Three-and-a-half years ago, I retired from teaching. I am enjoying my retirement very much. My husband and I love getting up each morning and “setting our own agenda,” as I have said numerous times on this blog. But there are days when I miss (very much!) my students and colleagues and the world of my classroom. Reading together was the most joyous part of my teaching experience, so I’d like to share with you this post I wrote in November 2012 about the reading we were sharing and loving in my 2nd Grade classroom.
FALL SHARED READING
Our Reading Rug…where we sit to share all these wonderful books.
When I say that I haven’t been reading very much recently, it’s not exactly true. My own reading has slowed down for many reasons, but I am still reading every day and going through books like crazy! Here’s why…
This is my 27th year of teaching, and this year I have the world’s sweetest class of Second Graders. They love to read and love listening to stories, so we are compiling quite a list of books shared (our Read Aloud books). We have a Read Aloud time every morning after recess, and it’s amazing how many books you can read in just 20-30 minutes a day! Here’s our list of the books we have shared during our Read Aloud time on our Reading Rug so far this year:
- Strega Nona, by Tomie dePaola
- Strega Nona: Her Story, by Tomie dePaola
- Big Anthony: His Story, by Tomie dePaola
- Strega Nona’s Magic Lessons, by Tomie dePaola
- Big Anthony and the Magic Ring, by Tomie dePaola
- Strega Nona Meets Her Match, by Tomie dePaola
- Strega Nona Takes a Vacation, by Tomie dePaola
- Strega Nona’s Harvest, by Tomie dePaola
- The Sunflower House, by Eve Bunting
- Tomie dePaola, by Eric Braun
- Mercy Watson to the Rescue, by Kate DiCamillo
- Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride, by Kate DiCamillo
- Akimbo and the Elephants, by Alexander McCall Smith
- Owl Moon, by Jane Yolen
- Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White
- Blueberries For Sal, by Robert McCloskey
- Squanto and the Pilgrims, by A.M. Anderson
- Room on the Broom, by Julia Donaldson (Thanks, Mrs. Lux, for reading this to us at our Halloween party!)
- Gooney Bird Greene, by Lois Lowry
- Catwings, by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Catwings Return, by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings, by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Jane on her Own: A Catwings Tale, by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Currently reading: Helen Keller, by Margaret Davidson
A Fondness For Reading 
Looks like you folks had lots of fun reading together! I had no idea there were that many sequels to Catwings.
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Kelly, my kiddos LOVED the Catwings books and wished there were even more of them!
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Have you ever considered volunteering at your local library? Or a hospital? I’ll bet you’d have fun reading to children at either of those locations. Maybe just once or twice a month, so it doesn’t interfere with your retirement freedom. 🙂
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