Happy September!! 

I hope your first full week back is going well. Are you back into the routines yet? Is it like you never left for the summer? 

I wanted to pass along this article that my sister sent me. I think it is so interesting and can foster some pretty good discussions in your classrooms. What I really like about it is that you can incorporate any subject into it: Math (graphing how your students come to school), Social Studies (learn about the countries and cultures), Geography, Science (altitude and oxygen, weather), Art, Music, and of course reading and writing within these subjects. 

Have fun!

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/09/how-kids-around-the-world-get-to-school.html

May you enjoy every moment during these last few days of summer. May you be excited once again to start a new school year. May you find the balance between work and life. May you take a moment for something simple like a hug or to be silly with your children. May you remember to just breathe when things aren't so calm. May 2016-2017 be the best year yet!

Happy Summer!! 

I've been thinking about a good theme for this season. As my daughter will start PreK in the fall, it occurred to me that friendship is a good one for children and students of all ages. Here are a few of our favorite books about friendship and being kind to each other. They are for the younger ones, but can definitely be enjoyed by all ages, including adults.

Here's to kindness and friendship. Cheers!

Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle

The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen

Penguin on Vacation by Salina Yoon

A Light in the Darkness by Aaron Zevy

Fluffy: Scourge of the Sea by Teresa Bateman

Clever Trevor by Sarah Albee

                     

I hope you are enjoying the long weekend! Just a reminder to sign up for the ILA conference. It will be here in Boston this July. You can check it out at: http://www.literacyworldwide.org/conference

Don't forget about the IDA conference, either. It will be in October in Orlando. Here is the link: http://eida.org/conference/

They should be fantastic!

The other day I had an interesting text conversation with a good friend of mine. Her 3rd grader is a good reader, yet he does not like to read at home. Sound familiar? I wanted to share my tips, especially since summer is coming and we all know how important it is to keep reading during the vacation.

faithpcbr.org

• choice: give your child a choice about what he wants to read (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc.) and how (books, magazines, newspapers, on the electronics). We want to make reading an enjoyable experience!
• interest and readability: be sure he is reading about topics in which he is interested, but also be sure he is reading at an appropriate level for him (it is not enough to just be able to read the words, children have to be able to understand what they read)
• motivating rewards: try to incorporate electronics (or anything else that he really likes to do) as a reward for reading a certain amount of time each day
• create and maintain a routine or a schedule: I know it is hard especially on vacation, but try setting up a reading schedule and stick to it (i.e.: he has to read for 15 minutes each day at the same time and then he can earn his reward)
• check in: it is important to check in with your child about his reading. This will reinforce the importance of reading, allow you to learn about your child as a reader, and give you time to spend with your child (you can read a few sentences to him, he can read out loud to you, ask him questions about what he has read)
• some cool reading websites: some of these have apps too!
• tumblebooks.com  
• 1000booksbeforekindergarten.org  
• newsela.com
• www.greergenius.com/wp-content/uploads/20-minutes-of-reading8th-grade.pdf

I hope this helps! Happy reading!

It's been a while! Happy April! Did winter return for you, as it did for us?!?! Ahh...that's ok. I can't complain because last year was so much worse than this year!!

Our principal sent us this article. I really enjoyed it. Check it out if you get a chance. It is about working as a team in your school. The part that I liked best was that even though "students in these schools presented many needs...no teacher felt alone in meeting them."

How does your school value and approach teamwork? How can you work to make effective teamwork even better? 

Enjoy!!

https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/16/02/teaching-together-change

My sister is a social worker, and gave me this article. It definitely gave me something to think about. Check it out. Does it resonate with you, too? We as a district are definitely trying to think more about how to keep all of our high-achievers and gifted students engaged and motivated. We do not have a gifted program. Thus it makes this task more challenging, but certainly not less important.

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/3/10905466/gifted-black-students