T's work

I am so enjoying reading her writings on life, learning, reading, 5 year olds
etc. I wish she would publish them in a book - I'd buy it. She writes that already we are pushing reading too hard and too fast for our 5 year olds. I feel I have to compromise and the work I am doing with good quality books especially NZ ones through the literacy circle headings to guide my teaching is helping to give the depth and richness of literacy that is missing from just a diet of 'teaching reading'. I think this will be the line I will use for my bit of our Rellco workshop next saturday.
T's work with follow up activities has been wonderful to see and I am working hard to include aspects into my literacy programme.
I wonder if she would let me visit her class next term?? Will I be brave enough to ask her. I could use my 20 years of teaching money.

literacy circles

I am making a digital story with KT 'reading" the Lion in the Meadow (when she is only reading on yellow. She has great expression, she knows the story (and loves it).
K (another K) made a strong connection about the sadness (and death )in Roimata's Cloak and sadness and death in another persons life (a big thing to do for a new entrant).

school

I don't know why I always lose my password and have to go the long procedure to get back in. I wanted to put something on T's page (but I am getting blogs and wikis muddled again. Just when I think I am getting a handle on some aspect of 21st century learning I get tripped up.
I have spent sunday afternoon looking at the draft standards for maths and reading and writing (for the first year at school). At first they looked a bit scary but I now think they are very helpful for giving me a much clearer direction as a teacher. I feel on track with the literacy stuff (although I might need to step up the pace a bit) and the Maths area has made it better for my teaching focus. I still want to make sure I have lots of opportunities for sharing the magic of learning with my NE and I know the work we have been doing on literacy circles is an important part of that.
On TKI there were digital stories about schools and their journeys. I want to get back into 'Discovery" as a good way of working with those Key Competencies. I started with a hiss and a roar with an open day last term but I need to do them more regularly.
I had a rave on R's blog/wiki??? this morning about some interesting aspects of LC but now I realise I should have done it on my blog (and not clutter up her work0

Lion in the Meadow

I am realising that sometimes I need to spend a bit more time on a book. I thought I would make a class display about the story featuring grass and flowers (a meadow ) and some of our lions. We also did a brain storm on the IWB about the Mother and this time there was more depth of thinking.The children said that while the Mother was making up stories she was just trying to help her son be brave and play in the field. Then T. said 'brave like brave father mouse.'
I asked her what she meant and she said Father mouse was very brave because he had to go past the cat to get bread for his whanau. A CONNECTION. I now realise that connections don't always have to be with just the children's world, it can be with other books they have read.

Lion in the Meadow

This is some word work on the word meadow. I am taking more photos of the literacy work for our Rellco workshop.

The Lion in the Meadow

The children did not think that the mother was making up stories.

Literacy Circle

Literacy Circles

I have found my next book. I was at my grandsons 6th birthday party and I looked in his book shelf for another book with the theme of people not telling the truth and I saw "The Terrible Taniwha of Timberditch". In this book Dad tells his daughter that if she goes down to Timber Ditch the taniwha will get her.
I need now to scan the bookcovers into a Literacy Circle Folder) and have them ready for the workshop at Rellco.
I feel really chuffed that Robyn has asked me to be part of her workshop (with Jan). I need to remember that the Rellco "conference" is about being a 21st century learner so I have to make sure I use some ICT in my share of the presentation.
I love getting into the books I have picked and getting some great book language, thinking and lots of oral work from my New Entrants.
I am going to look at Tia's work soon to see what she is up too with her picture books. We watched her Little Red Hen videos last week and had a go. It was so easy, yet so powerful. We played our work on the IWB at the end of the day when the parents come in to the room and they all thought their kids were movie stars. (21st learning)

You Tube

I am on You tube - well I mean a little digital story I made on the K.Cs is.Lorraine put it on -WOW it is so great. I loved seeing Joanne and Jan's work on our East Cape trip there too and this time I am in it. I wished now I had taken more photos up there as I got so much out of that trip. I am going to see if I can sort out what i want to do on the inquiry book. Its different from what we saw at Lynmore the other day.
Lorraine had visited my blog when she was at school and I loved reading her comment. I want Jan to go over how to do a you tube piece in my blog as I know what song I want for my blog -(Its an Eagles one - of course)