I can't believe I haven't posted in almost a month. Sorry! I've been a little busy. My summer started just one week ago after all my professional development and collaboration meetings. Then I've been doing some much needed cleaning and organizing at home. Plus some shopping and spending time with the grandkids!
I don't know if you're like me but it takes me a few week to settle into summer. I'm on the go, can't sleep in, working to get all the things done on my 'saved-for-summer-project-list for at least the first 2 weeks. Then I start to RELAX and CALM down!
One thing I have been doing though, is keeping up on my blog stalking. I haven't been commenting like I should (vow to do better) but I have been reading. Deanna Jump is doing a fun linky this summer. Every Tuesday she is sharing some of her favorite books and then has a linky for others to share. If you want to find some great books you'll want to head over to her blog every Tuesday. Click Mrs. Jump's class.
The books I'm sharing are by one of my favorite authors Julia Cook. Julia was a former school counselor and teacher. She couldn't find a book to effectively teach children the differences between tattling and telling. So she decided to write her own (A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue). Now she's written over 50 books. She says, "In order to teach a child, you must enter their view of the world." I LOVE that! I think when teachers 'enter their world' they will be more successful educators.
If you haven't read some of her books, you really need to. They are great!
I read 'My Mouth is a Volcano' SEVERAL times during the year. It really helps those kiddos who blurt out all the time.
I'm sure you've had kids in your class that need to learn specific social skills like: appropriate space, sharing, confidence, paying attention, taking NO for an answer, and so on. Julia has a series called 'Best Me I Can Be' to teach children social skills. You can recommend them to parents or use them one-on-one with the child.
If you click on the books above you will link to Amazon.com for more information.
If you can't tell by now- I LOVE everything Julia Cook writes!
Happy summer reading!
