I haven’t written a “5 Things I Loved About Last Week” post in a while. I miss reflecting on the week as a whole, so I decided to try and get back into the swing of things.

1. Worm Club A couple of my students started a worm club last week. How cool is that? They are all about hunting worms, but never hurting worms. It is fun to see kids come together around their passions. Even if their passions are things like worms.

A couple of my students started a worm club last week. How cool is that? They are all about hunting worms, but never hurting worms. It is fun to see kids come together around their passions. Even if their passions are things like worms.

2. Pioneer Day

My third grade daughter’s class spent a day last week in a one-room school house. She was so excited for the day, and it did not disappoint. I’m thankful that she has a teacher that creates unforgettable moments.

3. Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race

On Friday, I finished Chris Grabenstein’s forthcoming Mr. Lemoncello book. The third book in the series. I absolutely loved it. Kids are going to be so happy jumping back into this series, and they will learn a whole lot about how failure can be a good thing.

4. Bearded Dragon

We spent pretty much all of Tuesday taking the state test. It was a looonnggg day. We finished with about 20 minutes left in the day. One of my students had his dad bring in his bearded dragon. We spent the last part of our day with the dragon, and it was awesome. The kids loved thinking about how the bearded dragon’s physical adaptations. It helped turn a long day into a good day.

5. My Readers

I love my readers. I love that hearing about the books that they are reading, and my heart sings when I think about how much they have grown this year as readers. We only have three weeks left, and that isn’t enough time for me. I’m going to miss them. They are ready for fourth grade, but I am not ready to say goodbye.

During our morning brain break, I noticed a few boys huddled together on the blacktop with a notebook between them. I went over to see what sort of awesome thing was taking place. I was so excited to hear that they started a worm club.

All the way to school yesterday and all morning my son couldn’t stop talking about all the things he is learning while researching Nebraska for his “state project”.  I love his passion for learning.

Next fall. I’m going to be moving from third grade to fifth grade. The first thing that I thought about was the books that I am going to get to read aloud to my students. The second thing that I thought about was all the great books that I’ll get to book talk.

I wrote a post asking people to share with me what books they think would make great read alouds in a fifth-grade classroom. The titles recommended were fascinating. A lot of books that I expected popped up in multiple recommendations: Wonder, Fish In A Tree, The War That Saved My Life. I was surprised to see Because Of Mr. Terupt being recommended so many times. The first thought that came to my mind was ugh, I don’t have time to read this book. That thought really bugged me. If so many people love this book that I haven’t read, why don’t I have time to give it a chance? The answer wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I think that the reason that I felt like I didn’t have time to read Because Of Mr. Terupt was because I was reading for the wrong reasons. At times I get so caught up in reading the new books everyone is talking about on Twitter and Facebook, that I forget to slow down and just read what I want to read. I’m never going to be able to read everything (typing that sentence really sucked).

I don’t want my students to ever feel like reading is a competition or a contest. If I don’t want them to look at reading that way, why in the world am I allowing myself to get look at it that way?

I’m going to read books that are potential read alouds for my fifth-grade classroom.

I’m going to read books that I think my own children might like.

I”m going to read books that I can book talk to my students.

I’m going to read books with characters that don’t look like me.

I’m going to read books that make me a better person (husband, father, leader).

I’m going to read books that make me a better teacher.

I”m going to stop feeling sorry for myself because of all the books I can’t read, and focusing my energy on all the book that I can read. 

PS-I started reading Because Of Mr. Terupt a few days ago. I’m a little more than half done. It is shaping up to be one of the best books that I have ever read. 

I’m excited to switch grades next school year. Teaching third grade the last four years has brought me tremendous joy. I have learned so much about teaching from my students, my teaching partners, and my friends online.  I am a WAY better teacher today than I was four years ago.

I’m excited to be moving from third grade to fifth grade. Whenever I think about the move, the first things I think about is reading aloud to them. I think that the books that fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade teachers read aloud to their students have the potential to be some of the most memorable books of a student’s childhood.

My summer is going to be filled with catching up on books to book talk and read aloud to my students. I’d love to know what books you think make great fifth-grade read alouds. Just leave a comment below, and I’ll add your recommendations to my ever growing to-read pile.

Thanks for your help!

I talk a little bit about the move to fifth in the video below.