Reading

I remember as a 3 year-old child my grandmother running to tell my mom that I could read. She couldn't believe it. My mom came in the room to see what was happening. There I was holding the book Peter Pan and saying every word, page by page...what my grandmother didn't see was that I had the book upside down. My mom laughed because Peter Pan was my favorite book and I was reciting it from memory, not reading it!
I have always enjoyed reading and have stayed up way too late many nights just to see what happens at the end of a book. I have belonged to different book clubs, and keep a list of books I want to buy next. I save favorites and re-read them, share with friends and borrow looks from the library. I love reading because it is so easy to just get lost in a good story. With reading, it is easy to try new things. I don't love history, but some of my favorite books are set in Europe years ago. Most of the books I choose are from best-seller list and I like real-ife stories.
As a parent, reading with my children is a part of everyday life. They love the library and are busy learning their letters and sounds. We read Arthur books, by Marc Brown and they love the characters and the mischief that Arthur and his friends get into. It is so fun to see them become excited by a story...I can tell when they really like a book, becasue they are so busy turning the page to see what happens next!

Community in the classroom

I think it is very important to create a community in the classroom. For there to be an environment where children feel safe, welcomed, excited, encouraged and motivated. One idea would be to have all of the students create the rules of the room. If the students suggest the ideas, it will increase their commitment to following them, and probably help them to encourage their peers to as well. Also, this will help the teacher because if the students create the rules, there will be little confusion on what is and isn't allowed. Another idea is to assign jobs...calendar person, door holder, line leader, library organizer, blackboard cleaner, desk/ chair area monitor, flag holder etc. By assigning jobs the students truly become a member of their classroom community with responsibilities. Other ideas would be to have a suggestion box, where kids can submit their ideas and likes/ dislikes about their classroom. In Walking Trees we see so many burnt out teachers. If the teachers aren’t excited and motivated, what is going to excite and motivate the students? So many of teachers were just going through the motions and never got personal with students or showed they cared. When Ralph Fletcher asked the students to write about their family or a topic that that interested them he got on their level. He showed he cared, which motivated the students to care too.

Lessons we can learn from children

As a parent, I am surrounded by four year old children. I am constantly in awe of the people they are at such a young age. Opinions, concerns, attitudes and outlooks are all developing so quickly. One of the greatest lessons I have learned from spending time with children is that you can be anything you want to be. I have watched them be moms, dads, dogs, babies, rock stars, firemen, batman etc. I've watched their carefree playing, no obstacles could get in their way. It has reminded me that we are suppose to dream big, at all ages. I learned it is never to late to decide what you want to be when you grow up.
In Walking Trees we meet so many children with lessons to teach. Kids from broken homes, different cultures and difficult backgrounds. So many of them were drawn to Ralph Fletcher, and were so willing to share their stories. It showed me that if we take the time, if we encourage, if we listen to children we can make a difference in their lives, and they can make a difference in ours.