Reflection of Blogging

This semester was the first time I was introduced to a blog. When I was first assigned to create and write on my blog, I was a bit apprehensive. I have never been good with technology, so I was worried that this assignment was going to be very challenging for me. After a few days of experimenting with my blog, I realized it was not that bad. I actually came to truly enjoy weekly blogging. I feel like my responses to the children's books I read were more interesting since they were in blog format. I felt less restrictive regarding the content of my blog since the format of the blog was less informal. The colorfulness of my blog site made me feel more free and open, and not like I was writing in a Microsoft Word document.

Furthermore, I found a lot of high quality children's books this semester that were easy for me to connect to. I was very surprised as an adult, I could relate to the books. It shows that children's books are not meant for just children anymore, anyone can find some use from them. I had a lot of fun sharing stories that were similar to the books I read. It was also fun to revisit my childhood by rereading books I read when I was younger. I overall thought the blogging assignment was an excellent idea. Blogging is something I would like to use in my future class room because it connects children with technology, while also letting them respond to literature for anyone to see. This would be a great way for my students to give positive feedback to each other as well since they could comment on each other's blogs. I hope to continue to blog on my website, and I definitely know I will continue to read children's literature.

Blue Bowl Down

Blue Bowl Down an Appalachian Rhyme by C.M. Millen is a rhyming story that would be great to read to younger elementary students. I truly think younger students would enjoy this book because it includes a lot or rhyming, and it could even be made into a song. This book includes a story about a young boy making bread with his mother before he goes to bed. He wakes up, and is able to enjoy the homemade bread they made together. I think this is a book I would use to teach the idea of the magic of baking and cooking. I think making bread is something the students would be able to be actively involved with since they would could mix and knead the dough. I think it is so special as a very young child to see the transformation of separate ingredients, then the ingredients combining to make dough, the dough expanding and rising, and then the dough baking to make a loaf of bread. A lot of times young children cannot grasp the idea of baking because it is too abstract for them; therefore, I think it would be beneficial for them to concretely see the process of baking.

Christmas Cookies Bite-Size Holiday Lessons

This children's picture book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a great book that tells a story about Christmas cookies, while also enlightening students with the definitions of many words associated with the holiday season. The one word that stuck out to me in this story was tradition. Rosenthal said an example of tradition was,"Each year at the same time we make the same cookies and wear our special matching aprons". This word stuck out to me becasue I realized I have never been apart of the Christmas tradition of making Christmas cookies with my mom becasue we do not celelbrate christmas; however, I was lucky enough to form a tradition of making Christmas cookies with a friend of mine named Nancy. Nancy is the mom of a women I used to be a caregiver for. The women's name I was the caregiver for is Janet, and she has severe and profound Cerebral Paulsy. I was there to be an extra hand for Nancy. Janet required a lot of sleep so during Christmas time when Janet was napping, Nancy would invite me to make Christmas cookies with her. We formed a tradition out of this, and every year when Janet would wake up from her nap, we would all enjoy the Christmas cookeis I prepared with Janet's mom. This is a moment in my life that will always stick out to me because it brought me closer to Janet and her mom Nancy, while I was doing something that I loved, baking.

My Daddy and Me

My Daddy and Me by Jerry Spinelli is a picture book that has brought me back to my childhood. The book is about a young puppy that is so excited for his dad to come home from work so they can spend time together. They do many things together like bake, play tag, and dance to music; however, sometimes the dad is too tired to do anything but sing his son a lullaby. When I was younger my dad many times would work the night shift as a pharmasist at Walgreens, so a few days a week he would be home when I got home from Kindergarten, while my mom was at work. I was always so excited to spend time with my dad when he was not too tired from working. Some of the best memories I can remember is when he would take me to Banochburn, Illinois to get a Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookie, and then to Erehwon Mountain Supply to try on silly hats. We would both hysterically laugh at all the animal hats he would make me try on. Even if we did not have time to go all the way to Banachburn, I can still remember my dad making me lunch and resting with him on the couch. This book is a great book to make people take a moment to appreciate their dads.

The butter Man

The Buter Man By Elizabeth Alalou and Ali Alalou is a very informative children's picture book about a Moroccan family. One of my favorite hobbies is learning about cooking and baking. This book was an excellent book to interest me with me with one of my favorite hobbies, while also educating me about the Moroccan culture. After reading this story I discovered that the village of Tamazirt was mainly a farming town, where people earned money by selling their crops. I have disocvered that Coucous is a traditional North African dish served with an assortment of vegtables and meats. I also leared the term for father, grandfather, and grandmother in Moroccan. I think this book would be a great way to teach students about another culture, while also keeping them captivated by a story that makes you appreciate what you have.

Yum Yum! What Fun!

Yum Yum! What Fun! by Mara Bergman is a children's picture book about two little kids baking with their dog, while a bunch of animals come in through the window becasue they can smell the yumminess. I am so glad I found this picture book becasue it fits perfectly with what I have been learning in one of my education classes called Methods of Reading and Language Arts at the University of Iowa. We have been focusing on teaching reading for meaning, and this book is an excellent example that could aide students in reading for meaning, and especially for primary students. One thing we learned is that repetition is a good strategy to use to help students figure out words, and look for meaning. This book has the line, "Not Katie or James or their little dog Harry" repeted on almost every page. This line will let students know what to expect. Another strategy I have learned in class is finding book with rhyming words will help students read for meaning. This book has many examples of rhyming words which I think would benefit the reader. The last strategy this book includes which I have been focusing on in class is using illustrations to read for meaning. This book does an excellent job showing each animal that is coming in throught the window; therefore, when it comes to the page wnaming all the animals, many of the students will be able to name the animals by using the illustrations as a reference. Overall, this book is an excellent resource to use when a teacher is stressing the ideda of reading for meaning, and I would definitely incorporate using this book into a mini lesson I will teach in the future.

Meet Molly An American Girl

Meet Molly An American Girl Doll by Valarie Tripp is book one from the series of American Girl Doll books for Molly. It was very interesting to read this book because I have read this book along with many others from the American Girl Doll series when I was younger. I think my interpretation of the book is very different now, compared to when I was younger. After reading Stephanie Jones book I now have been critically analyzing all children's books I read. I thought critically about this specific book and realized that this book is not the norm for a family living during World War II. The family in this book had a housekeeper even though the rest of the country were trying to save money to send to the soldiers at war. This family portrayed the dad as the breadwinner and the man who makes the final decisions for the family. Though some of these things were more prevalent in the 1940's and 1950's, I thought it would be hard for children this generation to relate to this book. On the other hand, there were some positive aspects about the book. The author included some things that were true about the history of WWII, and included information in the back of the book explaining it. She included Victory Gardens in her story which were developed during this time so they could spend less money on tin in order to send tin to the soldiers. Also, the mom in the story volunteered at the Red Cross which was also a true part of WWII that many people participated in. They would collect blood and sew clothing items to send to the soldiers over seas. Though this book may be hard for many young girls to identify with, there are some aspects of the book that are very educational and teach you about the war.