Hi everyone!
I am SUPER excited to be a guest blogger today on Crystal's blog.
I actually met Crystal last month at the I Teach K! Conference in Las Vegas….we had a great time!
What a sweet pea!
When I was thinking about what I could blog about here, I had about a million ideas….but since I have only one day I thought I would share something that you could use for
Back to School.
How many of you are going back to school soon?
(Or maybe already started?)
I have a few weeks left of summer….summer….how I love you…but I know school will start before we know it.
I absolutely love literacy time in my class…well, let me set the stage for you first.
Okay, picture this….I get to work, coffee (extra large, double double) in hand, with a To-do list that's endless (always, even AFTER I keep checking things off!) and the bell rings!
BBBRRRIINNNGGG!
Okay, here come my kiddies…some are chipper and ready to go. Most of them, not really – {sometimes me included!}.
And then our day begins…with a Literacy Block.
BORING! Right? Wrong!
We whip out songs and dance on our toes, laugh, play games and THEN get to work.
Journal writing is so much more than just writing in my classroom!
I ask students to write as freely as possible in their journals often but at the beginning of each month, we record our work in a scrapbook.
I have a special page for each month. We sing the song for the month, talk about all the things that are/will be happening and then write our little hearts out!
The kids LOVE it! And so do I!
I thought I would give you a little freebie…my monthly journals!
The songs/poems were written by a former Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Martin and I have been using them for years now, ever since my fantastic teaching partner, Mrs. Parisi, introduced them to me.
The clip art is DJ Inkers.
Click on the picture to get your copy!
Not sure if any of you use this book, Kid Writing by Eileen Feldgus and Isabell Cardonick, or have heard of it, but I'm telling you, I was hooked once I started reading it!
And then I actually put the ideas in it to the test…you know, I'm one of those teachers that has about 100 books on my shelf that I never read but this one is GOOD! Really!
Kid Writing really takes you step by step, explaining how your students can be motivated to write, how to teach them to write from day one, what is expected of them, stages for writing, and a whole lot more!
In my class, we now refer to writing on our own as “kid writing” and it's a hit!
Definitely a must-read if you are interested in learning more about ways to guide your students in writing.
I hope you will come visit me again….my blog is always open and I love meeting new people!
Enjoy the rest of the summer and…happy writing!
Lisa says
I love the space for kids to write plus the poem! What a bonus! Thanks for sharing.
beth says
Alesia, I love this!!! What a great idea. I was so glad to have met you and Crystal in Vegas! So much fun!
Lori Rosenberg says
Alessia, I really love the journals. Thanks so much. Kidwriting is one of my favorite books. One year, I did the kidwriting wall of fame. It was really cute.
Ѽ Lori
Teaching With Love and Laughter
luvyorkies@gmail.com
Alessia Albanese says
Thanks everyone! I don't know why my post looks a little funny in some spots but it was so much fun to contribute to Crystal's blog!
Alessia
Karen Stamp says
LOVE Kid Writing too!! One of our favorites is the King of -Ing!
Karen :o)
Mrs. Stamp's Kindergarten
travis and brandi says
Is the freebie still available?