Kelly Anderson Blog 4 Literary Attractions

Where do you read? Do you read in the rocking chair on the front porch, on the squishy couch in the sunroom? What about under a blanket in the recliner, in the bed right before you drift off? I read in all of these places!  A few places I don't like to read: standing up...sitting at my desk, in the car (sick!), or believe it or not, by the pool (it is too bright, I'd rather people watch, swim, talk, or listen to music).

Where do your students like to read?

When I first came to WHES and Dr. Pridgen showed me around to my new classroom I remember seeing the classroom that would be mine, and it had this weird PVC pipe thing hanging from the ceiling. I was new the the teaching game and didn't want to step on toes or know the rules about decorating my classroom so of course I had to ask, "what is that?" and "can I take it down?" But after  I found out what it was and what it had been used for immediately it sparked creativity in me and I went home to my "carpenter/plumber/construction worker/electrician/farmer/sausage maker/do it all yourself or find out how" dad who with pencil and Steno pad sat down and started sketching the beginnings of the most "ballin'" reading center we could ever have thought of.

This reading center was dual purpose: it had cubbies, a place to store text books and lunch boxes, it was splinter proof, it was a window frame, had a stair, hand made pillows, and a giant teddy bear named "Joe". but it wasn't complete without an assortment of children's books all stamped with my name on the inside cover.

I was so proud! I couldn't wait for my students to walk in the first day, grab a book, and get cozy, and they did not disappoint. We created a name for the reading center, "The Pillow Fight", (we never actually had a pillow fight in the reading center), students helped clean and tidy up the reading center, they helped organize books, they were proud of it too.

There are improvements that can be made of course, my books have become crinkled, pages have been torn, my student interests have changed, my leveled readers have somewhat become out dated, but I assure you, one thing has not changed, my students love to read in the reading center, they enjoy getting comfortable with the pillows, and they take pride in helping maintain it.