It's Summer Vacation, Now What Do We Do?!

Summer vacation is here for some and right around the corner for many, but what do you do over summer vacation? I have two kids, one in elementary school and one in middle school. Keeping them occupied over the summer months can be challenging since their ages are so different. But I keep them on their toes all summer long.

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Just Let Them Play This Summer for Optimal Learning!

It's summer, and my kids aren't spending their time working on bridge activities to be ready for next year. They aren't practicing math skills to make them smarter and ready for the next grade. They aren't learning anything in a formal sense. But they ARE learning, learning so much more than they would from any activities I could force upon them.

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Most Comfortable Spots to Make Summer Reading Fun

Making Summer Reading Fun

It's summer, and what do our kids do? If yours are like mine, they play, watch TV, play, and read, ReAd, READ! It takes some cajoling to get them to do it, but in the end, they all enjoy it. I have found that the best way to get them to actually spend quality time reading is to find the perfect places to read and keep reading. Here are some of their favorites!

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Flip Flops, Beach Chairs, and Teaching With Mentor Texts Summer Blog Hop

Summer is here, and I am excited to team up with some of my friends to bring you a mentor text blog hop like no other! All of the blogs participating have a book to share, lesson ideas, and a freebie (some forever and some limited time). So hop around and enjoy!

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The Summer Book Fair is Here!

Each year I have made it a point to make sure the kids I work with have at least one book to read over the summer. Most summers I go through my books and get rid of them or purchase a book for each grade level, but this year I did something different ~ our first annual Summer Book Fair!

Last summer my friends at Literacy Land and I read a book by Richard Allington ~ Summer Reading. It had some great ideas, but the one that was most feasible for me was the Summer Book Fair. In the Summer Book Fair, students picked out several books to take home for the summer from a bunch of books. The books were relevant for students and were something they had interests. This summer intervention had the most impact on students and lessened the effects of summer slide better than anything else, including summer school.

 I decided this was something I wanted to try this year.

At the end of every school year, we are given an allotment of money to use for our classrooms. This year I really didn't need a lot, so I decided to use the money to purchase books and items for the students I work with. I was given a huge box of old books from a school that closed that I could give the kids. Then I spent hours looking for books at Scholastic and making sure I stayed within budget. I knew I wanted each child to take home at least 4 books. I was able to surpass that, giving each of the kids in grade kindergarten through fourth-grade 5-7 books each.

Here is how it worked.

I started out with books I had purchased and leftover books from an old reading series placed on a cart by grade levels.

I brought in each grade level to choose books and decorate bags.

Kindergarten and first-grade students got bags and books!

The funny thing about kindergarten and first-grade students is that they didn't really think about what they were choosing. They simply picked out books. A couple of students chose books that had puppies on it or such, but most of them simply picked up the number of books they could choose and put them in the bag.

The 2nd graders loved that I had included Fly Guy books, one they loved reading!

By third grade, I had run out of bags, so we decorated large envelopes.

A third grader searching for the perfect books!

The fourth graders really had fun choosing books!

I learned something interesting about the students as they chose books. The older students really looked at the backs and covers of the books to choose the ones they wanted. They even asked me for specific titles, which was interesting to me.

My favorite moment of all was when I delivered the bags of books. As I walked into the classrooms, each student ran up to me and grabbed their books, excited to remember what was in it.

I can't wait until next year when I see who actually read over the summer. I hope the results will show that the summer slide is lessened with these particular students. Stop by in the fall (later in September) to see the results of this little experiment. If it does, this will be an annual event with the entire school!

How do you help prevent summer slide in your school?

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Book Talk Thursday ~ Duck's Vacation

Are you ready for vacation? Today is our kids' last day of school, and most of them are ready for vacation! Who are we kidding?! We teachers are ready too! And today's Book Talk Thursday selection is all about vacation too ~ Duck's Vacation! {Affiliate links are in this post!}

In the spirit of There's a Monster at the End of this Book, which features lovable, furry, old Grover from Sesame Street, duck doesn't want us to turn the pages. The book begins as Duck is sitting comfortably on the beach.  After the reader turns the first page, Duck realizes something is going on and tells the reader to stop turning pages. Each time we do, the scenery changes; sometimes better, sometimes worse.  My daughter laughed out loud and couldn't stop turning the pages.

Can you imagine reading this with a bunch of students? They would love this book just before vacation time. Of course, some of the events are far-fetched, which would make a great discussion starter!

So, I leave you today with ideas of a fun vacation and wonderful summer! Book Talk Thursday will continue this summer. I'm hoping to get a hold of some of the Virginia Readers Choice chapter books from the library, though they are hard to get a hold of over the summer. This will be the last link up for spring. The summer link up will begin next week.

See you in the summer!


 

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

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Book Talk Thursday ~ Switched

It's summer, and I am ready for some summer reading!

This week on Book Talk Thursday I am highlighting an ultimate summer read ~ Switched by Elise Sax.

This book was perfect for some mindless reading.  Debra has been jilted at the altar by her groom Jackson.  She goes into a funk and decides to try a home switcher program before he takes the swanky apartment from her.  She goes on a trip to Mallorca with all of her clothes and $40.  Mishap upon mishap occur, making this the perfect screenplay for a cheesy romantic comedy.

I don't normally enjoy books like this one, but I had to find out what was going to happen to Debra and couldn't put it down.

Bottom line, if you want something mindless to read for the beach or summer ~ this is it!

Don't forget to link up this summer with one of your favorite books or any book you want to highlight for us!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

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Book Talk Thursday ~ Mom Made Us Write This in the Summer

I know, I know ~ summer is not here yet, but I am longing for some warmer weather today!  So, for Book Talk Thursday I am highlighting a book that was "written during the summer."

I was given a copy of the book Mom Made Us Write This In The Summer (Max and Maggie Journal) to read and review.

Max and Maggie, 10 year old twins, have to share a journal during the summer. Their mother feels that they need to do something during the summer that is productive.  After each of them writes in the journal, he or she must comment on the the other's entry and write about the topic that was started.

Throughout the summer, they write fun entries and banter along the way.   They tell stories about each other from when they were younger and about their summer at home.  Kids will love the fun pictures and handwritten comments.  It is definitely a book that both boys and girls will love ~ a great mixture to engage everyone!

Today is a super cold day here, only 2 degrees outside, according to a friend's car!  What a great day to curl up with a good summer book!

There are also more books in the series.  You can find out more about them by heading to Ali Maier's website Mom Made Us Write This.

Starting next week, Book Talk Thursday will be a linky again!  The linky will run for the entire month, and you can link up anytime.  I hope you will join me, so we can all find some fun books to read!

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Book Talk Thursday ~ Have Fun, Molly Lou Melon

Summer is here, at least for me!  My son still has a week of school left, and then vacation time!  This week's Book Talk Thursday is another book that gets kids off their electronics and on with their imaginations!

I am also linking up with Deana from Mrs. Jump's Class for her Let's Talk About Books Linky.

Molly Lou Melon has always been a favorite character of mine.  While working in the first grade classroom at the end of the year, I came across the book  Have Fun, Molly Lou Melon.

Isn't she just adorable?

Molly Lou's grandmother tells her that she didn't have a lot of toys and had to make them herself.  Molly Lou does just that as she makes her own "toys" out of things from around the house or nature.  As the days go by, she meets a new friend, Gertie.  Gertie has many hi-tech toys and invites Molly Lou over to play with them quite often.  Molly Lou always has a "better" toy to play with, such as a dollhouse in the trees or sky wide TV screen.  Gertie embraces these toys and realizes that they are much more enjoyable than those hi-tech toys she has.

This summer I know that I will hear "I'm bored!" from my son at least once, twice, a million times, but I have a plan!  We are going to find something fun to do with what we have.  There is nothing better than exploring on your own and making the best of what you have.  I remember the many snow days we had this year.  My son had played outside until he couldn't play outside anymore.  He found my daughter's dollhouse box and made some Nerf gear for the summer.  I wonder if he will actually use this!

Saw this today on Facebook through OHbaby!  This will be on my refrigerator this summer!

How do you get your kids to "beat the boredom" during the summer months?

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Book Talk Thursday ~ Dot.

My little girl loves to go to the library, and the book she picked out the other day is perfect for Book Talk Thursday this week.

She loves to browse the books on the shelf and picked out this cute book called Dot. by Randi Zuckerberg.

The book depicts a young girl, around the age of 5 or 6 who loves electronics. She loves them so much that she forgets to enjoy the world outside.  She knows how to "tweet" and "surf" on her electronics, but she spends all of her time on those.  When she goes back outside, she remembers how to "tweet" and "surf", along with many other fun things to do with her friends.

I don't think I would use this book with the younger crowd, since they really can't do many of the things that Dot does in the book.  Though it is a simple book, I would use it with students in 4th grade and up to remind them to go outside and enjoy time with their friends.

To help them with this, I created a simple activity they can take home with them to remind them of things they want to do over the summer.  The students can think of what they will do over the summer to be outside and draw or write them on their iPads.  One version has a blank screen, and the other has 4 "apps" students can draw their ideas in and write the title underneath them.  You can grab your freebie by clicking {here} or on the pictures below.

What do you do to help your students remember to get out and enjoy the summer?

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10 Things I Want to Do this Summer Linky

I always have a million things I want to do every summer and never really do those school things, so I am not even going to list them here.  Let's face it, I guess if I don't get them done, I really didn't WANT to do them.  If this list were things I need to do, that would be very different!

Thanks Deanna from Mrs. Jump's Class for this fun linky!

1.  Enjoy Disney!  We are going to Disney World this summer, and I plan to enjoy it!

2.  Enjoy time with my two munchkins.  I love hanging out with them, and I hope it doesn't rain a lot like last summer, so we can enjoy the outside.

3.  Spend time on the lake!  My parents have a place at the lake, and they are there full time now.  I want to take the kids here to have some fun!  There is a great "beach" there, so I can get some rays there too.

Zack and one of his friends on the tube

4.  Super clean the house!  I may not really want to do this, but it needs to be done for me to relax this summer.  Not sure why, but I guess I will!

5.  Save money.  As much as I hate to do it, I want to save money, so I can get the big things I want.  So, staying away from the Dollar Spot at Target is a must!

6.  Meet up with my Virginia Bloggy Friends!  I have met a few of them, but I want to meet them all!!

7.  Make time with my friends.  I am just going to have to call them more this summer!

8.  Read, read, read!  I just want to read, and I hope the weather cooperates enough to go outside and read. 

9.  Organize my files and clip art.  OK ~ I said no school related, but this isn't totally school related.  My files are a mess!!

10.  And last but not least, enjoy every minute of my summer.  Take it all in and enjoy it!

What about you?  What do you plan to do this summer?  Link up with Deanna and let us all know!

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Book Talk Thursday with Guest Blogger Melissa! July 4th Fun!

Vacation is wonderful, isn't it!  Welcome, Melissa for another day of fun!

Hi wonderful readers! It's Melissa from Don't Let the Teacher Stay Up Late! Andrea and I decided to do a little switcheroo today for...

Remember that this is a linky, and we would LOVE to have you join in! Feel free to share any book. It could be a children's book, professional development, or even just a book you're reading for pleasure (I'm hoping to do a lot of that this summer).

Before I introduce my book, can I just say a few nice things about Andrea? (And no, she's not paying me to do this). When I found out that I would be moving from 4th grade to Title I last year, I freaked a little. I mean, I had already found a few great resources for 4th grade teachers, but I had NOBODY in the blogging world that was a reading specialist. So, I actually used the search function on blogger. It's not very easy to use, but I knew these blogs had to exist and I was determined to find them. Andrea was among the few that I found, and she immediately responded to my desperate plea for help! It was just an added bonus that we're in the same state. She's SUPER sweet, and I'm so glad to be able to count her as a friend!

Okay, now for business. Since we're about a week away from July 4, I thought I would share my absolute favorite picture book.

If you haven't already seen this book, RUN to the nearest book store/library and read it! Maybe it's just me and my obsession with history, but I think it also has to do with the fact that Lane Smith is hysterical. Seriously, I don't feel complete until I read this book to every single class I work with.

The book introduces 5 of our nation's founding fathers (John Hancock, Paul Revere, George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson) as children. He takes some liberties here while throwing in facts about each. For instance, it talks about how Paul Revere was noisy because he spent too much time in the bell tower. He helped out in his family's store and was constantly yelling out orders, which was not only annoying but embarassing at times, too!

It doesn't stop at their childhood, though. Smith ties everything in about how each man used their "talents" to step up during the American Revolution.

I actually created a resource based on this book earlier this year (sorry for the shameless plug). It includes a biography sheet (that can be used with the book OR separately), character splash sheets for each of the founding fathers, and a planning sheet for creating a story about another person in history.

And just because, I am going to have this on sale (20% off) until Thursday! This is only in my TPT store, so grab it quick. Then be sure and link up with your favorite books. I can't wait to see what everyone else is reading!

Thanks, Melissa for such a great book review!  This is a fun read, and I will have to pick it up to read again!  Don't forget to link up!!

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