The Garden System: A Visit to Mr. Leo's Garden

Our visit to Mr. Leo's and Ms. Zina's garden in Sedalia was amazing.  Ms. Zina is our wonderful cafeteria director, and her husband, Mr. Leo, is a master gardener and beekeeper. 

They are very giving and gracious people.  Hosting 50 children at their home to walk the garden, see the bees, and eat homemade zucchini bread and honey from their own hives was a gift to all of us.  

Mr. Leo knows many secrets about gardening in CO.  We saw many vegetables such as artichokes, cabbage, cauliflower, two kinds of kale, corn, pumpkins and peppers, to name a few.

The children helped me write a thank you note to them.  Each child created a vegetable  to put onto the letter.  

Our crew is learning about the system of the garden. When you come in to visit, please check out the garden timeline and the big ideas we are working on as we learn about this system and how each part impacts the whole garden.

Nightly Reading: To, With, or By

Their are many ways to read books. At school, we listen to stories that I read aloud, the children share books as they buddy read, or the children learn to read in their heads as they begin to independently read.  

So far this year, my crew has become wonderful listeners of great stories, and they are kind buddy readers who love sharing their favorite books.

Beginning this week, I will teach them how to read independently.  It takes practice to learn how to read in our heads!  At first some of them may need to continue to whisper read out loud.  That's ok!  They will grow as we go.  

At this time I can expect them to independently read around 10 minutes.  By the end of the year they should be able to go at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted reading.  You can support your child by helping them practice this kind of reading now at home.

 I want to share the 3 kinds of reading that can be practiced at home each night as your child brings home their first reading books. 

 Reading aloud to your child is a way to grow your child as a reader.  Reading with your child is another.

When you read with, you could share the book by you reading one page, your child reading the next. This is often the way your child may choose to read right now as they are tired after a long day at school:) Finally, the reading can be done by your child. 

Important! Even with eager independent readers, reading aloud to your child will be important as they gain vocabulary and background knowledge of our world. Never stop reading aloud to your child! I want the nightly reading to be a snuggly, loving time. Choose whatever way that meets your child's needs.

Tips for Nightly Reading with Your Child

I grew up the oldest of five children.  I took to reading as a duck takes to water.  But this was not true for some of my siblings, and my son was not as enamored as my daughters were with books.  It took a while.

I'm a parent, just like you.  I want your at-home reading experience to go well for everyone.  I want it to be a time for building memories of love between you and your child.  This little book below says it well...

So, I guess what I want to say before sending that first book home is this is an opportunity to share love with your child.
There are no other expectations for your nightly reading! 
For those of you who want a bit more guidance, I'll offer some tips on the next post.

Books are love to me.  I hope your child will leave first grade feeling the same!

The Magic Has Begun....

A picture is worth a thousand words....

When I'm tired at night, I pull up this picture.  What joy to see three little boys, friends from K, sharing a book together.  

This is why I am here.  Well, one of the reasons.  To inspire and grow life-long readers.  It's my passion.  It is so rewarding for me, and such a gift for your child.

You might be wondering what I'm doing about reading. Am I teaching it?  What are your children working on in reading?

I often feel the pressure of performing "reading miracles" with every child I teach.  Phew!  This is a big order.  I take my job as a first grade teacher very seriously.  This year is a HUGE year for building your child's literacy foundation for life.  

Here is a peek into my mindset and plans for reading for the first half of this year.  The district would call this my "backward plan" for reading this year.  I want to share it with you so you have the big picture.

August: Reader’s Build Good Habits (What does reading look like, sound like? Who am I as a reader? Who do I want to be? How do I take care of books? Getting excited about reading!)

September:  Book Choice /Monitoring Growth/ Reading Tools (taking on new challenges in reading)

October:  Reading Tools/ Teaching how and building fluency/ Reader's Theatre

November: Thinking Strategies/ Growing a Sense of Story: Fiction

December:  Jan Brett:  Author Studies

January:  Poetry Genre Study?  Mental Images...or Wordless Books?

The picture of the boys above really shows what I've been doing with my children these first weeks of school.  I am reading lots of books to them.  The old fairy tale/folktales from long ago.  Rhyming books, poems, song books.  Books that make them laugh.  Books about people who love reading and those who might not like it yet.  Books that keep them spellbound. And they are reading to each other.

And with this, the magic has begun.  Every one of them is growing as a reader without any formal instruction.  I've been sitting with each one of them and taking notes on them as readers.  I've been out there with them, sharing my passion for books.  And it is catching!  This crew can read around the room for an hour at a time.  It thrills me to see it.

In the next couple of weeks, I'll begin formal instruction in small groups.  They will be ready by then. They are beginning to trust me and my love for them.  Once this is established, we can begin the job of taking on reading challenges.  Books will be sent home for nightly reading and I'll write another post that might help you with at home reading.  We are all readers!

The Hoola Hoop Lesson: Staying Safe and Happy:)

We are learning the importance of keeping our hands to ourselves and to mind our own business.  This is the lesson that I taught the children to help them with this.  I use the visual of a hoola hoop.

1.  We all have a hoola hoop around us. (I let them think of what theirs might look like...maybe purple with sparkles or maybe decorated with soccer balls:)
2.  Inside our hoop is our own business.  What we think, what we say, what we do.  Our only job is to take care of our own business and hoola hoop.
3.  We do not get into someone else's hoola hoop unless invited in.   

Now all I have to say to the children when problems arise is this:  "Are you in your own hoola hoop?"  Works like a charm.
You might want to use this at home too! 

Read / Write /Explore Time

Choice...we all want it.  But it's risky to let loose 25 wiggly, giggly little ones and allow them to explore the room and the learning activities that jazz them.

 But I'm willing to take that risk.  Because I know it empowers kids.

Here are some of the activities the kids are choosing in these early days.  As they choose, I learn about them as people and learners.

 I watch to see where they are at as collaborators and communicators.  I'm watching to see who sticks with what they start. I'm noticing who shows responsibility and stewardship.

I'm noticing...and loving getting to know each one of these precious children! We are off to a great start.