Celebrate! An ALMOST Screen Free Week.

I'm linking with Ruth Ayres, and her weekly link up.  Read More about that here.  

Hello Blogging Friends!  On Sunday, I casually mentioned at the dinner table that this past week was Screen-Free Week.  Check out this website for more information.  Immediately, my nine year old was all over the idea.  He knows that his parents would benefit from such a challenge as much as anyone in the house!  Like most families, we have checkpoints in place to prevent overuse and abuse, but do grow complacent.  After the mean winter we had in Iowa, complacency about devices had taken over.  It was easy to justify.  But time for a change.  

So, we dove in head first.  The rules:

• No devices out.  
• Phones were for talking and texting with friends and family.  Music was allowed, since that is where we keep most of ours these days.  No other apps.  
• No recreational TV.
• No Computers
• No Peeking!  (That one was for mom)
• Mom and Dad could use them during the work day.  

The Highlights:

Monday Morning I knew I was in for a change.  I usually roll out of bed and grab my phone, teeter downstairs and flip on the TV to catch up on news.  I sat down at the kitchen table for a change in scenery and train myself differently.  I grabbed a book and began reading.  Soon my sons came rolling downstairs and sat with me.  It resulted in a breakfast together, and a great conversation about allergies and peripheral vision.  :)  

• The "Breakfast together thing" has stayed with us all week. Dare I say it's become a part of our routine now. 
• We were outside more.  We connected with neighbors.  
• We listened to more music.  As musical people, it was great to return to this.  
• We read more!  I finished a book and I'm half way through another one.
• We slept better.  (Minus one unfortunate night resulting in blankets missing and a 4:30 AM unwanted wake up call.  It happens to the best of us.)  
• In all, our "vibe" if you will was more relaxed, because we had opened up the time we weren't staring at a screen!  That time was used to do the "If I had more time I would..." things we set out to do each day/week.  

The ALMOST part:

Thursday, as it happens in Iowa, there was a threat all day for severe weather.  As the day went on, and the humidity kept building, Mr. and I knew we would need to keep an eye on things.  And what a bizarre storm it was.  Hail, wind, greenish-purple skies (if you are in the Midwest, you know...), a downpour of rain and double-rainbows.  And that was in 5 minutes.  

What started as a need to keep an eye on safety, turned into a lot of peeking, and it really was at that moment that our Screen Free week ended.  

What the 9 year old said:  "I learned it really wasn't that hard.  You can read or just go outside."  

What I Hope Will Stick:

• A Screen Free Morning.
• Awareness and Purpose about screens at night.
• The Reading.  
• The things I see my family doing when they aren't in a screen trance.

Did you participate in screen free week?  How did it go for you?  

Joy!  Kendra

New to Me: Easy Readers

When I enter the Easy Readers section of our library, I'm surrounded by familiar characters that Big B and I love -- Elephant & Piggie, Nate the Great, Henry and Mudge, and Fly Guy to name a few.  We are lingering in this section of the library because 1.) I love it and 2.) I'm really hesitant to let Big B start reading chapter books too soon.  Here are a few new favorites from the easy reader category.

Boris series by Andrew Joyner

The adventures of this warthog are perfect for my first grade reader.  The plot moves right along with a nice balance of text and picture support.  It feels like a graphic novel.

Penny and her Marble by Kevin Henkes

Considering my love of Chrysanthemum and Owen, I was shocked that I hadn't discovered this gem earlier.  This delightful book features a mouse named Penny who is faced with the dilemna of finding and taking a marble that doesn't belong with her.  I loved the authenticity of Penny's character!

Rabbit and Robot: The Sleepover by Cece Bell

This one made us laugh!  There's something fun about unusual friendships! This pair reminded me of my beloved Frog and Toad.

Happy reading!

Annie

New to Me: Concept Books

My blogging hiatus can be largely attributed to two graduate courses this semester.  But, since I submitted my final assignment earlier this week, I'm excited to have time for blogging again.  I have been trying to work on my TBR list on Goodreads by genre.  My plan is to share three new to me favorites and write three sentences about each.  (I feel a math problem coming on...)  Concept books are up first.

Dog's Colorful Day: A Messy Story about Colors and Counting by Emma Dodd

This is a fun book to teach colors, which is perfect for three-year-old Little C.  Dog starts the day as a white dog with one black spot.  Red jam, blue paint, grass, pink ice cream...by day's end Dog has ten spots and needs a bath!    

Perfect Square by Michael Hall

Concept-wise there's a lot in this book -- shapes, days of the week, colors.  But my kids and I loved this story and read it over and over.  The square continually transforms into something new, including a fountain, a garden, and, finally, a window.  

Train by Elisha Cooper

This book takes readers across the country on four different types of trains -- commuter trains, freight trains, overnight trains, and high-speed trains.  The rhythm of this story seems to match the rhythm of a train.  Big B enjoyed this one..a throwback to the Thomas years.  

Happy reading!

Annie

#sol14 Ever Have This Day?

Two Writing Teachers have written about the Slice of Life on their blog.  Head on over and check it out!

So it's a rainy day in Iowa.  Even through the rain it was a great day of learning and growing together.  

Here's the last mesh of conversations I had/heard at the end of the day:

Kid:  "Mrs. Limback-you know why it rains?"

Me:  I think so.  Why?

Kid:  The Guy...You know...Up There...(Points upward)

Kid 2 (in an overarching screaming-type voice):  You Mean God?!?!?!?!?!?

Kid:  Yeah, He's crying because people are making bad choices.  

Me (As lightly as I can as we are working on dismissal):  That's a very interesting thought.  Sometimes people like to read about the water cycle to learn more about why it rains.  (Turn around to go find a book.  Kid 3 is standing right behind me.)

Kid 3:  I had a photosynthesis reaction in my teeth today!!!!  See?!?!?!?!?

Me:   

(Yep-that's silence.  What do you say to that?)

Then then bell rang.  

I'm still giggling over the awesomeness that was this mesh of a conversation.  

And we need more science.  :)

Joy!

Kendra

#sol14 Running--A Poem

Two Writing Teachers have written about the Slice of Life on their blog.  Head on over and check it out!

The alarm sings out songs from the 60's. 

My eyes pop open.  

Drop shut.  

Pop Open.  

Drop shut.  

Friends are waiting!  

Pop open!  

Roll out of bed.  

Quiet as a mouse.  

It's early.  

I hear steady breathing of my boys.

I slip downstairs. 

Coffee?  A must.  

I love the dark.  And quiet. 

Like I'm cheating time.  

And my schedule.

My friends. 

We meet. 

We run.  

Thoughts and ideas roll freely from both of us.

My head is clear.  

My knee is sore. 

My heart is ready. 

Joy!
Kendra

#celebratelu Celebrating Strong

I'm linking with Ruth Ayres, and her weekly link up.  Read More about that here.  What a wonderful idea from Ruth Ayres!

This week, our family had a little, mundane adventure.  After 9 years of having Daddy at home with us, he has started traveling again for business.  As he flew to Oregon and back, it was all together uneventful.  And that we celebrate.  

As I reflect on my One Little Word, Strong, I think that I learned some things this week, and those need to be celebrated as well.  So here's what I reflected on this week:

1.  I don't need social media as much as I think I do.  I love connecting with you all, but I really was focused on things that need to be priorities this week.  What was born out of necessity is quickly becoming a challenge for me.  How can I unplug even more?

2.  Being Organized is awesome.  If you know me, you know I'm not talking about magazine ready organization.  However, a little preparation the night before and a little bit of housework everyday definitely makes a difference.  

3.  Complacency is NOT awesome.  I was thinking about how often I just let things go in the spirit of staying relaxed.  As I reflect on what we did this week, I'm not sure that it was a spirit of relaxation anymore.  I'm pretty sure it had morphed into complacency.  

4.  Priorities are important.  As I laid out a plan for the week, it involved 2 things really.  Safety and consistency.  Priorities in the classroom ensured that it was business as usual.  (Except for Thursday when the weird version of the stomach flu took out students and teachers and made me wonder if the end of the world was coming.  Yikes!)  Priorities at home ensured that our "have-tos" were accomplished and we met all of our obligations.  

5.  Self Care is Critical.  Nope.  It wasn't all picnics and slumber parties while Daddy was gone.  Early bedtimes, dinner at the kitchen table, and devotions and prayer at bedtime?  No Wii/Kindle/Screen time for the kiddies?  Absolutely.  I want my sons to see that self-care is critical, not a luxury.  I had the opportunity to model that this week.  I too participated in early bedtimes, balanced meals, and asking for help.  (A shout out to my principal, Mrs. Stites, and my first grade team for an early morning text messaging intervention on a morning that I was starting to feel weary!)  

6.  My Mom is Amaze-balls.  (Yep. I just said that.) :)  For over 20 years, she modeled all these things relentlessly as my dad drove a semi across the country.  I thought of her often as I was folding laundry, making lunches, driving to practice, encouraging my own kids to sleep, going to work, getting in bed at night.  She was an outstanding model for the things listed above.  And I'm so glad I was able to talk to her yesterday and tell her that.  

In the end, I guess I'm celebrating the uneventful and the mundane things that make us strong.  What are you celebrating?

Joy!

Kendra

#LoveMySchool

Hello Friends.  Twitter doesn't give me enough space to tell you why I love My School.  The whole community really.

A few thoughts about why I love my school:

I woke up this morning tired.  It's been a long week.  Right away, I saw on Twitter #LoveMySchool.  It reminded me that I have Amazing Super Colleagues that have supported me everyday this week.  From just hugging me, to texting me to make sure I was up for the day, they are the best.  In between the Love, we chattered about Literacy data for next year, paperwork, and what was for lunch.  After a few years of working together, the conversations are open, honest, and amazing.  These are some of the smartest people I know.

I started to tweet about why I love my school today.  My intent was to take pictures and tweet throughout the day of things that I noticed that I loved.  I made it to 12:30 and then needed to come out from behind the camera and focus my attention elsewhere.

Here is what I observed:

• My class is amazing at starting the day on a positive note.  I never would have reconsidered a morning meeting if it wasn't for our assistant principal.  A Shout Out to Mr. Vaughan!  This encouragement has been one of the best moves I've made in the past two years within my classroom.
• Our school has an amazing support staff.  I watched my literacy associate patiently explain the life cycle of a plant about 7 times today after reading about seeds in Time for Kids.  
• Our Teacher-Librarian is also amazing.  He really has taken a hold of our new reading materials and inter-weaved some amazing literature that connects with what is happening in the classroom.  
• We have amazing staff outside of our classrooms.  Our secretary was helping with my kids in P.E. yesterday because that is what needed to happen.  When it was time for some quiet time, the nurse opened her office to me yesterday so I could just sip some tea for a moment.  Our administration listens, questions, and encourages all the while.  They are supportive of new ideas.  
• We have good facilities.  
• Our special education teachers are innovative and amazing and never give up.

There is more I'm sure of it.  But I wanted to reflect on this Friday.  What a great way to end the week!  

What do you love about your school?

Joy!
Kendra