I am so lucky that I get to work closely with so many amazing people.  Our school is literally filled with awesome teachers who are passionate about kids and teaching- not only are they fun to be around, it also makes you want to be a better teacher.  Positivity is contagious, right?!

Last year I noticed the Grade 1/2 teacher started everyday with a story and I was immediately intrigued.  I always started my day with the regular “housekeeping” stuff like agenda’s, collecting any money or forms, and then I moved onto calendar/ circle time.  This would typically take between 45 minute to an hour at the beginning of the year- crazy hey?! Printing in those agenda’s is a real task at the beginning of Grade 1! When I asked this teacher how she enjoyed starting her day with the story it was clear she loved it.  She instantly was so excited to tell me how awesome it was- and once she explained why she did it, it was a no brainer for me.   

Every year around June I start planning and reevaluating my previous year plan.  I keep what seems to be working, and change those routines that just never became natural for me or the kids.  The start to my day was the first thing to get a makeover.  I now start my day with a story and it is by far my most favourite part of the day, let me tell you why I love it!

4 Reasons You Should Start Your Day With A Book

1.) Builds vocabulary.  When students listen to someone read aloud they are able to enjoy text they typically wouldn’t be able to read.  It allows for conversations around words they may not know.  It also allows students to understand more complex sentence structure.  Reading is probably the most effective way to expand a children’s vocabulary.  It’s as easy as this: the more words they’re exposed to the more words they’ll learn! 

2.) Late students-  there is always at least one in every bunch.  I am a strong believer in not punishing students who show up late- especially if they are under the age of 16.  They can’t drive, it’s not their fault.  I will most definitely have a friendly conversation about the importance of being on time with their parents but I NEVER make a student feel bad for being late.  I could write an entire post on this I am so passionate about it… hmmm maybe I just will! I always welcome students with a smile and a welcome them whether they’re 5 or 45 minutes late…at least they came! Wow- okay, I went off on a bit of a tangent there, sorry! Anyways, starting the day with a story allows those students who happen to show up late to just slide right in and not feel overwhelmed by work they have missed. 

3.) Reading aloud models good fluency.  My students are continually “copying” behaviors they see in and outside of school.  Some are great… and some not so much  Reading aloud to your students using expression teaches / encourages them to do the same! It is seriously adorable when I read with my students and they slowly begin to show expression when they read… I love it!!! 

4.)Fosters the love of reading!  Kids LOVE it! They seriously do.  They are constantly picking stories from the library, bringing books from home, or off our classroom bookshelf for me to read to them.  Start the day on a positive note, it really will make all the difference!  

I could seriously go on forever about why you should start your day with a story but I think you get the point! Just grab a book, and get to it! I promise you won’t regret it!!

Happy Reading!!

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The secret is GOOGLE… haha, but actually.  All you need to do is Google Willow Nominee books. The Willow Awards were created as a way to promote reading by granting a “Willow Award” to the Canadian and/or Saskatchewan book(s) voted by Saskatchewan students to be the best of those nominated in designated categories for a specific year.

The categories are as follows:

• The Shining Willow Award for books written for young readers.
• The Diamond Willow Award for titles written for upper elementary readers (grades 4-6).
• The Snow Willow Award for books for young people in grades 7 – 9.

The coolest part about the Willow Awards is that Saskatchewan kids read the books and then get to vote! They think it is absolutely the best thing ever.  In past years, our wonderful (now retired) teacher librarian, Rhonda would read one book each week and then when she was done she would allow them to vote.  She would explain that I could not vote, she could not vote, not even the Principal of our school could vote for our favourite book… it is only for KIDS!  Well, like I said before, they just think that is the coolest thing EVER!

Last year the Shining Willow Award book winner was If Kids Ruled The World by Linda Bailey, and if you follow me on Snapchat (@holly_horvath) you would know that this is one of my absolute favourites! A serious must have for any home or classroom library!

So, the next time you head to your local bookstore do a little googling before to help with your selection.  To find out the 2016 nominees click here.

Ah, there are so many good ones!!!

Happy Reading!!

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Today’s post isn’t about how I teach students to read or what programs I like to use, instead I am talking about reading incentives.  Every year my students are given a R.E.D folder (Read Every Day). This is the home reading program I use.   In the front of the duotang there are strategies we are working on, ideas for comprehension questions, as well as their incentive chart.  I love having prizes for my kids… learning to read is friggin’ hard and in my opinion they deserve it! The prizes are not given out as the students reach different reading levels, instead, they are rewarded a prize after every page they fill out (30 books).  The more they read, the bigger the prizes get!  The first is an eraser, then a pencil, then a pick from the prize bin, etc.  The last one is always a special lunch with yours truly.  The kids LOVE this!  Most students don’t earn this until the Spring as you need to read a lot of books (180 to be exact) to earn this coveted reward Because the weather is usually warming up at this point, we often head outside for a picnic.  I always provide a special treat.. the kids just think it is “totally groovy” -direct quote from a student last year.

This year, my VP registered our school for the Book It! program through Pizza Hut.  The purpose of this program is to help children develop a lifelong love of reading – awesome, right?!  The program runs from October 1st – March 31st.  Teachers set monthly classroom goals.  This can be whatever you choose…number of pages, number of minutes, how many books, etc!  Any students that reach the goal set for the month can redeem one coupon per month at any Pizza Hut restaurant for the duration of the program! How fun?! Who doesn’t love PIZZA?!

I cannot wait to introduce this program to my students!  We are starting to work on Daily 5 Read to Self very soon… perhaps reaching 2o minutes will be our first goal!

If you would like to learn more about the program or want to register your class check out their website here!

Happy Teaching y’all! Keep up the good work… you are amazing!

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