A perfect song to accompany your reading!
To my few but loyal followers, my deepest regrets for not being as diligent with the postings. After a few sick days, Thanksgiving Break, and pure chaos, I am finally back to the daily grind. However, I have a mere two weeks before graduation. Don't remind St. JoAnne (aka Mom). If you do, the waterworks will surely start back up again. Last week, I picked up my cap and gown. Thanks to technology, I decided to send St. JoAnne a picture message of me decked out in the "grad gear." A few short seconds later, I received a call from a very emotional mother.
St. JoAnne is not the only one starting to worry. I am getting very anxious about graduation. Along with that comes the dreaded job search loaded with applications, interviews, letters of reference, and so on. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a planner through and through. The uncertainty of the future is starting to get to me. I can take comfort in this quote, taken from the book, The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, "Time is a river of things that become, with a strong current. No sooner is a thing seen than it has been swept away and something else is carried past, and still another will follow."
The school I am currently placed at has an early intervention literacy program. Therefore, I meet with only kindergarten, first, and second graders. Coming from a fourth grade placement, I am still in culture shock. I forget that bathroom breaks and line leaders are a very critical piece to early childhood education. I wouldn't change it though, each day I find myself laughing about something my students say. The little ones just crack me up. I love their contagious laughter! One of the first graders in my small group got the giggles, by the end of the lessons we were all laughing so hard.
The school that I am at has helped me appreciate coming from a loving two parent home where I always had a meal, a warm home, and a place to sleep. I had always taken these things for granted. It becomes an especially touchy subject during the holiday season. Once again, just one more reminder that your job does go home with you. On these colds winter nights where the temperature has been below freezing, I wonder if some of my students have a warm place to sleep or even clothes to wear in the snow. Fortunately, the school and community members do a lot to help the families in need. For our Title I students, my cooperating teacher decided to order books to give them at Christmas time. She ordered a bunch of Bella and Rosie books as well as Space Boy books. For those of you that don't know Bella and Rose, you should take a look a the pictures below. They are two of the most loved Reading Recovery book characters. Take a look!
As mentioned above, Pioneer Valley has the Bella and Rosie series about two miniature poodles who get into lots of mischief. Frankly, I think that my dad should look into becoming an illustrator and author for the Pioneer Valley Book Company. It would be the perfect retirement job for him. I can see it now, Dad taking pictures of Alfie (our beloved dog) at various locations and writing a story to accompany the pictures. Alfie the Reindeer could be our first one. What do you think, Dad?
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| Book 1: Alfie the Reindeer |
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| Book 2: Alfie is Tired |
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| Book 3: Good Boy, Alfie |
