Literacy Learning Zone

Image from Unsplash: Photo Credit Kimberly Farmer March 13th Before the world closed the doors indefinitely I made a quick stop at our library grabbed stacks (and stacks) of books and a few movies to entertain the family during the unknown months ahead. The pile waited -- I imagined enjoying my time at home, spending hours upon hours just reading with my feet up, living in a new book a day. But, for me, I couldn't focus. Fall into a book. Feel lost in another world. All my attention online had my brain dinging like a pinball machine. The pile waited -- The extended lease is up on all the library materials in 5 days. Now I am frantically trying to read and read and read in an attempt to move my to-be-read books to the finished, completed,  happily read and ready to return to the library pile. The pile patiently waited.  Some books will be pleasantly devoured. Some books will be a quick read.  Others will be returned with  a desperate plea to be checked out again. June...

Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ Every night for years, my almost (in ONE week) eight year old daughters and I snuggle up in our big bed before bedtime and read. Some days, it's picture books from our library. Or new books from a Scholastic book order. Or even books the girls checked out from their school library. Or an old favorite we have read and read and read again.  The book selections and options are endless and always growing. Bedtime reading is one of my favorite moments of my day. Over the last year, ...

__________________________________________________ The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ Books are treasures in our house. And I'm one that can't say no to more and more books. We have stacks of books from the library. I buy new books from Scholastic and Amazon. We visit the Little Free Libraries. We devour books in our house. It's a problem that I know many of you also share with me, but when I see the benefits of creating a home of readers with my own two daughters ... I know we are doing the right thing. This week my readers were reading in the wild ... in the dark ... in the car, and even in bed, under the cover of darkness. And to be honest, it brought a smile to my face. (Just as the t...

__________________________________________________ The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ One of my very favorite moments of the day is after the homework is complete, jammies are on, and teeth are shiny and clean. Technically, it's still part of their homework, but we don't call it that -- unless Daddy looks at his watch and mentions, "It's getting late. Can't we just skip it tonight?" "Uh, nope. Sorry. It's part of their homework," I explain, winking at my girls. We meet in my room. One girl on each side of me as I'm snuggled in the middle of our big bed with one or two books (or several, if we were recently at the library). The other night we finished the fourth b...

Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ Books have created an amazing bond between us. It's that special time we get to sit, side-by-side, snuggled in close with a book shared between the three of us. The story, the characters, the laughs, maybe even a few tears. The information, the interesting facts, the surprises, the I-didn't-know-that! Favorite authors, amazing illustrators, continued reading in a series, brand new titles. We read and reread. Some titles again and again and again. My daughter P.'s goal is to checkout a...

The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ I love story time before bed. It's quiet time together, snuggling in the big bed. The girls each pick a book to read and share. Sometimes I read. Sometimes the girls read. Sometimes they take turns ... Elephant and Piggie are perfect books for taking turns. And this special time together gathered around books is never missed. Trust me. There have been busy evenings or late nights, and my husband may suggest we skip reading. Nope. We can't. It's part of their homework to read every night. (I'm happy to use this as an excuse!) And besides ... We want to read. We nee...

__________________________________________________ The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ Yesterday I attended an all day conference, "A Day at Judson" with Dr. Jan Richardson ( #ADAJ2017 ) about "Next Steps for Struggling Readers: Guided Reading and Beyond." It was a packed day of learning coming at us fast! A colleague and I took notes collaboratively.  It's best when two of us can add notes and photos to capture the day. Now I need time to process all the information shared and add pieces into my every day practice and interventions plans in place. Some highlights: Judson University is a beautiful little campus. A prayer by  Dr. Steven Layne    started our day of learnin...

__________________________________________________ The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ Maybe you have heard. Maybe you haven't. Yesterday morning I stopped by Katherine's blog at Read Write and Reflect .  She openly shared about the anxiety she holds as being a mom. It was sparked by the NY Times article You May Want to Marry My Husband   by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Yes, the AKR we all know and adore. Please read it. But be prepared. It's real and heartbreaking. I read it with no realization of what I was actually reading. It still sits with me deep in my heart. Deep in my stomach. I thought about her all day. I had a little free time while my girls attended a birthday party and ended up at a ...

Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ For six years of her life, I have provided my daughter choice when it comes to selecting books to read. At the public library we visit often, she will grab a book that interests her, sit down on the ground, and slowly, carefully study the book page-by-page to decide if it will make it into the check out pile. There are no levels or discussions about letters. There are no rules or boundaries. (I'll be honest. There have been an occasional eye roll at a book selection ... but I can only take so muc...

Check out other favorite Picture Book Lists:  Picture Book 10 for 10 Google Community Learn more about #pb10for10 from Cathy at   Reflect and Refine  and Mandy at  Enjoy and Embrace Learning ______________________________________________________________ Picture books tend to touch our hearts and leave us with so many different feelings.  All of the picture books I selected for my list are #heartprint worthy.  They have left an impression on my heart and I want to share these books and feelings  with my students, my own children, and you.   Our hearts overflow with feelings with each picture book. My #pb10for10 list of books is full of feelings -- inspired by the picture book   In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek .  (Yes, I snuck in an extra book!) In my heart ... ______________________________________________________________ 1.   This is when my heart is ...  HAPPY:   Mo...