Children's Books I adore!

As a teacher, I come across a lot of wonderful books. I have also found some of the best books to use with my students (4th and 2nd) are picture books. They grab their attention better and then we pause throughout the book and talk about what is going, how the characters feel, and what the kids would do if they were the character. Picture books are a great way to introduce comprehension strategies to children early on.

Here are some books I wouldn't go a school year without reading at least once!

I discovered Souper Chicken when I was at BYU in my Children's Literature course. This chicken can read and is able to save the lives of fellow farm animals because of it. The moral of the book is "Reading can save your life." The illustrations are also very fun to look at. When Grace was visiting us a few summers ago I read the book to her and then for the next four nights she wanted the book reread to her.

SkippyJonJones was introduced to me last year. The school counselor came in to do a lesson with the students and read them this book. This book is so cute and clever I couldn't keep myself from laughing with my students. Skippy is a kitten with a huge imagination that takes him on a lot of adventures and sometimes gets him into trouble. Another thing I really liked about this book is that it is spotted with some Spanish words. My student that spoke Spanish loved it because it was a book they could help explain to the other kids. (Don't worry you don't need to know Spanish to read this book to your children.) I have read two sequel SkippyJonJones books to my students this year, and I think I may have more fun just watching the kids enjoy this book.

The Recess Queen is a great book to talk about bullies. Jean is the Recess Queen and bosses everyone around. Then a girl moves into town and is able to put Jean in her place and teach her how to play with others. Before the problem gets resolved at the end of the book, I like to talk with the students to hear what they would do it someone like Mean Jean was at their school. (Oh and some students learn that what they have been doing at recess is considered "mean".)
Boxes for Katje is based on real events that happened at the end of WWII. The story takes place in Holland, which was devastated by the war. In the story, a girl from America sends a care package to Katje. They continue to write back and forth and soon the American girl's town rallies together to send more need supplies. It is very touching story and when I read it to my students I have to be careful not to cry. I imagine this book would be great to read together at FHE and then the activity could be a service project. This story is a little bit longer and the kids have to be given some background knowledge what WWII was, but it still a good read.

Please let me know if you check out these books and read them. I would love to hear what you thought of them.

If you are looking for more books to read check out Utah's Book Award Site: http://www.clau.org/awpast/index.html

Here are some other books that are great.

Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin
Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems (good for young children)
How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long
A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes

If your local library doesn't have them, suggest they order them. And as always books by the same author are always fun to read. Happy Reading!

School Daze

Here I am with my one of my teammates (Jami) at the end of the first day of school. Hence the tired look in my face. It is Jami's first year of teaching. I am so glad that year is over for me. Going down from 4th grade to 2nd grade has been adjustment. For one, the kids can't read. After two weeks of school, the kids are finally able to remember my name, but I still have some of students raise their hands and call out, "Teacher, Teacher!" when they need my help. I think it is pretty cute.
This picture above says it all. School has been hard work for the students and myself. West Wendover ES a Title 1 school. (Which means that it gets extra federal funding because the schools population is low income.) The school I worked at in Virginia was also a Title 1 school and I gained insight to the many challenges the typical Title 1 student faces. I have had students with a parent in prison, broken & single parent homes, or over crowded home living with extended family. This week I saw some hardships some of my students have to go through. To make a long story short, I was working late on Thursday and discovered at the end of the day that I locked my keys in the car after frantically looking everywhere for them. I called the tow truck guy to come un-lock my door. While I waited, my friend (Jami) drove me to a local grocery store to get cash so that I could pay for it. On my way out of the store I saw one of my students. She happily waved at me. I was caught a little off guard because it was past 9:30pm. Back at the school, the tow truck driver unlocked my car, and then in conversation we realized the I had his girlfriend's daughter in my class. He said, "Hey, she is here in the truck. Come say hello." As he opened the door I saw one of my little students curled up in a blanket asleep on back seat. He gently woke her up. She smiled when she saw me. We talked for a few minutes, then I tucked the blanket back around her. I found out that the girl's mother works at night, so the tow truck driver has the girl and her little brother in the truck with him as he does his job at night. Since that night something inside my heart has changed toward all my students. I pray that I can know what to say and do to guide these students and give them lessons for the classroom and their the rest of their lives.

New Kitty Friend

Mr. Whiskers has a favorite spot. He loves to sit on the warm computer monitor. He has made a new friend and has willingly shared his special spot. He you can see below he is using her as his pillow. We call this little black kitty Missy. She was a stray cat that hung around our neighbors house. We'd let Mr. Whiskers outside to play sometimes and these two became friends. Since then we have let her in our house and she loves it! She loves to have us pet her; she will pur and paw at our hands if she wants more. She loves to play with our cat toys. She loves to curl up and sleep on our bed. Missy and Mr. Whiskers will run around the house together and wrestle and then curl up and sleep. Most of the other cats around here don't like people, so we surprised by her reaction to us. We imagine that she knew she was destined to be more than a street rat and that she is now living the pampered life she has always dreamed of.

One Big Happening Family

Here is a picture of me with all of my siblings. It has been three and a half years since we were altogher.

This is the whole family- Parents, children, spouses and grandchildren. We were altogehter to celebrate the sealing of my brother Ben to his wife Kelsey and their boy Steven.


Me with all of my sisters.

Visit the Album

Here is a reminder to click on the link to our Photo Album. Ellen has uploaded some of the pictures that she has been taking of the DC area. This is an example of the unique angles she has been able to capture.

Saying Goodbye to the Kiddos

This Friday marked the last day of school. I (Ellen) really enjoyed teaching this group of student. They had a lot of heart and creativity. I used this small video clip in a video/photo slideshow that I made for my students to watch on the last day of school. I already have a new teaching job at West Wendover Elem. I will be teaching 2nd grade. I know it will be an adjustment from 4th, but I am looking forward to the changes that will come.

Mr. Whiskers the Dancing Cat!

Mr. Whiskers the Dancing Cat! We hope you will enjoy the video despite the poor sound quality. Mr. Whiskers likes Jack Johnson music.

On the Move

Geoff and I have started packing. We have about two weeks left in Arlington, Virginia till we move to Montello, Nevada to build our home and business. We are trying to decide which box to put Mr. Whiskers in. Any ideas?