Happy New Year!

I love the first day of school, the distinctive smell of freshly waxed floors and new crayons; everything is bright and shiny.  Every profession should get to start over once a year.  Kids and teachers come back from summer vacation excited and ready to learn.  Of course the nerves are there too.  When I had my own classroom, I never slept the night before school started.  I knew these kids and I would spend 7 hours a day together for the next 10 months, and during that time I had the responsibility of making them smarter and more responsible people.  Now that I’m a reading teacher, the first day is kind of anti-climactic.  I help kindergartners get off the bus and find their classrooms.  I’m an extra pair of hands getting all the kids through the cafeteria line.  I visit the classrooms I work with and introduce myself, but the intensity of the first day is missing.  It’s the only time I miss having my own classroom. 

I have a number of friends with kindergartners starting school on September 4.  This is the most important first day of school, and the scariest for kids and parents.  What’s the best way to combat some of those nerves?  Read books about the first day of school.  The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn is a beautiful story about a little raccoon starting kindergarten.  It’s almost more for parents than kids, but if your child is a little nervous, this book is perfect.  (You’ll need to invest in heart stickers.)  Another excellent choice is Will I Have a Friend? by Miriam Cohen.  I also like The Night Before Kindergarten by Natasha Wing and the Miss Bindergarten books by Joseph Slate.

Want something funny for any age group?  There’s First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg.  Kids are always surprised at the end to find out who’s so scared of starting school.  Junie B. Jones has two first day of school books:  Junie B. Jones and the Stinky, Smelly Bus and Junie B. Jones, First Grader (At Last).  For fans of Skippyjon Jones, a silly Siamese cat who thinks he’s a Chihuahua, there’s Skippyjon Jones, Class Action.  Skippy goes to school, even though it’s only for dogs, and helps his friends deal with a bully. 

For older kids, there’s Niagara Falls or Does It?  by Hank Zipzer (yes, the Fonz).  This is the first book in the series, and it takes place on the first day of school.  They’re all funny books based on Hank’s life growing up.  One of my favorite books to start the school year is Loser by Jerry Spinelli, which follows Donald Zinkoff from his first day of kindergarten to his first day in middle school.  This is an amazing book about loving yourself no matter what. The message is perfect as kids start to grow their “big kid eyes,” and start to deal with serious bullying.  Whatever you choose to read, have a very Happy New Year!

Books about the First Day of School

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

Will I Have a Friend by Miriam Cohen

The Night Before Kindergarten by Natasha Wing

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate

Curious George’s First Day of School by H. A. Rey

Amelia Bedelia’s First Day of School by Herman Parish

Little Critter: The First Day of School by Mercer Mayor

Skippyjon Jones, Class Action by Judy Schachner

Junie B. Jones and the Stinky, Smelly Bus by Barbara Park

Junie B. Jones, First Grader (At Last) by Barbara Park

The Beast in Miss Rooney’s Room by Patricia Reilly Giff

Niagara Falls or Does It? by Hank Zipzer

Loser by Jerry Spinelli

No More Jack and Annie

If you’ve ever spoken to an elementary school kid about books, they’ve probably mentioned The Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osbourne.  If you’ve ever read one, you know that they are formulaic stories about Jack and Annie, who travel back in time in their magic tree house and learn about history.  For some reason kids love them.  After begging for book suggestions, a friend with an 8 year old told me that if her son brings home one more Jack and Annie book, she’s going to scream.  So what makes these books so popular with kids?  Well, for one thing the books are organized in chapters, and nothing makes a 2^nd grader happier than reading a chapter book.  As kids move away from picture books, they need books where the characters and the plot stay basically the same.  This helps them make meaning of longer and more difficult texts. 

Fortunately, publishers have figured this out and there are tons of series just like The Magic Tree House, some with more literary merit.  For mystery lovers, we have Cam Jansen by David A. Adler and Jigsaw Jones by James Preller.  I prefer Jigsaw; the humor is a little more sarcastic, but my students always gravitate towards Cam.  My favorite mysteries right now are the A-Z Mysteries by Ron Roy.  In these, Dink, Ruth Rose and Josh solve mysteries with alliterative titles, but there is always a red herring, so the ending is a surprise. 

If we’re sticking with time travel, I love Jon Scieszka’s Time Warp Trio series.  Joe gets a magic book from his crazy uncle for his birthday, and he and his two friends, in typical 9 year old boy fashion, don’t read the directions and end up traveling through time, very funny books. 

For good realistic fiction there’s The Polk Street Kids by Patricia Reilly Giff and Marvin Redpost by Louis Sachar (the author of Holes).  Both center around real kids dealing with real school problems.  The stories tackle bullying, learning difficulties and friendship.  I used to read Marvin Redpost: Why Pick on Me? to my 4^th graders every year.  It’s about nose picking.  But perhaps the best in this genre is the Julian series Ann Cameron.  They are beautifully written stories about a boy, his best friend, Gloria and his little brother, Huey, who get into endless trouble.  For kids on the verge of becoming independent readers, these series books are great, but they should be good reads, too. 

 

Easy Series

The Polk Street Kids by Patricia Reilly Giff

Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park

Julian by Ann Cameron

Horrible Harry

The Time Warp Trio by Jon Scieszka

A-Z Mysteries by Ron Roy

The Magic Tree House Mary Pope Osbourne

Cam Jansen by David A Adler

Jigsaw Jones by James Preller

Marvin Redpost by Louis Sachar

Secrets of Droon by Tony Abbott

Agility and Grace

I currently have two cards hanging on my fridge, and they make me smile every time I walk by.  The first is a post card from my twelve year old cousin Amber, on which she used the words agile and graceful to describe both a coyote and me.  I was not only flattered, but also impressed by her vocabulary use.  Every year, Amber and her family take a road trip, and her parents encourage the kids to write a postcard to someone everyday.  This is an absolutely brilliant idea, because it gives the kids a reason to write over the summer and helps our family keep in touch. 

The second is a thank you note from my two year old niece.  I may have gotten carried away with the number of gifts I sent for her birthday, but as her aunt and godmother, it is my job to spoil her.  My sister wrote the bulk of the note, and then Bella signed it, note the red crayon.  It may seem silly to have a toddler scribble on a card, but she’s learning that writing conveys meaning.

Writing is often overlooked in school and at home, because it’s hard; but it’s too important to ignore.  Want to make kids smarter?  Get them to write.  It’s easier said than done, unless we create authentic experiences, like the two above.  After all, why write, if no one is going to read it?  Another option is create a photo book of a vacation, party or event, and let the kids write the text.  Even kids who can’t write yet, can dictate captions for a picture.  I like Shutterfly’s format the best, but all photo sites have book options. 

Teachers also have a trick to encourage writing.  We often use books for inspiration.  Although the books are very different, Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney and A Picture of Freedom by Patricia McKissack, both encourage journal writing.  The first is laugh out loud funny, even for adults.  The second is a beautifully written book about a slave girl who teaches herself to read, and uses her skills to become a conductor on the Underground Railroad.  It ranks in my favorite books of all time, not just books for kids.  For younger readers, I like Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague.  The letters are written from a dog to his owner about the horrors of obedience school, but the pictures belie his words.  It’s also great for teaching hyperbole.  Finally, Patricia MacLachlan has a fairly new book called Word After Word After Word, that’s about a group of kids learning to share their thoughts and emotions through writing.  It’s a short easy read (appropriate for most 3^rd graders), but it made me cry.  Whether it’s thank you notes, postcards, journals, blogs, books or grocery lists, it’s just as important to encourage our kids to write as it is to get them to read.

 

Books about Writing

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

Dear America: A Picture of Freedom by Patricia McKissack

Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin

Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin

Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

Word After Word After Word by Patricia MacLachlan

My America: Our Strange New Land by Patricia Hermes

My Name is America: The Journal of James Edmond Pease by Jim Murphy

Thank You, Santa by Margaret Wild (More useful in December and January)

Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James

Anything's Better Than Nothing

It has come to my attention that sometimes kids don’t want to read.  With little kids, this is because another toy looks like more fun.  The rule of thumb is that a child’s attention span is equal to their age, so a two year old can focus for two minutes.  A ten year old can focus for ten minutes.  My philosophy is anything is better than nothing.  (I use the same philosophy for going to the gym.)  If your kid can only focus on a book for one minute, read to them for one minute.  If your fifth grader needs to take a break every ten minutes to get his reading homework done, that’s okay too. 

When we look at our adult reading habits, we find that our kids are very similar to us.  We usually have a time we like to read.  My husband reads before he goes to sleep.  I like my Saturday morning coffee on the couch with a book.  Let older kids pick the time that will work best for them.  If your child is young enough, get them in a habit now.  Read every night before bed or right after nap time.  My sister, rather brilliantly, keeps five or six books in her daughter’s toy box, so Bella thinks books are toys.    

When big kids don’t want to read, it’s usually because it’s hard.  The kids I work with have generally struggled in reading for 5 or 6 years; they’ve all but given up.  They hate reading.  I win them over slowly.  I pick books that I think they’ll enjoy, I know they can read easily, and I praise them like crazy for the smallest success.  Again I suggest we look to ourselves, when we think about motivating reluctant readers.  We don’t like to do things, we’re not good at.  The same is true for our kids, so let’s find them easy books that they like.  Comic books and magazines are great.  Graphic novels are hot right now.  My students love Baby Mouse, Daniel Boom and Bone, but there are historical graphic novels, graphic novel versions of the classics and many popular movies.  For kids that like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, not a lot of text on a page and picture support, there’s My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian.  Derek doesn’t like to read, but he likes to draw pictures, so as he narrates, he illustrates the vocabulary he uses in the margins.  If you aren’t a novel reader, then your kid might not be either.  Try non-fiction like the DK series or magazines like Sport Illustrated for Kids and World.  No matter what you read, it’s important that your child sees you reading.  Point it out whether you’re reading the newspaper, Yahoo! News, or US Weekly. 

Another great option for kids who don’t like reading, are online texts.  Technology can be very motivating, and when a book is on a computer screen or tablet it doesn’t look like a baby book.  I love www.myon.com and www.tumblebooks.com.  Before you subscribe, check with your local school and library.  Many have group subscriptions that can be used at home.  Anyone can use the Children’s Digital Library for free.  It’s a database of hundreds of children’s books, and many have been translated into other languages.  So, besides English, you can read books in Spanish, Farsi or Korean.  I even found a few Romanian books.  Hopefully, they’ll be useful someday (if all these shots and doctor’s appointments work.)

Books for Reluctant Readers

My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian

Baby Mouse by Jennifer Holm

Bone by Jeff Smith

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

Daniel Boom aka Loud Boy by D.J. Steinberg

The Dodgeball Chronicles by Frank Cammuso

Treasure Island: The Graphic Novel adapted by Hamilton Tim

Redwall: The Graphic Novel by Brian Jacques

The Sons of Liberty by Alexander Lagos

Dear Dumb Diary by Jim Benton
How Things Work by DK Publishing
Animals Nobody Loves by Seymour Simon

Of Course That Counts

I went to get my nails done today, and Lee, my manicurist, asked me for some advice.  Her mother, in Vietnam, was just diagnosed with cancer, and naturally wants to meet her grandchildren sooner rather than later.  Lee is rightly worried that taking her kindergartner and first grader out of school for a month may hurt them academically.  My advice was to take the kids to Vietnam; she’ll never forgive herself if she doesn’t, but make them read and write everyday.  Lee was so happy with my advice that she gave me a funky nail design for free. 

But how do you make a 5 and 6 year old read and write everyday?  Obviously they can’t do it independently yet, so we have to share the process of reading with these kids.  They know many letters and some words, and they understand that text has meaning.  They often make up stories to go with pictures in a book and memorize favorites.  They'll fill in the last word on a page, if we read the first two, or read a book to us after we've read it to them.  All of these activities count as reading when you're 5.

  

Beginning readers need fun and interactive experiences with books.  Look for patterned texts, books that rhyme and stories that have great picture support.  I like Have You Seen My Cat? and Do You Want to be My Friend? by Eric Carle.  The text is basically the same on each page, but the pictures tell the story.  Big Little by Leslie Patricelli and That’s Not My Puppy by Fiona Watt are great options, because only one or two words change on each page and the pictures provide the support.  Rhyming books are fun, because kids can predict the rhyming word at the end of the page.  Some simple rhyming books are My Crayons Talk by Patricia Hubbard and Bill Martin Jr.’s Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat are You Waking Up?  Dr. Seuss is always popular, but his books are often more difficult than they look, because he uses so many nonsense words.  However, they all rhyme and rhyming builds phonemic awareness, which is the ability to hear sounds in words.  It’s a prerequisite for reading.  Look for Hop on Pop and Go, Dog, Go.  If you want a book that a beginning reader can read almost independently try Oink by Arthur Geisert or Hug by Jez Alborough. These brilliant books tell a story using great pictures and only one word.  At this age our goal is to build confidence and a love of reading. 

Great Books for Beginning Readers

Oink by Arthur Geisert

Hug by Jez Alborough

Panda Bear, Panda Bear by Bill Martin Jr

Are You My Mother? by P.D, Eastman

Have You Seen My Cat by Eric Carl

Do You Want to Be My Friend? by Eric Carle

Big Little by Leslie Patricelli

Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

That’s Not My Puppy by Fiona Watt

You are My Cupcake by Joyce Wan

Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins

Mary Wore Her Red Dress by Merle Peek

We’re Going on A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

My Crayons Talk by Patricia Hubbard

Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are you Waking Up? by Bill Martin Jr

Go Dog Go by Dr. Seuss

Hop On Pop by Dr. Seuss

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

Pigeon Finds a Hotdog by Mo Willems

P.S. I made this a post script because at this age, we want reading to be more about fun than correctness.  However, if a child does stumble on a word at this age, prompt them to use the picture and think about the story.  As adults we rely heavily on the meaning of text.  We only stop and look carefully at unfamiliar words.  If there is a picture of a cat on the page, we don’t want our kids sounding it out; we want them to use the context of the story and the picture to figure it out.