Book Review: The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters

For "At the Post Office" week, I read this book to my toddler classroom. It was a bit over their heads but they loved it anyway. The story was more appropriate for them as the illustration captivated them. They also loved the fact that there were letters in all the envelopes. Only a couple of the children cared to listen to the letters and soon lost interest, but when I read the story without the letters, they were able to make it to the end of the book. =) The story basically follows a postman as he delivers mail and packages to different people in the town. He also has a cup a tea at everyone's home that he delivered to. I personally liked the letters and think older children (Pre-K) would enjoy the letters and the humor in them. I give this book 3.5 stars! (only because it is better suited for a Pre-K classroom and not a toddler classroom)

At the Post Office

This week, we learned all about the post office. We looked at pictures of mail rooms, postal clerks, mailboxes, mail truck and more. The children made mailbox collages, colored letters and envelopes, and colored a picture of a postman. =) I even made a cardboard box covered with blue construction paper to look like a mail box. We stuffed their "letters" in the envelopes and pretended to mail their letters in the mailbox. The children really enjoyed stuffing the mailbox and then emptying it again so they could do it all over again! :D

To raise a reader.....

1.Read aloud every day to your child.

2. Be a reader yourself. Children learn from what they see.

3. Make reading a special time; get excited about the new books and illustrators that are out there.

4. Find special author’s to follow whose work you both like.

5. Go to the library, book store or start a book club/swap for children your child’s age.

taken from http://classroomtalk.com/

At the end of the day....

It's funny, no matter how hard a day was, how stressful a situation was or how difficult the children may have been, at the end of the day, when they are all tired and want to cuddle in a teacher's lap, they are at their sweetest cuteness!! :D The room is quieter, the children are calmer (with an exception of a few,) and the room seems more open for them to find a spot to call their own. Well, today was one of those days.

We are in our second week of transition and the children are still getting use to their new classroom, teachers, classmates and new routines. A few did a lot of crying, a few took short naps, a few got into trouble with their classmates and the rest had just way too much energy! But around 4:30pm, numbers dropped and each remaining child grabbed a book and came and sat next to me to read. We read one book, "This is my car," that kept them entertained for a good 10 minutes!!! They also took turns sitting in my lap. :D As soon as one child got up, another took up residence.

Quote of the Day: Speak kind words.......

~Speak kind words, and you will hear kind echos~

What is your child reading today?

The 2010 Summer Read-a-Thon is here! check out the reading list & guidelines for more details at http://bit.ly/cCLE9t