Bloom's Taxonomy

I remember learning about Bloom's Taxonomy in my teacher prep program, but it's not necessarily something I think about each time I plan a lesson.

I think these visuals are great for making sure that when I do my lesson planning I am engaging myself in all of the different levels of Blooms. I typed Bloom's Taxonomy into a google images search and there are tons of related visuals. 

These are my three favorites.

http://www.curriculet.com/blog/38-question-starters-based-blooms-taxonomy/

The visual above is very simple and would be a great addition to my teacher planbook. I like how this particular visual is narrow at the bottom and wider at the top, reminding me to call upon students to engage in the levels at the top more than the levels at the bottom. 

http://www.magicalmaths.org/what-is-blooms-taxonomy/

 I also really like this visual because it includes specific verbs and question starters that can be used with all of the levels. I really think I may start printing things like this and create an inspiration page in my planbook next school year.

http://edublog.amdsb.ca/star/ipad-apps/

By far, my favorite is this wheel of apps that relate to all of Bloom's stages. It's a pretty cluttered visual, but I LOVE the concept. This wheel includes action verbs, suggested activities, and suggested apps for all the levels of Blooms. I have not fully digested the contents of this wheel, but I would be interested to make my own version based on the apps that we use in Kindergarten. That just may be a another summer project! I am not very visually creative, but using this as a template, I could probably design a Kindergarten version. 

Here's another iPad version of Blooms

http://langwitches.org/blog/2012/03/31/ipad-apps-and-blooms-taxonomy/

I am interested to check out some of these apps. We no longer have funds to purchase apps because our iPad grant officially ended with the culmination of the school year, so I will probably be hunting for more free apps this year.  That being said, quality apps are usually worth the money, so I wouldn't rule out an app just because it wasn't free! The only ones out of these apps I have used in Kinder are Popplet, Pages, and iBooks, but I use Goodreads, Skype, and Wunderlist myself. It's always fun

Is Bloom's on your mind when you plan your lessons?
Do you find it easy to incorporate the higher levels in your lessons?

App-time at Naptime: Pic Collage

Welcome to my new summer series...

App-time at Naptime.

Since I never got around to posting about how we use iPads in our Kindergarten classrooms at my school, I thought maybe a summer series about apps and how we use them would be fun to do.  I only have time to write when both my girls are napping so the name App-time at Naptime seems appropriate. 

Let's talk 

Pic Collage

Pic Collage is one of my favorite apps in Kindergarten because it is really easy to use, very intuitive, and it's FREE! I think the kiddos could figure it out even without directions, but of course I structure the introduction carefully because there are certain functions that I don't use and don't want the kids messing with. I never let kids "just explore" apps on their own because typically I use them in a very purposeful way as part of instruction and don't want my students having the mentality that they can just play around with apps. I always give a clear purpose and specific directions and slowly walk the kiddos through the various steps of using a new app before I have them use it independently. And typically, since it's Kindergarten,  I review a lot and give specific instructions for each project so they are reminded of the DOs and DON'Ts.

I took a bunch of screenshots to explain how Pic Collage works.

Simply tap the screen to create a new project. If you're working on a project you already saved, you can just swipe to view all of the projects that are saved in the app and tap when you find the one you want. 

When you start, you see this screen that shows the basic directions/functions. 

The plus at the bottom brings up a menu where you can take a photo, add photos from your device, search the web for photos, add video, add text, or add stickers. Typically, I have my students either add photos from their device (I create specific albums containing a variety of photos that go along with whatever their project will be about) or sometimes they are in charge of using the camera on their iPad to take their own photos. 

I do not have them search the web ever and I do not have them use the stickers. I feel stickers don't add to the quality of the work and they are distracting. The kids LOVE the stickers and I know this because they use them in extended day during their reading intervention time, but in choose not to introduce them in my classroom given the amount of time I have in half day Kinder. 

When they click on add photos they will see a screen that shows the various albums on their iPad. This is a shot of my own personal iPad, but if it were a school one, there would be an albums relating to various topics we've studied such as trees, frogs, fish, 3D shapes, 2D shapes, winter activities, pets etc. I usually create albums based on the weekly reading themes we study particularly if we are reading non-fiction stories on a particular topic.

When you click to add text, there are a variety of different fonts to choose from as well as font colors and background colors. I always let my students choose any font, color, and background they want for their name. I always ask that their writing be in the "Avant Garde" font because the letters look like how we write our letters and I ask that they select black for the font color without a background color. When we are using our iPads for writing practice, I want the typed writing to look as similar to actual writing as possible. I don't want it to be fancy or scripty and I don't want the kiddos getting distracted by all the choices. Sometimes kiddos take 10 minutes to complete their name, which is a good indicator that they enjoy making their own choices, but that it's important to set limits on choice making in the interest of time. 

I typically don't introduce apps like this until the kiddos are pretty solid in their writing skills, but the app is very versatile so Kindergartners could easily use one-word labels with pictures as opposed to complete sentences or phrases. 

Here are a few examples of projects my kiddos created this year. 

Assignment: Import 3 photos from the fish photo album and write 3 facts about fish. We did this during our focus on informative writing. 

Assignment: Build 2 towers of different sizes with unifix cubes and take a photo of the towers side by side. Label towers using the vocabulary words "short" and "tall." We did this during our math unit on measurement. This is an example of a project where students took their own photos.  

Funny sidebar...we did another project similar to this one on weight. I was very pregnant at the time and one student asked if he could take my photo for one of his examples. Sure enough I was the "heavy" example. Thanks...

Assignment: Import 3 photos from the trees album and write three facts about trees. We also did this one during our unit on informative writing.

Assignment: Import 3 photos from the winter activities album and write three things you enjoy doing in the winter. This project went along with one of our reading units on seasons. 

These are all examples from my stronger writers from various points in the year. Not all kiddos produce work like this, but everyone is engaged during these projects. They like using real photographs and being able to choose which ones they want for their projects. Since importing photos is a quick process, they spend more time focused on writing than on making a drawing to go with their writing. Also, for kiddos who are still acquiring English, using photos gives them specific images/ideas to look at while they think of what to write. The photos are great prompts to support those kiddos and help them build language as they practice writing. 

Although I typically use photos with Pic Collage, students could draw a picture with another app (we use Sketchio, but I've heard it doesn't work well with the new iOS updates). Students can save their drawing to their camera roll and import their own work rather than photos. 

One of my students' very favorite Pic Collage projects was a Friend Collage. I import and album that contains a photo of each child. They get to create a collage that shows their friends' photos and label the photos with their friends' names. That is a great project to do when the kiddos are just learning how to use the app. They think it's a lot of fun and the writing part is not too difficult. It also encourages social interactions because they can go ask a friend how to spell his/her name if they are not sure. 

As students become more competent in their writing skills they can move from one-word labels, to phrases, to full sentences, to paragraphs. Older students can use the app as well with higher expectations for their writing output. 

Another great thing about Pic Collage is that my students email me their projects at the end of the lesson and then I can view them all from my computer and easily forward the projects to their parents. There are other options to post to social media sites, but I don't use those. The process of teaching them how to send emails is very tedious at first and a very long lesson in itself, but once they get the hang of it, they can quickly do that step when it's time to cleanup. I also rely heavily on students helping other students and they enjoy having that role. 

Stay tuned for the next installment of App-time at Naptime where I will focus on Educreations. 

The Power of Stories

My mom always read to my brother and me when we were little. I know she firmly believed that reading to her kids would help us become smart kids and now that I am a parent I completely agree.

And, now, this article indicates that pediatricians are confirming the importance of reading and recommend reading to children from the time they are born. I always joke that Baby Sneaker is so smart because she did Kindergarten twice while she was in my belly. Clearly, this news is not new to us, but I think it's great if pediatricians encourage parents to read to their young children. 

NPR also covered this topic yesterday in talking with Professor Susan Neuman who is an expert in literacy development from New York University.

Now that Baby Sneaker is 2, she truly understands stories and loves to read. She is constantly bringing me books and asking me to read to her and I LOVE that. She loves to hear the same stories over and over and amazes us by filling in the missing words when we stop short and let her finish the sentences. Her vocabulary is incredible and she sometimes acts out events that happen in her stories when she is doing imaginative play. She even pretends to read the stories to her stuffed animals. 

Check her out...

Blue Hat, Green Hat

We are participating in the summer reading program through the library and she loves to put stickers on her reading chart for every 15 minutes we spend reading together. Each night before bed, both Mr. Sneaker and I read stories to her.

 Her current favorites are:

I think one of the most rewarding parts of being a Kindergarten teacher is seeing children enjoy stories and grow into readers. My class this year would beg me to read more whenever I did read alouds. Not the stories from the reading programs, but the stories that I picked out of my own personal collection. 

Sadly, some kids don't get read to at home. It's hard for me to imagine, but for some of the kiddos in our classrooms, the stories we read at school are the only stories they hear. Not only were they not read to as babies, but they weren't read to as toddlers or preschoolers either. Maybe a book here and there, but their parents don't build reading into their daily routine in order to establish an appreciation for books and stories and reading. When we read big books, we are supposedly recreating the experience of lap reading, but do we really achieve that? When I read to Baby Sneaker she interrupts all the time to ask "what's that?" as she points to various things in the illustrations. She repeats some of the words and tells me what comes next. I don't admonish her for interrupting because it's only her little voice and it's just the two of us. That's not the same experience kiddos have in my class when I am reading to 28 children at once. 

I can't judge parents for not reading to their kids because I don't know what their situation is. Not all parents have the resources that I do to fill my child's bookshelves with books. Maybe they don't have a car and it's too far to walk to the library. Maybe they can't read in English. Maybe they can't read at all. But, I think it's great if pediatricians begin emphasizing the importance of reading from day 1 so that hopefully families who experience barriers can also share the special experience of reading with their children.

What are your favorite stories to read with your kids or your students? 
Were you read to as a child?

Kindergarten "Redshirting"

Let's talk "Redshirting"

I came across this article that discusses whether or not children with late birthdays should start Kindergarten when they are very much on the young side or be held out assuming they will be more ready for Kindergarten the following school year. 

The article refers to a phenomenon called "redshirting" 

Redshirting is the practice of postponing entrance into kindergarten of age-eligible children in order to allow extra time for socio-emotional, intellectual, or physical growth. This occurs most frequently where children's birthdays are so close to the cut-off dates that they are very likely to be among the youngest in their kindergarten class. 

Based on how rigorous Kindergarten has become, I can definitely sympathize with a parent who believes that their young child just isn't ready for the rigor that comes along with the very academic program. Yet, what about children who are ready for the academic rigor, but are not socially ready for school? If they do start Kindergarten when they are on the younger end of the spectrum, how will they fare in classrooms that spend a lot more time on academics than on helping students gain social skills, learn to regulate emotions, take turns, play well with others, and work cooperatively. I can't speak for all Kinder teachers, but in my half day classroom, we don't spend time on social skills to the extent that students need to learn and practice these social skills. Should they stay in preschool longer in order to have prolonged access to a more play focused environment? 

My niece is an example of a kiddo whose parents had to decide whether or not to send her to Kindergarten. I am not sure when the birthday cutoff is in their state, but her birthday is in January. She actually began full day Kindergarten as a four year old and was four for nearly half the year! Yet, given how smart she is (despite her young age she is already reading and writing), it would have seemed silly to keep her out another year. 

Personally, if I got my class list and saw that a child did not turn 5 until January, I would be very skeptical about that child's presence in my classroom. I would be extremely worried about behavior problems and immaturity. I wouldn't expect a four year old to be able to cooperate, share, and follow directions to the same extent that five and almost six year olds can. Yet, for my niece, none of those things were an issue. Clearly, this is a case by case issue and parents will likely know what choice will result in the best outcome for their particular children. 

I think the biggest problem is when parents decide to go ahead and send their young child to Kindergarten when the child truly is not ready. My colleague told me she was in the office earlier in the spring when a mother was registering her son at our school for Kindergarten. She overhead the mother tell the secretary that her son had been kicked out of Head Start due to his behavior and he is very hard to control. His Head Start teachers told the mother he is not ready for Kindergarten, yet she was there registering him. I am fearful of what it will be like to teach that child next year if he is in my class. With the possibility of having 27 other kids in the classroom, will I be able to give that child what he needs to thrive? In his particular case, I think he would have benefitted from more preschool experience before beginning Kindergarten. I wonder what factors made that mother decide to register for Kindergarten instead of listening to the advice of her son's teachers. 

In Oregon we now have a Kindergarten readiness assessment, yet this assessment is not given until the child has already started Kindergarten. Does that even make sense? What if I determine through my evaluation that a particular child was indeed not ready for Kindergarten? There's not turning back once they have registered and started the school year, so how does this assessment really help?

What do you think about Redshirting?

Should children who have late birthdays wait an additional year before starting Kindergarten? 

A few more articles on the subject of Redshirting in Kindergarten...

Youngest Kid, Smartest Kid

When Should Kids Start Kindergarten?

'Redshirting' in Kindergarten is Still Subject to Debate

"Academic Redshirting" in Kindergarten Prevalence, Patterns, and Implications

Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

Some inspirations for the day...

I just may print these out and put them in my planner this year. <3 p="">

Quiet

Have you seen this Ultimate Summer Reading List for Teachers from Scholastic Instructor Magazine?

One of the books on the list is currently on my Kindle, and although I haven't read the whole thing, I love what I've read so far. 

If you consider yourself an introvert, this is a must read. 

The book that started the Quiet Revolution
At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society. 

In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts—from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves.

-Amazon.com

Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert? 

Common Core

I belong to a Facebook group that's called Encouraging Teachers. It was started by Angela Watson who is an educational consultant in New York City. Angela's blog The Cornerstone is packed full of resources and insight for teachers and she has authored several books. Angela started the FB group to create a place where teachers could go to support one another and focus on the positive aspects of teaching.

I just came across a post linking to this article about the Common Core. The slideshow at the end of this post offers a succinct clarification of exactly what Common Core is, which is helpful, because many people who fiercely oppose CCSS believe that it is a national curriculum, when in reality, Common Core is a set of standards.

Although I don't like to engage in political discussions and therefore have not entered into a verbal battle with anyone on the topic of Common Core, I do enjoy reading about both sides/perspectives. It helps me have a better understanding of people who so vehemently oppose the status quo of public schools and now Common Core and to figure out exactly where I stand on the topic.

The first thing I noticed about this presentation/article is the words Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation painted across the first slide. I think, when digesting this information, it's important to take into consideration how much monetary support the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given to CCSS. Although informative, I can't say this presentation offers an unbiased explanation of CCSS.

A few slides I'd like to highlight...

http://www.ed.gov/k-12reforms/standards

I appreciate how this slideshow clearly indicates there is a difference between standards, curriculum, and assessments. Some people clearly do not understand the difference between standards and curriculum, so that is a very important distinction to make.

  The above statement about curriculum, however, makes it seem as though teachers have a lot of freedom in how they go about teaching to the standards. That may or may not be true depending on where said teachers work. My "creative license" with curriculum is somewhat limited. I am not at all criticizing the district/school I work for/in, rather just addressing the fact that these statements are designed to convince a particular audience and don't necessarily represent the teaching reality for all educators that are subject to CCSS. To say that CCSS just gives me the standards and I can teach to those standards however I want, is not true for me.

I don't feel as though I have gotten a straight answer regarding whether or not, and to what extent, teachers were involved in the creation of the Common Core standards. People who oppose CCSS claim that teachers were not involved, yet other sources indicate that they were. I am fairly certain the source where I read teachers were involved was more reputable than where I read that teachers were not involved, but it's frustrating that misinformation floats around so much. Also, the statement that teachers overwhelmingly support them is not true. I know there are many teachers who are frustrated with CCSS and would not group themselves among supporters.

Personally, I feel as though as an educator in public schools, I will see many changes to the ways in which we teach children and I am willing to go with the ebb and flow of those changes. In focusing on my particular students, grade level, standards, and curriculum, I see no reason to oppose the CCSS. Our state standards in OR have always been high, therefore CCSS has not brought about big changes in what we teach. Also, my students do not participate in state testing, therefore, in my little Kindergarten world, there are huge aspects of CCSS that I don't experience and am not as knowledgable about.

Something that is really interesting to me is the emphasis that CCSS places on critical thinking, yet people are very quick to focus on one source of information and take that as gospel. That's not critical thinking, now is it?  I agree that the world needs more critical thinkers! We should be critical consumers of all this information and I am a firm believer in seeing both the positives and negatives in anything because that is reality. It's not all good. It's not all bad.

I think many (not all!) people who are against CCSS don't truly understand what it is, yet at the same time, there is so much (mis)information out there, even as an educator I have a hard time grasping what is truth and what is not.

I like this page that addresses Myths versus Facts about CCSS.

More Myths and Facts from the US Dept. of Education

Another interesting link is 10 Things You Should Know About Common Core from the NEA website.

Also, the Common Core State Standards Toolkit, which can be downloaded from that link.

Take a minute to click through this slideshow. 

As fellow educators, I'd love to know your thoughts!

Bored

As a mom of a toddler and a newborn, the word BORED is not part of my vocabulary. I rarely have time to myself and I feel like I am continuously in motion trying to juggle a million different things at once. Even if we are just hanging out and playing at home, it's not boring because there is a constant busyness that permeates our days. And although Baby Sneaker (wait, can I really get away with still calling my 2 year old a baby!?) has a very impressive vocabulary, she doesn't use the word bored because it has never been said in front of her!

As a teacher, however, the word bored does come into play and it makes me cringe.

Every. Single. Time. 

I pretty much hate the word bored.

And, typically, this taboo word is uttered from the mouths of parents not students. 

Last night I came across this article on facebook. 

It reminded of this sign I had seen previously on Pinterest

I heart this sign.

It applies more to at home boredom than boredom in the classroom because I wouldn't exactly want to encourage my students to take up exercise in the middle of my lesson if they somehow felt boredom creeping in...but it does remind me that creativity, play, and exercise are all things that help keep students engaged in the school setting. The issue of parents claiming that their children are bored in the classroom is a whole other blog post...but I will say that my typical response is that Kindergarten is not boring. I pretty much just leave it at that. 

Although boredom has not reared its ugly head in my home as of yet, I think this sign will definitely be put to use when my girls are older. I think every parent needs this sign somewhere in their home, especially during summer break! 

Do you feel bored during summer break because school is out? 

How do you combat boredom for yourself and/or your kids?

How do you handle parents who say their kids are bored at school?

Summer Teacher Reads

In the past few months I have purchased several teachery books and unfortunately they have just sat on my desk so far because I haven't made reading a priority. It's much easier to read a book if it's digital because I can read on my phone or iPad when I am feeding the baby in the wee hours of the morning, so my only reading as of late has been novels. But, alas, when I read teachery things, I really prefer to have "real" books, pages to turn, and paper pages to write on. I like to make notes on Post-its and write in margins, so that I can put the ideas to use in my classroom. 

I have quite the collection of teacher books...

I know, I have a problem...

The three that I have on my summer reading agenda are in this stack right here

The Daily 5

 Kagan Cooperative Learning

Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Focus on Kindergartners

I am always super excited when I come across a book that will give me new ideas for my classroom, but I am far from as diligent about reading these kinds of books as I was when I was working on my doctorate.

I came across a book study that many bloggers are doing with the new edition of The Daily 5, so even though I am not officially participating in the book study, I am hoping to read along with them so that I can think about using The Daily 5 (in some aspect) in my small groups next school year. Since we have 1:1 iPads in our Kindergarten classrooms, I don't think my version would look exactly like how the Two Sisters do it, but the iPads may allow me to do digital versions of work work or something like that. 

What is on your summer reading list? 

Do you prefer to read for business or pleasure during the summer?

Something Old or Something New?

Last summer I ordered my very first Erin Condren teacher planner. After using it for an entire year, I am debating whether or not to get another one. I really liked it, but her planners are quite spendy with a base price of $59. I'm just trying to figure out if I can justify the expense again (last year I used some of my graduation money for the big purchase). 

I've heard a lot of teachers mention planbook.com, which is only $12 per year, so I am considering that as a much less expensive alternative. I love the idea of being able to easily link content standards to my plans. That seems like a great way to be really organized and stay focused on the CCSS that are applicable for each lesson. 

Personally, I like to have a hardcopy calendar as opposed to a digital calendar and I use my teacher planner for both school and my own personal calendar so that is a vote for another Erin Condren. I also liked how I could bring my EC planner to meetings and keep important notes in one single place. I am notorious for bringing a random piece of paper for meetings and then promptly losing it along with any important info that I wrote down. I wasn't 100% happy with the amount of space I had to write my plans in my EC planner, but given that I only teach half day, it was pretty doable. I also really liked having checklist sheets in the EC planner because I kept track of HW and report card grades on those pages. The biggest bonus of the EC planner was that it kept me organized and I had everything in one place. 

I think I am leaning towards buying another EC planner (my two favorite designs are above), but I am still intrigued by planbook.com. I do so many things digitally that I feel like I should give it a try.

What kind of planner do you use? 

Have you tried planbook.com? If so, what are your thoughts?

Small Groups in Kindergarten

This year we adopted Journeys Common Core as our core reading program. We were encouraged/instructed to use small groups as part of our reading instruction, which is something I had never done before in half day Kindergarten. Small groups were never part of my routine for two main reasons:

1. I only have 2 hours and 20 minutes with my kiddos. With all the mandated curriculum, I never felt like I had time to organize and run small groups.

2. I think small groups can be a management nightmare because 5 & 6 year olds don't always work well independently.

Despite my concerns about using small groups, I gave it a try. Having 1:1 iPads and some parent helpers were lifesavers and helped to make small group time run somewhat successfully, but I know there is still room for improvement.

Next year, rather that students leaving for 30 minutes each day to receive pull out ELD instruction, we are going to be able to keep our kids for the entire duration of AM Kindergarten. ELD services will be part of an extended day program instead. The extra 30 minutes that I am afforded based on this change is extremely exciting because it gives me so much more flexibility in how I organize my schedule and affords me extra time to use for small groups, writing, and possibly even science!

I'm excited to do some planning for small groups this summer so I'd love input from other Kinder teachers, or any teachers that use small groups, on how you make small group reading instruction work for you!

Heidi gives a lot of great ideas in this article and I'd love to know what YOU think as well!

Do you use small group reading instruction? 

What do your other students work on when you are working with a small group?

Year in Review

I had such high hopes about keeping up with blogging this school year and basically completely and utterly failed at that endeavor. I spent a good amount of time last summer posting about what I was planning to do in the upcoming school year, but then never got around to posting about how those things played out in the classroom. As I mentioned here, in yet another post where I talked about how I hadn't posted in awhile, I had a good excuse for not having the energy to blog....I was going through first trimester pregnancy exhaustion while I was also experience beginning of the school year in Kindergarten exhaustion and the combination left me wanting naps more than I wanted to rehash what happened during the school day on my blog.

In a nutshell, I think I had my hardest class ever this year and it was by far the biggest class I've ever had. I started the year with 25, then got a new student maybe 1 month in,  gained one and lost one on the same day in January, then got two other new students in March making a grand total of 28 kids.

That. Is. Too. Many. Kids.

I know that class size is a huge problem for many teachers, but this year was my first experience with a class that I considered just WAY too big. I struggled so much with just trying to gain and hold everyone's attention, which was a tiring exercise every single day. I didn't even have any kids whose behavior was awful, yet several students had attention issues, and overall it was just tough.  By the last new student, I was literally running out of supplies and space. I am very hopeful that our large sizes were just a fluke this year and we will return to class sized of about 23 next year.

Highlights of the year include:

• Presentations at three professional conferences including the Creative Teaching Conference in Paris, the Northwest Council of Computer Education's Conference in Seattle with my colleague Leslie, and at the Globalization, Diversity, and Education Conference in Spokane, Washington. The presentation with Leslie was about how we use iPads in Kindergarten and was the most exciting out of the three because not only was it the longest (2 full hours compared to 15 minutes at the other conferences), but it also drew the biggest audience. We love talking about how we use iPads in Kindergarten, so we had a blast gabbing away about what we've done with technology and our students' successes. The other two presentations came from my dissertation research and focused on home visits. 
• Publishing an article about iPads in Kindergarten this year through the International Reading Association. 
• The birth of our second daughter Sammy who turns 1 month old today! 

This summer, as always, I plan to spend some time reflecting on this past school year and planning for the upcoming year. We are facing some changes at my school including a new principal and new counselor. I will also be moving to a new classroom, which is both exciting and daunting at the same time. I hope that moving helps me get more organized. I always start each new school year with fresh ideas and always make changes of one kind or another. I never do things exactly the same, so it will be interesting to see how a new room changes things up. 

I am somewhat doubtful that anyone will actually read this based on my looooong absence on the blogging scene, but if anyone is out there reading, keep checking back! Summer seems to be my blog revival time because for some reason I am more interested in talking about school during the summer than I am during the school year :0)