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!!

Movie Book Club Update

I’m a bit behind on my Reading Promise Book Club updates so forgive me for that. 

In November, we met to discuss From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler written by E.L. Konigsburg and watch the movie based on the book, The Hideaways. This group does love their books for the details that they provide. “Way more details than a movie,” commented one young reader. “I like picturing it in my mind,” responded another.

Our group was horrified by the idea that running away would make anything better, much to the delight of their parents. They found the movie a bit lacking as it failed to hold their attention at times, but gushed enthusiastically about the book. When my older boys were younger, we were able to watch the movie version with Lauren Bacall with the same title as the book, however my library no longer carries it and I found it on Amazon.com for a mere $180. Ha! 

Our holiday read was A Dog Named Christmas written by Greg Kincaid. Our family did this one backwards: last year we watched the movie and this year we read the book. It is a great family tale and I highly recommend it! The other three families (yes, we had another one join our group!) thoroughly enjoyed the story and the kids loved watching the movie tonight, snuggled under fleece blankets and cuddled up with stuffed animal friends. One thought the cougar scene was too detailed in the book and liked it better in the movie. The rest thought the book was better, of course. 

We’re choosing a favorite for next month, Matilda by Roald Dahl. Many have seen the movie, but not read the book. 

Happy reading in 2013! 
Momma Holmes

My Reading Streak

Hi! I'm Lindsey! Last year when I was in 4th grade, my teacher, Mrs. Hartman, read a couple chapters of The Reading Promise near the end of the school year, to my classmates and I. It was about a girl in 4th grade (just like me!) and her dad that made a promise to read every single night for 100 nights! Once they got that achieved, they made another promise to read for 1,000 nights in a row!

When Mrs. Hartman read just the first and second chapters of that book I got inspired to do that with my mom. So on May 30th, 2012 my mom and I started to read the book: Now You See Me... It was great! It was also part of the Poison Apple series. Since I had the first six books in that series we started reading all of them! Each of the books were between 150-180 pages.

From May 30th to November 21st my mom and I have read the 3rd, 4th, 5th and we are almost done the 6th book of the Poison Apple series! We also have read 172 nights in a row, so far! I remember when my mom and I reached 50 nights in a row! I freaked out!

When my mom and I reached 100 nights I couldn't believe it!  Then came 150 nights! I was so happy I couldn't stay still! My mom and I are now trying to reach 200 nights! I think we can do it! If we complete that we are going to go for how long we can go, and hopefully never stop!

Thank you for reading my short story and hopefully you got inspired too!

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

Day 50: Summitting Mt. Everest

Our classroom reached two exciting milestones this week!! First, we reached one of our mini Reading Streak goals-- 50 consecutive school days!! This goal also coincided with a second amazing accomplishment. We successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest! Let me explain...

Last year, my class was introduced to the topic of Mt. Everest courtesy of one of our favorite class Mystery Readers, Nicholas' mom. She read a book called, To the Top! Climbing the World's Highest Mountain to my class. Immediately, my class became engrossed with the topic of Mt. Everest. They just wanted to devour any and all information about the peak that they could find. As we explored some of the other resources that our school library had to check out about Mt. Everest, we came across a great find on Sinking Springs' library shelves: Worst-Case Scenario, Ultimate Adventure: Everest, You Decide How to Survive! , a choose your own style book where readers are faced with real life decisions on their journey to try to reach the top of Everest. With only one path through the book to successfully reach the summit and return, it takes quite a bit of research, decision making, and thoughtful discussion to accomplish this task successfully. It took our class several unsuccessful tries, but eventually, we made it!

Check out the book trailer for a sneak peek of what adventures we encountered in this book:

Since my class could not get enough of this book last year, I decided to try it again with this year's group of students when I needed a new read aloud book. To help prepare them for their ascent, we started by reading some non-fiction books about Everest to give them some background information.

The Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest by Steve Jenkins

To the Top! Climbing the World's Highest Mountain by S.A. Kramer

 We also referenced, but didn't fully read, To The Top: The Story of Everest by Steven Venables.

Once my students had learned more about the real life perils on Mount Everest, they were eager to begin their climb. I was pleasantly surprised by the care and thought that they put into their decisions throughout the reading. Sometimes kids think it's fun just to see how many bad decisions they can make to lead themselves to the quickest ending for laughs, but my class didn't! They discussed, debated, used facts and evidence they had gained during our research, had me go back and reread parts of the informational knowledge to hear it again and listen for specific details-- all to make their way to the top. And they did it too! Almost on the first try. (We made it to the top on our first try, but made a tough decision and froze on our way back down the mountain, so we didn't successfully complete the mission, technically.) We nailed it on our second attempt.

 I love sharing choose your own adventure type books with my students because it starts great conversations among students and encourages them to support their opinions with details and evidence from the text. (The teacher in me has to sneak some extra learning in somehow, of course!!)

I typed up this quick worksheet for students to record some of their thinking and practice explaining their thoughts along with supporting evidence in writing. It's free to download if you're interested.

Also, this style of writing help get my students interested in a new type of book that holds their interest. When I went to pick up my students from library last week, the librarian told me suddenly my class just couldn't get enough of choose your own adventure books when it came time to check out books.

If you're not familiar with these types of books, there are a wide variety to check out. Some of the most popular ones can be found at the Choose Your Own Adventure website. It lists all the books in this series (for both younger and older readers alike) sorted by reading level, topic, etc. Another series, You Choose Books, is based on historical events or time periods. There are also even a few more books in The Worst Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure Series: Mars, Amazon, and a new one being released this month (yay!), Deadly Seas. Personally, I love the ones based on real life experiences that can tie fiction and non-fiction together for students and help them make connections in their reading and learning. But, there again, that's the teacher in me talking.

Happy Reading!
Mrs. Hartman

PS- Satellite view and travelers' photographs from some of the Everest Base camp trails are available on Google Maps. Another way to connect your readers to their setting and adventure while adding some geography lessons to the mix as well!!


View Larger Map

It's Never Too Early to Start

Hi everyone, Katie here. I’m a friend of Mrs. Hartman’s, and I’m thrilled to contribute some of my thoughts on reading and reading promises.

I figured out the best way to read to my squirmy-wormy baby: get on his level!

Recently I was talking to a friend about the fact that I love reading books to my 12-week-old son Luke. He seemed a bit surprised, commenting on the fact that Luke is obviously too young to understand the story.

Yes and no, I told him. While Luke may be too young to understand the complex notions of characters and plot development, he can certainly appreciate the brightly-colored pictures, the easy-to-grasp cardboard pages, and the intonation of my voice as I read to him. In fact, these are all vital to his development.

Luke’s mental growth is only part of the reason why I place so much value on reading to him, even as an infant. I also believe that the act of reading books creates a special bond between parent and child. When you’re reading together, you’re also exploring, questioning, and learning together. You’re laughing and crying together. In essence, you’re growing together.

Creating a reading promise is the perfect way to foster such growth. I’m so excited to continue my reading journey with Luke! Tonight we’ll be reading Dear Zoo, a lift-the-flap book by Rod Campbell. It’s one of Luke’s favorites already!

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Guest Post by Katie McLaughlin

Trick-or-READ

When author, Alice Ozma, visited our school a few weeks ago, she mentioned to the students about a tradition that she likes to take part in each Halloween in her hometown neighborhood. It is such a simple, yet powerful idea that gets kids excited about reading and helps to put more books in the hands of children. Even as an adult, I was very tempted to make the drive to New Jersey myself just to check it out. It's called Trick-or-Read.

If you were to visit Alice's father's home on the designated trick or treat evening for Millville, New Jersey, instead of getting a handful of sugary sweets, you would receive a book. Several years ago, Alice proposed the idea of handing out books versus candy to her father and trick-or-read has been happening ever since. This year, with her role as the National Book Fairs' manager of reading programs at Scholastic, her employer heard about her tradition and was eager to help out. Alice was able to place books (and a whole bunch of other fun reading treats) in the hands of hundreds of eager and excited trick-or-readers.

Check out her blog post about the experience on Scholastic's On Our Minds Blog, as well as this New Jersey media site's story of the event.

What an awesome way to get kids to be excited about reading (and less full of sugar)!

Is this something you have done in the past? Anyone planning to try it in the future? What ways do you share your enthusiasm about reading and books? Share your thoughts and ideas!

Sinking Springs Family Book Club

UPDATE: We have chosen to postpone the book club at this time and reschedule it for a later date this winter yet to be determined. Look for updated dates/times and additional information coming soon.

After last week's visit from author, Alice Ozma, we hope that families and students at Sinking Springs are eager and ready to begin their own reading promises with someone.

As the next part of Sinking Springs' Reading Promise Project, we are looking for families who want to join us in the effort to make reading a special part of their everyday lives. Making time to fit reading into your schedule each day can be challenging. Finding ways to help your adolescent develop a love for reading can be daunting. To help you achieve these goals, Sinking Springs will be offering a family book club, based on Alice's book, The Reading Promise. 

Families who register to attend the first book club meeting will have the opportunity to:

• Connect with other Sinking Springs families to meet and discuss Alice Ozma's book, The Reading Promise.

• Discover new ways to encourage their children to develop a love of reading.

• Find out strategies for reading and discussing books with their children at home.

• Develop a support system of other families taking on reading promises and share ideas, successes, and challenges.

• Receive a FREE copy of Alice Ozma's book, The Reading Promise.

• Learn more about a variety of free reading resources available. 

• Win prizes to promote reading with their children. 

• Become guest bloggers on this blog.

The first meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 12 and additional meetings may be scheduled, depending on the availability and interest of participants. Throughout families' reading promise experiences, this blog will serve to connect readers and their promises, not only just from Sinking Springs, but all readers who wish to share about the reading promises happening in their lives.  

If you are a Sinking Springs member and want to join us for this excellent opportunity, click here to read additional information and register online.

If you are a guest visiting us from outside of Sinking Springs, but still want to join our conversation, connect with other readers, and share your reading promise experiences, please do! Join our ever-growing community of guest bloggers. Comment on our discussions and contact us to discuss ways that you can share your reading experiences through this blog. We'd love to have you!

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

The Reading Promise Continues...

During my search 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. This is her second guest blogger post about how The Reading Promise has inspired her. (Catch up with her first post here.) Check out the unique twist that she has given her reading promise to share the love of reading with her sons.

It was a beautiful Friday evening and as the hour of seven arrived, so did sweet, fresh-faced, pajama-clothed friends. They came with cocoa and popcorn, brimming with excitement. They had finished reading Indian in the Cupboard and were eager to discuss this tale. 

Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

Was this story the same or different as the books we read over the summer?

Same… great imagination! Different… no animals/bugs were main characters! 

Did you like the ending?
Yes, this was causing so much trouble for them! No, I wanted them to bring more people to life! 

The great discussion was followed by silence minus the munching of popcorn as they settled in to watch the movie of the book we’d read. They felt the movie was true to the book; in fact perhaps the most accurate of the ones we’ve read.

As the small people watched, the adults conferred on the next tale. “Really, we’re okay with you choosing the next book,” they insisted. All of the kiddos had given suggestions. I reached into the hat and tossed out two of the suggestions. Another mom drew the title from the remaining two ideas.

Next month, we’ll be reading and watching From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I am very excited as this book was a favorite from my childhood and the copy we own is MY copy.

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Our reading promise of reading to our young readers continues another month.

My dilemma is that the other moms have requested a Christmas tale for December. I am looking for suggestions of Christmas books that have been made into movies that would be appropriate for my crowd of 6-9 year olds.

Thanks!
Momma Holmes