It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 2/24/13

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Last Week's Book Adventures:

Jen Says: Peanut and I finished reading The Quirks by Erin Soderberg last week. It was super cute and he loved deciding which quick he would like to have (invisibility like Finn!). I finished listening to Something Like Fate and have been reading more of The Shadow Throne. 

Reviewed Last Week:

 

Click on any picture above to go read my review/post.

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

Jen Says: I'm going to continue reading The Shadow Throne and then have some professional reading I hope to focus on. I'm going to listen to the book Quiet again after doing another behavior style quiz at work. I know I'm a total extrovert and am constantly/still working at supporting people who might be introverts so I feel like a reread is in order!

This Week's Reviews:

Check back throughout the week to read these reviews/posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and don't forget to check out other blogs to see what they are reading!

To help build our community and support other bloggers, 

we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you. 

Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

Non-Fiction Picture Book 10 x 10 2014!

Non-Fiction Picture Book Wednesday

Non-Fiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Alyson at Kid Lit Frenzy but today is also NF PB 10 x 10 hosted by Cathy Mere from Reflect and Refine, Mandy Robek from Enjoy and Embrace Learning and Julie Balen from Write at the Edge! All posts will be linked up at Write at the Edge and then moved over to the jog later in the week! I'm always on the lookout for great non-fiction picture books so I can't wait to check these out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

What books are on your list of 10 non-fiction picture books you can't live without?

The One With Brains At Work #slice2014

Every Tuesday, I participate in the Slice of Life challenge at Two Writing Teachers. If you want to participate, you can link up at their Slice of Life Story Post on Tuesdays or you can just head on over there to check out other people's stories. For more information on what a Slice of Life post is about, you can go here. 

*          *          *

A couple of weeks ago, our Early Childhood Director presented to a group of administrators. She shared the importance of play and how exploring and playing build executive functioning in the brain. It seems like more and more, schools and parents push kids to start to read and write and count earlier. She explained how important it is for kids to develop their executive function to be able to sit still and focus later in their lives. If we don't let them play, discover and explore when they are young, it impacts them later in life when they tackle more academic learning.

The above pyramid of learning is from the Singapore Brain Development Centre. It shows how learning begins in the central nervous system, the base of the pyramid. Each level above the central nervous system must properly integrate with the previous level or levels in order for a child to be able to move on to the next level. Ultimately, the goal is to reach the highest level of the pyramid at the cognitive level of functioning. If students have garnered the lower levels of the pyramid, then they will be able to attend to the tasks of daily living and learning. For kids who haven't fully developed their executive function, maintaining focus is difficult. The video below explains more about executive function. It's interesting to think about students who have been labelled with ADD or ADHD or just those who seem restless in school. Do they come from home lives or early childhood experiences that valued play and fostered the development of executive function.

My husband is a PE teacher so we are super conscious of movement in our house. He loves to keep the kids active and find activities that get them moving and their blood pumping. After learning more about executive function, I pulled out the paints at our house. It's easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of everyday life and everything that needs to be accomplished at home and at school. I was so thankful for this reminder that taking time to dance, jump, draw, paint, act out stories and pretend are super important.

When we paint, we usually get pretty messy! Skin is way easier to clean than clothes so they boys go shirtless and we let them loose. Like I said, it had been a while since we had done any painting so it was great fun. I'm so happy for little reminders that it feels amazing to play and unwind but that it's also so imperative to child development.   

How have you taken time to let kids play lately?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 2/17/14

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Last Week's Book Adventures:

Jen Says: I finished books! Hooray! I finished listening to David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. I enjoyed it but it got a little disconnected for me towards the end. I also finished Gae Polisner's The Summer of Letting Go and it is wonderful. Whether you have read and are a fan of The Pull of Gravity or not, I definitely recommend The Summer of Letting Go. It'll be out in March so add it to your GoodReads! Peanut and I have been reading The Quirks by Erin Soderberg and we are almost done. Two more chapters and we have had so much fun with it. I also started listening to Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti. 

Reviewed Last Week:
Um...major fail. I got no posts up! I promise to be better this week..it's just been craziness around here!

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

Jen Says: I'm reading The Shadow Throne by Jennifer Nielsen and will and keep listening to Something Like Fast and we'll be finishing up The Quirks. 

This Week's Reviews:

Check back throughout the week to read these reviews/posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and don't forget to check out other blogs to see what they are reading!

To help build our community and support other bloggers, 

we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you. 

Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 2/10/14

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

World Read Aloud Day Update:

Matthew Winner from The Busy Librarian is organizing The World Read Aloud Day "Raising Our Voices" Blogging Challenge. It begins today, February 10th, and will go through March 9th. If you want to join in on the challenge, write a post in response to the weekly prompt or question as we count down to World Read Aloud Day. I'll be sharing my post later this week but today I have a party planning update! Every party needs guests, so I always start by creating invitations. We're keeping it small and only inviting three families to join us but I know it'll be fun. These will probably go out next week!

Last Week's Book Adventures:

Jen Says: Last week I finished listening to I Am Malala and started listening to David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. I've really enjoyed all of his books and this one is engaging and thought-provoking as well. Peanut and I are still reading The Quirks and having a lot of fun with it! And I'm still savoring The Summer of Letting Go but I'm sure I'll finish it this week!

Reviewed Last Week:

Click on any picture above to go read my review/post.

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

Jen Says: I'll keep listening to David and Goliath and reading The Summer of Letting Go. I got a copy of Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before in the mail recently and I'm hoping I'll get to dive into that this week, too!

This Week's Reviews:

Check back throughout the week to read these reviews/posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and don't forget to check out other blogs to see what they are reading!

To help build our community and support other bloggers, 

we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you. 

Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!