RE-5130: Professional Readings and 'Seredipity'

As a new first-grade teacher (and new teacher in general) I love soaking in all I can about reading and writing instruction. As I have started this first-grade interim position, one of my biggest concerns/worries is that I will cause my students to get behind. I want to learn all I can in order to keep them ahead and learning all they can. I really enjoyed reading "The Writer's Notebook" by Ralph Fletcher. In fact, I am implementing the writer's notebook this week for the first time in my class (updates soon)! The article gave me some great insight on the usefulness of the writer's notebook and the benefits it has for students. I was not aware of just how much writer's notebooks can foster a child's ability to write and love for it. I think it's a great way to get kids writing something and enjoy it at the same time. I also thought the first chapter of Mentor Texts by Dorfman & Cappelli went along great with the article on the writer's notebook. How can we expect writers to know how to write without giving them examples of good writing. We can't do something good without a mentor. I think the more children read and are read great books, the better their writing will be.

After reading Amy Krouse Rosenthal's book, I am both intrigued and fascinated. It has been such a unique reading experience for me. It is so funny! I've caught myself laughing out loud several times. It's something I don't think I will be able to put down. I love the small details she includes in her writing. One of my favorite parts of the book so far has been her mention of 'serendipity.' For some reason, I've always heard that word but never took the time to think about serendipity in my own life. When I hear that word, I automatically think about "that place in New York with the fancy hot chocolate." But after reading Amy Krouse Rosenthal, I have been able to think about serendipitous moments in my own life as well as appreciate them so much more. I have never taken a moment to realize how magical and special serendipity can be. When moments like that happen in my life, I think about movies. It seems like movies are filled with serendipity. It makes me feel just a little extra special when I imagine my life as a movie; even if it's only for a moment, I get to feel like Meg Ryan starring alongside Tom Hanks (my biggest dream).

One of my own serendipities occurred while on vacation at the beach. It was a very spur-of-the-moment trip. We stayed in a beach-front hotel beside a fishing pier (not the classiest). One night while walking out on the pier, I saw two men walk by. "They look an awful lot like Aaron and Jeff," I thought. But there was no way my piano teacher's husband and father-in-law would be at the same beach, on the same rinky-dink pier. But guess what? It was them. And the whole family was on vacation there. So, the next morning, I took an early-morning walk with my piano teacher. On the beach. Something I never thought I would do. And it was lovely.