1. Remembering Tom Hunter
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Tom and Nellie
Salem, Oregon 1989
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Tom Hunter and friends—singing in the backyard. |
Tom Hunter, beloved husband, “best Dad in the world”, poet, wandering minstrel, song writer, visionary educator, minister and dearest friend, passed away June 20, 2008—the last day of spring. His music,
integrity, humor, and love found voice in the songs that touched so many hearts.
Tom Hunter helped us produce our first CD—Music is Magic in Developing Literacy, and was a frequent guest at our seminars and Summer Institutes. I often ended my seminars with Tom’s song, “Worthy of Our
Children” (Bits and Pieces, CD).
 May the work we do
Make the world we live in
A little more worthy of our children.Tom’s work and wisdom did make the world “A little more worthy of our children”…
To reflect on Tom’s life, view photos, send a message to his family, and help share in his work,
see:
www.tomhunterblog.blogspot.com.
The photos show a man who loved deeply, laughed heartily, and gave unselfishly. Tom’s legacy of love will live on.
My remembrances are still clouded with tears…
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2. What Do the Most Effective Kid Writing Classrooms Look Like? |
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What do the most effective Kid Writing classrooms look like?
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What do Joyful Writing-to-Read in Kindergarten classrooms look like?
Those topics are explored in the following 5-page document that I originally developed for our Salem Kindergarten Cadre. Here is my expanded version:
Most Effective Kid Writing Classrooms (7-08). It may be helpful for in-service training purposes or for personal reflection and goal setting.
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3. Excerpts from Talking, Drawing, Writing: Lessons for Our Youngest Writers |
All kindergarten teachers deserve to know this book—it expands our understanding of best early literacy practices.
Excerpts from
Talking, Drawing, Writing:
Lessons for Our Youngest Writers
by Martha Horn and Mary Ellen Giacobbe. Stenhouse 2007.
By telling stories orally, members of the class immediately become known to each other. This self-revelation helps build a climate of respect and a culture where each member is known as “one
who…” Carlos has told a story, but more than that, he has been introduced to his classmates as “the one who knows about riding his bike and his scooter.” John as the expert at Game Boy, Angelica as one who
loves to wear clothes with flowers on them. It is quite possible that some children will learn for the first time that they have something to say…
“You know boys and girls,” I say as I begin to draw a large oval covering half the page in my sketchbook, “when I was a little girl, I used to draw a circle for the head. But when I began looking more closely,
I began to see what you’re seeing, that a face is not a perfect circle like the smiley faces we see everywhere. A face is more like a long circle, which some people call an oval or egg shaped…
See:
Excerpts from Talking, Drawing, Writing
Also view the
writing displays from the original Kid Writing Classroom with information about the Award-Winning book, Kid Writing: A Systematic Approach to Phonics, Journals, and Writing Workshop. |
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4. Joyful Writing-to-Read Kindergartens: Free e-Book Download |
We have created our first free 30-page e-book for you:
Joyful Writing-to-Read Kindergartens Accelerate Literacy.
In PDF format, this features some of our favorite writing strategies from accomplished kindergarten teachers. You can print the entire book or single pages. Consider downloading parts of it in full color—the photos, “kid
writing” and children’s art are quite wonderful.
If you find this e-Book useful, please share it with your kindergarten colleagues.
We welcome your feedback at
info@nellieedge.com.
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5. Letter to New Kindergartner: Learn to Fingerspell Your Name |
August 2008
Dear Josh,
Soon it will be time for school to start. We will laugh and play and talk and dance together...
So begins a letter that you are invited to use as a springboard in creating your own “Welcome to Kindergarten” letter.
Our kindergarten colleague, Cathy Albrecht, shared this great idea after our Magic of Signing Songs training. She was delighted to see how many of her new kinders came in the first day of
kindergarten already proudly knowing how to fingerspell their name—as a result of her welcome letter.
See full-size letter.
Just in case you were wondering, I purchased this colorful paper at Office Depot.
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6. Julie Lay Writing to Read Summer/Fall Seminar Schedule |
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It is wonderful to hear teachers tell us “This is the best Kindergarten writing training in the country!”
Summer 2008 Schedule:
July 21, 2008 – Orlando, Florida
July 24, 2008 - Nashville, Tennessee
August 5, 2008 - Salem, Oregon
Download Flier:
Writing to Read in Kindergarten
Fall 2008
We are tentatively planning for the following locations:
October 24, 2008 - Cherry Hill, New Jersey
October 27, 2008 - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
November 7 and 10, 2008 - North and South Chicago
We value your feedback: Do these dates work well for you and teachers in your area?
You will notice several photos and articles from Julie Lay in our new
Joyful Writing-to-Read in Kindergarten E-book. Enjoy! |
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7. Living Room Kindergarten Cadre Workshop—July 22, 2008 |
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I am hosting a complementary Get Ready for Kindergarten Workshop, Tuesday, July 22nd 9:00am – 12:00pm at our home in South Salem, Oregon.
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How can we be as ready as possible to start a new kindergarten year?
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What are the Key Practices to have in place for the first week of school?
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How Do We Begin to Implement The Daily 5 (or Daily 4) in kindergarten?
We will dialog and practice routines that can make a powerful difference in your whole year.
Many of these strategies are from The Daily Five: Fostering Literacy Independence in the Elementary Grades (which you have hopefully all read and reread) and from my Literacy Manual: Celebrate Language and
Accelerate Literacy. It is not necessary, however, to purchase this or any materials to use these “best literacy practices” and parent involvement strategies. Many of the resources can be downloaded, free from our web
site.
This Living Room Workshop is limited to 15 teachers. Please email
info@nellieedge.com with your name, and phone number, if you definitely plan to attend. We will send you directions to our South Salem home. We will keep this very simple and informal. If possible, please carpool
with a kindergarten friend.
I will be off (and out of the office!) most of August, so this may be my best chance to connect with our Salem Kindergarten Cadre before school starts. It will also give us a chance to think about what would be most helpful as we reach
for “Excellence in Kindergarten Literacy” next year.
Smiles!
Nellie Edge |
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