Wonder Wednesday #19...

Wonder Wednesday - First 58 Days

*It seems like I was just starting year 23 and today we wrapped up our first trimester and 58 days of fourth grade.

*Reflecting back on the first 58 days, I'm filled with joy and WONDER about this current year.

*That is the WONDERful thing about this profession.  Each year it brings "newness" and "differences".

*Today's blog post is dedicated to the top ten WONDER moments (so far)…

*These are in no particular order.  They are all equally WONDERS!

1st:  Skyping with Stephen McCranie about his Mal and Chad Series.  Everyone in my class has read all three books in the series.

2nd:  Establishing our "Club Book" bulletin boards where the readers JOIN clubs once they read a book!  This builds such a strong reading community.

3rd:  Skyping with Chris Grabenstein about The Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library.  This was our first read aloud of the year.

4th:  Promoting our Breakfast with Books book club.  Our first selection was The Sasquatch Escape, then we read Flora & Ulysses, and we are currently reading Treasure Hunters.

5th:  Skyping with Suzanne Selfors about her book The Sasquatch Escape.  We also were able to order copies of this book and the sequel The Lonely Lake Monster and have them personalized.

6th:  Savoring, honoring, and enjoying our read aloud time each and every day.  We began the year with The Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, then read The Boy on the Porch, and are currently sharing the book The Daring Escape from the Misfit Menagerie.

7th:  Skyping with Sharon Creech about her latest book The Boy on the Porch.  It was truly an honor to be able to spend time with one of my favorite middle-grade authors.  She did not disappoint and will remain a highlight on my teaching career list for years to come.

8th:  Receiving my copy of Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller.  I read the entire book in about two/three days.  An extra bonus was reading a copy on Twitter from Mr. Schu.  I can't wait to share my "extra" copy with my co-workers.

9th:  Beginning our day with a picture book.  We have not missed a morning.  After our first 40 books, we held a quick "Mock Caldecott" award.  I was thrilled when Creepy Carrots won as their favorite picture book.  (So Far)

10th:  Watching each and every student in my room become more and more of a reader.  This brings me the most joy and WONDER to my life.