Sarah Reading in bed

Reading to a real animal

Melvin Evans (3rd grade) reading to Holly and Trixie :).

The Gutierrez Family Reads in Colorado

Last week, my family took a trip to Estes Park, Colorado.  And of course, when you have a librarian in the family, a vacation is going to include lots of reading!

Here's my husband, Mr. Gutierrez, taking a break in a cool Colorado stream to read one of his favorite Elephant and Piggie books.

And my oldest daughter, Arabella, got SO excited when she spotted this sign as we pulled into town!

We also took time to visit MacDonald Book Shop, which had a great children's area!  Here are Arabella and Emeline enjoying some books.

Reading makes a fun family vacation even better!

Mrs. Mathis learns about San Antonio!

It looks like Mrs. Mathis look a trip to San Antonio.  What a great opportunity to read!  Here she is reading about bears at the San Antonio Zoo.

And here she is reading about Texas History on the San Antonio River Walk!

It looks like it was a great trip!

Reading is...Delicious!

Here are Bradley and Amanda reading all of the ice cream cartons on their tour of the Blue Bell factory in Brenham.

Are you guys trying to choose which flavor to try?  Or are you trying to figure out what ingredients they put in Blue Bell ice cream to make it SO delicious?

What's Mrs. Bull up to this summer?

Here's Mrs. Bull reading The Shack at home.  It looks like that copy may have been read before.  Summer is one of my favorite times to re-read some of my most favorite books!

Hope you're having a great summer Mrs. Bull!

Mrs. Vinklarek and Lyla

It looks like Lyla is enjoying having her mommy home this summer!

 

Here are Mrs. Vinklarek and her daughter reading Dinosaur Babies.

 

How sweet!

Wow! Check out this library!

Ms. Sargent emailed me this picture, with the following note:

"I'm reading a Seattle guidebook in the reading room on the top floor of the Seattle Public Library in (surprise!) Seattle, Washington."



I think Ms. Sargent gets the prize for reading at the location farthest from Smithville (so far...)!

Hope you're enjoying your time there, Ms. Sargent!

Amanda and Vivian are reading barefoot!

Look at these two, taking a break from the summer heat to cool off with a good book!

I'm not sure what they're reading, but it must be good!  Thanks for sending in the picture, Amanda and Vivian!

Mrs. SV's (three!) kiddos are reading this summer!

Here are Mrs. S. Vinklarek's kids reading about trucks together!  What a great big sister and brother they are to read to their new baby brother!

Even baby Jacob is enjoying the book - see him smiling????

Remember this book?

Looks like Mrs. Kennon took a break from playing outside to read a classic...Dick and Jane.

Thanks for the picture, Mrs. Kennon!

Mrs. Pope and sweet Olivia

Mrs. Pope and her daughter, Olivia, are keeping up with current events this summer!  Here they are reading the newspaper at Grandma's house!

Olivia looks very interested in the story!  Thanks for the picture, ladies!

Reading at the Silver Stars Basketball Game!

Here are Ms. Murray and Rachel and Caroline Frerich reading at the Silver Stars basketball game.  What are they reading?  The program, of course!  Way to put those reading skills to work, ladies!

Don't worry-they didn't spend the whole game with their noses in books!  They watched the game, too!

Almost 6 months old and already a reader!

We know Coach Kristynik is having a great summer spending time with her baby, Tyson!  Here they are reading Bambi together!  Awwww....

What's Mrs. Sherrill Reading?

Here's Mrs. Sherrill in Midland, Texas reading a Food Network Magazine!  I bet her family can't wait to see what she decides to try out in the kitchen!  Yum!

Thanks for the picture, Mrs. Sherrill!

Reading in the Trees!

Samantha Gurley, age 8, reading in one of her favorite spots!

Thanks for sending in your picture, Samantha!

Reading on the Go

In my family, half the fun of a car ride is getting there, because a car ride is a great opportunity to read!

Here's a picture of my daughters reading in the car on our way home from the library. When we visit the library, both girls get to check out a big stack of books. Then each of them gets to pick out one book to read on their way home. As you can probably tell from the picture, it's always a very quiet ride home!

Since I'm usually the one driving, I don't get to read in the car very often, but when my husband is driving, I have a book at the ready! Here's a picture of me reading Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed. Can you see the scenery whizzing by out the window? (I wonder how fast my husband was driving while I had my nose in a book!)

Do you read in the car? Send me a picture and let me know where YOU are reading this summer?

My Summer #bookaday Adventures

This summer I'm encouraging my students to participate in our library's Summer Reading Challenge as well as our Public Library's Summer Reading Program.  I'm participating in both of those as well, but I'm also participating in another summer reading challenge...#Bookaday.

You can read more about #Bookaday, and its inspiring creator, Donalyn Miller, but the gist of the idea is that it challenges teachers to read as much as they can over the summer.  For me, that's going to mean reading a book every day.  Some will be picture books, some will be middle grades novels, some will be adult nonfiction, and some will be poetry.  I'm going to be keeping track of which book I read each day on Twitter and through Goodreads.  I've also set up a widget below that will show you a list of the books I've read this summer.

So, here's what I've read... what are you reading this summer?

Mrs. G's Summer #bookaday Reads

I'm Reading With My Ears!

One of my favorite bloggers and "book people," Teri Lesesne, who is a fan of and advocate for audiobooks, often says that when she listens to a book, she is "reading with her ears."  Today, I'm doing just that!

I'm in my library today, doing an inventory, which means that I have to scan every book in the library.  That's a long period of time for my hands to be busy while my brain is bored, SO I'm also listening to a recording of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler. Keeping my brain busy listening to a book while my hands are busy scanning sure has made the job go by quickly!

Where are YOU reading today? (And are you reading with your eyes, or with your ears?)

Summer Reading Challenge!

Summer is almost here, and that means it's time to READ!   Watch the video below to listen to Mrs. G. explain the Summer Reading Challenge:

Download a copy of the Summer Reading Challenge here:

(This summer reading challenge was purchased for download and use by students at Smithville Elementary School.  If you are a teacher or librarian at a different school, please respect the efforts of the fellow educator who created this and purchase your own copy at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Summer-Reading-Challenge-K-5-with-book-lists.)

Parents, you can learn all about why summer reading is important and how to find great books for your kids below:

Kids, you can click below to locate some great books to read this summer:

Remember to check out the Public Library's Summer Reading Program, too!