New Books

Youngsters learn to read with alphabet books, learning with grins and giggles of excitement, humour, and joy.

For over two centuries, what has remained constant in classrooms is children and alphabet books. What has changed is how the number and variety of books motivate and educate children.

Yesterday, I purchased two more alphabet books to add to my ever growing classroom collection -- The Letters are Lost and A, My Name is Alice. A classroom can never have too many alphabet books, especially when the lines are so enjoyable and fun to read. For instance, in Jane Bayer's A ,My Name is Alice, she writes, “K my name Karen and my husband’s name is Keith. We come from Kashmir and we sell kisses.”  Those words are enough to bring a smile to anyone's face but add a picture representing Karen as a large kangaroo with pouty petal coloured lips peering into a compact mirror and Keith as a kiwi donning a jaunty pink and red heart patterned cravat and that is a recipe for a memorable reading experience.

When children learn to read, they link their oral language to its written counterpart. Their first alphabet books begin this important transition.

I look forward to sharing these and hundreds of other books with your child when school begins.

Supply List

Click the image below to go to a printable version.

Before

First thing this morning, I took a picture of the classroom  as it is now (a mess), and inserted it in the sidebar of the blog. This picture will serve as a nice reminder of the metamorphosis that will take place in the next two months, much like that of a colourful butterfly emerging from  cocoon.

Instead of relying on past setups, I have been interested in experimenting with a new layout for furniture, centers, and reading area. I feel the need to shake it up a bit this year and try something new and dynamic.

This layout, on the left, is definitely not  new and innovative, since I used something similar a few years ago, but I thought you might like to be included in my mental process (a scary thought, right?).

Also, I am prepping the supply list for next year. I will post the list here as soon as it is complete so that  you can take advantage of the sales that will begin soon.

Welcome Parents!

Summer time is a great opportunity for travel, sports, family, holidays, cookouts, and all kinds of other fun things. I must say; I have been keeping busy with all of the above and then some!

I pray that you and your family have had some enjoyable experiences thus far. If not, there is still more than half the summer remaining before the first day (August 24, 2010) of a new school year.

Even though the buzz from the last school year is still ringing in my ears  I am planning for next year. Part of my planning includes classroom layout, purchases for new books and equipment, as well as this blog. Hopefully, through the year you will be able to glean valuable information and enjoy viewing some of the things that your child is doing in class.

Please check back during the summer as this blog morphs, transforms, and comes together. I encourage you to comment on any post or feature of this blog.