Elephant and Piggie, where have you been all my life?

I know I'm late to the party! But. Seriously. Elephant and Piggie where have you been all my life? I have heard about these books for a few years now.  The first one was published in 2007.  My youngest child was 6 then; and so, as a teacher and a mom, I should have paid more attention to these books.  I have read the Knuffle Bunny series and the Pigeon books, but for some reason, I had not read the Elephant and Piggie series.    

Scholastic put together a 6 book collection of these books and I ordered them. I'm so glad I did.  I will be buying more!  They are so funny. I love the way that any aged person can read them and put the sense of humor that they have into voice.  A first grade student will probably use a different tone than a 50 year old would. Books like this transcend generations.  

I also found that this set of books teaches valuable lessons about friendship.  The first one I read was My Friend is Sad.  This book is about the importance of sharing important things with those you love and that concept needs reviewing from time to time, no matter whether you are 6 or 36.  

Thank you Mo Willems!

2017 Reads

2017 Reads is my Pinterest board where I will track what I read in the year 2017.  I began doing this in 2014.  What I have found is that I both want and need to read more.  From 2014 I have increased the number of books that I read each year.  That's a good thing.  But I have resolved to do more.  

Last night I began reading Wonder, by RJ Palacio.  This book was published in 2012.  It's been in my pile since the beginning of the school year.  I'm about 1/2 way though it.  I love the small chapters (1 to 2 pages.)  I have found that several authors use this technique.  I can see how this writing style would make the book more appealing to young readers.  They can plow through a chapter fairly quickly.  They can feel success.    

Update:  Finished the book.  Loved it!  Easy read.  I know the students I will be recommending it to. I have one fourth grader in particular who I think will really move through it quickly.   

Discovering new authors

Recently, one of my 5th grade students has been asking me to read one of his favorite authors, Mary Downing Hahn.  I had resisted because I always thought her books were in the scary genre.  I'm not too crazy about the scary genre because I just don't like scary things.  However, it seemed really important to him that I try this book.  So, I asked him to recommend one to me and he did.  I brought it home to read during Christmas break.  I just finished it last night.  

Well,  that's sort of an understatement.  I finished it last night after having picked it up 2 or 3 hours before.  That's right, I picked it up and I couldn't put it down.  I'm hooked!  The book he picked out for me was Stepping on the Cracks.  It's about a group of kids growing up during World War II.  All of their older brothers have either enlisted or have been drafted.  They spend their time wondering about where their older brothers are.  There is some sadness.  Some of the sadness comes from family dynamics, some from the fact that there is a war and not everyone comes home.  There is also joy; joy when the war is over, when love is found and when justice is served.   This book was not scary, it was full of suspense.   

I can't wait to get back to school and check out another book from this author.   The kids have always checked her out consistently. I noticed this, but I resisted.  Silly me.  

There's Something About that Word "Smart"...

I came to my blog today to write a post about a book and I found this draft post.  I re-read it and decided I can't remember why it hadn't been posted... so here it is

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THAT WORD "SMART"

There's something about that word "smart."  Today, I had a student say to me, "Mrs. Brattin, I'm just not smart."  We have all had students say that to us.  I'm sure most of the time I may have said something like, "Of course you're smart!"  I decided to try something a little different.  Instead, I said to the student, "You know, I really don't like that word, smart."  He just gave me a confused look.  I felt I had to expand.  

I explained to him was that the word smart implies a finished product and that he is not a finished product.  I told him that I understand that he may be struggling with the assignment and that's okay.  Struggle just means there is more work to do.  That's our job as students; take up a challenge, struggle, learn more and get better.  

I also snuck in a buzzword those of us who follow Carol Dweck's research are all too familiar with, "yet."  I explained that he isn't an expert on the topic, yet.  However, with more work and practice, he will soon be.  I think he felt a little more empowered after our conversation. 

We also discussed words that we liked better than "smart."  We decided that being wise is something to strive for.  All in all, this was a pretty good day in 5th grade intervention class.  This student became a little more resilient today;  and that's a good thing, much better than becoming smart.   

A Turkey for Thanksgiving

A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting is one of my favorite books to read to students in November.  I read it to grades Pre-K through 5th.  My 4th and 5th grade students are used to me reading picture books to them.  I always tell them, no one is ever too old to read a picture book.    

In case you are not familiar with the story, Mr. Moose is on a quest to find a Turkey for Mrs. Moose's Thanksgiving Table.  He enlists the help of Mr. Goat and Mr. Sheep and Mr. Rabbit and so on.  They finally find Mr. Turkey, but he is reluctant to join them at the table.  Can you blame him?  Rest assured, Mr. Turkey is able to say "Happy Thanksgiving"  at the end of the meal.  

Sometimes the things we are afraid of, turn out to be not so scary, after all is said and done.  The things we think will affect us dramatically turn out to be not quite so different than what we were hoping would happen.  Most importantly the people who we think are our friends, are probably always going to be our friends, no matter what. 

I love this time of year.  Fall.  Pumpkin and Caramel scents waft through in the air.  Families are gathering together to enjoy food and fellowship with one another before the crazy holiday frenzy begins.  This will truly be a year to reflect about what is important.  Sometimes conversations can become a little heated. Common sense, humility and empathy should ultimately always prevail.  Our differences are much smaller than our similarities and they always will be.   

Mrs. Moose insisted that Mr. Moose find a turkey for their table.  Even though they have never had a turkey before, she thought it was necessary for the table to be complete.  So, just as in the delightful book I described above, drag up whatever style of chair you can find and take a seat at the table.  Partake of the meal in fellowship with your good friends. Celebrate your differences. Dig in and enjoy! 

Book Fair Fun!

I'm always amazed at the success of our small school book fair.  Our parents and students are always excited at the prospect of shiny new books and those cool, fun erasers.  I have to admit... I get pulled into the new eraser binge as well.  The most popular non-book item varies from year to year.  The first year I was at the helm, the chocolate calculator was a fast sell out.  The past two years, however, the secret agent pen has been most popular.  I didn't count how many Scholastic sent, but I'm guessing around 40 and all but five are gone.  

The most popular book this year was the 2016 Gamer's Almanac.   The newest Diary of a Wimpy kid was released on Tuesday and Scholastic sent me a huge box of those, as well.  I couldn't sell all 56, but eight flew out the door.  

On Friday, I packed up everything and closed the big metal cases.  They have all been pushed to the side, waiting for pick up on Wednesday.  By the end of the fair, kids were beginning to ask about the Spring fair.  Yes, it is a buy one, get one!  I hope Scholastic continues to offer this.  I think it is a great compliment and respectful gesture to all those parents  who support the full price fair in the Fall.  

Although it was a very hectic week in the library with regular checkouts, tutoring and book fair madness,  I'll miss the smells and sights of the shiny new  books.  One of the best parts is all the scholastic dollars I'll get to spend on several of those Shiny. New. Books.  

Goodbye...book fair, until next Spring!  

Book suggestion: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fever 1793 by author Laurie Halse Anderson provides the reader with a plot that is engaging, emotional and thought provoking. I love when fiction books rely heavily on non-fiction events. The author includes quotes at the beginning of each chapter that are written in that times vernacular which made the words the author has written even more believable. I think if I were a student reading this I would want to learn more history about this time period in our nation. I am going to suggest this to our middle school social studies and communication arts teachers for a cross curricular study. Post Revolutionary War time frame with lessons of compassion for today's youth.