Daydream with a Purpose

From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . “Visualization is daydreaming with a purpose.” – Bo Bennett I am the poster child of a visual learner.  I remember faces – not names.  I write things down to help me process and remember.  I talk with my hands to illustrate a point. (My husband says if…

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All Means All

From the desk of Hope… Several weeks ago as I checked in with my social network accounts I noticed the hash tag #ALLmeansall. This phrase caught my attention and I paused to think about the meaning of – “ALL means all”. All, as in all children?, All of what? I asked myself as I tried…

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Effective Reading Indicators

From the desk of Alice… People often ask me if their child is on track with reading and confess in a whisper, “I don’t know what to look for.”  It can be overwhelming for a parent who now has access to more “data” about their child than ever, but really are not sure if the…

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Indulging in Reading

From the desk of Alice… I recently trimmed back my social media time in the evenings to make more room for reading for pleasure.  I have a bookshelf full of books that have been on my list for a while and I decided it was time to read them or get rid of them. Last…

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Dear Teachers

From the desk of Hope… Dear Teachers, You Do Make a Difference! At times you may think the barriers are too big and the task is too large but the truth is, you have what it takes to make a difference. The size of the contribution is not what matters. We observe you daily seeking…

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Bored into Wisdom?

From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . “Those books that I have learned most from have been those which have entertained me.  No one as yet …has been bored into wisdom.”  -Erik Haugaard – author and illustrator As an early childhood teacher one of my utmost goals is to get children excited about…

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Igniting the Reader Inside You

From the desk of Keela… Everyone’s book is out there somewhere. You know, the book that ignites the reader inside of you. Some discover it at a young age, others later in life, while others may never discover it. I feel one of my responsibilities, as a teacher, is to help create life-long readers by…

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Enthusiasm + Passion = Energy

From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . “Passion is energy.  Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”  – Oprah Winfrey This month’s focus at ERG is Enthusiasm, so I traced the etymology of the word and found it comes from the Greek meaning “divine inspiration.”  Cool, huh?  I think one…

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Difference Makers

From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”  – Mahatma Gandhi I had dinner with four amazing women last evening, and as you can probably guess, the conversation revolved around teaching.  We were dissecting the characteristics exemplary educators possess.  What is it that gives them…

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Improving the Quality of Literature Circles

From the desk of Carol C. . . Do you ever feel the literature circles in your classroom could work better?  A higher level of learning taking place?  Responses from more students?  Sometimes we don’t notice the positives that are taking place in lit circles, so we aren’t able to take advantage of those aspects. …

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