What Does Happiness Mean To You?
After reading Layla’s Happiness it is hard not to think of anything but what brings you happiness. When prosed with the question “What is happiness to you?” Some people instantly answer while others take a few minutes to collect their thoughts. When I think of happiness so many different things come to mind; spending time with family and friends, playing with my pets, adventuring on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and more. Similarly, Layla finds happiness in the simple things too, like climbing a tree. As a teacher, a few things that I appreciate about this text is that is very accessible to beginning readers, the vibrant colors, a relatable context that allows students to make connections, and that it serves as a great mentor text to have students use when beginning to brainstorm things, people, or places that make them happy. In my RE5130 class last week we talked about extension activities for this text, such as heart mapping and self-portraits. In my fifth-grade language arts class, I decided to test out the self-portrait activity after reading Layla’s happiness and paying close attention to the detail in the illustrations. Students LOVED this activity and created some AMAZING self-portraits in just over three minutes. At first, they were very hesitant to keep their pencils moving for three minutes, but when the timer finished they kept begging for more time. Currently, the area that I live in is experiencing a severe snowstorm and I have not been able to go to my classroom for a few days, however when the storm passes I will post samples of this activity. Lastly, this book will make a great addition to any classroom library and can serve as a mentor text for many different lessons!
Happiness To Me Is...
When asked what happiness means to me many things come to mind. I think of places I associate with joy, such as my childhood home (Weaverville, NC), the town I attended college in (Boone, NC), the town where I began my teaching career (Sugar Grove, NC), and the college campus I grew up on (Mars Hill, NC). In addition to all of these places, people come to mind. Happiness to me isn't necessarily a place, but the people who I surround myself with. I have included pictures to the left of some people who bring me happiness every time I see them. These people include childhood friends, family members, and some of the amazing educators that I have met during my time at Appalachian. Happiness to me is spending time with those who mean the most to you. Sometimes happiness is choosing to go skiing with your roommates instead of doing your homework. Sometimes happiness is making it through four years of college with your best friends by your side. Even sometimes happiness is going to Cookout at 1:00 am with your best friends. I said all of this to say, YOU control your own happiness. So, go on spontaneous adventures, stay up way too late watching Shark Tank with your roommates, or take an adventure to the parkway to procrastinate on your homework. If you don't, you'll always wonder if it would have been something you would have enjoyed. I know that spontaneity and not putting first things first 100% of the time can be difficult for some. I personally struggle with this. But, I am making an effort to do more of what makes me happy instead of what makes others happy, and that is all that we can do! Now that you've heard what happiness is to me, I challenge you to really think about what happiness is to you!
Let's Talk Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Each time I read an excerpt from Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal I cannot help but smile. Amy Krouse Rosenthal does a superb job taking little life stories, memoirs, and turning them into engaging excerpts that the audience can not help but to make a giggle when turning to each page. Two excerpts of this week’s reading stood out to me. First, on pages sixty-six and sixty-seven. These pages display a visual that displays the two stages of life; childhood and adulthood when placed in the situation where you take the last granola bar from the box. The essential question is what would you do if you took the last granola bar out of the box? Would you choose to take the granola bar and throw away the box, or would you take the granola bar and leave the box on the shelf? Yes, we all have those mornings when we are running out the door with our coffee in hand and grabbing a quick and easy snack (i.e. granola bar) and do not have time to throw away the box, but does that excuse not taking the extra thirty seconds to throw the box? I personally think that it depends on the context of the situation, because sometimes myself, and I am sure many other adults, would find themselves in the childhood stage of life from time to time. Another excerpt that I really enjoyed reading was on page seventy-seven. After reading this excerpt I could not help but giggle. This passage can be relatable to so many people who have used treadmills and experienced technical difficulties. In this specific excerpt, I could imagine myself in Amy’s shoes and being extremely irritated with the treadmill that was not working properly. Overall, I am really loving this book because of the relatable content, excellent diction throughout that leaves the reader laughing and/or smiling, and the readability of the texts; it is very easy to follow and each excerpt is relatively short.
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Pages 66 and 67