Celebrity Reader

Each year during I love to read week, Cold Springs is fortunate to have local community members and celebrities visit the school to make a "celebrity appearances" and read to the kids. In past years KF Dragons have had a local police officer, Missoula Smoke Jumpers, the Mayor of Missoula, and UM Grizzly Football players. This year we were so excited to have Darko Butorac - Music Director/Conductor for the Missoula Symphony come and read to our class. 

Before meeting Darko, we had a brief discussion about what a symphony conductor does. Most of the kids had an idea, and a few have even had the opportunity to visit the symphony. They were so excited. Darko did a wonderful job reading to the kids - grabbing their attention and engaging them right from the start.  He certainly has a magical touch with the kids as evidenced by their attention during his visit with us. We were so lucky to have this international celebrity come to our classroom and read to us today. 

A very big "Thank You" to Maia's mom Valerie for bringing him into our classroom. Maia's uncle plays in the symphony.  And of course - thank you Darko! Sometimes...it's all about who you know!

Cuddle Up with a Good Book

This week is "I Love to Read Week" at Cold Springs. Each day has a theme. Today the kids got to bring in a stuffed animal that they could cuddle up and read with. From 9:45-10:00 each day this week, the entire school takes part in Drop Everything And Read (DEAR).  The kids get a little excited that every single person (teachers included) in the entire school is reading. Fifteen minutes - no problem! Early on in the year we learned to build our stamina in reading and I've clocked the kids over 20 minutes in uninterrupted reading. Very cool.

Today in Reading

This year I have really been working on instilling a love for reading in my kindergarteners. It is so wonderful to see the kids in love with books, reading to themselves, and reading with others. February is I Love to Read Month here at Cold Springs and we will be (and have been) celebrating reading in a variety of ways. This morning the kids chose to do some quiet reading. As usual, I give them the choice to read in a comfortable spot. They all congregated under their tables to read - some with each other, some on their own. I got some of these pictures of them in action - well, not really "action", more like hard-at-work. Priceless.