Monthly Archives: May 2014

Letting Go and Creating New

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Joanne Toft

It is the end of the first year of retirement. It has been an interesting journey in letting go and creating new. There is and was a push pull about ending my teaching. I loved the students, the building and teaching … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection | 6 Comments

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? – books about reading

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Joanne Toft

Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam  – Patricia Palocco was published in 1996 but just came across my desk this week. I am sorry I miss this little gem when I was teaching. It would be great for Turn … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Finding a writers group –

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Joanne Toft

A writers group is what everyone talks about these days. Creating writing groups in our classrooms. Creating writing groups for ourselves. Helping students and fellow teachers see the importance of a creative writers group and then how to actually work … Continue reading →

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Kids want to read and write

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Joanne Toft

On Sunday I was super excited to help engage a group of young 3rd graders in nature and writing. Monday I would be a reserve teacher in my daughters classroom. A nature walk connected to writing poems was set for the afternoon. … Continue reading →

Posted in behavior, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Project Citizen

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Joanne Toft

At the end of last week I found myself scurrying through the tunnels of the state capital complex in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was raining cats and dogs, as my students will tell you (it is their favorite idiom), so … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching | 4 Comments

It’s Monday! What are you reading? – connecting through fiction

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Joanne Toft

This week I was thinking about where stories come from. We like to say we just make them up. I don’t think that is quite right – even for our fantasy genre. If we look deeply (some times you don’t … Continue reading →

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We are not all the same – the books we read

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Joanne Toft

In the early hours of the morning – like at three this morning – I woke up with a start. All of a sudden I understood why as a child I kept going back to a few books to read … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection | Tagged , | 8 Comments

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? fiction and history

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Joanne Toft

So last Monday I was feeling very ambitious and listed four children’s books and one adult read.  I did read this week but not as much as I thought. I was back out on the road so reading time was … Continue reading →

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Getting started – using mentor texts from Patricia Polacco

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Joanne Toft

It is another cool rainy day, to wet to go hide in my garden, laundry is done, dishes are done, there is a photo project in front of me but what I really should, want and am not doing is … Continue reading →

Posted in journals, writing | Tagged | 1 Comment