Eve Bunting Inspires

As a 4th grade teacher who teaches writing, I have come to rely on Eve Bunting. Her books always help teach so much.  I reach for Wednesday Surprise every year. And A Day's Work is one of my very favorite books.

Pirate Boy is a 2011 book. It is a very sweet book about a conversation between mother and son. Danny asks his mom some great "What if?" questions, and Mom answers with assurance and love. Mom proves to be just as creative in her replies.  Its playful and loving tone invite the reader in to an imaginative, creative world. Mom has Magic Spray!  There are pirates and sea monsters! It ends with cookies.  Julie Fortenberry illustrates the book and the pictures are just as wonderful.

I am in awe of Eve Bunting's talent. She is an inspiration to readers and writers of all ages everywhere.

(P.S. I also would love a bottle of magic spray.)

Stacks & Stacks

Stack A

I have many stacks of books around my house. I move them around regularly. I arrange them in several ways, depending on my mood. Some days I stack the books by genre (picture books, chapter books, or young adult).  Then sometimes I stack them by their location of origin or means of aquisition.  The books in Stack A above all came from B & N. I bought them the day of our read-aloud event. I had been hunting some of these titles for a very long time, so when I saw them on the shelf, I was elated!

Stack B

Stack B is also arranged by means of acquisition. I bought these at a different Barnes and Noble on a different day.

No matter where I get my books, I like having them around me.  Some that I have pictured will never be part of my classroom library. I read them to understand good writing and because I love reading books other people recommend.  

Three books from the above stacks that I will definitely share with my class:

Hound Dog True by Linda Urban

Marty McGuire by Kate Messner

Pie by Sarah Weeks

Big Nate and Friends by Lincoln Peirce

I loved all of these books and will put up a review here in the coming days. 

In the meantime, I'm off to read and wear my last cute pair of shoes for the day: my slippers. 

Barnes and Noble Event

Recently, our school held a fundraising event at Barnes and Noble.

This is a very popular book in Texas. The reindeer are Longhorns, and they come to a sod house.  Our fourth graders performed a Reader's Theater of this book. It was a hit!

I also read Christmas Magic by Lauren Thompson. It was nice for a read-aloud and seemed to bring a peaceful mood. This is a very sweet book to read during the holidays.

It came highly recommended and it didn't disappoint.

I also read my favorite picture books of 2011: I WANT MY HAT BACK by Jon Klassen. This book makes you think, entertains you, and causes you to ask questions.  The kids AND the parents enjoyed this one.  I really want to make my own red hat! 

The event was wonderful, and I was so glad to be able to participate!  Afterwards, students and I walked around the bookstore (as parents followed!), and we were able to help them pick out some good titles!  

New Shoes, New Views

Over the Thanksgiving break, I reawakened the reader in me.


Yes, I still love shoes.

I picked up this pair of gray suede boots at a great Black Friday sale, in fact.

But I have always loved books even more. Thanks to some "tweechers" and a new club I've 'joined', (The Nerdy Book Club), I have been reading more than ever. Through their eyes, I have seen how much I owe it to myself to read. I have come to see (again), how precious books are, and how much they have always meant in my life. I notice I am reading with more intent. I am reading to finish books because the story is so compelling. I am reading to be a better teacher. And, I am reading to be a better writer.

As a writer, I thought my only avenues for writing were online articles and newsletter pieces. (I have managed throughout the past couple of years to have a few things published.) When I took part in National Writing Project this past summer, I was working on my writing every day and creating pieces I didn't know I had in me! Essays and poems galore! Miraculously! Gloriously! (It's amazing what you an accomplish in the right environment with encouragement.)

But teaching elementary school has a funny way of keeping you really busy--and nurturing my own writing ability has not been on my priority list. Yes,  I write in class in my own writer's notebook with my students every day (I must model), but those pieces remained in my notebook.  I hadn't done anything with my own work because I'd been focusing completely on my students' writing. As a class, we have been working on NaNoWriMo YWP, a classroom blog, and some web 2.0 projects.

But what I've discovered -- nestled deeply under piles of lesson plans, stacks of graded papers, empy Sonic diet Coke cups, and tons of to-do lists---is my own need to write. In my back-to-school zeal, I started this second blog but hadn't done very much with it. 

I know its purpose now.  "Teaching in Cute Shoes" will be a place for ME to write. It will be a place for me to talk about books. And, ultimately, it will be a place for me to connect my own reading and writing to my teaching. Everything in my life is connected to that in some way. 

So now, I will not only show pictures of my shoes, but I will also share the books I am reading.

I know this is a really different kind of blog, and I'm not sure if it is possible. I am willing to find out! Even if I am its only reader. 

Here's my first book stack picture.  I can hardly wait to dive on in---all the while wearing a pair of cute shoes. 

Mrs. Alaniz

New Shoes! Plus, It's Friday!

I love Fridays! I especially love Friday when I am wearing new shoes.

For a while now, I have been searching for a pair of comfortable and inexpensive leopard shoes---ones that might double for cafeteria duty and the classroom carpet.

I finally found them!  Plus, they have some bling on them, too.

This week we celebrated National Day on Writing.  Did you?
My class and I wrote in the hallway using fun pens and pencils.  We read Cynthia Rylant's The Relatives Came.  I sent an email to my fellow teachers informing them of this day and its purpose. 

We had a great discussion on the national topic of "Why I Write!". 
One student said he writes because "it's like TV on paper"!

A great day!  And tomorrow is Friday!  And I will be wearing new shoes!

So Busy!

It's been a while since I've posted, but like most teachers, I have been very busy.
I am working hard to create a classroom community, develop readers and writers, utilize digital tools, and keep learning and growing as a teacher.  Whew!


Despite the demands on our time, I am determined to make our classroom a place where students create products to share (soon!) with the globe. I started slowly with Edmodo where we discuss books, and now I am using Voicethread.  We've slowly begun commenting on our classroom blog, and now we are working on writing quality posts.  Through the comments, I teach capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar!


To keep it all straight, I use my iPad and a great app called Home Routine. I can combine household tasks with school ones, and I feel great when I can mark something off! 

I will post more this week about QR codes and CAFE. 

What are you learning this week? 

More to come soon!

Time for Boots!



I finally got the chance to wear my Madden Girl boots to school!  Friday was Grandparents/Special Friends Day at our school, so it was time to put away the jeans and school shirt and dress up.  I wore a black dress and these boots and I was totally comfortable!  The heels are very good to your feet! 

What a busy, busy week!  I attended a tech training, and parent conferences started up.  Our class started book recommendations (or book 'buzzes'), and the Book Fair ended.  I spent more money on books (of course!), and we are well into our unit on the regions of Texas. Groups are creating brochures for each region and practicing their cooperation skills. I am having the students compliment one another on their group work, and it is great to see their reactions as we share the compliments in class.  My students are starting to really come together as a community, and that makes me happier than a pair of cute shoes ever could!