The One With WRAD Blogging Challenge #slice2014

Time is flying...zooming...zipping by so fast! I can't believe World Read Aloud Day will be here in a week! Craziness! Over the weekend, I grabbed a few goodies for our Please Bring Balloons WRAD party. 

I missed the first and second week of the WRAD Blogging Challenge so today will be a triple dose!

What is your earliest or fondest memory in which someone read aloud to you? 

I distinctly remember sitting with my mom in the waiting room at the doctor's office when she was pregnant with my little sister. I must have been four or five based on when my sister was born. The dimly lit space with mahogany chairs and dark green carpeting felt seeped with richness. She read Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! by Dr. Seuss to me. Now I feel like I have to call my mom because I'm not sure I'm remembering the story accurately but I think it was the first time we had read it and I thought it was so funny that he wouldn't leave. I loved the repetition in the story. It's funny because, when I visited the same office as an adult when I was pregnant, I remember completely recognizing the waiting room being there with my mom and reading this book. (Below are pictures with my mom and my sister - all grown up!)

Adult & Child

I used my own child to answer these "Adult & Child" questions. Peanut is a boy of few words so I kept my answers short, too!

1. I think everyone in the world should read…

Me: Chalk by Bill Thomson, Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown,  Stand Tall, and Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell.

Peanut:The BFG by Roald Dahl.

2. If I could listen to anyone in the world read aloud to me it would be…

Me: Nick Podehl.

Peanut: Mom and Dad.

3. When I read aloud, my favorite character to impersonate is…

Me: robots! Like the ones from Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman, Beep and Bah by James Burks, Robot Zot by John Scieszka.

Peanut: Donald Duck 

4. The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…

Me: Contemporary young adult - chick lit, basically...but also sci-fi/fantasy. I love time travel and fantasy.

Peanut: Star Wars books.

5. My favorite part about reading aloud or being read to is...

Me: being able to focus on the sound of the words and to visualize the story.

Peanut: when I get warm with blankets. It makes it more fun. 

A Snapshot of My Reading Life 

There's not much more to say about my reading life. I absolutely love my two little readers. It has been fascinating to watch them grown and to share stories with them. Peanut amazes me everyday with all the words he can read. Little Bean is already starting to pretend to read - moving his finger along words on the page and reading what he thinks it says on the page. I love to snuggle up and read with both of these little dudes.

Hoorday! The next part of the challenge is to share my read aloud! I'm so excited for out little party. What are you cooking up for WRAD!? Please share!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 2/24/13

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Last Week's Book Adventures:

Jen Says: Peanut and I finished reading The Quirks by Erin Soderberg last week. It was super cute and he loved deciding which quick he would like to have (invisibility like Finn!). I finished listening to Something Like Fate and have been reading more of The Shadow Throne. 

Reviewed Last Week:

 

Click on any picture above to go read my review/post.

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

Jen Says: I'm going to continue reading The Shadow Throne and then have some professional reading I hope to focus on. I'm going to listen to the book Quiet again after doing another behavior style quiz at work. I know I'm a total extrovert and am constantly/still working at supporting people who might be introverts so I feel like a reread is in order!

This Week's Reviews:

Check back throughout the week to read these reviews/posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and don't forget to check out other blogs to see what they are reading!

To help build our community and support other bloggers, 

we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you. 

Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

Non-Fiction Picture Book 10 x 10 2014!

Non-Fiction Picture Book Wednesday

Non-Fiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Alyson at Kid Lit Frenzy but today is also NF PB 10 x 10 hosted by Cathy Mere from Reflect and Refine, Mandy Robek from Enjoy and Embrace Learning and Julie Balen from Write at the Edge! All posts will be linked up at Write at the Edge and then moved over to the jog later in the week! I'm always on the lookout for great non-fiction picture books so I can't wait to check these out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

What books are on your list of 10 non-fiction picture books you can't live without?

The One With Brains At Work #slice2014

Every Tuesday, I participate in the Slice of Life challenge at Two Writing Teachers. If you want to participate, you can link up at their Slice of Life Story Post on Tuesdays or you can just head on over there to check out other people's stories. For more information on what a Slice of Life post is about, you can go here. 

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A couple of weeks ago, our Early Childhood Director presented to a group of administrators. She shared the importance of play and how exploring and playing build executive functioning in the brain. It seems like more and more, schools and parents push kids to start to read and write and count earlier. She explained how important it is for kids to develop their executive function to be able to sit still and focus later in their lives. If we don't let them play, discover and explore when they are young, it impacts them later in life when they tackle more academic learning.

The above pyramid of learning is from the Singapore Brain Development Centre. It shows how learning begins in the central nervous system, the base of the pyramid. Each level above the central nervous system must properly integrate with the previous level or levels in order for a child to be able to move on to the next level. Ultimately, the goal is to reach the highest level of the pyramid at the cognitive level of functioning. If students have garnered the lower levels of the pyramid, then they will be able to attend to the tasks of daily living and learning. For kids who haven't fully developed their executive function, maintaining focus is difficult. The video below explains more about executive function. It's interesting to think about students who have been labelled with ADD or ADHD or just those who seem restless in school. Do they come from home lives or early childhood experiences that valued play and fostered the development of executive function.

My husband is a PE teacher so we are super conscious of movement in our house. He loves to keep the kids active and find activities that get them moving and their blood pumping. After learning more about executive function, I pulled out the paints at our house. It's easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of everyday life and everything that needs to be accomplished at home and at school. I was so thankful for this reminder that taking time to dance, jump, draw, paint, act out stories and pretend are super important.

When we paint, we usually get pretty messy! Skin is way easier to clean than clothes so they boys go shirtless and we let them loose. Like I said, it had been a while since we had done any painting so it was great fun. I'm so happy for little reminders that it feels amazing to play and unwind but that it's also so imperative to child development.   

How have you taken time to let kids play lately?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 2/17/14

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Last Week's Book Adventures:

Jen Says: I finished books! Hooray! I finished listening to David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. I enjoyed it but it got a little disconnected for me towards the end. I also finished Gae Polisner's The Summer of Letting Go and it is wonderful. Whether you have read and are a fan of The Pull of Gravity or not, I definitely recommend The Summer of Letting Go. It'll be out in March so add it to your GoodReads! Peanut and I have been reading The Quirks by Erin Soderberg and we are almost done. Two more chapters and we have had so much fun with it. I also started listening to Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti. 

Reviewed Last Week:
Um...major fail. I got no posts up! I promise to be better this week..it's just been craziness around here!

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

Jen Says: I'm reading The Shadow Throne by Jennifer Nielsen and will and keep listening to Something Like Fast and we'll be finishing up The Quirks. 

This Week's Reviews:

Check back throughout the week to read these reviews/posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and don't forget to check out other blogs to see what they are reading!

To help build our community and support other bloggers, 

we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you. 

Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!