Final Kid’s Chapter Book List 2023

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.

A 2023 Recap From HonorsGradU

2023 was an incredible year for the HonorsGradU blog. We had some amazing posts and series that have rolled out on our website, not just this year but in years past. Let’s recap our most popular posts this year based on views.

Coming in at number one is our true colors personality testing and how to use it in the classroom. This series was just one of the few that we’ve done on personality testing for the classroom, but so far it has been our most popular. Some may feel that personality testing puts them into a box, but we feel that personality testing is just another way to learn more about ourselves and can be used as a tool to understand our circumstances and thinking process better.

Our second most popular post is a great article (and one of our originals from back in 2013!) giving tips and advice on graduation day. Graduation day is such a big day, it’s not a day you’ll want to miss important things, so small things like chapstick in your pocket can make a big difference.

The third most popular post this year was my initial post about late summer birthdays and deciding whether to red-shirt kids for kindergarten, or not. This initial post led to more and more through the years as I continued to go through this decision-making process with my two older kids.

Forever one of our most popular posts: Chemical vs. Physical Changes! It can be such a tricky topic to know, let alone teach, so Mary did a great breakdown for all of us to get it all straight.

My very first personality testing series was on the Myers-Briggs personality testing and is still one of my favorite subjects to talk about. It looks like it’s also one of everyone’s favorite topics to read about on the blog, too because it was our 5th most popular post for the year. Going down the MBTI rabbit hole is worth it, in my opinion.

I am excited to see what 2024 brings for HonorsGradU. We already have some great posts and series up our sleeve, but if there is something you’d like to see here, please let us know in the comments!

School Test Scores Won’t Tell You the Important Things

We moved to a new area about a year ago. We relocated to a rural farming community of about 2,700 people. For the sake of this blog post, let’s call the town Smallville. In this community, there is one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school, and that encompasses the entire school district. 

During our period of searching for homes, I also spent time researching schools in each town and area that we were considering moving to. Of all the cities we possibly could have chosen, Smallville was last on my list because the school rankings for the district were… well… not great. In fact, they were some of the lowest. 

But lo and behold, we ended up in Smallville. With my oldest starting kindergarten just three months after moving there, I was in constant worry about what we should do for school. Should we keep her at Smallville Elementary or drive her to one of the surrounding town’s schools each day? Every passing day throughout the summer it was constantly on my mind. 

We ultimately decided to keep her at Smallville Elementary at least for her first year of school, see how the year would go, and then move her to a new school for first grade if needed. 

After her first full year of school, I was absolutely humbled. Sure, the school rankings on the Idaho State Department of Education website weren’t favorable for Smallville by any means. But do you know what the website doesn’t tell you? 

It doesn’t tell you about the principal that is outside each and every morning and afternoon, no matter the weather, helping the teachers manage school drop-off and pick-up lines. 

It doesn’t tell you about the kindergarten teachers and how every single one of them loves their students something fierce and will do anything to help the students succeed. 

It doesn’t tell you about the first-grade teachers organizing a fundraiser all on their own to help raise money for a field trip. 

The website doesn’t ever mention the school janitor that helps your daughter clean up her spilled lunch box off the floor of the cafeteria and then comforts her when she is in tears from embarrassment. 

There aren’t stats for what a community bonding experience it is to attend a high school basketball game and have everyone come together for the evening, catch up, and rally together to cheer our athletes on to victory. 

Never once did the website mentions how the superintendent, principal, and teacher would bend over backward when you make the difficult decision to pull your child from school temporarily and give distance learning a try

It doesn’t tell you about the text your child’s teacher will send you in the middle of the school day, “I noticed your child was struggling with a specific math skill, I sent home some classroom manipulatives she can work with this week to help her.” – Classroom manipulatives that the teacher surely purchased herself. 

It doesn’t tell you the important parts of the school. 

The website can show statistics of test scores all day long, but what it can never show you is what an incredible community you gain in any one specific school, or in our case, one specific school district. 

Going to school is based on academics, but that’s not our only goal at the end of their 12+ years in those hallways and classrooms. The goal is to raise good humans that know how to problem solve, interact with others, be a friend, have empathy, and more. 

I’m grateful for our little Smallville school district and I’m even more grateful that we didn’t try to send our child away from such a community-driven school, regardless of what the test scores said. 

Dear Students,

You’re walking through my doors for the start of the school year soon. You’re not the same kid you were a few months ago when you left for summer break. You’re bigger, stronger, and smarter. 

I know you may feel so small and not ready to be in this classroom, but let me tell you- you are needed here. You have a place, a desk, a seat in here. And you are more than ready to start this school year in this classroom. 

This year you’ll make new friends, meet new teachers, and explore the walls of not only our classroom but our school. You are here to make your mark and take up space, and I cannot wait to see how your school year unfolds! 

I am excited to meet you and get to know you and your heart. I cannot wait to learn more about you, what your favorites are, and how your mind learns. 

This school year we’ll not only build a classroom, but we’ll also build a family. And you are an important part of our classroom family. 

I can’t wait to see you. 

Sincerely, 

Your Teacher ❤️

Beat Spring Fever: Bring the Outdoors Inside

Spring fever is hitting hard in our town, school is out in three weeks and everyone is ready for summer vacation. One of my favorite ways to combat spring fever is to bring the outdoors inside. Flowers are blooming and the weather is nice, so naturally we gravitate toward the growth. Instead of suppressing this, why not embrace it? Here are a few ways to bring the outdoors in: 

Photo by RDNE Stock project: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-classroom-without-student-8500643/

Plant something: Have each student plant their own vegetables or flowers to grow in the classroom, or have several classroom plants that students help care for. Our kindergarten planted six different plants in cardboard egg cartons. Once they started popping through the soil, they were sent home to be planted. These individual sections can be cut apart from each other and planted directly into the ground for continued growth. 

Open the windows: This may or may not work in your particular classroom. But if you’re able, slide open the curtains, open up the windows, and let the sunshine and fresh air fill your room! 

Add potted plants: Large, potted plants that grow in your home or classroom year-round can be pulled from the corners and brought out to more loved places in the classroom. Near your reading nook would be a great place! 

Photo by Madison Inouye: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-potted-houseplants-2894950/

Create a rock garden: Are children just predisposed to collect rocks like it’s their full-time job? Or just my kids? Put that skill to use! Find an area in your classroom to create a rock garden. Paint rocks for the rock garden if the time and space allow you to! 

Hatch a Butterfly: There are different programs and companies you can go through online to order a butterfly hatching kit. How exciting is it for students to watch the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly right before their eyes?! 

Create bug habitats: Research the best habitat for a specific bug and work together to create an ideal habitat for them to live in your classroom. 

Paint bug rocks: Another way to utilize those never-ending rocks is to paint them to look like bugs and add these rock pets to your classroom. 

Make a dirt sensory bin: If sensory bins are a part of your classroom, consider adding a sensory bin full of dirt, rocks, and small shovels. Sand can also work as well. 

What have you done in your classroom to bring the outdoors inside? 

Parents Tips For Parent-Teacher Conference Season

Parent Teacher Conference season is quickly approaching along with the end of the school year, for some schools. If this doesn’t apply to you, give this article a read and then save it for next fall when you’ll inevitably want to read it again.

My first piece of advice for you is to identify if your school does Parent Teacher Conferences or if they do Student-Led Conferences. These two different types of conferences can sometimes look vastly different, so knowing what to expect going in is helpful.

An article that is helpful for Parent Teacher Conferences:

Articles that are helpful for Student Led Conferences:

Dear Future Teacher Me

Dear Future Teacher Me, 

I know it’s been a few years since you graduated with your teaching degree and received your teaching license (OKAY it’s been more than a few.) But someday you’ll find yourself back in the classroom teaching again when it feels suitable for your family. Someday you will walk through those doors to set up your own classroom instead of walking your own to theirs. 

And someday when that day comes, there are things you need to remember to carry with you that you learned during your time as a parent in the school setting instead of a teacher. 

Remember that all you ever want is what’s best for your kids. So when it feels like a parent won’t get off your back about something, remember that really all they want is what’s best for their child. 

Remember that you’re doing the best you can to support your children’s teachers, but sometimes it’s hard to be as supportive as possible because your life is busy and there’s a lot going on. So someday when you feel like you’re not getting enough support in your classroom, remember that these parents have multiple children and jobs and responsibilities. Their time to volunteer may not be right now. 

Remember that every day you send your children to school and worry immensely about their safety, but also place a lot of trust in the teachers and staff of the school to do everything they can to keep them safe. Remember this, because someday parents will be sending their kids to you and expecting the same. 

Remember that you think so highly of your kid’s teachers and are constantly impressed by what they are able to create and do in their classrooms and that someday, parents will think the same of you. 

Remember that you often forget to convey your gratitude and appreciation for your kid’s teachers and that parents will forget just the same. But that doesn’t mean the gratitude and appreciation aren’t there. 

Most of all, remember that you love your own kids, but you’ll also love your students like they are your own kids, too. Someday, you’ll make a great teacher. You may not have been teaching in a classroom for the last several years, but you’ve done your fair share of teaching with the children in your home, and that experience will carry over to your classroom someday, too. 

You’ve got this.