Literacy Learning Zone

Slice of Life  hosted  at the Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life. I picked up the girls after school.  I asked them about their day, but P. only wanted to know one thing. "Mommy, did you wash the clothes?" I know exactly what clothes she is talking about.  The hand-me-down clothes the girls picked out from friends from our old church.  They generously shared two large boxes of clothes in just-the-right-size for the girls.  The other night, after the girls were in bed, I dumped out the boxes and scanned the possibilities. Most of the articles of clothing were not my style for the girls.  In addition, my girls are currently on a "let's dress alike" kick.  I wasn't buying t

Slice of Life  hosted  at the Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life. This is a deep breath kind of moment. Just a day before a new year begins. Anticipation of the what's to come. Smiling faces walking through the school doors. A fresh start.  To begin again a year older. Brand new clothes and shoes and backpack and supplies. A missing tooth grin.  Fancy hairdo.  Looking too cute. Excited to be with friends in a new class with a new teacher. Nervous about the newness of it all.  Ready to start. Me? I'm ready to foster new and old relationships. To show them I care.  Wanting to make the difference. To read and write and laugh together. To laugh and write and read together. Take

Slice of Life  hosted  at the Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life. The last days of summer are almost here. Soon it will be time to trade in ... Late sleepy mornings Busy but no-rush days Vacations away Play at new neighborhood parks Swimming lessons Trips to the library Grandma time Bike rides around town Craft and project days Movie nights in the living room Catching fire flies Later bedtimes For all the back-to-school routines ... Earlier wake ups Lights on, rise and shine "Let's go!" mornings Quick hugs-n-kisses drop off Long, long days apart Dreaming about summer ways Missing the small moments Thinking about our time Rushing home for pick up Squeezing wh

Check out other favorite Picture Book Lists at    Reflect and Refine  and  Enjoy and Embrace Learning Every year that I have participated in the #pb10for10 -- sharing ten (yes, only ten!) picture books that I could not live without in my classroom -- I usually shared my here-are-my-now-favorite ten picture books.  My lists had some standby solid favorites sprinkled with a few newer titles.  Never once had I thought about a theme like many of the other smart picture book lovers that were sharing.  This year I thought I would stand my ground and share my right now favorites. And then I got to thinking a little more. Oh, the possibilities ... ______________________________________________________________ 1.  Possibility of IDEA:   What Do You Do With an Idea?  by Kobi Yamada Love the possibilities of ideas that grow! A gift of nurturing your dreams, being unsure to share, watching them grow!  Just a beautiful story accompanied by gorgeous illustrations.  Let th

Slice of Life  hosted  at the Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life. These days I never make the time to shop.  With two four year olds, slow-pace-easy-shopping is rare.  Let's just say I do plenty of online shopping. However, today the girls and I took the fifteen minute drive to our local IKEA.  The girls have been asking to go to the play land.  Every time we shop at IKEA (again, rare), there is a long line of kids waiting.  We end up shopping together as a family.  Well, the quick version due to endless whining, "I wanna go home!"  I thought we'd try visiting during the week when maybe it wasn't as busy.  We were sort of right: there was a wait to get into the play land, b