Busy, Busy, Busy

We have been working so hard over the last couple of weeks, it seems I have lost track of time! We began the month of January working on All About Books. Last year when I introduced this unit of study my students were not ready for it and so I tabled it until I felt they were. This year, with prior knowledge with this genre, they were very excited about beginning the work of nonfiction. I added a a conclusion page this year to my books because I wanted to scaffold their learning for third grade. My students walked away knowing several things:
-an introduction page is a lead, it leads your reader to want to read your writing.
-a conclusion page helps wrap things up, and it again leads you back to the topic at hand.
-celebrations are fun, and they mean a lot in a community.
We celebrated after Muffins with Moms last Friday. This is an all school event where we invite the mothers in to school to say "thanks," and offer a chance for us to meet and greet them. My open house for our All About Books was directly after that event. What I find most amazing was my students behavior as they entered the classroom that morning. We had not discussed at length what they were supposed to do when they came in that morning. However, when they entered the room they immediately began to unpack, pick up books, read them, make positive comments on their comment page. There was a quiet hushed tone throughout the room, they were doing everything that I expected but didn't state.
I asked reflectively later: What made them know what to do? What triggers in my environment told them to do these things? How did the excitement of reading others' words create this reaction?
Later, at the close of our day we watched a celebration video that I had made last year after our celebration, and we watched a collection of photos that I have taken over the course of our time together. It was an act of togetherness, there was silence as their emotions took it all in...
"Mrs. Amick, these pictures sure bring back fond memories!" said one of my boys.

Determining Importance

I introduced this topic last week using an activity from Comprehension Connection. I gathered my students and with a bowl of water, some spaghetti noodle and a strainer we discussed how readers must determine what's important when they read. My students made some interesting comments:
"You know when you put spaghetti in the pot it is hard and crispy, it needs the water to soak up, but it doesn't need all the water. That is what it is like when you read, you soak up some of the new information but you don't need it all."

Interesting thoughts that led me to this, Teaching With Intention by Debbie Miller. She has a lesson where she takes a group of students through the process of discovering things they already knew, adding new schema, and deleting misconceptions. This week we are moving in this direction. I have selected 16 shark books for us to peruse, not to gain new knowledge about sharks but to take a look at ourselves as readers. That new information is our ability to determine what is important. What does it mean to me as a reader?
The more I am reading and discovering, the more I am realizing that determining importance is not about finding the main idea. It is much more than that. Determining importance is more about searching a text for the things that I need as a reader. What does it mean for me as a reader?
This is determining importance.

My Break From Blogging(excuse, after excuse, after excuse!)

So, I can't believe that it has been since December 30th since I have last blogged! I have many excuses:
1. The stomach flu hit the Amick household between holidays, and I took two family members to the ER during the night. I spent the next 24 hours opening windows during the dead of winter, and keeping lysol, 409, etc. in business. I think I might have sprayed the dogs with that stuff too!
2. We made our annual trip to Chicago to visit with friends over the New Year's holiday. Five adults took 7 small children into the city to ride the L. My was it ever fun, Chicago from a whole new perspective. Children would rather watch construction occuring on a barge from a bridge, ride the escalators in every store, and play with revolving doors. Yes, their perspective is quite different.
3. I have been sick, not with the flu, but with an upper respiratory cold. We had an ice/snow day on Wednesday after returning from school, and Thursday I was miserable. Friday I stayed home from school and just rested, while running a fever. My workouts have suffered and I am far behind already with school work.

Not a great start to the New Year I have to say, but today is a new day and I feel better than I have in days. I am ready to go back out and start walking, regaining my strength with every frozen breath. I am ready to dive into my unit of All About Books, and Determining Importance in Reader's Workshop. More posting to come...

Slice of Life

Looking back over our holiday photos I have noticed that our house is a gathering mecca.
A place for cousins to gather and creatively use their imaginations, reconnect, and become princesses.

A place for a grandmother and her grandchildren to cuddle and smile.

Where connectedness can be felt.

And where a tradition can be lived out year after year.

This building that we call our home, has become a place for all to gather, meet, and promise to love for a lifetime.

Merry Christmas, from the Amicks

We hope your day is filled with many blessings!

God bless you all in the upcoming year!

The Things I do Have...

Stenhouse Publishers posted a poem on Friday for poetry Friday that really got me thinking. The title of the poem is, "You Can't Have It All, But You Do Have This" by Naomi Shihab-Nye here is a copy of her poem. We have had a wicked ice storm that has left many without power, people living in shelters, etc. The weather has been below 0, and the roads are not great. But I got to thinking in my hermit state of all the things that I have been blessed with this year. It made me make my own poem:

I can't have it all, but I do have this
a family, that is full.
A mother and father in love,
two children who get to see this love in action.
A profession that is challenging, its rewards forever redeeming
a warm home, a ride from point a to b
a lap covered in dogs, happiness when I walk through the door
I can't have it all, but I do have this,
a cupboard that is full of food, food for making, food for snacking
I am not scavenging, looking for loose rice on the side of the road
my water is clean, my clothes are the same
my skin smells like soap
I drive somewhere and Rona cuts my hair, just the way I like it
I don't have it all, but I do have this,
a healthy body, that loves to run, and take in this world that God created
a desire to maintain a healthiness that will allow me many years to fellowship
with the people I love
I have books, books to read, books that change me, and words that I use to allow my soul
to emerge
I have a brain, that is ready to learn more, evaluate knowledge, and desires to keep changing
I don't have it all, but I do have
a constant companion, who walks with me, behind me, and in front of me
he holds my hand, makes me giggle, and shelters me from this crazy world.
Two children, girls, upcoming women
I have the responsibility, the challenge
I have an opportunity to love, cherish, and set free these spirits into this world
Two parents who are living, healthy, and supportive
A grandmother, and then there was one
A woman that I worry about, take care of, and listen to her stories of old
An extended family that I relish, that I think of consistently, and want to keep in my life
I have clothing, a closet full, too many decisions, and too many shoes
I have friendships, old and new, loved ones who care for me, prosper me, and comfort me
I have laughter, daily seeping into my home, work, and play
I don't have it all but I do have
more than enough

The Angel Maker

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."


Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest,

...and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."