The Literacy Corner at Degrees of Maternity

Been doing some creative contemplating, and I came up with an idea. Me and my ideas. I know . . . I know . . .  “Here goes another one,” you might be saying. But, hear (or read) me out. Okay, so I was doing some creative contemplating about the best way in which to keep you updated on all the literacy (reading and writing — my two and true creative “loves”) happenings in the places and spaces that Degrees of Maternity occupies. And, I decided to do a little monthly update for you — a monthly update of reading and writing activities action going on in these, here parts.

And, there’s no better time to start than RIGHT NOW. So . . .

Here’s the monthly update for January 2024:

• It’s no secret that I’m back to blogging again. I took somewhat of a hiatus in October and November 2023 to concentrate on my certification for reading tutoring. Getting my weekly dose of writing therapy by the way of this blog site was greatly missed. And you know what I missed even more than that? Well, I missed getting to connect with you through this content of mine. We’re a community; and when the community ain’t communing, it just doesn’t feel right. So, I’m back. I’ve been back for a few weeks now and I’m thoroughly enjoying sharing some “Goal Mindset” inspiration with you. Hope you’ve been enjoying it from your end, as well. And if you haven’t had a chance to peruse the content yet, please go back to this post, The Goal Mindset Comes Before the Goal Achievement, and read all the ones following it. For sure, you’ll find some enlightening nuggets you can pocket as goaling take-aways.
• My blogging schedule (for now) will be every Thursday. I was going back and forth with the idea of Wednesday or Thursday for a while, but I think I’ve settled in nicely with the Thursday posting. So, there you have it. Furthermore, I’ll devote one Thursday’s blog post to these “literacy updates.” No set Thursday of the month has been determined just yet. I think I’ll keep it flexible. So, be on the lookout for these updates on any Thursday of the month.
• Now, one monthly schedule I AM structured with is the DOMinators News newsletter to my email-subscribing family. (By the way, I need YOU to become a part of the fam that receives these newsletters, distributed every 4th Sunday of the month — if you aren’t already.) You’re missing out, my friend. Currently, I’m providing brief summaries of The 12 Week Year within the newsletters. This month, I’ll be picking out some wisdom from chapter 4 of the book. It’s a great book and I highly recommend it. (I’ll be doing these book synopses in the newsletters from time to time, so check them out.) By the way, the newsletters have other interesting content (besides book highlights) for your reading pleasure. So, subscribe by clicking on the link right here.
• Speaking of content . . . did you know that I have two Degrees of Maternity online stores in which I offer reading and writing resources and incentives for the young reader and writer (and for those instructing them)? Well, if not, now you know. And, I’d love for you to check out my TpT and Classful stores, because I just put out (last week) two new products: a Martin Luther King, Jr. Dream Journal in color and a Martin Luther King, Jr. Dream Journal in coloring pages for the kiddos. (See a pic at the end of this blog post.) My goal with these products is to incentivize young children to write out their dream goals and plan to take action on them. I was inspired to create the journals (with the help of my artistic daughter) from my blog post entitled, The Steps Leading to the Goal. Go figure!
• I’m currently reading How to Plan Differentiated Reading Instruction: Resources for Grades K-3. And, I just ordered Differentiated Literacy Instruction in Grades 4 and 5: Strategies and Resources from Amazon. Received it today. Why am I reading/going to read these books? Well, check out the update below for the answer.
• I have a whole other life I creatively live (outside of this blog) where I interact with kiddos. Believe it or not, I get to educate, inspire, and entertain them in a different kind of online residence. And you know what? I’M ABSOLUTELY LOVING IT! So much so that I’m not entirely sure why it took me this long to get to this point in my educational journey. Anyway, virtual READING TUTORING for elementary and middle school students is my new jam. Working with the 16 students I have is such an extreme honor. I get to provide one-on-one reading instruction to my students Monday through Friday — instruction that caters to their reading needs and is designed to strengthen their reading skills and close gaps from where they are to where they need to be. And again, I LOVE IT! (Oh, and I’m doing all that reading in the books, mentioned previously, to help fine tune my knowledge of structured literacy and differentiated reading instruction for children.) Teachers need to learn too.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little (well, actually bigger) update than I originally thought it would be. But hey, I’ve been holding this rundown of events for a few weeks now. So, what did you expect?

Until next time . . .