Reading in the Wild Chapter 1

My daughter found time to read at her first sleepover!

Reading non-fiction is hard for me. Even if it does deal with subjects near and dear to my heart. I'm a junky for anything dystopic or Historical Fiction. I just finished Ladies Night by Mary Kay Andrews and was surprised at how hard I fell into it. I'm hoping by joining Think, Wonder, & Teach and 3rd Grade Book Worm I'll be held accountable for reading Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller.

After reading the first chapter I feel good about the time I dedicate each day to independent reading practice. I also feel thrilled that by the end of the year many of my students are taking books to lunch each day and reading to each other.

I have to admit that I need to do more to foster a love of reading for some of my students who fake read. The section in Chapter 1 on Independent Reading Observation was eye opening for me. I usually feel like I have to be busy the whole time my students are reading. Teaching first grade, I spend a lot of time reading to and with my students. I take every possible moment to be actively involved with them as they read independently. I can see the value in sitting back and observing reading habits. Donalyn follows observations, with evaluations, reflections and finally conferences with her students. If she can do it, so can I!

Do you know any wild readers? During the whole chapter I thought of my daughter. She is WILD. She is a wild reader. I read to her before she was born and continued reading through most of the children's section of the library before she started formal education in Kindergarten. I have so many pictures of her where I caught her reading. Today we like different genres, but she'll reading anything laying around the house to feed her habit.

She looks pretty wild, huh? My mom always read to us and
she always loved reading to grandchildren.

Show and Tell

I'm linking up with Barbara to do a little Show & Tell! You can share just about anything you think is worth sharing. You can read more about the linky and find some other Show & Tells by clicking on the image above...The one that says "Tuesday Linky" Thanks, Barbara...What a great idea!

My love for chickens may have started when I read the book Chicken Boy by Frances O'Roark Dowell early in the year. It may be the best YA title I read with my 7th and 8th grade reading students. I love the kindness that a boy with an obsession for chickens shows a kid with not much going for him after his mother dies leaving his family emotionally shipwrecked. His Granny tries, but she is quiet a character and doesn't get along with her son-in-law.  Whoops! Sorry....I didn't mean to go on quite so much about the book! Back to chickens...
I took these pictures to share with you today. My ladies are getting pretty close to laying their first eggs. They never go to far away from each other and like to follow me around the yard. Sometimes they'll hop up on the windowsill to look for me. If I sit down outside, they hop up on my lap and try to settle down.

Like Tobin, I have learned some things about life from my chickens. It is okay to be curious, it is fun to play in the dirt, eat whatever is offered, and most importantly...find a friend and stick with them!

Five For Friday

Isn't it funny how even over summer vacation there is something AwESome about Fridays? Of course Doodle Bugs Teaching's 5 for Friday gives me something to look forward to all week long! Drum roll please...Here are my FiVE random things from this week:

Do you remember getting the Sears Wish Book catalog when you were a kid? My sister and I would sit knee to knee and elbow to elbow searching that catalog for our favorite things. We'd write our name on each thing we wished for and would spend hours studying it. I made a connection to that memory when I opened my mailbox and found this...

I LOVE this catalog. It is so full of great ideas that get my mind dreaming of next year's edventures!

I had my first "playdate" this week. I invite new and old students to come to class and play. We work on a craft, read books, have a snack and play! It is a great way to help my new first graders get used to me and encourage reading and growing all summer long. I read these two great books...

I love this book. It is written in rhyme and provides great information
about a variety of different bird nests. This was my favorite read for the day. My Owlets loved this one...

Rosie the hen has a walk that she thinks is with out much adventure. The fox that stalks her has quite a difficult time

trying to catch up to her. The illustrations are funny and help tell this delightful story. I have been using this book for years with emergent readers and it is most definitely one of my top 10 picks for new readers!

Our playdate theme was birds. Our craft was paper plate birds. We painted them one color and then added details with wiggly eyes and feathers. I think they turned out pretty cute.

I have finally entered the world of sensory bins. Oh my! I wasn't sure if they'd get used, but the students I thought of when making them were attracted to them and played in them for most of the free play time. They sifted, poured and made up bird stories as they played in the birdseed. I can hardly wait to make another one for our next playdate. Thanks to Sandi at Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes for so much inspiration! I've been stalking your blog, Sandi, looking at these bins for such a long time. I wasn't sure exactly what the benefits would be, but for my new student with Selective Mutism I think the benefits will be HUGE! 

Crinkly paper, rubberband worms, feathers, binoculars, eggs and birdseed make this a perfect home for my Beanie Baby!

I'm branching out and making birds and chickens now!

My friend Kimberly is doing a great series on making time. If you haven't checked it out, you should! HERE you will find a guest post by Tiny Teeny Teacher YOU MUST READ IT!! 

Well I'm off to enjoy reading blogs for inspiration and fun. Friday nights are the best!

Something Old Something New Something Free Just For YOU!

My daughter recently became engaged to a wonderful southern gentleman. My own groom of 25 years and I are so excited for them. They've got me thinking about something old, something new, something  borrowed and something blue. As I reflect over the past year I can think of something from my classroom that fits into each category.

Alright the only things older than me in the classroom are these fossils! My students
loved uncovering bones and finding out which dinosaur they belonged to. I ordered small dinosaur dig kits from
Oriental Trading Company. They lived up to their description! 

I just made these bookmarks for students to keep track of their summer reading.
They're FREE for a limited time on Teacher Pay Teacher. You can always get them FREE
HERE!

No Oreos were left uneaten at the end of this moon activity. The evening we worked
on this I went to a couple of students baseball games and we were able
to identify the moon's phase thanks to this activity I borrowed from Hilary Lewis.
After eating the oreo we used chalk to make a more permanent resource for home!

Our school bluebirds were back this year. In fact, there were two nesting pairs around
the playground. They fledged on the last day of school! I loved recess duty during the time
the mom and dad were coming and going feeding their young. I opened the box to check the chicks a couple
of times. I counted five little bluebirds! They'll nest again in this box  this summer.

Currently May

Welcome, May! No one loves May more than those of us who have lived through five months of snow and cold. Warmer temperatures and sunnier skies who doesn't like that? I'm linking up with Farley over at Oh Boy 4th Grade. Have you seen her packet for students on TPT? My students look forward to filling out and decorating their own Currently.

Can you tell that I am a total bird-brain?! Spring is the time of year that I have a hardest time going to school. I just want to go bird watching and catch the many migrating birds that fly through on their way north for the summer. 

I just got this gorgeous book about bird nests. 

The rhyme and rhythm of this book made it a delightful find for me and my students love learning the facts about different bird nests. I will never have enough bird books!

Surprise Tammy at Forever in First! You won a set of juggling chicks. I hope your students will enjoy tossing and catching these little guys as much as I enjoy making them. Tammy, I love your Saturday Sayings. They always give me great food for thought! Did you see the chicks? Click here to see them!

My real chicks are getting so big! They have been so much fun to watch grow.

Go Jump in the Lake

When I'm not teaching...I'm usually planning for teaching! Not tonight. I took the 2014 Cold Water Challenge. When you have been challenged you can either pay $100 to your favorite charity OR go jump in a lake. When you live next to Lake Michigan, that was covered with ice just a few weeks ago, you jump in the lake AND make a donation to charity. I usually spend most of my time on the beach reading when I go to the lake. I'm quite content sticking a toe or two in on really hot days.

My charity of choice? Heifer International. Heifer International has been helping people help themselves out of poverty, hunger and despair for almost 70 years. In my classroom we are reading and feeding. With each AR quiz taken students count out change that matches the number of points earned from reading. We are trying to earn enough money to buy a flock of chickens...Of course.  That is one of the cool things about Heifer. Their catalog is filled with amazing farm animals, and projects that you can choose from to help people help themselves and to share with their community. Their Read to Feed program is a great way to get students to read to make a difference in another person's life. 

So, go jump in a lake, find a charity you are passionate about and make a difference!

Five for Friday

What a fun week it has been. I can say that even though I spent an "extra" day at school this week. The Snow Days finally caught up with me and I had to put in some time. I should have been able to sleep in and spend the day with my Cranky Bear and chickens. I was happy to spend Good Friday making it meaningful and full of meaning! 

My students loved making "Resurrection Gardens" I hope the grass grows for them before Sunday. One of my Lego maniacs snuck some pieces in to decorate their garden. It cracked me up when I checked and watered the gardens after school and found the Lego angel, soldier and bones scattered around the garden. 

I went to THIS web-site for help on making this project!

Number 2 is my new found love for chickens! I had to bring two chicks home until they are big enough to live without a light. They are just about ready to go  to their permanent home. Until they do I will enjoy every possible moment with them. My cat is totally fascinated with them. Can you think of a caption for this picture?

Click HERE to see them as babies!

Number 3...Did I mention I love chick(en)s? Here are the ones I made to use in the classroom. We toss them back and forth to each other and skip count. They are great tools to use for brain breaks and I'm sure glad I saw Red Ted's tutorial to make these cute chicks!

Number 4! Did you know it was Palindrome week? Each day this week the date was the same forward as backwards. Yikes...How fun is that? Not quite as much fun as this book! It is full of palindromes and just a  lot of fun!
Number 5....This is my favorite! We made these beautiful stain glass windows to celebrate Good Friday. I had a hard time sending these home. They are beautiful. 

Contact paper and a silhouette make for a beautiful project!

Happy or hoppy Easter! This year I have only one third of my children to celebrate with. For the first time ever we are going out for brunch instead of cooking our own fancy dinner. I can't wait to link up with Doodle Bugs for the first time in a  loooong time to share my five for Friday!