The Magician's Nephew

One of the books my students wanted me to read this summer was The Magician's Nephew by C.S Lewis. This is part of the Chronicles of Narnia series. I'm not a huge fantasy fan so I was not looking forward to reading this one (I think that is why they picked this). I was blown away by this book. It was amazing!! As I was reading this I realized how much of this book we can apply to our own lives. There were so many good quotes and lessons to be learned. I would love to do a book study on this is class next year. I'm going to have to try to get my hand on a few more copies of this one. If time allows, I'm going to try to read the rest of the series.

Wish List

Next year I am going to try a new structure in teaching reading. I used this structure in first grade but I have had a hard time implementing it in 5/6 grade. I am reading the book Around the Reading Workshop in 180 days. This is not an easy read but very informative. I just finished chapter 2 and I have made me a wish list of some books I would like to get for the classroom library. Some of them I have read before and some I have not.


The Straight Line of Wonder

Piggybook

Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores

Tea with Milk

Tough Boris

Williams Doll

The Table Where Rich People Sit

Smoky Night

A Change in Post

Well, now that summer is here and I may have a little bit of free time. I am going to attempt to blog some more. My husband does not really care to hear about what I am doing at school but I LOVE to talk about it. Therefore, I have decided to switch my blog over to school happenings. This way I can ramble to space (and whoever wants to read it) about what I am planning or doing. I'm not sure how this will work but I'm going to give it a shot.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

First Day of Kindergarten

Vacation is Almost Over

Summer is almost over for me and I can honestly say I am glad. I miss the routine of a "normal" day. It is hard to try to keep the kids out of Bill's hair while he is working but I hated sending them to daycare.

I finished all of my reading list for the summer plus got in a few extras. I really enjoyed reading and I hope to do the same assignment next year. It keeps me up to date on what the kids are reading.

I was able to attend a teachers workshop this summer called "Great Expectations". It was wonderful. I received a manual that was about 4 inches thick and was overwhelmed by all the information that I obtained. I am really excited to see how it works in my classroom. They told us that it was take a good three years before you were really comfortable with it and I am sure that will be the case. The key will be consistency. I HAVE to stick with it, even on those days that I am exhausted.

My classroom is pretty much ready I may post pictures. Not sure how many people care to see it because if you are not a teacher it is really hard to get excited about a decorated classroom. :) Bill told me I am in the right profession. I get very excited when it comes to teaching. However, teaching children's service at camp would not be my comfort zone I have realized. I don't know why but that kind of stuff makes me very nervous. I guess I am more into teaching the academics rather than the songs, stories and skits. Give me a good old math lesson any day!!

This post has got way to long so I guess I will sign off.

The Good Dog

Easy to read. From a canine's perspective the author tells how a malamute, McKinley's life changes when he meets a wild wolf. McKinley is the head dog of Steamboat Springs. He meets a wolf named Lupin who has come to recruit dogs to go live in the wild with her dwindling pack. The town discovers the wolf and organize a hunt to kill the her. It is up to McKinley to protect the wolf and his "human pup". This is a good story about leadership and friendship. Boys would love this book.