, his family and friends.

I will remember this read for a long time. And I will hope that I bring with it, an important message that is imparted to the student’s at August’s school. Mr. Tushman, the middle school director, recites from J.M. Barrie’s The Little White Bird,

Shall we make a new rule of life…always try to be a little kinder than necessary.

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I spent last week doing something so new and different that I am not sure I have the words to describe the experience.

Back in the fall, I learned about the Highlights Foundation Founders Workshop, titled Making the Web Work for You and I applied.  I was accepted and began to prepare for my first trip on my own since Caroline was born, eight and a half years ago. Needless to say, Rob and the girls did wonderfully and with a few small exceptions, I’m not even sure they noticed I was gone. It’s amazing what extra dessert and tv can do to a girl’s enjoyment of her week.

 

 

 

I learned more in five days than I have in an awfully long time.

I learned about so very many places to go and things to do to expand my conversation about literacy. You can now find me at Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads. I learned that putting video on my blog is neither hard nor scary.

And I learned that it is inspiring and lovely to make new friends who share my love of all things related to children’s books. Our group was small. I ‘knew’ a few of the faculty from interactions on-line but truly knew no one before the workshop began. We were such a motley crew, a bit Gilligan’s Island-ish, I thought at one point- those of you who were there can start the casting now. But somehow it all worked. We learned and laughed and ate the most glorious food together.

My fellow participants, Doug Wechsler, Clara Gillow Clark, MW Penn, Robin, Nija and I were incredibly lucky to have the most impressive faculty with us. Each expert seemed to know more than the one seated next to them. Their expertise and experience were diverse and we learned from all they had to offer.

We were able to spend time with

Bobbie Combs and Laurina Cashin of We Love Children’s Books,

Lindsey Levitt (pictured below), author of the Princess for Hire  series and Sean Griswold’s Head,

Katie Davis, illustrator of Little Chicken’s Big Day and developer of the podcast, Brain Burps About Books and

Jules (pictured below) of Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

How very lucky I feel to have shared this time with amazing people learning such inspiring information. More to come, I am sure…

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A few weeks ago, I described my Valentine’s plans to my neighbor. I told her that the girls were so excited about the holiday this year that I decided to do something new. I bought a banner, special plates, napkins and balloons and decorated our breakfast nook as a surprise for the girls when they came down stairs. Caroline was so thrilled she exclaimed, “Wow! We’ve never done anything so festive before!”

After I told my friend the story she said, “Well, I guess that’s why we stay home, isn’ it?”

Ever since she said that, I’ve been thinking. I’ve tried awfully hard over the years to remain, at least part time, a working mom. I love my girls but I also like remaining out there in the big wide world. At the same time, though, I have also tried awfully hard to remain, at least part time, a stay at home mom.

And in thinking about my friend’s comment, I’ve realized that sometimes I forget why I have tried to stay home. I think often about the logistics of it all. How hard it is to find child care. How overwhelmed I would get trying to do it all. That sometimes, I forget why it is I try to be home.

It is so I can decorate for Valentine’s Day.

And so when I walk home with the girls, we can stop and admire the first flower of the spring.

Walking home the other day, we spotted the tiny purple flower above. We were walking with my neighbor’s daughter and she and Katherine ran over when I called them. It was a cold and windy day and they both dropped down and covered the small bud, protecting it from the winter chill.

Now I am on the look out for the real reasons why I stay home. I can’t wait to see what I discover next…

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