Classroom Library

To all those teachers who headed back inside the classroom today - I hope it was a great day back with the little ones.

To all those teachers and my teacher friends who don't go back to school until January 7th - I am jealous that you are still on break.... may your days be filled with PJ's, mindless TV, and relaxation.

My first day back was actually wonderful.  I missed my kids and it was good to get back into the flow of teaching.  I love my class.  They are creative, fun, and keep me on my toes.  Have I mentioned how much they make me laugh?  The fact vs. opinion activity today did not disappoint.  Turns out my second graders know a lot of facts about turtles, bears, and whales.  And I now know I have some pretty strong opinions regarding food - specifically a strong opinion about the distaste of blue cheese salad dressing and asparagus. :o)

Call it a delayed Christmas present, but I actually got a free bookcase delivered to my classroom today.  I had requested one way back in November and was told we didn't have anymore in the building.  Turns out my administration did some searching and found a new bookcase for me!  Talk about cheap thrill - but it got me thinking about wanted to re-do my classroom library.  I started rearranging furniture right away and organizing.  I am also going to check the levels on all my books and organized them by levels in bright colorful bins that I have from Target that need a home.

During our free planning today I searched for a handy leveling tool and found one from Scholastic.  Its so handy and quick.  You can choose how you want your books leveled - by grade level, Guided Reading Levels.... etc.  I labeled 10 new books in about 5 minutes.  Game on Book Wizard.

Click on the link below for a great resource

http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/