I think every early childhood teacher in the country uses Jan Brett’s books in the Winter. I love The Mitten! It is one of those absolute-must have books for the kindergarten classroom. A few years ago I was lucky enough to have a wonderful parent in my classroom who was incredibly talented. She saw that
Have you seen this book? I love Sky Color, by Peter H. Reynolds. All of his books are inspiring and speak to creativity. We read this book in my kindergarten classroom last week and started really looking at the sky.
Winter, in the Pacific Northwest, does not always lend itself to a sky study. We check the weather every day and, just about every day, it’s gray with water falling from the sky. It’s a dreary place in the winter, so we turned to photographs for inspiration.
Our experiences contribute to our literacy lives in a big way. Every little activity that we participate in is filed away in our brains until there comes a time when we need it. Early childhood is such a fun and magical time to help kids see HOW these little experiences connect to their literacy lives.
Here’s an example of a nature table we set up in my kindergarten classroom. I say WE, because this was a collection made by my students and their families. They were so excited to collect tree rounds, pinecones, pussywillow cuttings, and branches to explore. We read many books about trees and kids had so many connections.
Thanksgiving is here, which means that Gingerbread Season has officially begun! I truly believe that if there was a title of Gingerbread Queen, it would be mine. At home and in the classroom, December is filled with gingerbread. (Side note: I think part of the reason I love it so much is that it’s not
I spotted this book at a reading conference last summer and knew I had to read it. If you aren’t familiar with Mem Fox, she is one of my all time favorite children’s book authors. In my mind, Mem Fox creates the reading magic for children. I’ve spent the past few days reading this book