Literacy Learning Zone

I'm a mom who is trying to balance new babies (ok, not really new. . . they are almost 10 months old already!?!) and working full time.  Part 1 of my life consisted of ideas for writing about school and work.   Part 2 is my home life.  Home sweet home.  1.  A Pinky Promised Visit 2.  A Working Mom 3.  Anxiety, Worries, and Guilt 4.  Super Daddy 5.  No Pain, No Gain 6.  Hope 7.  OLW: Intentional Ideas that will hopefully lead into some great writing and sharing in the next couple of days!

Thanks for your idea Diana at One Literacy Coach ! Here's a list of ideas to help me prepare for the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge starting March 1st.   Won't you join us? Chapters of My Life - Part 1: At School! 1.  Synthesize 2.  Can I ask you a question? 3.  Celebrations 4.  Day 6 5.  Hugs 6.   DCFS   Her Story 7.  Acronym Crazy

It is that time of year again.  State testing.  I usually don't stress about it because at this point, what can you do?  Encouragement is my best advice . . . as is peppermint candy , so I have heard.  (Something to do with memory. . . I think.  I don't really remember!)  Guess I need to chomp on some peppermint to boost my concentration! [Digging in the desk junk drawer. Ah-ha!  Red and white swirl. Twisting the clear cellophane wrapper open. Crinkle and crunch.] Oh!  Now I remember what I was chatting about before the "interrupting peppermint". . . I'm starting to feel anxious about "THE TEST," as Miss Malarkey  would say. Last year was the first year our school (just barely) did not meet AYP (adequate yearly progress).  We have a high percentage of students who are economically disadvantaged and also the majority of our population is ELL.  We have a new administrator this year learning how and why we do the things we currentl...

Note: Choice Literacy is a subscription website, but worth every penny if you are a literacy leader or providing literacy professional development!  There are many free features, including The Big Fresh e-newsletter that arrives every Saturday morning with great ideas -- many free links to check out!  Browse The Big Fresh archives to see what you've been missing! I love perusing the Choice Literacy website.  It's amazing!  Their adage: "Come for the resources. Stay for the inspiration." You think you are searching out information on one topic and before you know it, you've found 10 more articles or videos on other interesting and inspiring topics! One component of the Choice Literacy website is the Professional Development Clusters .  As a literacy leader in my school, I'm always looking for new ways to provide PD or information to share.  This is an awesome resource!  Choice Literacy has already "clustered" several articles, videos, and ref...

enjoying a glimpse of sunshine, a breath of fresh air, a jaunt around the block and the hope of spring-to-come noticing the natural light of the day that is still looming at five o'clock in the evening adoring a curious tilt of the head, a bellowing laugh, a coy smile, a slow blink of those much desired long eye lashes, and a sweet snuggle from my angels watching one child learning to crawl and the other perfecting the art being the one who is needed in the middle of the night for comfort starting something new that I am passionate about sharing that 'something new' with those I trust and respect growing giddy with excitement as I peruse the comments of my first slice loving going to work every day and knowing that I make a difference connecting with my students, laughing and learning together, and having the utmost respect for each other reading a student's blog that she decided to post from home instead of choosing to watch TV finding a splendiferous childr...

Here I am!  I did it!  I finally sat down this weekend during M's and P's (my adorable nine month old twin daughters) nap and I created a blog.  My biggest hold up was a name.  Everything is in a name!  I am a reading specialist and my focus (and love!) is reading and writing, but coming up with a name was stressing me out! After checking the availability of various names, "Literacy Zone" just popped into my head.  I typed it in. Holding my breath, I clicked.  It was available!  Whew...I'm done.  I did it!  Well, not so fast. Of course, I (a self-admitted type-A over-achiever) couldn't make things simple.  I had to start collecting and adding and changing.  Then more changing, adding, and collecting.  I was seriously addicted to my laptop this weekend.  Remember when you first logged on to Facebook?  (Well, I'm not actually on Facebook, but my husband is a member.  When he first started using it, he was ...