Dear Parents, Our household is busier than ever right now for one simple reason: basketball. Basketball is the only sport my kids love. Collectively, my kids play on three teams, we coach a team, and we help coordinate an entire league. Basketball season means several things: rushed dinners, late bedtimes, more showers, extra laundry, […]
Category Archives: Reading Lives
April
26
It’s Time for a #VirtualFieldTrip to the Everywhere Book Fest! by Anna E. Jordan
posted by CBethM
There were plenty of things about field trips in the “before times” that were difficult. Budgets for busses were minimal, permissions slips never came back, charging for events magnified inequities between students, and chaperones were often hard to find. Even so, we know that authentic experiences with experts inspire children and give classroom learning context. Our […]
March
22
Reading or Not, Here We Go: A Social Distancing #Bookaday Challenge by Donalyn Miller
posted by donalynm
“The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps greater.” —J.R.R. Tolkien If you asked me three months ago what I would do if the world […]
March
16
The Healing Power of Books by Jodi-Beth Hazel
posted by CBethM
In the past few months, I have experienced a lot of change and trauma, but in the midst of these experiences, one thing has remained constant— books. I have always seen books as powerful tools for escape, change, learning, and building community. Every time I enter a new season of life, I am reminded of […]
March
02
A Climb Inside the Window: Why We Need Diverse Books by Kelly Stephan
posted by CBethM
It was just another Monday night. I picked up my son from basketball practice…my freckle face boy. He stands out on the court, not only for his sweet basketball moves but for his short stature and red hair. These boys on the court are his people, his team, the friends that have his back. […]
January
20
The Power of Listening by Clare Landrigan
posted by CBethM
I was facilitating a professional development session focused on how to administer a reading assessment. A fifth-grade student just finished reading the text and I was beginning the part of the assessment in which we discuss the text together. He seemed a bit nervous with all of the observers, so I tried to calm him […]
October
21
White Bird: A Lesson in Trust by Sarah Derringer
posted by CBethM
The new R.J. Palacio graphic novel is a “Wonder story” about a young Jewish girl’s experience in Nazi-occupied France in the 1940s? What? I know. I was thinking the same thing. You see, I, like millions of other readers, read and loved Wonder. I fell in love with the book’s message of overcoming […]
October
06
Readers, in Spite of School by Donalyn Miller
posted by donalynm
I am endlessly fascinated with readers—what and why they read, how they became readers and sustain a reading habit, and the ways reading has shaped their worldview and their identity development. I know other folks are endlessly fascinated with other aspects of reading and reading instruction including phonics, comprehension, or vocabulary. All of […]
September
30
When Reading is More Than Just a Story by Carrie Rodusky
posted by CBethM
Sometimes I come across a story that is so special, so important, that I almost do not even feel worthy enough to have been part of something so beautiful; like I was let in on a secret and that secret changes me. I read many books. Not only because I love to read, but […]
September
16
Inspiration to Read written by Ryan Eckart
posted by CBethM
I wasn’t always a reader. In fact, I wasn’t a reader until I became an elementary principal and a special person entered my life. Growing up, I hated reading. In 7th grade, I remember my parents meeting with my teacher to figure out why I couldn’t remember anything I was reading. From what I can […]
