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Back to School

Can you believe it is almost that time again? I can't believe how quickly time is flying by...so much for my awesome tan and organized house I was for sure going to have accomplished this summer!
That first day of school can be filled with mixed emotions. For those that are in their first couple years of teaching, it can be helpful to have a game plan or layout of what your first day should look like. Check out the following link for a great packet that puts everything together for you!
First Day of School

May Reading Strategy-Visualizing

May Reading Strategy

Visualizing

Students create mind pictures and visualizations when they read. Good readers will take those pictures and visualizations and use them to better comprehend text.  Albert Einstein once said, “If I can’t picture it, I can’t understand it.” As the reader creates pictures in their mind of what they are reading, other senses will become involved. This will enhance their connections with and comprehension of the text.
How to help your child use this strategy: 
To help your child visualize while reading, try the following:

·        Share wordless picture books with your child. Have your child create a story of what is happening.

·        When reading aloud, stop often to describe the picture you have in your mind.

·        After reading time at home, have your child draw what they see in their mind.

·        As they read, have them make a movie in their head. Then transfer the scenes to paper.

·        Have them describe their five senses. After reading, ask them what sounds, tastes, and touch images they felt while reading the text.

·        Another way of talking about visualizing is to talk about creating a “mental picture”. As they read, ask them to talk about what their mental picture looks like.

Reading Strategy: Predicting

Both at school and at home we are focusing on predicting or "guessing what will happen next" in our reading. It is something we probably all do, but just don't know that we are doing it! Make a conscience effort to point out predictions or ways to make them with your child. 

I was taken back by some of my daughter's predictions and thoughts. She can always explain why she thinks something will happen and the explanation are truly hilarious. It gives me such insight into the way she thinks.

Predicting

Good readers use pictures, titles, headings, and text to make predictions before they begin to read. Predicting involves thinking ahead while reading. Readers will be able to anticipate information and events in the text. After making predictions, students can read through the text and refine, revise, and verify their predictions.
Predicting is important because it engages students and connects them to the text by asking them what they think might occur in the story.

What you can do at home:

·        Before starting to read a book, article, or chapter together, have your child make a prediction about the content. Ask your child what clues (from the text and/or pictures) led him/her to the prediction.

·        During reading, check back on their prediction. Do this several times during the reading process. Ask your child if they want to keep the original prediction, if they want to revise the prediction, or if they want to make a new prediction. Continue to ask your child to provide evidence or support from the book for his/her prediction.

·        Take turns sharing predictions aloud while reading. Compare predictions and share your thinking as you predict.

To connect predicting in reading to predictions they will make in other parts of their lives, have them make other kinds of predictions. For example, if they are watching a television show or movie, ask them to predict what they think will happen. It is important that they tell you why they have that prediction. You could also have them make “guesses” or predictions about what they think people will say or do. “What do you think Dad’s favorite kind of ice cream is?” “Why?” Then ask and find out if their prediction was correct or no.

Pinterest Ideas=Success

I am such a Pinterest fan. In my mind, Pinterest is NOT a waste of time if you actually try the ideas out every once in a while. One of my New Year's Resolutions was to try at least 2 new Pinterest ideas each month. I have been surprised how many of them have worked. This post is all about my most recent finds that DO work.
Most Recent Successes:


Pinned from Here, this new hair style trick has saved my mornings. It honestly takes five minutes and really gives that half-curled, half-straight look! Yea for 5 extra minutes sleeping in!



I suffer from major anxiety when it comes to cooking--Pinned from Here, this Cilantro, Lime Crockpot Chicken was delish and SUPER easy...I couldn't even mess it up. My husband is quite the Mexican food expert and he was over the moon about it.



My newest love for holiday decor is printables that I switch in and out of frames. I have found a couple of great ones and I feel like everyone should be able to take part. For the first time ever, I had St. Patrick's Day decor and two days later I suddenly had modern and chic Easter/Spring Decor...check out This.

I have had my fair share of disasters as well...but that's a post for a different day!

Pale Pink = New Nude

This morning as I was getting dressed, my lovely daughter pointed out that my shoes "did not match". As I tried to explain to a three year old that pale pink was indeed the new nude and therefore a neutral, she kept insisting that my shirt (which has some pink in it) and my shoes were not the EXACT same color and therefore should NOT be worn together.I have been thinking about this. I used to have the hardest time not matching all my clothes exactly. Many episodes of What Not to Wear have convinced me. The problem is, I am not always sure how to have things "go" but not match. I follow several fashion blogs and after a Vegas shopping trip a few weekends ago, I now feel like I have some great examples to watch. How to convince my three year old the difference between mismatching right and wearing black fuzzy boots with her purple and orange sparkly dress is a different question!

Reading Strategy: Questioning

Of course it is difficult for me to separate my home and school life. Our school's reading strategy for the month of February was Questioning. I find that I ask my own child a lot of questions (poor girl), but this month I have been extra focused on expanding on those answers she gives me. For example, she LOVES Dr. Seuss books, but has a whole lot of questions about the silly words, the crazy phrases and ridiculous pictures. As I have been trying to answer her "whys" and "what is that" questions, I have been trying to be as honest as I can about the answers. One of her favorites is  I Can Read With My Eyes Shut. When it reads "I can read in pickle color too!", she asks, "Why do they call it pickle color?" Well, we then have a conversation about what color pickles are, why she doesn't like pickles, why books would have green words, green is "Titan at preschool's favorite color," etc. What great dialogue to have! She is making tons of connections with books and her world.

If you are wondering how to start those conversations and to ask the right questions, see below: Enjoy!

Questioning to understand and remember: Asking questions about the content of what is read

Becoming an active reader will help your child comprehend their reading better. Teaching readers to ask themselves questions as they read will help them concentrate better. Besides improving their concentration, they will also be able to determine how well they have understood what they have read, find the areas they don’t understand yet, connect information to what they already know and improve their memory.

As parents, you can help your students learn to ask themselves questions by asking them first. It is important to ask your child several different types of questions to encourage various levels of understanding.

So what do you ask? Here are some examples:

Who?

Where?

Which one?

What?

How?

Why?

How much?

How many?

When?

What does it mean?

What happened after?

What is the best one?

Can you name all the…?

Who spoke to …?

Which is true or false?

What does this mean?

Which are the facts?

Is this the same as …?

Give an example of…

Select the best definition:

Condense this paragraph.

What would happen if …?

Explain why . . .

What expectations are there?

Read the graph (table) and find…

What are they saying?

This represents . . .

What seems to be …?

Is it valid that …?

What seems likely?

Which statements support …?

What could have happened next?

When you ask the questions is just as important as what the questions are. Be sure to ask questions before your child reads, during the reading and after they are finished. Here are some sample questions:

Questions to ask before reading:

·         What is the title of the book?

·         What does the cover tell you about the book?

·         What do you think the book is about?

·         What do you already know about his book?

·         What do you want to learn?

·         Why are you reading this book?

Questions to ask during reading:

·         What do you think will happen next?

·         What is the problem in the story?

·         Why do you think the character did that?

·         When reading this part, what were you picturing in your head?

Questions to ask after reading:

·         Describe the setting of the story.

·         Describe how a character changed throughout the book.

·         Which of the characters did you like best? Why?

·         What were some of the problems or situations the characters encountered?

·         Tell about a part that you liked or disliked and tell why?

Heart to Heart Math

Valentine's Day just adds a bit of excitement to my week--as a teacher, I always did as much teaching as I could on these days of celebration to keep the students focused and somewhat on task. However, I tried to do "normal" work with a holiday twist to keep some fun in the day.

Check out the Valentine's Day math I have posted on TPT and Teachers Notebook! This Heart to Heart Math will be the perfect addition to your fun day of love and learning!
(Variety of Math problems for grades 4-6)

Happy February!

I love this month! Valentine's Day + a three day weekend + 28 days = a fabulous month!

Check out these beautiful pictures I took of a darling friend (who is about to deliver) and her gorgeous daughter!
I am obsessed with her daughter's beautiful eyes...so lucky and photogenic!

January Slump

This time of year can be difficult for everyone. At this time in my life, I am seriously considering a move to a warmer climate (which might be anywhere else in the world but here), a long vacation yesterday, giving up on getting dressed everyday and just going to work in my sweats and snow boots and for sure eating all the comfort food I can get my hands on.
Okay, besides the fact that it is cold and wet outside and I don't have a long vacation in front of me for some time, this time of year is great for starting projects, getting a handle on all the things I don't have a handle on, and organizing that closet I try to forget exists in my house. I have a huge lists of things to do the next month or so and I plan on getting through some of it. One of the things on this list....start this blog! Super, great, check!