It's Almost Summer Break!

Where did the school year go?  

It seems like yesterday we were just heading back from our last summer break!

As we head into this break, I want to share 5 things I was most grateful this year:

1. Being able to share my love of books every day with students.  Seeing their excitement when they are able to get lost in a book or read a book they thought was too hard for them!  
2. I am grateful that I work in such an amazing building with some talented teachers.  Being able to share ideas with them, laugh with them and spend time with them makes me smile.
3. Turning a non-reader into a reader melts my heart!
4. I am so happy that I tried so many new technology resources this year!  What an enhancement they made to my daily lessons.
5. I feel so lucky to work with such an amazing community of parents!

I Love Books!

I love books!  I love to read!  I love to get lost in someone else's world!  

Unfortunately, it wasn't always this way because I was not a strong reader in 1st grade compared to the other students.  However, I had an amazing teacher who didn't just push phonics on me or sight words down my throat, instead she started to lay the foundation of loving books.  Thank you Connie Merritt for reading all of those Amelia Bedelia books as they sparked my love for reading.  (Something my youngest child, Breana is also fond of reading!) 

As teachers, our number one job is to spark some type of light into our student's lives.  For me, as a Reading teacher that spark is to help my students become lifelong readers by helping them find that "just right" book which is the beginning of laying down the foundation to love books!   Each year, I am challenged with doing this and it's exciting.  As this school year wraps up and I look around my classroom as each of my students are lost in a book, I get teared up as I also helped them create that foundation.  

I am so blessed to be a teacher.  :)