Look at my happy rainbow! : uncategorized

Summer Book Study: The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

Anonymous — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 11:51:28 GMT

I’m thrilled to announce the continuation of a summer tradition – the Summer Book Study Blog Party! Summer is a time for not only swimming and rest, but also recharging batteries and getting our minds ready for a new year. I always add a few professional...(read more)

Present.

Anonymous — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:35:12 GMT

Oh my students never cease to amaze me. Calvin did something today that has to rank as one of the sweetest gestures I’ve ever seen. Well today, Calvin hadn’t even walked into the classroom, and he handed me a book. It was Whistle for Willie. Now we’ve...(read more)

Loved on.

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 21:08:44 GMT

Love really is all you need. I know, I know, it’s much easier said than done. Trust me, I know. This year, I have one little guy, William that has really challenged me. I have tried every trick in the book: preferential seating, behavior charts, positive...(read more)

Baby!

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 22:51:07 GMT

Let me be clear about something: We do not teach sex education in kindergarten. Not now, not ever. The day they ask me to teach sex ed to five and six-year-olds is the day I will retire early. That being said, my friend Mrs. R. who teaches another grade,...(read more)

Just the Way You Are.

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 21:24:40 GMT

A few weeks ago, a very smart second grade teacher at my school (yes, YOU Mrs. R.) told me she was brining her Wii in for a treat. Huh? I was confused. Apparently, you can hook a Wii up to a Smartboard. And it’s not very difficult either. Well I had a...(read more)

ESGI… better and better.

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 14:55:21 GMT

From time to time folks contact me to review things (books, products, etc.) on the blog. Depending on the item, I may or may not take the bait, but recently, I reached out to a company and asked if I could review their software – something I never do....(read more)

One on one.

Anonymous — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 17:19:18 GMT

Yesterday I was able to read with almost every student in my class. After I posted this on my Facebook page, someone asked if I would share about my reading program – of course! When I moved from second grade to kindergarten four years ago, I started...(read more)

Free Hugs

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 22:45:58 GMT

I have a ‘Free Hugs’ t-shirt and wore it to school a few weeks ago. I didn’t think much of it. My class loved it and over this last week, a few of them have been asking me to wear it again. Yesterday, one little boy came out and just said, “Mr. ______,...(read more)

4 miles and video games.

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:58:01 GMT

Two random items from my day. I thought about writing two posts, but decided to give you a two-fer. For Christmas, Santa brought me this cool little bracelet called an UP. You wear it twenty-four hours a day and it tracks how much you move and sleep....(read more)

Smiles, hugs, and laughter.

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 23:18:11 GMT

The first day back after an extended break is always interesting. You think it’s going to be just terrible, but invariably the kids somehow surprise you. Was today perfect? Of course not, but it was perfectly lovely. For the most part, everyone seemed...(read more)

Normal.

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 22:20:48 GMT

Isn’t it awesome how adults sometimes hem and haw and worry over something and then the children just know how to handle it and, quite literally, show us the way. This morning after our staff meeting I was really wondering what the morning would bring....(read more)

Dish.

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 22:32:47 GMT

Oh kindergartners. They’re innocence is never lost on me. Today, as I was finishing up some assessments for report cards, I heard, not one, not two, but three friends say the same curse word. Let me explain. I was doing a blending assessment. I give the...(read more)

Greatness.

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 21:49:59 GMT

Oh what a day! When I got in my car this morning, as I waited a few minutes for my car to warm up (really, how long are you supposed to wait? I never get past two minutes), I took a sip from my tea (I start the week with tea and am stopping for [...]...(read more)

/A/, /A/, Awesome!

Anonymous — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 20:26:25 GMT

Oh Eric – he always makes me smile and laugh everyday. This afternoon, while assessing him on letter sounds, when I showed him the ‘A’, I was expecting him to say, ‘/A/, /A/, Apple’ as that’s the picture on the chart we use. Instead, when he saw the ‘A’,...(read more)

Clean as a whistle!

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 20:27:25 GMT

As many of you know – my poor site has come under attack lately by something called ‘malware’. I had no idea what this was and I’m still not entirely sure, but it meant my site wasn’t ‘safe’ or ‘clean’ and you could possibly get an infection from it…...(read more)