'Tis the season.... My house smells like balsam and cookies, and wrapping paper covers the dining room table. Aside from getting presents ready to mail far and wide, I'm up to my eyeballs in editing Christmas stories. A warm fire and illuminated Christmas tree, however, create an ambiance that makes any task pleasurable, and I'm always anxious get home so that I can curl up and read. I love the child-like creativity in each of the stories, and, although they require significant editing and much one-on-one time, they're coming along beautifully. The lessons are many:- Writing to a specific audience
- Writing a fictional narrative, with a beginning, a middle, an end, and a problem to resolve
- Writing effective dialogue
- Designing a book layout
- Illustrating a picture book
- Creating a "presentation quality" final product
- Reading our stories to the littlest members of our school community
The targeted due date for completion is Friday, so those who have progressed slowly on their stories need to get moving. That being said, it's going to be a crazy week anyway, so we will make the best use of any available class time with me to get them done. There will be no Spelling/Grammar/Vocabulary packets this week. Social Studies will take a back seat, too, I'm afraid, since schedules will be interrupted.
Besides, it's not a bad thing to slow down a bit and enjoy a good book...
I hope you all have a warm and restful evening.
Teri
P.S. Before you go, check out the post directly below this one. It's pretty amazing!
