As I perused Facebook today, I came across this visual that the C.E. Weldon Public Library posted to celebrate National Pie Day!  How perfect is this?

Reading certainly feeds your child's brain, so has your child has his/her serving of (pie) reading aloud today?

I have lived in Martin for 5.5 years and have certainly seen Weldon Library transform...they have a Facebook page, they facilitate painting events, support children events, and are certainly making a difference engaging the community.  
Check out their website: Weldon Library

*NOTE:  The city is currently raising funds to build a new library.  In their words, 

"Imagine opening the doors to a 21st century library that will connect a lively community to downtown and become the heart of Martin."

The city has secured $5.5 million dollars through a USDA-Rural Development loan and established the Martin Public Library Foundation to raise the remaining $1.5M from private donors. To date individuals and companies in the community have pledged over $949K to the library. They are nearly $550K away from being fully funded.

Click here to donate and make this library a reality: Donate Here

A library is an integral part of a community: 

• supports literacy
• gathering place
• provides meeting spaces
• access
• safe space

For more information, click on this site (American Library Association): ALA

What a perfect night to share this poem:  Snowball by Shel Silverstein.

Today's rain has turned into snow...our first snow of 2019!  The first snow is always so beautiful, but after that, I'm ready for winter to be over and spring to bloom.  

Being from southwest Florida, winter has always been my least favorite season.  I find that there are too many gray, cold days.  In fact, the moment I return home from work, I quickly change into my comfortable, flannel pajamas and I am in for the night.  My little buddy, Isabella is a fair weather baby as well.  She does not like having to go out into the cold; she's much happier when it's warm & sunny! 

Silverstein's poem makes me think of my daughter!  She and I were visiting my parents in Chesterfield, MO and it snowed!  It was the first time Bianca had seen snow.  She was so excited, she asked for a jar to put it in so she could take it back to her daddy in FL.  Needless to say, it melted, much like the snowball in Silverstein's poem. Yes...I have made a text to self connection!  What is your connection to this text?

Well Said

Author, Neil Gaiman says it very well in this statement and my favorite word is OBLIGATION.  

Dictionary.com defines obligation as: something by which a person is bound or obliges to do certain things, and which arises out of a sense of duty or results from custom, law, etc. 

As a teacher, I believe that we have an obligation to read aloud (everyday) to our students.  We need to model good reading, introduce them to good books, and encourage them to read.  

As a parent, I always believed it was important to read to my daughter.  I believed in the importance of creating a print-rich home...we had books everywhere and we read aloud often.  Today, she is an avid reader and I like to think that I may have influenced that habit!  One of my most favorite reading memories is actually a time when she read aloud to me!  We had visited Wake Forest Law School and had a long drive back home, so as I drove, she read 250 pages of Divergent!  I had an experience much better than an audio book...I had a live reader, who paused, encouraged discussion, and provided me a drive of a lifetime!  

The Mere Sight of a Book

For me, the mere sight of a book makes me happy.  I love the look, the smell, the turn of the pages, the story it tells, but most of all, the places it takes me!
I have always been an avid reader; I loved reading throughout my childhood and adulthood.  I wish I had more time to spend reading...but each semester starts and grading, meetings, state reports, and more...take over and leave me with little time to do one of my most favorite things: R E A D
It is my hope for 2019...to make time for myself to read!

Cultivating Literacy

Cultivating Literacy:

1.) Read Aloud

2.) Find the right book

3.) Pleasure not punishment

4.) Cultivate curiosity

5.) Live a reader's life

6.) Share reading

7.) Text in tech

8.) Create a print-rich environment

9.) Love not level

10.) Connect and collaborate

**Note:  #1 is really #1 

Reading aloud is such an integral part of reading development. Whether you are a parent, teacher, neighbor, or friend...read aloud to someone today!

When we remove librarians from school, we send the message that books and your reading choices don't matter.

Libraries matter
Librarians matter
Reading matters

It is just that simple.  

These wonderful words said by one of my favorite award winning authors, Laurie Halse Anderson.  Here are just a few of my favorite books that Anderson has written:  Speak, Wintergirls, Twisted, Prom, Fever, Thank You, Sarah!  

For more information about Anderson, be sure to visit her site: http://madwomanintheforest.com