Okay, I know Valentine’s Day hasn’t even happened yet. But I also know that teacher planning doesn’t happen in a day, and most teachers are looking forward at least a month in advance, if not longer!
So to all those teachers out there who are already thinking ahead to St. Patrick’s Day even though Valentine’s Day is still our main focus, here is a free printable resource for you! A fun, St. Patrick’s Day themed word search, with an answer key.
This word search is geared a little more towards 3rd grade and up, but younger grades can still be successful with help.
If you download it and use it in your classroom, let us know how it goes! And Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
The other day I spent some time in Barnes & Noble just browsing, picking up books, and flipping through pages aimlessly. It was so nice!
One section caught me a little off guard in the children’s section, a whole wall of graphic novels! My first thought was that to my knowledge, there weren’t really enough graphic novels out there for a whole wall of these books, so I explored more. There were the classics, Dog Man, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Captain Underpants. And then there were more.
The Secret Garden as a graphic novel. The Babysitter’s Club. A modern telling of Little Women as a graphic novel.
There may be some out there who have a “bah humbug” attitude about graphic novels in the hands of children, “It’s just all pictures! It’s not real reading!” they claim. But flipping through the books on the shelf, I was so excited about this new phenomenon!
First, it’s showing the world that graphic novels aren’t just for boys. When I was growing up, only boys read comic books/ graphic novels. It was such a boy thing. But now the options of books for both boys and girls are endless! Books are gender-neutral by default, but with the vast options available now, there’s certainly a book for everyone to connect with.
Graphic novels are an incredible resource for reluctant readers. The pictures do a great job of helping tell the story, leaving fewer words on the page. For struggling readers or readers with anxiety, fewer words on the page is extremely helpful. They are also smaller, bite-sized wording on a page instead of paragraph after paragraph like a chapter book. It’s so much less overwhelming and feels doable to read one speech bubble and move on to the next.
from The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat
Are graphic novels still reading though?
Oh, absolutely! Reading is reading, my friends! There are words on the page that brains are working hard to piece together and figure out. Their brains are working hard to take in the input of information between the pictures and the words on the page and create a story in their minds. It is absolutely reading!
Is there an age limit for reading graphic novels? No. Absolutely not. Reading is reading!! So if you see a high school-aged kid reading a graphic novel, celebrate the reading happening!
Graphic novels are a great resource in the reading world and I am so excited that they are gaining more and more traction as time goes on. Yay for graphic novels!
Be honest, what are your thoughts on graphic novels?
Recently I posted my 2023 book list, but these books were specifically the books I read by myself. Here’s a list of chapter books I read to my kids in 2023. For reference, my kids are 6 years old, 4 years old, and 1 year old. Obviously, the listening levels of the three different ages were not all the same. But learning a love for reading is more important than actually knowing the storyline at this age!
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
This was our first chapter book read together and of course, I bawled my eyes out at the end. I always do.
Stuart Little by E. B. White
We decided to keep up with the classics, you cannot go wrong with two E. B. White books in a row! This book was a fun read and we enjoyed comparing the book and the movie!
Matilda by Roald Dahl
I won’t lie, this book mostly went over my kid’s heads. It was a little too advanced for their ages and the British English took a lot of explaining. But we’ve been very into Matilda the Musical at our house, so it was fun to read the book and the background context of knowing the movie well made it a little easier for them to understand. It’s on our list to read together again a few years from now when they can understand it better!
Luna’s Rescue by Erica Richardson
I cannot sing this book enough praise! It was the perfect academic level for a read-aloud given my kid’s ages, and the storyline had us all hooked! There is a second book in the series and it’s on our list to read in 2024 because we are dying to know what happens to Luna’s friend, Hoover.
Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows
Starting the Ivy and Bean series was a great choice for us. There are a lot of books in this series and Ivy and Bean are fun kids to read about. Again, another book that led to more books added to our “To Be Read” list.
The True Gift by Patricia MacLachlan
I was on a mission to find a Christmas/winter-themed book for the Christmas season that was age and developmentally appropriate for the ages of my kids. There are SO many good kid’s Christmas chapter books out there, but I needed something simple. This book was the ticket, it checked all of the boxes perfectly and was a cute story. I can see us reading this book together again next Christmas season.
My final number for books read in 2023 came in at 58 books. I always set a goal to read 50 books in a year, so accomplishing 58 felt great! Here is my list of books read. Please note that not all of these books will be appropriate for everyone. Please do your research on whether a book is right for you or not. Please also feel free to comment to ask about any particular book, I’d love to chat about it and give insight.
Key:
👂🏼 Audiobook 📕 Physical book 📘 eReader
Title
Author
1
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Jenny Han
👂🏼
2
Crying in H Mart
Michelle Zauner
👂🏼
3
The Case of the Missing Marquess
Nancy Springer
👂🏼
4
The Hotel Nantucket
Elin Hilderbrand
👂🏼
5
The Last Chance Library
Freya Sampson
👂🏼
6
House of Gold
Natasha Solomons
📕
7
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas
📕👂🏼
8
Hiroshima Diary
Michihiko Hachiya
👂🏼
9
It Ends With Us
Colleen Hoover
👂🏼
10
Thank You For Listening
Julia Whelan
👂🏼
11
Mad Honey
Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
👂🏼
12
Hitchhikers
Bernard Poduska
📕
13
Beach Read
Emily Henry
📕
14
A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem
Manda Collins
👂🏼
15
Edenbrooke
Julianne Donaldson
📕
16
The Beach Club
Elin Hilderbrand
👂🏼
17
Maybe Someday
Colleen Hoover
📕
18
Maybe Not
Colleen Hoover
📕
19
A Corner of the Universe
Ann M. Martin
👂🏼
20
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
J. K. Rowling
👂🏼
21
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Heather Morris
👂🏼
22
It Starts With Us
Colleen Hoover
👂🏼
23
Maybe Now
Colleen Hoover
📕
24
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
J.K. Rowling
👂🏼
25
We Were Dreamers
Simu Liu
👂🏼
26
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Gabrielle Zevin
📕
27
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
J. K. Rowling
👂🏼
28
Enders Shadow
Orson Scott Card
📕👂🏼
29
We Were Liars
E. Lockhart
📕
30
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
Abbi Waxman
👂🏼
31
The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving
Johnathan Evison
👂🏼
32
Turtles All The Way Down
John Green
📘
33
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
J. K. Rowling
👂🏼
34
The Unhoneymooners
Christina Lauren
📕
35
Britt Marie Was Here
Fredrick Backman
👂🏼
36
Hello Beautiful
Ann Napolitano
📕👂🏼
37
Beneath a Scarlet Sky
Mark Sullivan
📕
38
A Place to Hang the Moon
Kate Albus
👂🏼
39
The Rent Collector
Cameron Wright
👂🏼
40
This is Your Life, Harriet Chance!
Johnathan Evison
📕
41
The Last Thing He Told Me
Laura Dave
📕
42
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Suzanne Collins
👂🏼
43
Good Man, Dalton
Karen McQuestion
📕
44
The Measure
Nikki Erlick
👂🏼
45
The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
Laurie Gilmore
📕
46
Demon Copperhead
Barbara Kingsolver
👂🏼
47
One For the Murphy’s
Lynda Mullaly Hunt
👂🏼
48
Tokyo Ever After
Emiko Jean
👂🏼
49
Forever, Interrupted
Taylor Jenkins Reid
👂🏼
50
Tokyo Dreaming
Emiko Jean
👂🏼
51
The Mostly Invisible Boy
A. J. Vanderhorst
📕
52
Counting the Cost
Jill Duggar
👂🏼
53
The Cheat Sheet
Sarah Adams
👂🏼
54
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Jennifer E. Smith
👂🏼
55
Resting Scrooge Face
Meghan Quinn
📘
56
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng
📘
57
A Return to Christmas
Chris Heimerringer
📘
58
Found in a Bookshop
Stephanie Butland
📘
I cannot wait to see what 2024 has in store for my reading journey! What books would you recommend I add to my reading list for the year?
Valentine’s Day is coming up, which means class parties for all ages are coming up, too!
Does anyone else dread trying to plan an activity to do with your class on a sugar-high day? Or is it just me? Whether you’re a teacher, para, or class parent, here’s a fun, cute, FREE printable that you can use in your classroom or send home with students! It’s also a great addition to libraries and school offices for handouts.
The word search is on the easier side, so ideal for those younger to mid-grades. There is also a color version and black & white version for ease of printing.
Feel free to print out what you need and share this free resource with friends as well. Tell us below in the comments how it went with your students!
In the states of Utah and Idaho, many schools are making the shift from half-day kindergarten to all-day kindergarten. Why is this? Does this have to do with the push to get kids academically advanced at a young age? Is it because studies are showing it’s better? Some families currently have the option to choose if they want their child in half-day or all-day kindergarten. Here are some of the pros and cons of both. Some are pulled from research, some are my own opinion, and some are the opinions of close friends who have recently put their children through either full or half-day kindergarten.
Half day kindergarten:
Pros: More time at home with family (if applicable). Less time at a desk and more time playing at home or daycare. A transition year to full-day school. Typically smaller classes. A better schedule for kids who are not emotionally ready to be away from home all day.
Cons: It Can be hard to manage childcare because of the pick-up/drop-off times in the middle of the day. Academics can be pushed harder and faster because of the shorter amount of time in school. Not enough time for social interaction for some kids.
Full day kindergarten:
Pros: A consistent schedule can be helpful for some students. Childcare arrangements are easier for working parents. More time in the day for academics, so recess and free time are more likely to happen.
Cons: Can be a long day for students to be at school all day. Can be a hard transition to do full-day school at a young age. Typically larger class sizes. Can be hard for kids that are not emotionally ready to be away from home all day.
In my opinion, I’m team all-day kindergarten. Which surprised me, I didn’t think I would be! But the consistency of the schedule, the extra time for recess and free time in their day, and how well my daughter seemed to transition to all-day school made it an easy win for us. And in my opinion, they have to make the transition to all-day school at some point and the transition is hard, no matter the age. However, each situation isn’t and won’t be the same for each family and child.
It was also interesting to me to see insights from families that live in a culture where both parents work versus having a stay-at-home parent. When both parents are working full time, they comment that the year their kindergartener had half-day school was harder on the child and the family because the child was used to being in daycare full time and the half-day kindergarten threw off their schedule for a year.
Families with at least one stay-at-home parent commented that the transition to all-day kindergarten was harder for both the parent and the child. However, they also said that the transition to first grade was seamless and fairly easy after a year of full-day kindergarten.
Remember that if you are currently trying to choose between full-day andhalf-day kindergarten, you’re making a decision for your child and your whole family. It needs to be a mutual benefit for everyone involved. And whatever decision you make- it’s the right one. There’s no “one size fits all” in the academic world and whether you choose full-day or half-day kindergarten, you will find situations that you don’t love and you will find situations where your child is thriving.
What are your thoughts on all-day vs half-day kinder?
When choosing a scholarship winner, we are always looking for projects that have ways in place to impact communities for years to come, not just once. So it excites us when we see our scholarship winners continue to do amazing things with what they are working on, long after the scholarship money has been awarded.
A 2023 scholarship winner, Gitanjali Rao, has recently let us know that she is being awarded today with a Beloved Community Award for Technological Innovation for the same work that she submitted for her scholarship application.
“The Beloved Community Awards is one of the marquee events of The King Center’s week-long annual King holiday experience. The awards recognize national and international individuals and organizations that exemplify excellence in leadership, pursuit of social justice, and commitment to creating the Beloved Community in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King.” –www.handsonatlanta.org
Gitanjali is an amazing student who is always working hard and finding more ways to serve, learn, and research. We are so proud of her and all of her amazing achievements! A big congratulations to you today, Gitanjali!
