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I have just joined the Read to Me – Picture Book Reading Challenge. I have committed to reading 200 picture books to a child between now and Dec. 31, 2011. I will be blogging about the books I choose to read and my experiences reading to individual children. I will be doing this at school… Read more

OK. My daughter read a recent post I wrote on this blog and she says I’m too hard on myself. Instead of beating myself up about what didn’t go well in my classroom she wants me to celebrate all the things that do go well. So, here it goes, my end-of-year present to myself –… Read more

At the end of the day we have a closing circle in my classroom. It is intended to give the children and me a moment of quiet and reflection at the end of the day in the same way that morning meeting energizes us to spend the day learning and playing together. Depending on how… Read more

At the end of every marking period, my grade 2 team asks students to give themselves report card marks on a modified one-page sheet with descriptors similar to those on the report card that teachers are required to complete. The children score themselves on a scale of 1 – 5 in the same way that… Read more

Last month I attended the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual conference in Orlando, Florida. I am one of three newly elected members to the Elementary Section Steering Committee (ESSC). The NCTE annual conference is one of my favorite conferences. It provides for three days of excellent professional development and conversation, and the… Read more

Every once in a while a student does something wonderful that sends my head spinning. Usually, this incident is out of character and even though you hope he’ll do this precise thing he’s just done some day, you’re just not prepared for it when it happens. You hope that it will happen even if you… Read more

It was a short summer compounded by the fact that it never really happened here in Calgary; we went from spring straight into fall and now we’re doing a back step into a summery autumn. I don’t mind because we’re experiencing the most spectacular fall I’ve seen in a long time. The leaves are turning… Read more

Yesterday was the last day of school. It was bittersweet, as it tends to be from year to year. It’s hard to believe that the group you’ve lived with for ten months will no longer be together come September, and at the same time you’re ready for summer vacation to start. The last few days… Read more

The Results of the 2010 Elections Are In! Read more

I have been rethinking my relationship with parents as I read, Becoming Teammates, Teachers and Families as Literacy Partners by Charlene Klassen Endrizzi, a National Council of Teachers (NCTE) publication. I am noticing a subtle change in the way I am willing to frame the conversation at the same time that I realize that many… Read more