Gratitude Lately

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  I'm linking up with the fabulous Michelle over at BigTime Literacy to share a few things I'm most grateful for on her Gratitude Lately link up.  Hope you'll join in!   

I'm thankful for my kiddos and easy-to-create reading nooks that fit under the dining room table.  Nooks keep my kiddos comfy and motivated to read! #raisingwildreaders

I'm thankful for my husband who is kind, supportive and loving on a daily basis, my parents and in-laws who are always so generous, and my sister who is the most attentive and sweet aunt to my little ones!  

My parents enjoying a night out...

A recent picture of my in-laws during their travels!

My sister and the kids at the zoo this past summer...

I'm thankful for those in my PLN.  I have learned so much and will continue learning from the friends I have already met or may never meet.  Thank you!

I'm thankful for my jobs as a Reading Specialist and Mentor, the students, the staff and my mentees.  They make me look forward to going to work each day!

Last, but not least, I'm thankful for a house filled with friends, family and food on this amazing Thanksgiving day! 

July 2015 Currently & 1 Year Blog Anniversary!

It's July?  My goodness, the summer is going so fast.  I'm linking up with Farley over at Oh Boy 4th Grade for my second July Currently.  Thanks for hosting, Farley!

Listening: I'm on the porch listening to my hubby mow the lawn, while watching my kiddos play in their sandbox.  Having a little down time for a quick blog post is my kind of start to the morning. 

Loving: I'm am absolutely loving the idea of being in Las Vegas for my very first TpT Conference next week!  Back in March, I decided to venture out and learn from the best TpT *teacherprenuers* out there.  

At the time I registered, I didn't know anyone attending the conference.  Since the week of the conference will be my 7th wedding anniversary, my hubby decided to go to Vegas with me to support my teacher endeavors, while extending the stay for a mini anniversary vacation.  Woohoo!  However, after a fun Chicago Blogger Meet Up this past weekend, I'll be meeting up with a small group of new friends at the Venetian.  I can't wait!

Thinking: I can't believe it's been a year since I started up Literacy Loving Gals!  Today is my 1 year blog anniversary.  Shall I say, Blogiversary?  Last year, on July 1st, I attended a blogging PD hosted by Michelle over at BigTime Literacy.  During the PD, I linked up for the very first time with Farley for July Currently.  I also began Michelle's BigTime Blogging Challenge, which she just started again today!  I've learned so much from those in the social media world and have met some very talented people through blogging.  I'm glad I took the step to attend the PD and enter the Blogosphere! 

Wanting: Relaxation and reading are hard to come by, since I'm busy with the kids swimming, painting, camping and so on.  I wouldn't change my time with the family for the world, but it certainly would be nice to have a little more relaxation in the sun.  I have a feeling I'll get to do that next week, since my parents will have the kids while my hubby and I are in Vegas! :)

Needing: Ugh, I'm needing to pack, but I have no idea what to put in my luggage.  My friend is in Las Vegas right now and warns me the weather is in the hundreds even in the middle of the night. Yeowza!  However, every restaurant or indoor area is freezing cold because of the air condition.  I guess I'll just pack some sundresses, swimsuits and sweaters! ;)

All Star: I'm an All-Star addict... of learning, that is.  I love seeking out new strategies and techniques to make me a better qualified Reading Specialist.  I can't help myself.  Perusing blogs, attending conferences, reading and retweeting articles on Twitter, etc. is nearly a constant in my life.  I am currently reading Jennifer Serravallo's The Reading Strategies Book and will be hosting a Book Study with the #ReadingStrategiesCrew.  It starts August 3rd right here on Literacy Loving Gals!  

Anyway, I swore to my husband, I'd take time to relax and let loose a little for our anniversary spent in Las Vegas.  He really wants to go to visit the Pawn Stars shop.  Of course, on my vacation I'll still be learning at the TpT conference (because I'm an addict of learning).  I guess I'll be getting the best of both worlds. :)

Happy July!

Summer Blog Party Kick Off Hop- Book Suggestions, Parent Tips and Reading Contracts

Welcome to the Summer Blog Party Kick Off Hop!  I want to start by thanking Carla from Comprehension Connection for organizing the hop.  Seventeen literacy bloggers from The Reading Crew are participating in the hop to share suggestions, tips and freebies to help prevent the summer reading slide.  The Crew is also supplying two $25 TpT gift certificates for those of you who enter the giveaway found along the hop, so let's get this party started! 

Isn't it wonderful summer has finally arrived?  Students have packed up their belongings and headed home for the summer. Hopefully, they'll continue to read throughout the summer to keep their reading progress advancing in the right direction.  However, we, as teachers, know that is not always the case for some of our students, so we offer tips and resources, then hope for the best! Right?

I think the most advantageous thing we can do for our students is to get parents invested in their child's education.  Don't you agree?  We all know students perform better academically when their parents are involved in their learning, so it's our job to offer parental support. When teachers assist parents in navigating any educational challenges their may child be encountering, everyone benefits. 

Ever heard of the ABCs of Improved Reading?  It can serve as a simple, but informative, reminder of ways parents can engage their child in reading.  Children must have access to literature in order to become avid readers, so the first step is to make sure parents supply various types of reading materials for their child.  Of course, the literature has to be at a just right level for their child because, if it is too easy or too difficult, not much reading growth can take place.  Furthermore, the whole purpose of reading is to gather meaning from a text.  For this reason, it is crucial parents are asking their child questions before, during and after a story or informational text.  You'll find some helpful prompts below and HERE.

Source

I also wanted to compile just a few of my favorite book suggestions containing fun and engaging story lines, but also teach the reader literacy tips along the way.  I figured these stories would be relevant to share with parents, since each book has a lesson in itself. The story titles listed below enlighten readers about some aspect of reading and writing: what it takes to become a good reader, how to choose a "just right" book, writing a story of your own, etc.  Just to give you an example, in the book Wolf!, the main character learns to read fluently to impress his friends, but he finds out he must practice often to get it right.  The moral of the story is Readers need to practice reading to become better readers!  

The two book collages found below consist of the thirteen titles geared mostly toward early primary students.  Each title is linked to Amazon, if you would like to take a closer look at any of them.  The books are How to Read a Story, Wolf!, The Best Place to Read a Book, The Best Book to Read, Wild About Books,  Goldisocks and the Three Libearians, Charlie Cook's Favorite Books, How Rocket Learned to Read, Rocket Writes a Story, The Plot Chickens, Little Red Writing, Pick a Picture: Write a Story and Tell Me the Day Backwards.

Last, but not least, I created a couple of freebies to help kids continue good reading habits throughout the summer and school year. The images below are linked to my TpT store. If you download the freebies, ratings are always greatly appreciated. The first freebie is a handout offering literacy tips for parents on how they can support good reading and writing habits at home. 

The second freebie is from a previous post.  It is a set of summer reading contracts for both students and parents, along with some reading logs. The logs can be valuable motivators for students because they serve as documentation of a child's dedication to read.  The contracts help secure a commitment between a parent and child to work together to keep reading growth soaring throughout the summer.  :)

Well, that's it from me!  I hope these book suggestions, literacy tips and reading contracts with logs help keep students reading all the way through the summer and well beyond!  Thank you to Paula Kim Studio, Kimberly Geswein and Whimsy Clips for the fonts and clipart in this post.  

Before you go, I'd love for us to stay connected!  Check out any of the social media buttons on the blog to follow along on Literacy Loving Gals' educational journey, or feel free to link your blog to the Blogs tab above, so others may find you when they visit Literacy Loving Gals. :) Now, head on over to Allie at The Positive Teacher for some more suggestions and freebies!

Happy Summer!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Hello! I'm linking up with BigTime Literacy for What I'm Loving Wednesday to tell you about my brand new obsession and a few other loves in my world.  I'm absolutely, AB-SO-LUTE-LY (I can't stress this enough) loving The Reading Strategies Book by Jennifer Seravallo!  It will be my new go-to resource, besides Jan Richardson's The Next Step in Guided Reading.  

When I saw the Amazon package on my doorstep last week, I started clapping with giddiness!  I pre-ordered the book back in April, so it's been tough to wait.  The minute I started flipping through it, I knew this would be my new favorite professional text.  I posted a few pictures on my Instagram and Twitter account to seek out some possible Book Study participants.  It looks as if a Book Study will be under way sometime in the near future.  We're thinking August would be a useful time before school gets underway.  Stay tuned!

Another thing I'm loving on this beautiful Wednesday is the weather. I love long summer days.  Today, the sun was out along with a slight breeze.  It was a bit warm, but not as humid as I've experienced before, so I'll take it.  When I got in my car this afternoon, this is what I saw on my dashboard.  Yikes! 

No matter the case, it was still a wonderful day to have some Mama-Daughter time at the park, while my hubby and son spent some time together.  We flip-flop days so we can "fill the emotional tank" of our kiddos.  One on one time is always nice, but we make sure to have tons of family time, too.  Camping trips, here we come! :)

I'm making sure my twins don't have any summer slide in their hunger for books (even though they're only 3 years old) by visiting the library often.  I'm loving the library theme for the kids this year!  The League of Super Readers is a theme that certainly caught my son's attention.  He's a fan of Spiderman, even though he's never seen an episode or movie with Spiderman. He's loves Spiderman because of a shirt he received from his Aunt, which he happened to be wearing when we spotted Spiderman. Besides seeing a life-sized Spidey, my son also thought it was "way cool" the librarians were wearing capes.  What I found cool was seeing the shelves divided up for kids by grade-level interests.  It provided the opportunity for me to find some new titles for the various grades I service.  Cute stuff happening in our local library. :)

Last, but not least, on this Wednesday, I'm loving the VW bus my kiddos got for a Christmas gift.  Recently, it's been sparking some imagination in the minds of my little ones.  The bus has been used for all sorts of things, including an extended fort (yesterday) and, my favorite, a reading nook (today). 

Well, that's it for this edition of What I'm Loving Wednesday!  Don't forget to link up with Michelle over at BigTime Literacy to share your loves for the day! 

Help Prevent the Summer Slide! FREE Summer Reading Contracts and Logs

I'm linking up with Teaching Blog Addict for another edition of Freebie Friday to share a resource I created in hopes to help prevent a slide in my RtI students' reading progress over the summer.  If you're looking to send a little something home with your students, this freebie may be for you.  Color and black and white versions of child and an adult contracts have been created, along with reading logs, so students and parents can work together to help the reading continue throughout the summer.  

CHILD READING CONTRACT

PARENT/GUARDIAN READING CONTRACT

Don't forget to link up your freebie over at Teaching Blog Addict!

Happy last Friday in May! 

***Disclaimer: This is NOT a reading log, but a Reading Contract. Now that I have read a handful of professional books and tons of research on reading logs, I no longer use them with my students. Mistakes help us learn. (May 2016)  

Wordless Wednesday: A Menu of Formative Assessment Strategies

I'm linking up with Miss DeCarbo for another edition of Wordless Wednesday to share useful formative assessment resources.  Check them out if you're interested.  Thanks again for hosting, Miss DeCarbo. :)

For the full menu with a better view, click HERE!

Click the image for a great article 
with practical ideas for the classroom!

Thank you to Paula Kim Studio and Emily Education for the background and arrow clip art.  Don't forget to link up with Sugar and Spice!

Happy Wednesday! 

Book Talk Thursday: Going Places

I'm linking up with the marvelous Andrea from Reading Toward the Stars for Book Talk Thursday.  Since Monday, our school has been hosting the Scholastic Book Fair.  This is the 3rd time this year the book fair has made an appearance and I LOVE IT!  I made sure to make my way down to the fair, especially since it was "Buy One, Get One Free".  My favorite kind of sale. ;) 

I purchased a few Pete the Cat books along with some others my preschool-aged kiddos at home would enjoy.  I already own many of the books on these shelves, since I'm a book addict and can't help myself when it comes to acquiring them.  Anyway, after walking up and down the aisles, I spotted it!  A new favorite called Going Places by Peter and Paul Reynolds.  Ever read it? 

It's such an adorable story and can be a fitting message for recent graduates out there in the world.  The message being individuality, creativity and thinking outside of the proverbial box will take you far in life. :)

Students participate in a "Going Places" contest.  They are all given the same pre-made kit.  The students' job is to create a vehicle to participate in the "Going Places" contest.  Rafael, who loved to follow directions, followed the exact steps to create a go-cart.  

 Maya, on the other hand, used the same kit, but decided to create something different, since there were no specifications that the vehicle had to be a go-cart.  After Rafael sees Maya's creation, they decide to work together with their kits to create something even better.  Read to find out where creativity can lead you!    

I happened to see a review of the book on FableVision that summed it up nicely: "Going Places, published by Simon & Schuster’s Atheneum Books, serves as a call to evolve our educational system from one that too often relies on prepackaged content and one-dimensional assessments to one that encourages critical thinking and creativity."  

Thank you to 3AM Teacher for the colorful background clip art.  Happy Reading and don't forget to link up with Andrea for Book Talk Thursday to share a book of your own!