I WASN'T A READING SPECIALIST - I JUST KNEW I HAD TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT, PART 2 It was like deja vu, except it wasn't.I had been here before, just two years prior, as a first-grade teacher at a charter school here in KC.In my first go-round, another teacher informed me that they had differentiated reading groups. Students would go out, according to their reading levels, to different classrooms. I inherited the lowest group. They were severely struggling - and had been for a while, as there…

I WASN'T A READING SPECIALIST - I JUST WANTED MY KIDS TO EXCEL AND LOVE READING, PART 1 'Who died and made you an authority on reading?' I asked myself that a few days ago. The truth is, before I had my first child, I knew a couple of things that I wanted for him - as far as academics were concerned anyway. I wanted him to excel in school and to love reading.  Along with that, to be a good reader. Growing up, I was always…

FREE CHILDREN'S LITERACY PLANNER AND CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE FOR KIDS I can officially say that I finally finished Christmas shopping [sigh of relief] ...today, December 23, to be exact.  Let me just say that I wasn't panicked at all.  Okay, maybe just a little.  But it's one hundred percent okay that I'm later than I've ever been because the Christmas season doesn't officially end around our household until around January 15. At least, that's when the tree and decorations come down.  In he past, I've left it up…