The Unthinkable

Just like most of you the past couple of week have been crazy here in our house. My first post back from "Christmas" was going to be all about how much fun we had, the hysterical pictures of Stella throwing a tantrum while I was trying to take pictures of her and Madison all dolled up and how we found an adorable kitten 2 days before Christmas and were able to make one little boy very happy by giving it to his family on Christmas day. Life had different plans though.

Two days after Christmas we were visiting some family members when one of my greatest fears happened. A dog owned by someone in my husband's family was allowed near Madison and it bit her. At this time I am not up for sharing all of the exact details of the incident but what I can share is that her nose was badly bitten but thankfully able to be stitched back together by a plastic surgeon.

Right now the biggest concern is that the wound may get infected. So far it is doing well but the risk is still there. If this were to happen the sutures in Madison's nose would have to be removed. The nose would have to heal on its own and she would most certainly require reconstructive surgery later on. If the wound stays healthy we are hoping scarring will be at a minimum and no future surgery will be required.

Madison is doing great. Other than being a little more sleepy than usual she is playing and acting like her normal bubbly self. Keeping her low key and protecting her nose from being bumped by Stella has proven to be a challenge but one that we are thankfully willing to take on. For as bad as the situation is Justin and I are all too aware of how much worse this could have been.

If you could please pray that our little girl's nose and spirit (which includes and absolute adoration for all critters )heal and stay healthy we would really appreciate it. Thanks so much!

An Email From Santa

At this time a year children all over the world are writing letters to Santa. Some will even receive a letter back. This is something Madison has been hoping and checking the mail for every day for a week. This year she won't be getting a letter though because she will be getting this email Madison's email from Santa!
Portable North Pole can help parents help Santa create this awesome message from him complete with their name, detail about them and a picture! Best yet it is for FREE! For those looking to tease an adult in their life you can also send a Naughty List message with more adult type material in it. For example I sent one to my brother saying that he has been naughty this year and really needs to stop cursing and listen to his wife more often! So much fun!

How Many More Days 'TIl Christmas?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Christmas Checklist

It is December 9th. Some how over a month has gone by since my last blog. More on reasons for that at another time. My current checklist looks something like this....

• Put lights on the house
• Cut down and decorate tree
• order Christmas cards
• Shop for Christmas Presents
• Play outside with no jackets on in 65 F weather

Yep that's correct it is spring like weather here in NJ just 2 1/2 weeks shy of Christmas. Not that I am complaining or anything (well maybe a little since it was too warm to kill off any bugs in our Christmas tree and now I am convinced we need to fumigate the house). I mean seriously how often do you get to have fun like this in NJ this close the Christmas?

Looks like we'll just have to save Christmas cookie baking for another day!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Just a few pictures from our Halloween. The weather was unseasonably warm but super windy. We trick-or-treated over my Justin's grandparent's house so that they could see the girls. Madison had a blast and Stella had no clue what was go on but went with the flow anyway.

Stella loved her first lollipop and when it got down to the stick she was not very willing to give it up!

The smile on Madiosn's face pretty much sums up the sugar high she was on!

DVD Winner!

Congrats to Cindy for winning my dvd giveaway!

Great Deal From Fisher Price!

Stella was recently the lucky recipient of two awesome toys from Fischer Price. She got to check out the Go Baby Go!™ Stride-to-Ride® Lion. She absolutely loves to push the lion's nose and dance along to the music. It was amazing to see how quickly she figured out what needed to be done in order to make him sing. I've been trying for a week now to catch it on video but as most of you moms with toddlers know nothing ever seems to happen when the camera is rolling! I love that this toy can convert from walker to ride on because it will last that much longer. Right now she mostly pushes/pulls the lion through the house. She occasionally tries to ride on it like her silly big sister but her legs need to be just a little longer.

The second toy that we received was the Laugh & Learn™ Learning Farm . I have to admit that I haven't taken it out yet because we are in the midst of painting just about every room in our house so a new, large toy needs to be held onto for a bit. I know this will be a toy in our home for years to come though because we still have the Laugh & Learn™ Learning Home from when Madison was a baby. These toys have so many different activities that they keep babies entertained for longer than many of the other toys scattered around our home. The Laugh & Learn™ Learning House is still in such great shape after 4 years of use that I will be donating it to a local daycare where the children there can continue to enjoy it. The age range for both the Laugh & Learn™ Learning Farm and Laugh & Learn™ Learning House is 6-36 months but now even at 4 1/2 I catch Madison playing with the house with Stella. If you are willing to spend a little extra to get a toy that will last these

definately check out the Laugh and Learn Learnign Farm and House from Fischer Price.

For a limited time Fisher Price is offering my readers a coupon $20 off a $100 purchase of Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn™ and/or Go Baby Go!™ Infant Toys on their website. Here is the link for the coupon http://clk.atdmt.com/ECH/go/178001898/direct/01/ . Be sure and act quickly though because I've heard that the coupon code has almost reached its limit and will not be availabe much longer. Happy shopping!

Where the Wild Things Are

Have you seen it yet?

If you don't know what I am talking about I am referring to the movie version of Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" that was released in theaters yesterday. I have not had a chance to take Madison yet but I don't think she will stop reminding me that her "favoritest" book is in the movies until I take her.

In the meantime I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of "Where the Wild Things Are And 5 More Stories By Maurice Sendak" from Scholastic's Storybook Treasures. This video was an instant hit in our home. Maurice Sendak's stories "Where The Wild Things Are", "Pierre", "One Was Johnny","Alligators All Around","Chicken Soup with Rice" and "In the Night Kitchen" have all been animated and given a read along function on the dvd. The dvd also comes with "Where The Wild Things Are" stickers. I don't know if it is the same in your house but in my home everything is better when it comes with stickers!

The Scholastic Storybook Treasures lone comes from Weston Woods Studios,"world-renowned for their acclaimed, unabridged film and audio adaptations of best selling children's storybooks." Each dvd is $14.95 and features at least one hour of storytime along with the read along function. The videos can be purchased at http://www.newkideo.com/. The site also features information on new releases, product reviews, activites for children and more.

Although $14.95 is a great price for these awesome videos isn't it always better to get something for free? Yep, I thought so. I have another copy of "Where the Wild Things Are...And 5 Mores Stories By Maurice Sendak" to give away.

Just comment on your favorite childhood book for a chance to win the video. For a second chance to win post about this giveaway on your blog with a link back. Just be sure to let me know if you have a link.

The winner will be randomly selected Wednesday, October 21st. Please make sure you leave me a way to contact you in case you win. Winner must live within the U.S. and must contact me within 3 days of me announcing the winner. If the winner does not contact me within 3 days I will randomly select another winner.

Good luck to all!

A New Found MeMe

I just came across this meme over at Adventures in Babywearing. It has been such a long time since I've done one of these and this one looked like fun so I've decided to play long.

It's about our children's names.
1. Do you have any cultural or religious naming traditions?
Nope no traditions. I like the boys to have at least a middle name of an older male in our family but Justin thinks they should have their own names. Good thing we haven't had any boys.
2. Did you or your partner come to the marriage with pre-selected names?
Again with the no. We both had names we have always liked but I don't think we've used any of them.
3. Did you consider the sound of the first and middle and last names together? Did this make any sad eliminations?
Yes. I loved the name Hannah (before Montana was popular) and Hailey but that would be way to many H's with our last name.
4. Did you have veto powers?
Oh yeah and they were used quite often. I mean really who names a kid Mako? Yes after the shark.
5. Did the baby naming cause arguments?
Not really but when Stella was born I think Justin realized I was not giving in on the name and just gave in. Now he admits that he didn't like it at first but loves it now and couldn't imagine her with any other name.
6. Do you think it is easier to name boys or girls?
For us we always had more boys names but never a boy to give one to. Isn't that always the way?

7. Did you eliminate names because of people from your past or present who you don’t like or because a certain image comes to mind.
Being a teacher has eliminated many names over the years. I loved the name Ayden until I head a student by that name who was quite the handful!
8. Did you / would you survey your children to get their thoughts on the name?
Unfortunately yes. Madison was origianlly going to be named Shaelynn but so many people turned up their noses that we caved and named her Madison. If I'm ever brave enough to have a third and it is a girl the name will be back on the table and I won;t be telling anyone until the baby is born!
9. Did you tell people the name or possible names before the baby was born or were they “in the vault”?
Again unfortunately yes. Several people couldn't beleive we would name a baby Stella. After all why would you want people to shout out S-T-E-L-L-A? If there is a third the name will remain in the vault!
10. Did you use baby name books?
Oh yeah. Each time the pee stick came out positive out came the baby name books!
Drumroll Please…What did you name your kids?

Madison Elizabeth
Stella Mackenzie (btw my grandmother's name was Antonia Estella (Stella for short) so she is kind of named after her but I really happened to like the name too)

I tag anyone who feels like playing along! Just let me know so I can read your post!

Yellow is yellow is yellow.

It seems that 6 months rarely go by without me getting the itch to paint a room in our house. This time around it looks like it is going to be the dining/living room's turn and more than likely the kitchen too. Our living room is due and I never really liked the kitchen color so I might as well do it all at once.
Unfortunately Justin cringes everytime I decide to paint. It is not because he ever has to paint or that our home gets turned upside down when I paint. Once I set my mind to painting it gets done very neatly and quickly. So why is it that DH can't stand me painting? Decision making. Choosing colors to me is a very slow, carefully thought out process. Once I decide on a color scheme it can still take me days to decide on the exact perfect shade/hue of any given color. The options then get taped to a wall and I slowly remove colors over several days and sometimes even weeks until I have that perfect one. This time around I think I want a yellow in the living room, a blue in the kitchen and either a grey or brown on the wall that goes between the two rooms. Oh decisions, decisions!
To Justin he would just run to Lowe's and get a gallon of yellow, a gallon of blue and a gallon of brown. He is just incapable of seeing the slight variations in the 15 yellow, 12 blue and 20 brownish/greys paint chips covering the wall. To him the 16 pack of Crayola crayons gives great variety where as for me the 120 pack just doesn't seem to have enough choices! Is this true for all men? I have heard that men see a much more limited variety of color than woman. I've never researched this statement to find if there is scientific fact to it but based on the man in my home I would go with it being true.
Who does the paint selecting and painting in your home? Do you have a method of selection? How long does it take you to decide on a color? Any paint experiences that you feel like sharing? I would love to hear.

Summer Wrap Up

Wow what a summer! Now that fall is officially here, my brother's wedding is over, Madison is back in school and I am officially unemployed (but looking) I've decided to take the time to edit our 700+ photos. Doing so has made me realize just how much fun we have had this summer as a family and given me proof that there has been good reason for my blog neglect. We have thrown a bridal shower, celebrated a very special first birthday, gone on the best vacation ever to Lake Powell, Utah, taught a certain someone learn to ride a two wheeler (with training wheels but they'll be off soon), gone fishing, to the circus and so much more! Here are just a few of my favorites that I wanted to share with you. Enjoy!

Next up for this very busy family of four? Apple picking in upstate New York, finally getting to meet new baby Jude and training for a marathon (yeah seriously a marathon and no that isn't a metaphor for something else). Stay tuned!

My Baby Brother's Wedding!

What better way to end the summer than with a wedding? Especially when that wedding is your baby brother's! Last Friday my brother became a husband when he married his beautiful bride Michelle. The wedding was awesome abd the bride and groom could not have been happier. Here are a couple of pictures from the day and not that I am biased or anything but that had the MOST ADORABLE flower girl that I have ever seen!

A Chance To Go Cloth!

I know I have been MIA for quite awhile now and there is good reason for that. This summer has been awesome and filled with non stop activity. I have lots of catching up to do and intend on getting to it shortly. For now though I just want to fill you in with a great giveaway that you have to check out.

Pacing the Panic Room is a blog that I've been reading for awhile ever since I got hooked on the Maternity Series. Seriously people you NEED to check it out. I wish I had an ounce of the creativity and skill that this guy has. Anyway over on Pacing the Panic Room they are giving away a supply of FuzziBunz cloth diapers.

I'll admit the thought of cloth diapering even six months ago scared the crap out of me and I would have never given it a second thought. Within the past couple of months I have given it much more consideration and was ready to take the plunge until my husband was like "You are gonna spend how much to get started on something the baby is gonna do what in?" Sure I tried to rationalize and show that although there is a large initial expense ultimately we would save money especially if we have a third baby and can reuse the diapers but he is just not buying the cloth diapering deal. Now if I were to say win them he would have to give in!

So what's the deal with Fuzzibunz?

• They are adjustable, one size which means I can use them on our 1 year old and eventually on our next child (no one in the making yet but I'm sure he/she will be here some day)


• They have snaps which I've heard is WAAAAAAAAY better than velcro 'cause it doesn't wear out like velcro.


• For the fashion savvy babies the colors choices are much more exciting than disposables


• They have pockets for absorbent inserts so nothing shifts to the wrong place.


• Oh and a fleece linign to help baby stay rash free!

From a disposable only mom's point of view these FuzziBunz seem like such a great way to pop my cloth diapering cherry!

Wordless Wednesday

Answers Anyone?

I was just about to begin a blog on my teary eyed nostalgic mode that I'm in and how I can't beleive my tiny little baby is about to turn one in less than three days when blood curdling screams came blaring out of Madison's room!
I rushed to see what was wrong with my 4 year old and found her standing on her bed, screaming about spiders and trying to brush off what I can only imagine are spiders that she is dreaming about.
I wish I could say this is the only time something like this has ever happened but lately it seems like she is having much more vivid dreams than usual.\
I guess I should start at the beginning. We have been trying to permanantly evict Madison from our bed for some time now but she seems to find her way in every night. SHe goes to sleep in her own bed without any problems but somehow finds her way upstairs EVERY night!

We have tried incentives bribery, discussions, you name it but nothing seems to work. There are mornings where she gets upset saying that she really wants to stay in her own bed but that the really strong fairy picks her up and carries her to our room. Um, okay. This led me to beleive that besides vivid dreams she is also sleep walking. I haven't done any research yet but I beleive it is an inherited trait because lucky for my girls both my father and I used to sleep walk when we were children. Last week my suspicions were confirmed when I heard her crying but realized the crying was coming from under my window in our driveway! That's right people Madison unlocked the front door and walked right outside. I can't even imagine what may have happened if I didn't hear her cry! Needless to say we have since installed latch locks up high until we are able to put some kind of major alarm system in our home (probably the only people more concerned with keeping people in than keeping people out).

I've tried to go through recent events to see what might be triggering these situations but I haven't pin pointed anything yet (not sure if there is something specific). Her diet hasn't changed although I plan to write down what she eats everyday to see if I can find a common theme. We have been much busier this summer than usual with company, parties and swimschool four days a week. Maybe there is a link between her dreams/sleep walking and activity level (this also interferes with her nap schedule). If I had to guess I would say that latter makes more sense but I guess only time, research and help from an expert (if this continues) will help. If anyone has any information or experience with vivid dreams and/or sleep walking your input would be appreciated. Thanks!

When A Four Year Old Goes Wild.....

with her mother's camera you may end up with pictures like this!

"Not Me" Monday!

It has been quite awhile since I have done a Not Me Monday! Heck, it has been a long time since I have posted. More to come on what has been going on at a later time and date. As the third week of summer vacation rolls around I've decided to write a Not Me post on all of the inappropriate activities that my two perfect little angls would never do. It is a good thing they don't do these things too 'cause if they did I might be just the slightest bit frazzled and completely sure that I am finished procreating!

• In a raving lunatic, crazy women tantrum Stella did not throw her LeapFrog drum out of the playpen so hard that I thought she somehow flipped herself out.
• Madison at 4 1/2 years old does not continue to sneak into our bed every night. This is not acceptable and if it were to ever happen I would most certainly bring her back to her own bed!
• Stella would never lean over the dog bowl and lap up water as if she were a dog. If she were to do this I would absolutely stop her and never just let keep up the bizarre behavior.
• Madison does not dig her finger into her belly button and then proudly announce "It smells like cheese! Wanna smell it!". That would be gross!
• Stella does not throw her food over the side of her high chair just to watch the dog come and eat it.
• Madison does not climb every tent, awning or other various polls that she finds and then swing from them like a stripper monkey leading people to comment on her unusually natural talent.
• Stella does not climb every obstacle she comes across and is always satisfied to just chill at ground level.
• Both girls ALWAYS nap for 3 hours stright at the same time to give me time to clean blog!

Oh yeah I'm so glad my kids are so perfect and do none of these things!

Hello Sarah are you out there?

I just tried to contact the winner of the Putumayo Kids cd unfortunately she did not leave me a way to contact her. Since I already announced her as the winner I'll give her days otherwise I will pick a new winner. If anyone knows her please let her know!

The Winner is...

Sorry fro the delay but real quick before I am out the door again the randomy selected winner of the Putumayo Kids cd is Sarah! Congrats! Sorry I have been MIA we have had family in from Colorado, I've been interviewing like crazy and planning a bridal shower for next weekend. Not really sure which end is up right now!

Have I Mentioned Before....

that we love Putumayo Kids? Well fyi we do! Their newest cd "European Playground" is no exception. We've listened to it no less than 10 times in the car this week which is fine with me because if I have to listen to the mixed cd I made as party favors for Madison's birthday one more time I fear that it or I may jump out of the car at dangerously fast speeds. I really think my ears may bleed if I have to hear "Happy Birthday" one more time!

In typical Putumayo kids fashion they have not only given us more great music for kids but are making teachers lives a little easier too! Be sure to check out the teacher guide that goes along with "European Playground".

Anyone really wanting a copy of this cd for themselves. Would you like it for free? If so leave a comment about why you want the cd and if your kid has a song that is on the verge of making your ears bleed like "Happy Birthday" is doing to me.

Get a second entry by blogging about this contest with a link to the post.

Entries will be excepting through midnight 6/10. The winner will be randomly selected. Make sure you have left me a way to get back to you so I can send you the cd. If the winner does not contact me within 3 days of winning I will select a new winner. Good luck to all!

Interview update....

My big interview was yesterday and I thin kit went really well!!!! As you can imagine I did not sleep at all the night before. I kept running Gasp...have a really frizzy, gross hair day!

The drive out took FOREVER! The school I interviewed at is roughly 45 miles from my house. Unfortunately it is by highway and not parkway so local traffic can get a little hairy. The trip took 1 hour and 20 minutes. Luckily I gave myself an additional 20 minutes to what I thought would be an hour drive. I made it just in time. Typically I like to have a few extra minutes to gather myself but at least I wasn't late!

The principal of the school was super friendly. He and the principal of the township's other elementary school interviewed me. I wasn't told if this was def. for a kindergarten position or if there were multiple positions so we'll see about that.

I wore a new suit that I picked up for a screamin' deal ($197 down to $38, AWESOME!) and I must have looked pretty darn good 'cause the female principal apologized for not dressing appropriately. Her school was having field day yesterday so she had on a sleeveless blouse instead of a suit. When does a principal ever apologize to a person that they are interviewing????

The questions they asked were typical. How do I collaborate with other teachers? How will I include parents in my classroom? How do I differentiate instruction? What is my classroom management philosophy?

Next came the lesson plan. This was the part that I had been stressing most. I didn't have to teach it just present it. I handed each principal a copy and as soon as I started to run through my anticipatory set the male principal said, "Wow! You nailed it. This is exactly what I was looking for". Seriously people I think the clouds parted and somewhere in the distance an angel two started singing "Alleluia"! I was ready to jump out of my seat and hug him but I thought better of that!

The female principal commented on how much she loved that I had included lesson variations for struggling and gifted students. This is a part that I had contemplated taking out but thought more information is better than not enough. Obviously it was a good thing that I left it in.
Before parting ways the male principal explained that I wouldn't hear anything this week because interviews were on going. He said that from those interviewed a select few would make it to the second tier of interviews. This will most likely be done next week because he wants the new teacher voted in by the board of education my 6/24. I could take this info two different ways.

• He tells everyone
• He told me because he is interested

I'm an optimist so I am going with the second reason!

My only concern was that the interview was only 20 minutes long. As a rule of thumb if an interview goes for less than 1/2 an hour you tanked but I have a felling it was because I was the first of a very long day of interviews and he didn't want to fall behind.

So now it is just a wait and see. If offered the position I will def. take it and try to find a quicker route to school but in the meantime I'm hoping a more local school gives me a call!

First Steps to Going Back to Work Full Time

Hello! Yep, I'm still here and really do want to get back to blogging regularly. As for now I'm just trying to get through tomorrow.

I have a job interview tomorrow. It is a little farther from home than I had originally planned on looking but it is a potential job so I'll be okay with the commute.

In the meantime if anyone feels like saying a prayer, crossing their fingers, sending some good vibes or whatever else you may do I'ld aprreciate it! Thanks and I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow!

P.S. Here is the very long, detailed lesson plan that I have decided on. Now I'm off to dust off my interviewing suit. Good night all!

Lesson Plan Title: Using mental imagery to assist with reading comprehension.
Concept / Topic To Teach: Reading comprehension strategies
Standards Addressed:
3.1.12.E.1 Assess, and apply reading strategies that are effective for a variety of texts (e.g., previewing, generating questions, visualizing, monitoring, summarizing, evaluating).
3.1.12.E.2 Use a variety of graphic organizers with various text types for memory retention and monitoring comprehension.
Goal(s): SWBAT improve reading comprehension skills through the use of the five senses.
Required Materials: black, white board or chart paper, chalk, dry erase or markers, Draw and Label Visualizations Graphic Organizer, crayons, Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, The Monster Who Ate My Peas by Danny Schnitzlein, Good Dog Carl by Alexandra Day
Anticipatory Set (Lead-In):
· Review the five senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste)
· Explain that good readers create a movie in their minds by imagining what they would be seeing, smelling, hearing, touching and tasting if they were in the story.
· Model what the class is going to be doing. Read an excerpt from Where the Wild Things Are "That very night in Max's room a forest grew and grew and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became the world all around." Describe how I use my senses to create the “movie in my mind”.
· See: a dark bedroom where trees suddenly appear, vines are creeping in through the window. They begin to grow all over the room. I look up to see the dark night sky instead of my ceiling. Stars are twinkling and the moon is shining.
· Hear: Creatures that come to life at night. Crickets chirping, owls hooting.
· Smell: The scent of wildflowers all around, freshly fallen rain in the air.
· Feel: Sleepy at first but quickly become wide awake, cool summer night air on my skin, the damp grass on my feet.
· Taste: These thoughts of the wild make me think of camping. I imagine the taste of a s’mores and roasted marshmallows.
· Draw a picture on the board or chart paper that goes along with what I am seeing. Remind students that what matters is what they see in their minds not if they are artists or not.
· Explain that we will be using our five senses to make a movie in our heads of the story we are about to read together.

Step-By-Step Procedures:
· “Without showing the cover of the book read the title The Monster Who Ate My Peas by Danny Schnitzlein.
· Read first page without looking at the pictures. “Has anyone ever been made to eat something you don’t like? The boy says he would “rather eat dirt”. What do you think dirt tastes like? If he would rather eat dirt how do you think he feels about peas?”
· Read second page. “As the boy begs and pleads what do you imagine his voice sounding like? How does the mom sound?”
· Read pages 3-4, Read page 5-6 without showing the picture. Have students describe what they think the monster looks like. “How does his breathe smell? How would you feel right now if you were the boy?” Show picture.
· Read 7-9. “How did the boy feel when he thought about his soccer ball? How did he feel when he looked at his peas? What do you think it sounded like as the monster ate up the peas?”
· Read to page 12. “The monster disappears with a “F-O-O-O-O-M”. That is the sound he makes as he disappears. Do you think he goes quickly or slowly? How did that ice cream taste? How is the boy feeling now?”
· Read13-14. “Now that the boy doesn’t have his soccer ball how does he feel? Do you think he should have eaten his peas instead?
· Read pages 15-16. “Will the boy give up his bike?”
· Read pages 17-18. “How does the boy feel now that the bike is gone?”
· Read pages 19-20 “Will the boy give up his puppy? The monster “growled” at the boy how do you think he is feeling?”
· Read page 21. “What do you think the boys face looked like when he put the first pea in his mouth? If the pea taste surprised him how do you think it tasted to him?”
· Read page 22. “Why did Ralph lick the boy? How do you think Ralph and the boy were feeling? Have you ever been made to eat a food that you didn’t think you would like but you really did?”
· Read pages 23-24. “What is happening to the monster in this picture? How do you think the monster is feeling?”
Plan For Independent Practice: This lesson would be an introduction to visualizing a story. As the year progresses students will begin to draw their visualizing sketches for each story that he/she is reading on their own.
Closure (Reflect Anticipatory Set): “Did creating the story in your mind help you understand the story more? What did you like about thinking of the book as a movie?” Discuss and share visualization sketches.
· Assessment Based On Objectives: Monitor class discussion for appropriate descriptions of what is happening in the book. Students go back to desk. Hand out “Draw and Label Visualizations” graphic organizer. Students will draw a picture of the story based on what they see in the “movie “ in their mind. Remind them of the drawing I did on “Where the Wild Things Are”. Also remind them that they do not have to be perfect artists. Depending on ability write words or a sentence on the lines under the picture either describing the picture or what they imagine hearing, smelling, feeling and tasting from the story. Score the graphic organizer on a scale from 0-2.
§ 0 = does not show comprehension of the story based on the picture drawn or what was written.
§ 1 = Shows some comprehension of the story based on either the picture drawn or what was written.
§ 2= Shows story comprehension based on what was drawn and written.

Adaptations (For Students With Learning Disabilities) Connect to prior knowledge. Do not use the complete story. Use only passages or choose a poem instead. Limit what needs to be written based on student’s ISP.
Extensions (For Gifted Students): Good Dog Carl by Alexandra Day. Read first page to the student (if necessary), explain that the mother is going out for a little while and the dog needs to care for the baby. The mother doesn’t expect the baby to do anything but sleep but the pictures will show you what really happens. Have student look through book. Have student look at the page where the baby is sitting at the stop of the laundry chute. Check to make sure that the student knows what a laundry chute is. If not explain. Student will then draw a picture showing why the dog is running down the stairs in the next picture. Depending on ability student will write words or sentence describing his/her drawing.
Possible Connections To Other Subjects:
Visualizing to assist in reading comprehension can be used in all subjects that require reading.

The Many Faces of Madison