Slice2012 15 of 31: On the Road

It is crazy how much tech is happening here in the Honda minivan since leaving Dublin, Ohio. One son is hooked up his portable DVD player and is enjoying Racing Stripes. My two older boys have downloaded the NCAA app on my husband's xyboard and now are happily watching New Mexico and Long Beach State after figuring out how to enable the device to be a "hot spot." My husband has his droid propped up with the gps guiding us to Tennessee. And, I have downloaded the blogger app on my iPhone so I can post tonight. ( missing my computer but glad to learn something new).

I can remember driving to Florida with a book, a pillow and blanket. Now we are completely plugged in and connected. The car used to be a place to unplug. Now it mimics being at home with our devices. I appreciate being able to plug in but look forward to unplugging when we get to the beach. Battery low and have to go.
Crossing my fingers this post publishes decently with pic and all.

Slice2012 14 of 31 Packing

We are almost packed.  The kids bags are packed in the extra storage on top of the van.   The Sam's club box of goldfish and the X-large bag of peanut m&m's are at arms reach of the kids. And the blankets and pillows are ready on each seat to keep us comfy for the 18 hour car ride we begin tomorrow afternoon.  We talked about what we all have planned to read, (Matt: Toys Go Out,  Jack: Wonder, Joey : The Battle of Jericho, Joe : 11/22/63 and Me: Wonder, The Alchemist, lots of online blog reading and maybe I'll finish Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet)  so books will be ready and of course the ipods and ipad will come in handy to keep the kids entertained with games and a movie or 2.

Whew.   Kids are ready, now it is time to finish laundry and pack myself ( so much to do and so little time).  I hate late packing nights but all worth it for VACATION!!

Slice 2012 13 of 31 Little Helper

I took this photo yesterday before the scout's banquet and it just right to post tonight.

          I am not sure where his desire to help and work came from but my nine year never ceases to amaze me when it comes to getting jobs done.  Tonight as I was folding laundry and chatting with my husband about where to find the extension cord so that I could quick vacuum out the van, Matt (the nine year old) interrupted asking, "Can I help?" before I even said the word vacuum.  He is a doer, a helper and always wants to be involved in assisting anything that involves a car, electronic device or any type of  building or putting together of well, anything.  I chuckled a a bit after he interrupted, pleased to have some help after a long day. A help he was as he attended to the shop vac and extension cord.  He was two steps ahead of me at all times, pulling out the weather matts and shaking them out. Then hollering to me as I was cleaning trash out of the seat pockets, "Hey mom, there is a ton of stuff in the back of the van that we need to clean out." Next thing I know, the stuff was in a nice pile on the garage floor.  I sorted through hats and gloves that needed to be put back in the hall closet then threw some blankets in the laundry.  By the time I was done, he had practically finished the vacuuming.  I am still amazed by his stamina for working and completing the jobs we ask of him around the house but even more grateful for the times he jumps in when we don't ask him. ( I would love for this quality to rub off on his brothers.)  For today, I am thankful for him.
I love you Matt.

Slice 2012 12 of 31 Digital Reading

I was about to jump into bed when I remembered how much I wanted to keep my goal for writing each day.  I could go through my list of things that kept my husband and I in the car or at activities all night but you already know how that goes, we all get busy.  So, I thought I would just share something I listened to last week that helped me think about the importance of exposing our students to opportunities for digital reading.

Dr. Julie Cairo is a researcher at the University of Rhode Island and has studied online reading comprehension with  upper elementary and middle school learners learners.  She has found that with so many choices online that careful reading is lost.  She also mentions that offline readers aren't sure how to tackle multiple texts in different places.  Her big point in this pod cast is that we need to teach kids to stop think about cues, predict, infer and make meaningful choices.

  How can we help support students who are and will be online readers in their futures?

Slice2012 11 of 31 Welcome Baby Vinny

There is nothing like holding a brand new baby.

Carefully holding up his head in the crook of my arm, I welcomed my newest nephew today.

6 pounds and 11 ounces of beauty.

Baby Vinny came into this world greeted by his mom and dad and big sister (2 yr old) Vivian.

We oooed and awed over his smell and his warmth and his calm nature.

We imagined his cousins fighting over whose turn it will be too hold him.

 And then, we thought about how, too soon, he will be running to keep up with his busy sister.

We know how time rushes by

 But for today,

I hope the world slows down enough for all of us to enjoy every bit of how it feels

to love a brand new baby.

Slice 2012 10 of 31 First Grade Writing

 One of the best parts of being with first graders is watching them grow leaps and bounds over the course of a school year.  Many of them walk in the door with little courage when putting pencil to paper to draw and write. Bravery is a huge part of the whole year. When kids grasp this notion, they soar and that is just the case with a young man in my class this year and I couldn't get him off my mind today.


Little E wasn't sure about what to do when someone didn't tell him what to write about the first few weeks of school. The more he saw other kids sharing and listened to great mentors for writing, he gained the confidence he needed.   He started with wordless stories and had lots to say in his pictures after we studied  ways writers can think about pictures. Then he eventually started writing more text when we studied personal narratives.  He has now come alive now with our non-fiction study.  You'll notice we haven't ventured into the research piece that often goes right along with non-fiction. Instead, I decided to introduce some text structures first and have the kids practice teaching others in areas that we feel we have some expertise. I'll tie in research after spring break.  On Friday, he shared the start to his book Sea Creatures (something he feels he is an expert about) and talked about how the mentor Ten Things I Can Do To Help My World helped him think about adding tips to each page.  He is generating ideas, building stamina for writing longer and telling the reader more.  Thinking about his success makes me happy for him.  It would be so nice to have a comparable piece from the beginning of the year but I don't so  do your best to visualize.  Hopefully these beginning pages in his story are enough to put a smile on your face.

Slice2012 9 of 31 Daily Reflecting

Each morning on the way to school, my boys and I read a daily prayer and reflection from Living Faith Kids.  I am a praying kind of person (hopefully not offending anyone with sharing faith type moment in this post). So, by setting this routine (which we have had for 2 or 3 years now), I feel like it is one way I can show them the value of learning and reflecting about life.

We read the short excerpt from Matthew 21:42 which begins The stone that the builders rejected has become the corner stone... Then proceeded to read the short story connecting it to how we can build the kingdom of God in our own lives by helping others and caring for others.

My fifth grader has become very willing to read these and share his favorite line from the reflection even somedays what he learned. It isn't every day that he is willing but at least 65% of the time.  My third grader has just been brave enough to read it aloud. Some days the excerpt and reflection are above what he can comprehend but we talk him through it.

Today he asked "How is this prayer?"

And without thinking too long about it said, "Well, prayer is talking and listening to God right?"

"Yea," he said.

"So these are kind of like short pieces from the bible with stories that help us think about the piece and a few words to lead us in what to say to God.  It really helps us reflect so that later on when God talks to us through things in our life or people in our life, we are ready to listen and change or just know what to do."

"Oh, ok." was his answer.

I am not sure if this confused him more or helped him but I know he is beginning to think, maybe even beyond how to read the words on the page.  We'll keep reading.