Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry

Gooney Bird Greene (2002), written by two-time Newberry Award winning author Lois Lowry, was a very nice read. I would say it’s for children as young as 1st or 2nd grade. It’s a nice beginning chapter book. I was going to return this to the library, but I liked it so much so I’m going [...]

The Road Map To Reading!

Here’s a little Road Map to Reading. Although the road to reading is a fairly complex process fraught with much tension and much work, there is hope. At my last site, I had an awesome Literacy Coach who gave me these steps to reading. So, without further ado, here they are: **Phonemic Awareness- Simply put, [...]

In The Top 10!

Dear Readers, I am listed as #8 of the top 50 Best Special Education Blogs. Even though I’m not currently in the classroom (until next week, that is) and don’t write as much as I used to, it’s nice to be recognized. If you’d like to check it out, here’s the link: http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2009/12/50-best-blogs-for-special-ed-teachers/

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

As the title states, Happy Earth Day. If you would like to know a little bit about it, here’s the Wikipedia link.

L.A. Times Festival Of Books ’10!

Yep, it’s that time of year again for the L.A. Times Festival of Books ’10. Event: L.A. Times Festival of Books ’10 When: The fifteenth annual edition of the Festival of Books will be held on Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25, 2010 Where: U.C.L.A. Wow, I cannot believe it’s been a whole year [...]

Finally!

Even though it took an incredibly long time, I am back to the grind. I had an interview today to sub for a neighboring district. The interviewer was nice & very friendly. She recommended me. It’s not my ideal job, but it’s work. My kids gotta’ eat. Besides, beggars cannot be choosers. It’ll do until [...]

42nd Anniversary Of Martin Luther King’s Death

Upon the request of Lowell Dempsey, I am re-posting this. This month of April marks the 42nd anniversary of the death of Dr. King and we are commemorating his life and work by creating a memorial in our nation’s capital. The Washington, DC, Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial will honor his life and contributions [...]

Teaching Math, Counting, Addition & Subtraction

If you would like to teach your child how to count the easy way, here it is. Get some paper money. Any kind. (I prefer Lakeshore.) Devise a pay chart. Pay your children to do odd jobs around the house. They can even be paid for doing their homework. However you want to do it. [...]

Alphabetic Principle Activities

Here’s a follow up to my post from earlier. In my earlier post, I explained what the Alphabetic Principle was. In this post I offer up activities to coordinate with & enhance your child’s learning of the principle. Alphabetic Principle Module Reading Resource.net Part 1 Reading Resource.net Part 2 There are more available. This is [...]

Library Services @ LAPL

Due to budget cuts, the Los Angeles Public Library is cutting services. There a, however, still a wealth of services. They are really “into” the digital information age. One of my favorite things available on the website (I’m not sure if this service is available in house) are the Audiobooks. My husband has the Amazon [...]

The Goal Of Reading!

The goal of reading is comprehension. When your child is able to sound out new words, has memorized sight words, reads fluently and understands what he read, he has learned how to read!

The Alphabetic Principle

What is the Alphabetic Principle? Good question. Basically the Alphabetic Principle is the understanding that letters are used to represent the speech sounds of our language. Here are a couple of websites to fully explain it: Reading Rocket Reading Resource.net Education.com Glynn County School System SEDL NOTE: One of more of these sites have links [...]

Reading Rockets Resources

I love the Reading Rockets site. They have a wealth of information. Yesterday I wrote a post about teaching your child to read. For you and your child’s enrichment, here’s another resource for teaching your child to read. Look to the middle right of the page. I particularly liked the articles under the headings BASICS [...]

Teach A Child To Read

I found this fantastic website with great strategies. I was in the midst of finishing up my case study and needed some extra stuff when I stumbled upon this website. It offers many strategies on teaching your child to read. If you’d like to visit it, here’s the website: www.succeedtoread.com Check it out!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all who celebrate it!

STOP, DROP, & ROLL

The World According To ‘ L’ This directive was taught to us as children by our local firemen; however, I’m tasking you with it as adults. I see you over there; bored with life, and the monotony of it all, but afraid to make any real changes. God wants you to step outside of your [...]

Building Wings by Don Johnston

Building Wings (How I Made It Through School)  by Don Johnston (2006) was a treat to read. I was contacted by the publisher  and asked to review the book and materials. I pored over the materials and read the book and was impressed with what I read. It’s an inspirational story about overcoming obstacles and [...]