Can I Keep My New Year's Resolutions?

January's here and it's mid-year testing! It's going to be a little rocky at first.  I'll be testing all week in grades K-5, so it'll be a hectic week squeezing in about 50 kids. 

Since I didn't exactly get my New Year's Resolutions finalized officially, I figure writing them down here in this blog should take care of that! I could think of a 100 or more, but I'm going to be realistic and write down three very doable resolutions.

#1. School: I'm pushing fluency with my second and third graders. They're getting timed several times a week! Whether it's a high frequency word list, or a leveled passage...they will be reading to see how many correct words they can get in one minute! So far, they love doing this...but the caveat is, for them not to think of it as speed reading!  (Gotta keep up with this!)

#2. Home and Family: Fix healthier meals! Try out new recipes. (Yes. I can do this.)

#3. Me: Walk 30 minutes (3 times a week) and aim for at least 7 hours of sleep. (This'll be a challenge.)

I always start the year with resolutions, but I can't honestly say I keep them. But this time, I think I can do it!  How about you?! What are your resolutions? I'd love to hear what you will be working on!

Have a Merry Little Christmas!

It's hard to believe it's two days before Christmas. I have no idea how time flew between the beginning of school and now. I always forget to brace myself once Halloween hits! I hope everyone reading this post has a chance to be with family and friends, to rest up and have a little fun.

When I've recharged my batteries, and hopefully get off to a new start January 6th, I can set some new goal with my kids. Since I'm a reading specialist, I'm narrowed down to literacy goals, but then--that's a lot when we're talking kindergarten through eighth grade! 

One thing I know I can set into motion is getting kids to be responsible for their own fluency progress. I've had kids working on this since September, and involved parents in the timing....It really is a productive activity that builds over time, and children really do see their progress spike!

This is what I've put up on Teachers Pay Teachers just recently. Check it out and see if it's something you're already doing with kids....Remember, you can start as early as first grade with Fountas and Pinnell Levels D and up. This makes it just a little handier for you to have kids graph their progress...a little more kid-friendly than just a plain old grid. 

Have a warm and wonderful holiday! And Happy New Year!
~Karen

Fluency Progress Monitoring Graphs Tools For Reading

Holiday Fun Pages

CHRISTMAS Color Write and Draw

Here's one of my newest holiday creations for kids who have the Christmas itch! Coloring pictures and picture writing are fun activities to keep them busy and entertained. The writing prompts are fun and good for practicing creative writing. Stop by before winter break!

HO! HO! Happy Holidays!

GREETINGS TO ALL!

Choral Reading with Poetry

Here's my latest creation: Eight Little Candles!

And it's free when you go to my teacher store. It's a little resource packed with two original poems, writing prompts, and a paper candle craft-ivity. Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or Diwali, your children will enjoy this resource. Bringing light to the world is a non-denominational concept.  And we can ALL use a little extra light in our world!

Thanks for checking it out!

Free Resource: Eight Little Candles

FUN-A-LOGICAL READING WITH A POEM

Phonological awareness activities can be fun when reading a poem together.

Here's one of the poems I use for choral reading in November:  Five Fat Turkeys* 

Kids just love to read this poem!  It is best suited for children in grades K-2.

There are several phonological activities you can do using this poem or any poem! After everyone's had fun clapping, do an art/craft activity, such as thumbprint turkeys, or a paper bag turkey puppet (see link and photo below). 

Activities:

• Choral Reading
• Practice rhyming
• Clap each word (Great phonological activity for word awareness)
• Delete and Substitute Words (Leave out words, or make up new ones)
• Rewrite and illustrate the poem as a class poem for a collaborative book
• Play with /ou/ words
• Play with long e words using "ee"
• Make thumbprint turkeys
• Make a puppet

This is a great turkey with directions you can download.

Please go to the following link:

http://www.piikeastreet.com/2010/11/turkey-paper-bag-puppet/

*(I do not know the author of this poem. If anyone does, please let me know!)

November-In Giving Thanks

There is so much to be thankful for! I want to show my thankfulness by doing something for our local food bank. It's not an easy time for so many families. We've all had some tough times, but I think it's actually harder now than ever for a family with young children to get by. Doing this little bit, I feel is the least I can do! 

This month I am donating 10% of my sales profits from my Teachers Pay Teachers store to our local food bank.  So, if you happen to be in the neighborhood (at TPT, that is...) please stop by. I am truly thankful for all the good things that have come my way...and not a one to be taken for granted!