Hello Friends! Welcome to the last stop in this hop designed to help you prevent "the summer learning slide!" On behalf of all of my teacher-author friends whose posts you've read, pinned ideas, and gathered great freebies from, I thank you from the bottom of our literacy-loving hearts! As I was brainstorming ideas about what to share with you today, I began reminiscing about my own summer reading experiences as a child.  Some of my best memories center around afternoons spent at the public library, picking out books with my Mom and younger sisters.    My favorite librarian there introduced me to the magic of Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume.  She helped me find Little Men , and Jo's Boys , after I'd read Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.  She handed me Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery with a smile and a nod saying, "I think you'll like Anne Shirley!"  She made sure that I read Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little Ho......

Happy Monday, Friends! I am just home from another purge and pack session in my classroom, and I just have to say.... I HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF! Twenty-four years of teaching, five different grade levels, six room moves, and countless decor themes later, I have been dubbed the "Queen Of Too Much Stuff" by my building custodians and colleagues.   Yep.  The time has come to move away from my pack rat tendencies and create a place for everything....and then KEEP IT THERE!  It is with this goal in mind, that I am participating in this two-part blogger link-up designed to help me reflect on the 2014-2015 school year, and work on refreshing my methods and practices for the 2015-2016 school year. Last fall I established a classroom blog that I intended to post weekly updates, photos, and resources to for parents.  As the year got underway, other priorities surfaced and my good intentions fell by the wayside.  My friend Kimberly over ......