July mornings by the pond...

My morning reading buddy, Henry.

Summer is here!  Yes, I know it is now July 5th, but I taught all of June and am now feeling like I can accomplish some things on my own time.  One of my to-dos is to read everyday.  I know for many, this is not a thing that one must think of, but for me, I have to be very intentional about it.  My creative side prefers to write, create, and do rather than read.

So what's on my list?  Well, you might be surprised.

I have two libraries at our house, filled with children's geography and history books.  I am always looking for new mentor texts and people of interest to share with my students.  With this being said, I have checked out our school's entire collection of Cobblestone magazines for the reading project.  I am also enjoying the collection of books that my students this past year. I have several lengthier books that I am covering in post it notes to take back for teaching resources.  

One of my goals is to continue to find those strong stories to take back to my kids.  As part of our leadership team at school, we are working on character development.  I want to have a strong collection of heroes that I can weave into our school lessons.

I am also enjoying the graphic design and inspiration in so many books.  These books and the Cobblestone magazines are going to serve as exiting mentor texts for the students to show their thinking in new and creative ways.  

Stay tuned as I begin sharing some of my favorites to take back to the classroom in the fall.