The Stay at Home Teacher's Promise: Including the Family

Back in August, I received an email from Mrs. Hartman about Alice Ozma and The Reading Promise.  I found it ironic that I received this note on this particular evening because I had just had an especially wonderful reading time with my then 13 month old son.  One of the stories we read that night was Ten Little Ladybugs. I can remember bringing this book out a few months before and Colin showing little interest.   On this night, however, it was as if the whole book opened up for him. He was mesmerized by the pages, "counting" the ladybugs, and finding them on the page.  As I was putting him down to bed, I actually whispered in his ear how much I cherish all our reading cuddles.  In my moment of joy, my heart ached wishing my husband could take part in this time too. He is active duty Air Force and has been away from home since July and will not return till Christmas. When I received Mrs. Hartman’s email, I had already made several recordings of my husband reading story books to my son.  He also did one of the Hallmark recordable books.  Although I had these recordings I wasn’t consistent with playing them for my son.  

Reading with Daddy at 3 months old

Once I heard about The Reading Promise I knew that mine and my son’s reading promise would be a little different than others.  After several years as a teacher (three of which were at Sinking Springs, go Panthers!) I am now a stay at home mom.  At least for now, reading to my son throughout the day is something we do without even having to think about it.  I don’t think we have missed a day of reading since he was six months old.  My husband, on the other hand, is rarely given this opportunity.  I decided then that our reading promise would be Daddy “reading” at least one story a day to our son.  Starting August 21^st, Colin and I listened to one of Daddy’s stories each day.  We were also fortunate enough to visit Daddy shortly after this where he was able to read in person.  These days are always the best.  Unfortunately, after a few weeks it became apparent that some days Colin didn’t want to listen to Daddy’s story.  Although only a toddler, he is well aware of his Daddy’s absence and it seems the stories are a reminder that he is not here.  

Our reading promise was in need of some adjustments.  Not only is my sweet Colin often separated from his Daddy he’s also hundreds of miles away from his grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  I decided to add all of them to our reading promise.   Now, in order to keep our Streak going, Colin must listen to at least one family member other than Mommy each day.  Just like Alice and her father, Colin listens to the family member just before bed.  I make sure it is the first story we do each night so that I don’t accidentally forget.  He’s not quite old enough to remind me yet.  I have audio and video recordings of family members on my iPhone that we use most often.  On evenings when our schedules align, Daddy reads a story over the phone in real-time, and whenever we are visiting family or they are visiting us Colin will get his story read in person.  

Reading with Pappy as part of the Streak

We have been going strong with the Streak so far. I have to admit that there have been a few nights Colin has had a babysitter or he's fallen asleep in the care late in the evening and we missed our reading promise story. I guess it can't be a Streak with missed nights. I've figured out some solutions like playing one of the recorded stories in the car during those unexpected late nights. Since I can't even remember the date of our last missed night, we will officially call today, November 12, 2012, Day 1 of our Reading Promise Streak. 

How can our reading promise relate to yours?  Perhaps you have a relative far away that you’d like your child to be able to connect with or maybe your child’s father travels for work as well and you’d like him to continue being a part of everyday life at home.  Maybe you have to work late or you’re busy taking care of another child but still want to read to your other child.  

I have lots of hopes and dreams for our reading promise.  I know that it will evolve over the coming years.  I imagine my son writing emails to his grandmother about chapter books they are reading together and listening to stories with ear buds on long car rides.  No matter how our reading promise changes, one thing I know for sure, my son will be read to every day.

Jackie Goodwillie

www.thestayathometeacher.blogspot.com

An Evening with Alice Ozma

This past week, Sinking Springs' much anticipated day finally arrived-- our visit from author, Alice Ozma!!

With much thanks to our school's principal, Mrs. Miller, and the Sinking Springs' PTO, we were able to have Alice visit our school for the day to speak with students and families about the importance of reading.

In the afternoon, Alice began her visit by speaking with a very enthusiastic crowd of all of our 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students in the gym. She spoke with students about the importance of reading and how it will impact their future successes in life.

Immediately following her whole school assembly, Alice met with a group of aspiring authors, all relaxed in comfortable bean bag chairs in the library, to discuss the writing process. She offered some great advice to the students about her unique perspective on being an author, as well as some discussions of her favorite reads. Here's just a taste of some of the conversations she shared with students:

Some of Alice's favorite books? 
The Giver, Charles Dickens, the Harry Potter series, the Wizard of Oz series

Favorite genres?
Funny and creepy (but not scary); But not books with kissing or lots of violence.

Favorite authors?
Lewis Carroll, Daniel Pinkwater; I love authors that are weird. I love nonsense. Life is nonsense.

A few of her favorite descriptive words?
Festive and jovial. 

Advice for aspiring authors?
Keep writing. Try all different types of writing. What you think you do well, try something completely different. Try a million things and see what sticks. Share your writing with other people and see what they like, then listen to them.

Suggestions for writers to improve their writing?
I think you become a better writer when you read. You learn new words, new situations. Daydreaming the first step in writing. Stare out the window. Let your mind wonder.

Following a quick driving tour of York's historic district and a delicious dinner at Moonlight Cafe, Alice returned to school in the evening for a presentation with families. Her evening discussion, filled with laughs and quirky stories, focused on her reading streak with her father and the reasons why she believes families should start a reading promise together. Her closing words challenged families and children to create a reading promise to someone, anyone in their lives-- a family member or friend, an elderly neighbor, even a pet. Reading bonds individuals together by the shared words and experiences found within a book's pages.

Even though her time at Sinking Springs was short, we hope that the effects of her reading promise message to students and parents are long-lasting. 

One of our favorite Alice answers that she gave during her visit was in response to a question from a sixth grade student who wondered 'How is your life different as an author now than it was before you wrote the book?' I'm braver. I'm more interested in travel. I'm friendlier. I've made friends in one day with people all across the country. I love knowing that if I'm ever in a certain city, I can call up a librarian that I've met before and go out to dinner. [Being an author] has really improved me as a person. 

Alice, we thank you for the time, enthusiasm, and message that you shared during your visit to Sinking Springs Elementary and are honored to join your list of friends. Call us for dinner anytime. :)

Happy Reading!
Mrs. Hartman

Resolution 25: Stop Preaching & Start Leading

On one of my most recent searches for other families taking on their own reading promises, I came across a post on the blog 52 Weeks, 52 Resolutions, 1 Mom by Momma Holmes. After contacting her about her reading promise journey, she agreed to submit a guest blogger post about how The Reading Promise has inspired her. Check out the unique twist that she has given her reading promise to share the love of reading with her sons.

Last winter, in a monthly newsletter from my son’s first grade teacher, she mentioned the book The Reading Promise and how it really brought home for her how important reading with your child can be. I immediately went online and reserved it at the library. 

After I read The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma, I felt that I needed to do something. The obvious choice would have been to make a reading promise with my boy. Nope. I was too chicken. I mean some days it just doesn't fit into our life. Excuses, I know. But I just wasn't there. 

However, instead, I took Resolution 25 (stop preaching and start leading) to heart and started a Summer Book Club. I invited friends from all areas of my life, old friends, school friends, church friends, neighbors, swim friends. They all have early independent readers... I decided this was the age when many parents stop reading to their children because the children are now reading to themselves. 

I invited A LOT because I was afraid to invite just a few and have no one show up. Or commit. And I was asking for a commitment: read to your child even though we are encouraging them to read by themselves. It was a good thing I invited many because I only got one family from each of those groups. Read aloud a book I've chosen, and then come to my house for discussion, movie watching and comparison, and snacks. 

If you ask them, they will come. They gathered for discussion and snacks and movie. It was fun! The friends of my son would gather in a circle and take turns answering questions as simple as, "Who are the main characters?" or "What is the setting?" as well as more complex questions such as, "How are the characters in both books similar or different? Why?" They didn't say, "Aren't we going to watch the movie?" rather they seemed to enjoy the discussion. Then, during the movie, I would stop/start it to discuss comparisons between the book and the movie, without a complaint! It was A.W.E.S.O.M.E. 

This summer our books were Winn Dixie and Tale of Despereaux, both by Kate DiCamillo, and James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. After watching James, the kids all asked what was next? I pointed out that we were already back in school and we might be too busy. It was unanimous... we are continuing through the school year. 

This month our choice is Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks and everyone in the group has ideas for what to read next, so now I will have to decide how to handle that because I LIKE CHOOSING THE BOOKS. 

So my promise to my son may not have been to read every day to him, but rather to continue to read to him. My promise was to encourage his friend's parents to continue reading to their now independent readers. My promise to read and lead has turned out to be so much fun! If you are interested in how to start your own group or are interested in discussing great reading options for your reader, please feel free to contact me through my blog. 

I am the author of the blog 52weeks52resolutions1mom.blogspot.com and mom to three young men, ages 7, 17 and 19. I am committed to raising the last son as “all in” as I was with the first two. Although I am no longer reading aloud to the oldest boys, I did convince them both to read for pleasure, and not only for school, during the summer. I consider that an accomplishment. I love reading and discussing books. In January, I pledged to do 52 realistic resolutions and not just one for the year. My blog details this journey and also the books I read along the way. 

Momma Holmes

Exciting News!

"It takes time to make magic happen." These wise words were given to me by author, Alice Ozma, during our emails back and forth after I finished reading her book. Immediately after I turned the last page, I knew I had to find a way for her to visit our school and spread her enthusiasm with Sinking Springs families.

Luckily, I am SO thrilled to say that the "magic" I was waiting for will finally be happening. Alice Ozma, author of The Reading Promise, will be visiting Central York School District on October 23rd!

Alice will be speaking with both students and families. During the day, she will be presenting to our fourth through sixth graders about reading. She will also have the opportunity to meet with a smaller group of students throughout the school who have a special interest in writing and aspire to be authors to chat with them about the writing process. In the evening, Alice will continue to spread her zest for reading by speaking with families. I cannot wait!

Central York families and local readers, to participate in this exciting opportunity to hear Alice speak and meet her during her book signing and photo time after her event, please visit the event registration page to register and find more information. Invite your families, friends, neighbors, and fellow readers. All are welcome to this event!

In the meantime, get excited and watch a preview of some of Alice's previous speaking engagements at San Diego public library and hear what others have to say about her work:

Day 13: Already? Really?

So I had considered the possibility of this happening, I just hadn't considered it happening so soon.

I debated writing a post about this for a few days now. I was so embarrassed! But then I realized that I have to. It is all a part of the process.

If I want the other families of the Reading Promise Project to feel comfortable sharing their successes and failures, I have an obligation to share mine.

So with that being said, I have to let you know that my first official reading streak with my son has already been broken. After 13 days. (Kinda makes you better appreciate Alice and her father's 3,218 night record.) Sigh. 13 days. Really?? Really.

Source: http://www.go4prophotos.com

I couldn't quite believe it myself. I thought we could at least make it two weeks. Two weeks. Come on! Then, it happened. It was a normal weekend day, just like any other. We didn't do anything exceptionally special or out of the ordinary. I have no good excuse to give you. Yet somehow, our daily reading slipped by us. Until about an hour after I put my son to bed and a sudden nagging realization hit me. Uh oh.....And since I am a strict believer in letting sleeping (and teething) babies lie, I decided waking him up to continue the streak would not be an option. So I accepted defeat... this time.

But no worries. Missing a day isn't the end of our reading together. A setback? Yes. A deal breaker? Definitely not. Life happens. One day was missed, and I'm sure there will be more will be in the future. But the shared joy of reading is something that still will continue with our family. In fact, we're already three days into our next streak. Let the reading begin (again)!

Joining you from NYC

Greetings to everyone at Sinking Springs Elementary School from NYC!

My name is Val.  I am a stay-at-home mom of two boys:  Simon and Ethan.  Today marks the 64th day of our reading streak.  I was so excited when Mrs. Hartman found me (via my blog) and invited us to share in your Reading Promise Project.

I came across Alice Ozma's book at our school book fair last spring.  I knew right away it was something I wanted to read.  Once I read it, I couldn't stop thinking about it, talking about it and being inspired by it.  After discussing the idea with my boys, we decided we'd try a little reading streak of our own.

Our summer reading streak began the first day of summer vacation (June 29) and was scheduled to end the last day of our break (September 5).  So technically, we're almost finished...

...Except, none of us want to stop.  We intend to keep reading and are currently figuring out how we will keep our streak going during the busy school year.

And now that we are part of your project, we feel all the more motivated.  I'll definitely be checking in with y'all throughout the school year.

If you'd like to hear about the books we've read so far, here's the list and links:

• The Boxcar Children
• From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
• Holes
• Sarah, Plain and Tall
• Charlotte's Web
• Schooled
• The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

I could wax for a while about how great I think reading aloud with our kids is.  But I think I'll refrain (this time).  Instead,  let me share what my boys have to say.

Ethan is almost 7 years old.  His favorite books in kindergarten were the Piggy and Gerald series by Mo Willems.  He continued working his way through all sorts of picture books in first grade, determined to catch up to his big brother (his hero and arch nemesis).  Next week, he will begin second grade.  His current reading project is the Boxcar children series.

Ethan likes me to read aloud to him because I read the books that are above his reading level... he figures that will help him catch up to Simon a little faster (strange competitive little kid... I swear I had nothing to do with that!).

Simon is 9 years old.  He'll be a 4th grader in just 6 days.  He's wild about basketball, creating detailed Lego structures and reading Manga.  He tells me he wants to be the 2nd best Anime-guy (?) in the world when he grows up.

Si was not a strong reader for the longest time.  He recognized only a few words going into 1st grade.  Per Simon, he entered 2nd grade at the lowest reading levels in the class.  But he loved to listen.  When I started reading chapter books to him (@ kindergarten), he would stay riveted for as long as I would read.  When he began reading chapter books (mid-year second grade) for himself, he started with the books we'd read aloud together.

Today Simon reads non-stop.  Of course, all the graphic novels he can get his hands on.  But just about anything else I bring home as well.  Nonetheless, Si loves it when I read to him.  He says it's great because I can always explain vocabulary and concepts to him as we go along.  He calls me the ultimate dictionary.

But he also says reading aloud is special because we get to spend time together... I'll take that any day.

Day 4: Defining Our Promise

So I got too excited (imagine that?) and told my class about our Reading Promise Project already! Actually, I told them on the second day of school. I couldn't help it!

Last Thursday, our class was discussing our hopes and dreams, so I shared my biggest dream for my students this school year with the class: To help inspire my students to develop a love of reading by challenging our class to try to read together every day of our school year (184 days total) without missing a day. Obviously, I then had to explain all about Alice Ozma's reading streak with her father, my inspiration behind this idea. The class was awestruck at how many days Alice and her father were able to read together. Some had especially high aspirations for our class ("We can read every day for a century!!"), others weren't sure we could make it a month. I let the idea simmer with them for a bit and didn't bring it up again for a couple of days...which ended up being less than a whole week.

Today we talked about our reading promise together again. We started to discuss some more specifics of our expectations. Our answers haven't been completely decided upon yet, but here are some of the questions we started to consider. What will happen if I'm absent one day? What should we do if a student is absent? How long should we read each day to have it count? What obstacles do you anticipate happening this year that we'll need to plan for and overcome? 

Here is what we decided...

• A lot of varying amounts of time were thrown around when we brought this up. (My favorite answer to this one was an enthusiastic "all day!!!") But taking all of the students' ideas for times into consideration, along with the constraints of our schedule, we came up with the range of 15-20 minutes of reading aloud together.

• The students decided that I should be the one to read to them everyday, but we also talked about the potential problem of what will happen if I am absent one day. I loved the students' creative answers to this question! Some possible solutions included: having me phone in to read aloud to the class, allowing it to still count if the substitute takes over the reading for the day, doubling up on reading together once I'm back, or having the students take over the reading aloud for that day.

• We did decide that we won't count it against us if a student is absent. It's already happened to us this school year and it's hard to control, though I loved the students suggestion of having absent students continue our streak by reading from wherever they are outside of school that day!

• One of the first obstacles students thought of was field trips. We know for sure we will have two full day field trips this year. We decided that I should bring our book along with us and read to the class on the bus or during lunch. (Even though we usually get back from field trips with plenty of time to spare, I like these options much better. How fun would be to huddle together in the Pennsylvania State Capitol's lunch room, sharing a reading moment?)

• Another obstacle...snow days?! Do we count those against us? Do we have to find a creative way to still read together when school is cancelled? We ended up deciding that snow days don't count against us, since we make them up later in the school year. But, I did love one students' idea of emailing all the parents a reading of the chapters we'd miss that day so that the kids could still keep up with the book from home.

While our rules are still a work in progress, I loved the students' creative ideas! They are what the reading streak will be all about. They build excitement and enthusiasm for the process and experience.

Have any other classrooms or families out there decided on the rules for your reading promise? If so, do share!

Happy Reading!
Mrs. Hartman

Day 1 (They Just Don't Know It Yet!)

Today was the first day of our 2012-2013 school year at Central York School District. I welcomed 24 smiling faces into my classroom this morning. My heart sighed a little every time a student chose to share that they love to read as a fact about themselves during one of our getting to know you activities this morning.

Although the students may have no idea what they're in for yet, our reading streak began today. I decided not to introduce the idea to them quite yet. (I thought they needed at least a day to get used to my over eager enthusiasm in general first.)

I'm anxious to hear what the students have to say about the Reading Promise challenge once I do bring it up to them. I plan on working with them to create our "rules" and expectations together and to see what they're hopes and dreams are for the experience. After seeing all of the energy and excitement they showed already on the first day, I'm confident that they will be up for the experience! Any other classrooms begin a Reading Promise today?

I'll keep you posted!
Mrs. Hartman

Part of Our Classroom Library...Can't wait to see students' curled up here enjoying a great book!

Hopes & Dreams

At the beginning of every school year, I always spend the first few days with my fourth grade students discussing our hopes and dreams for the year. This idea is based on the Responsive Classroom approach to developing a positive learning environment with students. We read some books together (More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby is one of my favorites for this!) and students think about the hopes and dreams that they have for the upcoming year. It is a great conversation for helping children to think about their goals and what actions will help to achieve them.

If you are joining us here and reading this post, hopefully it is because you are interested in taking on the challenge of starting a Reading Promise streak of your own. One of the first things to consider when creating a Reading Promise are the hopes and dreams of the members participating. Why are you embarking on this journey? Your ideas might be different from your child's ideas. That's ok! Discuss both! What do you hope to gain from this experience? Is this an opportunity to read more books, spend more time together, try out different genres, become better readers, discuss reading together more? When you envision yourself a month from now, six months from now, a year or more from now, what do you hope that you have accomplished? Ideally, think of how long you want to try to continue your streak. Alice and her father originally only planned on 100 days. Setting small, achievable goals will help to build confidence and enthusiasm.

Maybe you want to spend the first few days of your streak talking about this with your children, students, friends, etc. and reading books based around this theme. If you're looking for some ideas of books that match this idea, Responsive Classroom has a list of suggested books that they've found related to inspiring hopes and dreams. They also have a Hopes and Dreams Pinterest board devoted to the same topic. Check out their lists and see what you think. You may even have some ideas of your own. If you do, please share!!

Discussing your hopes and dreams related to the Reading Promise challenge will help you and your promise members to establish some goals. In turn, having some clear goals will help to keep you focused and on track with what your promise.

The hopes and dreams discussion also makes a great segue into giving children the some ownership in their learning to help create rules that will help them to achieve everyone's hopes and dreams (which, coincidentally, will be one of next steps in the Reading Promise process that we discuss).

What are your hopes and dreams for your Reading Promise? Share them with us! Can't wait to hear how these promises will inspire each of your families and classrooms.

Happy Reading!
Mrs. Hartman

Day 1: The Official Start to Our Streak

Today marks my family's official start to our personal Reading Promise reading streak. Unofficially, I've been reading to my son since before he was born this past March, but I figured now that I'm really kicking this Reading Promise Project into full gear, it's time to walk the walk and talk the talk at home and start keeping track of our reading experiences together.

I knew right from the start that reading was going to be an important part of his life. I'm a theme kind of girl, and I was stuck for months trying to figure out the best theme for my little bundle's nursery, until one day, it hit me. I love books. My husband loves books. I want my son to love books. Why not...books?!

Thanks to my parents (Love you, Mom & Dad!!), I have such fond memories of reading as a child and I hope to share those experiences with my son as he grows up. So, to begin his journey into life, I decorated his nursery with books in mind. My husband and I scoured used book stores for old favorites, then found cherished illustrations to frame and hang around his room. His stuffed animals are a collection of beloved children's book characters. He has a wide collection of books already, organized on the bookshelves in his room, and a special reading corner, complete with a tiny (adorable!) reading chair. Even his crib sheets feature The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Curious George! I love watching friends and family enter his room and reminisce or connect with a favorite illustration they find hanging on his walls.

Even though he's only five and a half months old, his first few months have already been filled with so many cherished moments together, centered around books. As a new mom, I had no clue what to do once I entered the world of mommyhood the day I brought him home from the hospital, but one of the first moments we shared together was our reading of I Love You Through and Through. At just 9 weeks old, he started to watch my face as I read How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Dogs to him while cuddled up in his rocking chair and smiled and cooed at me when I was finished. (My heart melted.) Just after he turned 3 months old, I watched him "turn the page" in Blueberries for Sal as we read. He's going to learn quickly that he can win me over easily by doing anything at all reading-related. It's my weakness...

I can't wait to watch so many more of these reading moments develop over our years together through our promise to read. Ok...deep breath...let our official reading streak...BEGIN!

Happy Reading!
Mrs. Hartman