So I attended a breakout session at the IRA conference hosted by Michelle Kelley and Nicki Clausen-Grace, authors of R5 in Your Classroom.  This session was filled with easy and practical ways to get kids motivated to read and engaged in the comprehension process.  Don't we all want that?

We were so excited about this workshop that we purchased the book as well.  Then, next thing I know, their website was created!  As I read my email one morning, well after the conference, I was reminded of my initial excitement and immediately went to their site.  The main page displayed a visual of an interactive bulletin board idea they showed us at the conference.  This really is a bright idea!  Even better, it's a bulletin board you put up and keep up, hence, no maintenance!  This bulletin board focuses on non-fiction text features and can be added to all year long.  Check it out!  Check out their book from us if you want even more ideas!

Teaching Comprehension

The first week has come and gone. We got them here, fed them, got to know them, and got them home. The week is always a whirlwind of craziness. I can't believe how fast it goes!

So many familiar faces greeted me upon our return.  It was sweet to get hugs and smiles.  Some even came to tell me they read over the summer!  Yeah!!!  Now it's time for us to get going.  When I think about all of the things I want to accomplish this year I get a bit overwhelmed. I always set high expectations for myself and then inevitably feel let down when I don't get it all done.  Yet, I come back to the same thing every year - I want to get kids excited about reading and keep them reading all year long.  Our team is working on some new ideas for this year. 

As I was searching for some inspiration about motivating kids to read, I came across this commercial via YouTube that made me smile and reminded me why I became a teacher in the first place. For the love of reading and writing, what will you do to motivate your kids?

We always say it. Even after those long days with kids who were making us pull our hair out fighting over who got to go first out the door. Where did the time go?  Summer was great!   Minus those days where the kids made me pull my hair out.   It just feels so sad to know that it's over already and it's only August!

Many accomplishments were made this summer. My daughter became a fish in the water learning new tricks and even going off the diving board.  My son has learned to be even more entertaining.  We had a great time heading to the library each week to pick out tons of books.  I learned a lot about\t of my kids just by watching how they did this.  My daughter still picks out pink, purple, princess girly books. Although, she does like to pick a few non-fiction books.  Yet, the ones we ended up reading were the girl books.  She doesn't think too hard about her choices and chooses A LOT of books for me to carry home.  My son, who is two and half, was much pickier about his choices.  I could see him thinking about books, looking at the cover and trying to decide if it interests him.  He's much more particular.  We logged our reading hours and my daughter even won one of the grand prize drawings---a princess book! 

Our summer wasn't all about reading.  We played, colored, painted, laughed, visited many places, vacationed, snuggled and had an overall great summer.  I even look at pictures from the beginning and see how much they have grown.  It's time to say to goodbye to summer officially on Monday as I go back to work and my daughter begins kindergarten.  Now, we will begin watching her go through the academic journey of school.  My husband and I were already discussing when she will learn to read, write and do math, how she will have new friends and new experiences.  It's an exciting time for me as a parent and a teacher. 

It was some summer!