2014 Really?!

So, when do all you teacher bloggers have time to blog?  Because I obviously haven't kept up.  There are NO posts from 2013 at all.  Hmmm...

MACUL 2012

Last week, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the MACUL Technology Conference in Grand Rapids, MI. I came home Friday afternoon with a list of websites and apps and ideas that I was so excited to checkout. Unfortunately, I came home to all three of my four-year-olds testing positive for strep and then influenza a few days later. Needless to say, it is Wednesday and I am just now beginning to process all that I learned.

Literacy Beginnings Chapter 1

In chapter 1, I love the emphasis on learning through play. My own daughter went into kindergarten reading at a level 16 (end of first grade level) and it wasn't because I sat down and drilled her with flashcards or made her sound out words. After being a reading recovery teacher, those words "sound it out" actually make me cringe! I love books and I have read to Carli since she was a baby. She caught my love of reading and began imitating reading at a very young age. We had fun with language and letters and she just finished first grade reading at a fifth grade level and I am so proud of her. I hope that love of learning will continue the rest of her life and I try to do the same thing with my young fives students. In the book, they emphasize how activities need to be developmentally appropriate for our children. I think this is essential! Especially as things keep getting pushed down in our curriculum. What a great first chapter!

Book Study Blog Party

I joined this Book Study Blog Party with some amazing pre-k teachers whose blogs I read often. We are reading "Literacy Beginnings by Gay Su Pinnell and Irene C. Fountas, some well known literacy experts. I got my book this morning so I am reading like crazy trying to catch up with the bloggers who began on Monday, reading one chapter each day, that is between feeding my girls lunch and putting them down for naps, etc... I am loving the book so far and plan to post some of my thoughts as I get caught up. For more information, click on the button below and you can find everything you need to know!

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Going in a different direction...

I was going to use this for parents when I first created it and then I used my mobile me account to create a webpage with all their information. It is privacy protected so that I can post pictures and videos of things happening in my classroom. As I began this journey of participating in the book study blog party, I decided that I would like to use this site more to communicate with my colleagues and fellow pre-k teachers. So here it goes...wish me luck!

Young Fives!

I am experimenting with creating a little blog for my classroom, a place where I can post ideas and share information with parents. So here it goes...