Literacy Learning Zone

Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ The girls love shoes. It's the shopping part of it that makes it difficult. When they were little, it was so easy to buy online. I found cute, reasonable, practical shoes. And I bought two pairs in a click. Now, shoe shopping with almost eight year old twin girls has it's challenges. And they have strong opinions that usually differ as well. We bring our patience and try to have fun ... They look for style.  "What about this one? It's cute." Wrinkled nose. Shake of the he...

__________________________________________________ The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ My almost eight year old girls are swimming in the seas of graphic novels. They started with the popular "classics" of Smile and Sisters . I read these books years ago, but cannot recall the details of the content. I wonder if it's appropriate for second graders, but I understand that some things will just go over their heads. I decided I better reread these books, but also thought about introducing them to another graphic novel series I thought they would enjoy: Babymouse. I brought home the first five books in the series and Peyton devoured three of them in two days. I agreed to bring home the rest of the ...

__________________________________________________ The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ "Mommy ... what if ..." Madison whispered to me yesterday morning as we were picking out clothes for church. "What, honey?" I asked, wondering where her concern was coming from. "Well, what if Harley has her surgery and she dies?" And this came with a flood of tears. "Oh, come here," I whispered in her ear and hugged her close , "Harley is going to be just fine." Our six month old puppy is going to the vet today to be spayed. We've talked about this appointment for weeks and tried to explain the surgery to the girls. I talked through the surgery again rea...

__________________________________________________ The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ Every morning ... "Good morning! Rise and shine! " I softly say as I flip on the light switch, turn off the globe that is used as a nightlight, and push the off button to quiet the sound of rain. I touch her leg to start the wake up process. Then I repeat all of this in another bedroom with my other daughter. I sit on her bed, usually chatting about the day ahead or about the weather, so she knows how to dress for the day. I may hear some groans. There is major stretching. One eye opens slowly. Then the other. Squinting at me in the bright light. Then I repeat all of this in the other bedroom with my othe...

__________________________________________________ The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ A quick trip to Target last night "Girls, let's make this fast!" {We had a list and knew what we needed.} A stop first at the dollar section "Look, Mom. It's only a dollar." {Grabbed a total of four light-up puffer balls.} Then by the books - they know me "Look, Mom. A new one! And it's a signed copy." {Yes, a new copy of She Persisted Around the World .} The cheap party favor aisle "Look, Mom. I've always wanted this." { Added suction cup balls to the cart. I question Why? } To the clothing section for girl...

__________________________________________________ The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ Mornings at our house are usually smooth, but some mornings they can be tough. And it's usually my fault too. Some mornings I like to hit the snooze button ... more than once. This delay in getting up and out of bed sets the scene for the rest of the morning. One morning, a few days ago, started off with one of these delayed starts, which then caused me to feel a little stressed. When this happens, I'm rushing the girls. When I'm rushing the girls, they feel NO sense of urgency. And this then makes me more stressed! "Finish eating. Stop talking. C'mon. Can someone start brushing teeth? Don't forget...

__________________________________________________ The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ Thursday nights are dedicated to gymnastics class for my daughters. We spend the evening at the local YMCA from 5 to 7:45 pm. It's also my special one-on-one time with each of my girls. They have class at different times, so this has allowed me the opportunity to be present with only one of my daughters at a time. Without sister interruptions. I had already shared with my girls that I was participating in the March Slice of Life challenge again this year and that the goal is to write every day of the month. "What will you write about every day?" M. wondered out loud. "Little stories from our d...

The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers . Join us for a month of writing! __________________________________________________ Once in awhile we just can't make it to the bus on time. Instead of stressing myself and yelling at the girls, I take a deep breath. (I learned this after one or two not-so-good attempts at rushing to catch the bus.) "Finish breakfast and let's get ready for school. I'll take you this morning." On the drive to school, I shared that I wrote about M. losing her tooth . I retold my slice, mentioned the wiggle, wiggle, push, push and the tarantulas. "Mommy! No! You have to delete that part!" "Oh no, it's important I share all the detail...

Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ My twin six year old daughters know about "one little words." Last year, I was on a mission to live out happy. Happy this and happy that and just the word happy was plastered wherever I could possibly remind myself of my one little word.  Even the wallpaper on my phone. (Notice my one little word from 2016 to the right. -->) Last week when the girls returned to school, I was happy to hear that as I was contemplating my one little word for the year, they were also thinking about a goal fo...