Quick As A Cricket, By Audrey Wood

As a toddler, I was very fortunate to have parents that read to me almost every night, and provided me with resources that helped aid in the learning process of reading. I feel that my parents really valued reading and have always encouraged me to read for enjoyment. I had several picture books as a young child that I believe my mom still has today. My favorite book was Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood. Every night I would choose Quick as a Cricket for my dad to read because he would always tickle me, and get really animated when he would announce the animal being described in the text. His animation and enjoyable antics helped me stay engaged while having fun and laughing tons. My mom also took me to the public library when I was young, and

I remember starting with letters, letter sounds, words and working my proficiency up to sentences and paragraphs. I remember in first grade we each received a plate of pistachio pudding and the teacher would write digraphs and letters on the board as we all made the sound of that particular letter or digraph while tracing the letter or letters in the pudding. That was a mess and memorable lesson for me. I also remember my teachers using the whole language approach by exposing us to quality literature. One story I still remember that my second grade teacher read to us was Straga Nona. My sixth grade teacher read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets aloud to the class, and I think it is safe to say everyone in the class really enjoyed that story. My fifth grade teacher had us do literature circles, but most groups used this time to goof around. In fact, one fall afternoon during literature circles somehow a fan completely fell out of the second story classroom window, and that permanently ended LIT circles. I really enjoyed being read to in school and still do. Part of the whole language approach is being read to, and immersing your students in rich quality

In fourth grade I had a teacher that gave us plenty of time to read books of our choice each day, and she also had a wide variety of books for us to read in her classroom. I remember that year I read and really enjoyed the book Anne of Green Gables. In fourth and fifth grade I read a lot in my spare time, enjoyed it, and would choose reading over TV. I basically only read Sweet Valley High books, but I read hundreds of them. I was lucky my teachers provided me with resources and books that grabbed my attention and got me interested in reading. In sixth grade I had a teacher who read to us every day for almost forty five minutes after lunch. She read us the first Harry Potter book when it first came out. The whole class was so engrossed you could hear a pin drop while she read. Dr Karlin’s class got me reading for pleasure again, and helped introduce me to quality literature that I can use in the