GetEpic! : an amazing reading resource!

GetEpic! is an amazing reading resource in app form!  Teachers can set up classrooms of learners, at each child's own reading level, which is very helpful for someone like me who works with many different grade levels and reading levels!  Not only does it allow you to set it up by level, but you can assign readings to individual children.  This is amazing because when you know some of your student's interests you can find books that cater to those, and know that they will be excited to read.  There are also so many books that can be read to children, so they can listen and follow along with the words on the page, as well as pure audiobooks for older kids. The best part is that when I have put students in on my classroom page, I can then see how long they have read, how many books they have finished, and the site keeps track of this for me!  This was a phenomenal app to have set up during remote teaching time.  I could also have students logged in and reading on the app, while I could follow along from my home on my app, so that I could teach while they were reading to me.  👏👏👏 Soooo helpful!!!!!  You can set up your teacher page at www.getepic.com  and then kids can log in from their devices to read and watch fun videos on things like how to make things in Minecraft, Lego building, crafts, and funny songs.  I had already been using Epic at school, but it came in super handy during the pandemic.  Best of all, they actually let kids and families use it for FREE if the teacher signed kids up for it!  What a grand gesture for families.  I will continue to use this app with my students.  Sometimes, I even use it as a reward for working hard in a lesson.  If you are a teacher who hasn't checked it out yet, you should.  One of the kids I signed up read 73 books during the couple of months we were out of school on the site! OUTSTANDING!  I can get behind that! 

Remote Teaching

Ok, so I am on day two of summer vacation. I have spent time floating in my pool, packing my camper, tending my gardens, and just trying to unplug for a bit.  No alarm clocks, no morning Zoom meetings, just trying to recharge!  I can honestly say that remote teaching felt harder than spending 7 hours in a classroom with students.  Do you agree?  I don't even think I watched t.v. at night most nights, I was just so tired of looking at a screen.  

 Oh, and to make matters better, do you think I have amazing internet at home?  Umm, no.  Rural Maine here.  Plus, not only was I teaching from home, but my sister is a sixth grade language arts teacher who lives with me, so bring on two of us Zooming, meeting with kids via video conferences, and a slow internet.  Some days were much more fun than others!  Then add in two crazy barely one year old kitties (who had some cameo appearances in video calls) and welcome to remote teaching chaos! It really was a situation that showed me that I was not cut out to be online for 6 plus hours a day.  I missed being with the kids, feeling their energy on those days when you need it, and getting those hugs or smiles when you really need them, too.  I missed my teacher peeps!  The ones that encourage and keep you sane on the hard days.  My squad.  It just isn't the same seeing them through a computer screen for months on end.  

Thank goodness for my kiddos that I got to see weekly via video chats!  They are what kept me going throughout this crazy time.  They kept me smiling.  Listening to them read, and continue to grow in reading was such a blessing.  I am super thankful for their parents, who had to help make the video chats work each week, and who supported my time with their kids!  They were superheroes during this pandemic.  Talk about being thrust into a different world!  Why don't you work, plus try working with your kids for a set amount of time each day, plus do your normal family duties on top of all that!  I am grateful and amazed at how they pulled it off in many cases!  SUPERHEROES!  

So we made it through spring 2020, and now we wait to see what unfolds for the fall.  I really want to be in school with my kiddos and my teacher squad.  I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed while they rest in the sand this summer!  Time to relax! 

Summertime Activities

Hey there!  As school lets out for the summer and the days get hot and filled with swimming, camping, and hopefully our lives get a bit closer to normal after all the Covid-19 craziness we've all been dealing with, you may be wondering about some easy ways to keep your child reading and practicing all of those strategies they have learned this year!  I am going to try and help with this, coming from an interventionist stand point.  

First of all, it's as easy as practice, practice, practice.  The more your child reads, the better.  The more you read to them, the better.  The more you talk about books, the better.  You get the point.  Plus, if your child sees you as a reader; whether it is reading the paper daily, reading a manual to fix an appliance, whatever it may be, it shows that reading is important in our everyday lives.  

Another thing you can try out: read in new and fun places!  Read together in a hammock, build a fort in the woods, set your tent up in the yard and fill with cozy pillows for a fun reading spot.  Keeping it new and fresh by reading in new spaces can also make reading a fun event!   Or read a book about something you can do outside: a book about fairy houses, gardening, or build a treasure hunt and read the clues to the next special treasure together.  Keep it fun and enjoy your time together! Keep sharing the love of reading throughout this summer!