Kindergartner in the house

"Take a picture of me looking awesome, Mom!"  

I love having a kindergartner.  He is SO excited for school. I used to teach kindergarten and thought all those teary parents were so silly.  It's just school.  But, yes...I cried dropping him off.  

Love this guy!

My New Book...Best Practices in Literacy Instruction

Just got this in the mail!  I'm a contributing author to chapter 16 and so excited to read what the rest of the book offers! It's a common thing for a researcher to be editor of a book and ask for submissions from contributing experts for chapter topics.  When you cite the book, you cite the authors of the chapter, then the editors.  The citation for this book is... 

Reutzel, D.R., Clark, S., & Flory, M. (2014).  Organizing for effective literacy instruction: Differentiating instruction to meet student needs. In L. Gambrell and L.M. Morrow (Eds.) Best Practices in Literacy Instruction (5 ed.). Pearson, Inc.

It's on the home page if you want to pick up a copy.  I thought it was reasonably priced.  Happy day! Time to go celebrate! 

Language Functions

Middle School Lockers

Middle school lockers are hard to decorate.  It says a lot about a person.  We had a great time stuffing brothers in my son's locker and then decorating it just right.  Gotta have candy, a couple dollars, pictures, pens, books, and a shelf at the bottom.  The girl next to us even had a mini chandelier!  

A Boy Scout's Mother

Are you the mom of a Boy Scout?  I thought I'd take a minute to say what a great organization it is.  My oldest, Carter, is one step away from being an eagle scout and he has learned so much from his camps, pow wows, and scouting activities.  There aren't many organizations that still teach a child to feel patriotic, which with my military upbringing is a big deal to me... but the Boy Scouts are one of the few that do.  

Lost and Found Present

There's nothing like forgetting that you hid a birthday present and then find it months later.  She loved it!