Day 89: Triple Digits

Last week our class stopped to reflect on our reading streak. What should be our next mini milestone goal that we set for ourselves? At what day of our streak should we celebrate our accomplishments by treating ourselves to a reading reward?

After much discussion and debate among students, we arrived at our next mini milestone reading goal. Triple Digits. 100 days. Straight. Reading aloud together. Ah!

If all goes as planned, we will reach our 100 day mark on Friday, February 1st. Because simply occurring on a Friday makes any event better, the class was even more enthused to find out that we should reach our goal on a Friday. Just announcing the date led to a round of applause and cheers.

We talked about what would be a good reading-related celebration to have and decided upon and found a way to incorporate a majority of the students' ideas, and I must admit, I couldn't have come up with a better plan myself. But for now, I'll have to leave you hanging...until, of course, we reach our 100 day goal.

If you're finding your streak to be running a bit stale among your children, I'd highly recommend setting some mini milestones for celebration. I found that talking about our streak, setting a mini milestone, and planning for a reading reward was a great way to re-energize the class and get students excited about reading together again.

Have you found any ways to revitalize the enthusiasm among your streak participants? What ways do you keep your reading exciting and fresh? How have you celebrated your accomplishments? Do share!

Happy Reading!
Mrs. Hartman

Connecting Over Dinner & a Book

Feels like only yesterday when I had two little babies ...toddlers... then preschoolers shadowing my every moment.  The three of us did everything together.  At the end of those long days, I often read to them at dinner.  I ate quickly.  They didn't.  In fact, they ate so slowly I'd be tempted to just clean off their plates myself so I could say dinner was over.  My reading to them really started as a way to help me sit through those long, drawn out dinner times.

My boys aren't so little anymore.  They're now full fledged school kids hauling backpacks, responsible for homework and juggling their own after school activities.  There's no one dogging my footsteps every waking hour anymore.  Now they can eat faster than me... and on more than one occasion they have finished off my dinner...

But I still read aloud to them after dinner.

Doesn't matter if we're all running in different directions all the live long day.  Because at the end of it, we can sit down to a meal together, catch up with each other and then share a chapter or two of our current read aloud book.

I treasure those together moments.

Even more so because I got a glimpse of the teen years coming on way too fast.  Dinner and reading were over.  Homework finished.  Piano practice checked off the list early.  I asked them what they'd like to do next?  And that night, they decided they needed to have some time to chill out alone in their rooms.... which left me staring at their closed doors and wondering what on earth happened to the little boys who followed me even into the bathroom and then climbed on my lap... as I tried to sit on the toilet.....

Our baby, toddler, preschool years are long behind us now.  I may have started reading to them to keep them eating and to stop myself from picking at their food or wandering away from the dinner table.  But our evening ritual has continued and grown into something really special to me.  It's our time to slow down.  To be together.  To eat together.  And then to go an a little adventure, laugh over funny book characters and quote favorite lines to each other

Dinner and a book.  It's our time to connect.

From Our Reading List - Toy Dance Party

Hi there!  This is Val, Simon & Ethan.  Checking in & happy to report our reading streak is still alive.  Today marks our 196th day straight of reading aloud for at least 10 minutes a day.  Still loving it.  Still going strong.

This week's read aloud is Toy Dance Party by Emily Jenkins.  Sweet.  Warm.  Funny.  We highly recommend this book for kids of all ages.

If you're curious about what we're reading each week or want to hear about our opinions on the books we've read, I blog about our book choices each week.  You can find me here.

Happy reading everyone!

Day 82: Wonderstruck

A few weeks ago, our class finished a unique read that left us, for lack of a better word, wonderstruck (how appropriate).

When I first showed my students the book, Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick, I heard the usual gasps and exclamations of disbelief. "Whoa!" "It's going to take us forever to finish that!" "That book is HUGE!" If you aren't familiar with this beast of a book, it's massive (as far as children's books are concerned, at least). A solo picture of it does not fully do it justice. And if for no other reason than simply feeling impressive for sitting such a large book on their desks, students love it.

What is unique about this book is that the author/illustrator tells the story using both words and pictures. If you have read his other work, The Invention of Hugo Cabret (also recently made into an awesome movie, Hugo), you are already familiar with this concept. Wonderstruck is intriguing in the fact that for the majority of the book, the pictures and the words are telling two different stories, taking place with separate characters, decades apart from one another.

Ben's story (told with words) begins in Gun Flint Lake, Minnesota in 1977,

while Rose's tale (told through illustrations) is set in Hoboken, New Jersey fifty years prior.

What I love, love, love about this book is all of the comprehension skills that students need to use to understand the text. Flipping through the detailed illustrations instantaneously sparks conversations amongst the students. The way Rose's story is told through pictures lends itself to great, effortless conversations. Students are asking questions, noticing details in the picture clues, making connections between Ben's and Rose's story, inferring about characters' emotions and actions.

Seeing the story come to life, almost like a movie, gives readers the scaffolding to help them to create their own mental visualizations. And all of these discussions come with such ease because there are no words to limit the readers' thoughts or constrain their metacognition.

In addition to all of this conversational ambrosia, there are so many strands of different topics that you can explore, visit, or learn more about from reading this book. You may have guessed by now, based on some of my previous posts, that connecting what my kids read in books to the real world is another one of my favorites. Readers can learn more about deaf culture, museums, and New York, doing their own research to find out more about the true strands of knowledge in this fictional masterpiece.

You won't regret adding this visual treasure to you and your child's must read list.

Happy Reading!
Mrs. Hartman

The Value of Daily Reading

Many of you may have seen this popular infographic (courtesy of Perry Lecompton School District) floating around on social media sites recently. It is such a great visual reminder as to why reading every day is so important, not only our children and students, but to ourselves as readers.

Think about all of the learning that takes place when you open a book. Just twenty minutes a day can make all the difference in your child's education and life.

Have you enriched your child's life through a book today?

Day 119: A New Holiday Tradition

Being a new mom, one of the most exciting times of the year for me now are holidays. I love the opportunity to share cherished family traditions with my little guy, while starting new ones together.

One tradition that I was especially excited about starting this year was one I had found on Pinterest (where else?)-- a Christmas "advent calendar" of books. What an awesome way to share the excitement of the holiday spirit and the joy of reading together with my son all in one!!

The way I originally found this idea presented was to wrap up twenty-five books, put them under the tree, and have your child pick one each day to enjoy together. For this past holiday, I modified this idea a bit for my son because of his age, so instead of wrapping each gift separately, I reused the same gift bag and tissue paper each evening, but replaced the book with a new one for him to unveil each day.

I decided that I wanted to have all holiday books for our 25 Books of Christmas tradition. Choosing the books was hard (there are too many great Christmas favorites!), but finding them proved to be less difficult. I rummaged through my childhood book collection, visited used library sales, and browsed online book stores.

Each day, he really enjoyed exploring the tissue paper as he unwrapped each book. And I enjoyed cuddling up next to the fireplace and colorful Christmas tree lights to read a holiday story to my son. I can't wait for this tradition to continue again next year and grow and blossom into a cherished holiday memory.

Do you have any holiday traditions with your family that involve books or reading? What stories are a must read for your family around certain times of the year?

Happy Reading and Happy Holidays!!