Its vacation week! I am so excited for vacation, and so glad that I decided to student teach during spring semester so that I could have these vacations. I am planning my last three weeks worth of reading and guided reading right now and I have decided to theme them. So for week 1, POETRY! We haven't done any poetry this month and I thought that was a shame. I am not that into poetry but its an important genre and it is definitely something that can be incorporated in their writing so I am going to have at it!

I am hoping that they can handle writing the poems, some we are going to be creating as a class and others they will be creating on their own. Hopefully I will have some pictures to post up here when they are done!

Happy Reading Week!

Pretty excited that one of my last weeks here is reading week! People are coming in to read books and I still get to plan guided reading! AND when we come back I am going to have reading back and will get to plan for so many more books!!!!

Today for guided reading we read a leveled book and recalled some of the information. My highest group was with me and they were amazing. As usual.

I only have a few weeks left! Its bittersweet, I am ready to do this myself but at the same time I cant believe that I won't be here anymore.

In my planning I have too many things to do for the short time with reading. So what is most important, phonemic awareness, phonics, or sight words???

“To learn and never be filled, is wisdom; to teach and never be weary, is love.”

So I finally finished my unit on patterns. Teaching math is not any easier than learning math, thats what I am learning from this experience. I am teaching algebra to kindergarteners and if I had to do anything else with repeating patterns I think I would scream.

We have copied patterns, created them, and

designed bracelets by creating a pattern using crayons and then matching the beads and stringing them. We read this book:

and played a memory game based on it

where the kids had to find a match and name

the pattern

We also wrapped up the unit by creating books

That picture is the pattern "grass-cow-grass-cow". They used a different way to create a pattern on each page and had the freedom to create patterns that were different than just a-b-a-b. It worked out perfectly to wrap everything up, work on their sounding out of words and their ability to recognize and create patterns.

We also used this book before we made books:

Which I am hoping to use for one of the next three lessons when I move up to the second grade. Growing patterns are no fun so far though so hopefully I will be able to figure out three lessons worth of them!

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” Charl

So I have decided to start a blog to keep track of what I am doing with my life. The days fly by and there are important things to remember, especially having to do with books I read and activities that I do and want to maybe repeat later on.

So I will start with the fact that I am working on a TARU project. I have to do one every week and it basically involves researching books that fit into a certain category then going to get them from the library so I can sit down, wave it over my head while I say the title and then go back and return it. This time around we need to have two multicultural books of different genres that are not stereotyping. I have the feeling I am pushing both of those issues. One book is Strega Nona which is a classic and one that my teacher actually mentioned. I'm labeling it Traditional Literature. The other is this:

which is an AMAZING and funny book about a Siamese cat who is always ending up in time out and going on adventures. He wants to be a chihuahua and so he adds -ito to the ends of his words and mixes in some Spanish and loves to eat mice and beans! Its a pretty cute book and is easily explained as coming from the point of view of a child which is great to build off when you are teaching respect and understanding of another culture. Plus I am filing it under "fantasy" so it can complete my two genre quota. However, I have the feeling that my teacher is not going to be so impressed with my reasoning. Maybe if I play the cd for her.....