The longest post in the world to explain the big mistake

I made a BIG mistake this past week.


HUGE. MISTAKE. 


I went to Books-A-Million..........TWICE.


Yes, twice. (shivers)


I first went Wednesday night. My kiddos have gotten into the "Geronimo Stilton" series and they were begging me to get more. I only had about 6 of them and they had read them all. 

Sure. No problem.


I had a plan for myself. I would go into the store with tunnel vision. I wouldn't look around or browse the aisles, especially the "new" section. I kept hearing Mark's voice in my head, "WE CAN'T FIT ANYMORE BOOKS IN YOUR CLASSROOM TANYA!!" 


I had my game face and Cubs baseball hat on. I pulled it tightly over my face in hopes that it would block my eyes from darting to shelf to shelf and opened the front door of the store.


"Walk FAST, Tanya," I said to myself. "Go, go, go......but wait, what is that display of Dr. Seuss books over there?" 


NO YOU HAVE ENOUGH DR. SEUSS BOOKS! JUST KEEP WALKING. I sniffled a bit in disappointed but kept going.


After what felt like an hour walk to the middle of the store, I finally arrived at the kids' chapter books section. 


I suddenly realized my plan was flawed!


How many do I get???????


I never thought of that!


This dang series has close to 50 books in it...in addition to special editions....in addition to Geronimo's sister, Thea who has her own series....in addition to some spin off character named "Creepella" who has her own series!!!


I was beginning to hyperventilate. 


My gut was telling me to take my arm and slide it across the shelf holding these books and watch them all fall into my cart. 


And then I heard it......Mark's voice. "WE CAN'T FIT ANYMORE BOOKS IN YOUR CLASSROOM, TANYA!!!"




He's right ok....I'll get 3....well 7......ok 10 13. I picked the ones that looked the best and headed for the checkout. 


SUDDENLY I felt a violent gravitation pull to the children's picture books section.


NO. I. CAN'T. 


well ok I can....


"Tanya, you will just LOOK." That's it. Then you will leave.


Ok, I can do this.
BUT WHAT IS THIS? LIBRARY MOUSE HAS A NEW BOOK!!!!!!!!!!


I. LOVE. LIBRARY. MOUSE.


If you aren't familiar with this series, please get familiar ASAP. 

My kids ADORE this series. We have read all of them. In fact, Mark read the last one when he came to visit earlier in the year. Even he enjoys them.


So naturally I had to get the new one. It was a basic life necessity. 

And I wasn't worried about Mark because he is a fan too. 

Although it's a hardcover. YIKES on the price. That fact lasted literally 2 seconds in my head but then I was over it. THERE WAS ONE COPY AND IT WAS ALL MINE.

I know I should have left....

....and been satisfied with my great find.....

but....

.....I kept looking.

WHAT IS THIS? A NEW MIXED UP FAIRY TALE!!!!!!!!!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?

It's called "The 3 Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot."

IT'S AWESOME. 

After hugging it for 20 minutes I put it into my cart. Another hardcover...oh life is so unfair.

NOW TANYA YOU ARE LEAVING!!

Then I remembered that the new "My Weider School" book came out earlier in February but when I went to go get it a few days after its release date, it wasn't there and I had several disappointed students in my class. 

Go ahead Tanya and look because it's not going to be there. 

Of course, it was. My cheapest purchase though.....$4.00. I breathed a sign of relief. No problem there.

Then I ran to the checkout. LITERALLY RAN. Several people turned their heads as the sound of my cart speed past them, but I had to get out before I lost my mind with excitement. 

Library Mouse saved my life with Mark. He was so excited that I found a new one that he didn't realize the other 437 books sitting in the bag. He did however make me promise to hold onto the book and save it for when he comes to read at the end of the year. *sign* Okay.

Here is a picture of my finds:

Penny approved the loot. :) 

Then today Mark and I were out shopping...

...and then he said something that opened Pandora's Box.

"You know...your kids are like INSANE readers that read everything in sight. They will tear through those chapter books you got in a few weeks. I know you're just dying to get more of that Geronimo series to finish your collection. We should just go to BAM and get the rest of the ones you need"

HOW DOES HE KNOW ME SO WELL?

I have been plotting all week how and when I was going to finish that series.

"OKAY!" I said.

16 books later...I have a stack of books which comes to my knee and this long post to show for it. 

BUT in my defense today was all Mark's FAULT. Blame him. I sure am. :) 

When the cat's away...

...the mice will play! Mark had to work today so I went out and did what I do best...SHOP! First stop....Books-A-Million. There is something about children's books that brings me total bliss. I love children's books more than shoes....well that was a little dramatic, but you get the point. Let me give you some background information before I share what I got at BAM. We read "Cook-A-Doodle-Do" every year which is part of our reading series. It's a different version of "The Little Red Hen," or what most people call a "mixed up fairy tale." MY KIDS AND I LOVE MIXED UP FAIRY TALES. 


When we read "Cook-A-Doodle-Do" we also examine different versions of the original story. I read them the following... 

Burro's Tortillas by Terri Fields. This story gives a Southwestern twist on "The Little Red Hen." Burro wants to turn corn into tortillas, but no one will help him. 

"The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza" by Philemon Sturges. Little Red lives in the big city in this adorable tale. She tries to employ the help of her friends to make a pizza, but of course they have other "plans" and cannot help. 

Both stories are precious and big hits in my room when I read them. Well today, I found a NEW story to add to my "Little Red Hen" collection. When browsing the aisles of BAM I found "The Little Red Pen" by Janet Stevens. SCORE! I'm so excited! This book is ADORABLE!

One word sums up this story... hilarious! Little Red Pen turns to her friends for help when she has to grade papers, but no one is willing to assist. Things take a turn for the worst when Little Red Pen falls into the wastebasket. The other office supplies must work together to save her. I cannot wait to share this story with my kids. 

*Click on the picture of the book to watch a preview video on the story.* Enjoy!

Next, I went to Target. Target must be making a killing on the dollar section with us teachers around. As I'm sure most of you know, they currently have adorable Valentine's Day stuff in their dollar section. I found foam stickers for holiday crafts and noise putty for my class store. I ran out of this stuff the first day it debuted at the store and the kids have been hounding me to restock it. :) 

Then I went to the mall and shopped around. Nothing too exciting. 

Contest update: I'm currently in 1st place with 55%. I'm hopeful I can keep the lead until the 30th, which is when the contest ends. Every one I know has been super supportive and voting like crazy, even my students' parents. They are so AWESOME!

Got to go clean and do laundry. EW. 

Back in "Teach Mode"

Well I survived my 2nd day back. Actually, its been quite enjoyable. My students came back mature, quiet, and ready to work. How long will it last? :)

Of course they were full of stories yesterday. Everyone had 56 stories to share from Christmas break, and when I asked them to tell me one story from their break, they merged the 56 stories into one sentence! Gotta love 3rd graders!

As mentioned before, we started back up with fractions this week (a big skill on the FCAT).

I have done 2 read alouds on fractions this week. The first one was called "Whole-y Cow! Fractions Are Fun." Naturally my kids loved the title...the content was perfect for beginner fractions.

We also read Jerry Pallotta's "The Hershey's Fraction book." Relating fractions to food = SUCCESS and UNDERSTANDING! If you are not familiar with Palotta's books, please check them out. He has WONDERFUL math books.

I even managed to fit in math centers today and that seldom happens. You know that you had a productive learning day when your back table is covered with math "stuff." They were rocking it though. I can't ask for anything more.

I always use my Mimio as a center. Have you checked out Lakeshore's interactive learning games? They are AMAZING! They are Lakeshore's board games in an interactive form for the computer. I have every title connected to my curriculum. Pros to these interactive activities: no set up required or having to explain the directions. I love Lakeshore's board games but the first time I have my kids play them, they need help with the directions. This causes major loss on instructional time and that's never good. These are truly grab and go! Plug and play! Insert disc and review! Learning made simple! Click on the 1st picture to check out other titles from Lakeshore's website.

Off to go snuggle with Penny. I'ts freezing! I love it but so not accustomed to this. It's supposed to get down to 26 degrees tonight. YIKES! Everyone has sheets on their bushes and trees out on their lawns to prevent frost. It's a lovely sight.



Best Read Alouds from 2011 #4-6

Ok..here are numbers 4-6. Only took me a week… here we go.

4. Testing Miss Malarkey by Judy Finchler – a staple if you teach a grade level that requires standardized testing. In Florida our 3^rd graders have to pass the FCAT, otherwise they are retained. L The kids know what’s at stake and the time from January to April adds extra stress to our daily routines. I strive to make my class as stress free as possible. I’d rather burden the anxiety behind the FCAT than have my little kiddos upset and anxious. I read this story to the kids when we come back from Christmas break. It’s about a school preparing for a standardized test. It’s light and fluffy and pokes fun at how the adults are acting during this crazy time. It always makes my students feel better. Judy Finchler has a whole series on Miss Malarkey, including “Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind.” Finchler’s books are relatable for young readers and can be used for several different classroom occasions.  I read “Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind” during Read Across America week.

5. Butterflies in My Stomach and Other School Hazards by Serge Bloch – If you are an “Idiom Freak,” like myself, this is the book for you. I read this story the first day of school. It’s about this adorable, little boy on his first day of school. He uses idioms to describe his experiences and feelings as the day progresses. My students couldn’t help but giggle throughout the story, and the illustrations are fantastic.  I was down in Fort Myers the first week of break and I found Bloch’s other idiom book, “You Are What You Eat.” Naturally, I bought it because I have no self-control when it comes to books and it’s adorable. Bloch’s books are truly noteworthy.  

6. I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll – The little boy in this book is hilarious! He’s upset because “his monster” is on vacation and he needs someone in his room to keep him in his bed. He starts interviewing all different monsters but none fit the bill. He finds something wrong with each one. After I read this, my kids and I do a writing activity on their perfect monster. Clever, cute, and perfect for the holiday!

7. The Donut Chef by Bob Staake – I found this book on eBay for 50 cents, brand new (and in hardcover J). This was my FIND OF THE YEAR. I just randomly selected this book from my library one day and boy was I surprised! MY KIDS LOVED THIS BOOK. The illustrations are charming and yummy to look at it.  Staake uses modern shapes and BRIGHT COLORS for his illustrations and they work it. The rhythmic text sounds so delightful during a read aloud. A must have for every teacher!!

I hope it doesn't take me another week to get to #10. :)

A Great Wal-Mart Find

Speaking of Record A Story books, Wal-Mart has them on sale in their Christmas clearance for $8.99. Its from Hallmark and they were originally $28! A good find...

I picked this one up today.

Can't beat after Christmas sales...

Best Read Alouds in Room 38 for 2011

I feel very strongly about reading to my students every day. It’s not always easy fitting it into our busy schedule, and there are days where it seems close to impossible, but I fight through the challenges and read to my kiddos on a daily basis.  

I thought I would share a list of my favorite read alouds for 2011. There were new additions, some old classics, and a few student requests that made this list.

1. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar (chapter book) – I read this book when I was a kid. It makes me giggle every year, and my students’ infectious laughter makes me giggle even more. There are 3 books in this series and I do a read aloud for all 3 books. This series is a must have for any 2^nd or 3^rd grade teacher. Currently, Scholastic book club is offering the 1^st and 2^nd books of this series for only a $1.00 a book. I ordered class sets at that fabulous price.

2. Miss Smith Reads Again! by Michael Garland (picture book) – This was realllly hard to pick my favorite Michael Garland book considering I love them all! I have ALL his books and I make sure to conduct read alouds for each one. This book is about a teacher that reads a story to her class and the students get transported into the book. Full of adventure and delightful in every way… also Garland’s illustrations are FAB!

3. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (chapter book) – Roald Dahl…need I say more? Dahl’s enchanting words and intriguing characters provide delight for each child.  

Stay tuned for the next 3 books...I’ll have to piece meal this list...too many holiday festivities going on. J