2014 Texas 2x2 Reading List

For the past two weeks I have been introducing the 2014 Texas 2x2 Reading List books to the children during their class story time. Each child had the opportunity to select one of the new books to check out the day they came for story time. The children have been very excited to listen to and read these new books. Each class has started a reading log to show which of the twenty titles has been read and the children should have brought home their very own Texas 2x2 Reading List log to color. If you did not see one come home, you can print one here.

When you and your child have read all twenty of the titles on the 2014 Texas 2x2 Reading List and colored in all of the spaces, please send the reading log back to school with your child's name and teacher's name written on it, as well as your child's favorite book from the list. We will take a picture of your child and put it up on our Texas 2x2 Wall of Fame. I will also ask your child to tell me about the book they chose as their favorite. I will record these book talks and we will have them available for students to listen to in order to help them select a book to check out.

Tonight during Family Night @ the Library we read the following books:

• The Black Rabbit by Philippa Leathers
• Bug Patrol by Denise Dowling Mortensen
• Fraidyzoo by Thyra Heder
• Nat the Cat's Sunny Smile by Jez Alborough
• The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli

Here are some activities you can do at home in order to extend the fun we had in story time.

The Black Rabbit

• Shadow Puppets - create and play with your own shadow puppets after watching this video on Peep and the Big Wide World
• Shadow Tricks - learn about shadows and how they are made.

Bug Patrol

• Bugs Matching Game - select the theme: bugs; and the difficulty level then find all the matching pairs of cards.
• Coloring pages and Activities from Orkin

Fraidyzoo

• Online game - Alphabet Zoo - match the lowercase letter to the capital letter in this interactive game.
• A Trip to the Zoo - an online sotry about a visit to the zoo.
• Zebra Shape Paper Hat / Hat template - make your own zebra shaped paper hat

Nat the Cat's Sunny Smile

• Coloring pages - use the great pictures of the characters to retell the story, or create your own story with Nat the Cat, Hugo the Hare, and Billy the Goat.
• Watch and listen - as the author, Jez Alborough, reads the book aloud.

The Watermelon Seed

• Sock Seeds - try this cool experiment to see what you can grow at home!
• The Great Plant Escape - try to discover how a see grows into a plant.

We had a great turn out tonight for Family Night @ the Library and Story Time. Thank you to all of the parents who took the time to bring your children to the library. I hope you and your children had a great time. I know I did!

2013 Texas 2x2 Reading List Story Time

The 2x2 Committee's charge is to produce a list of 20 recommended books for children, age two to grade two. The 2x2 Reading List is a project of the Children's Round Table, a unit of the Texas Library Association. The Texas Library Association sponsors the 2x2 Reading List solely to encourage free voluntary reading.

Mrs. Betts holds the Texas 2x2 Reading List very near and dear to her heart. She was selected for the committee in 2008, serving as a member for two years and chair of the committee for two years. She was instrumental in selecting the books for the 2009, 2010, 2011, & 2012 Texas 2x2 Reading Lists.

During the classes scheduled story time, I have been introducing the 2014 Texas 2x2 Reading List Books. In order to make parents aware of this wonderful list of books, which has been compiled each year since 2000, I wanted to share a few of the great titles from last year's list. Of the twenty titles (the entire list can be found here), we read the following books during Family Night @ the Library Story Time: 

• Fire! Fuego! Brave Bomberos by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Dan Santat
• Horsefly and Honeybee by Randy Cecil
• This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
• Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

The Texas 2x2 Reading List website has a number of great activities you can do with your child after reading the books (English / Spanish). You can also color in the titles of the books on the 2013 Texas 2x2 Boot. 

This year's reading log is in the shape of Texas. When you read one of the books from the reading list, simply color in the space where the title appears. Once you have all of the books on the 2014 list, return the reading log with your child's name, teacher's name, and the title of your child's favorite book from the 2014 Texas 2x2 Reading List. Each child to bring back the completed reading log will get their picture up on our Wall of Fame. I will also be asking your child to record a booktalk telling me and their peers about their favorite book.

If you would like to check out any of the Texas 2x2 Reading List books from previous years (2000-2013), they are located in the blue, pink, and yellow carts in the library. Please feel free to ask Mrs. Betts or Mrs. Wilson if you have any questions about the Texas 2x2 Reading List. 

Home Story Time

Family Night @ the Library on Thursday, October 9th focused on Home.

These are the books we read during Story Time:

• A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman
• The House That Jack Built by Simms Taback
• Jack's House by Karen Magnuson Beil

Activities you can do at home with your child based on our theme and the books we read.

• Create your very own book based on A House is a House for Me, by using the same format -
• A ________ is a house for a _________. But a house is a house for me. Have your child illustrate their book by adding as many different homes as you can brainstorm.
• Have your child use art supplies, crayons, markers, paint, etc. to create their own house. Your child can write This is the house that ____________ built.

Story Time Goes On

Mrs. Wilson reading Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin.

Family Night @ the Library for Thursday, October 2nd, was cancelled due to inclement weather. We had a number of parents arriving at the school who had missed their children at the bus stop and children who had not been picked up seeking shelter in the building. In order to keep the children calm while the parents watched the weather Mrs. Wilson began reading to the children.

There was little damage on campus, playground items blown around and tree limbs down, and for that we are very grateful. Everyone was safe during the storm and the children had a great time listening to the stories Mrs. Wilson shared.

Family

Family Night @ the Library on Thursday, September 25th focused on Family.

Here are the books we read during Story Time:

• Always by Emma Dodd
• Saturday with Daddy by Dan Andreasen
• Who's in My Family? All About Our Families by Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott  - Activity
• You Are Special, Little One by Nancy Tafuri

At home activities:

Handprint Family Tree - This art project for the entire family can be a little messy, but the final product will be a treasured keepsake.

Handprint Family Craft - This is a less messy version of the Handprint Family Tree above, but will still be a fun reminder of special family times.

My Family Tree - Teach your children the names of their extended family members. You can branch out even further to introduce your children to their great-grandparents and beyond.

Story Time with Mrs. Betts

Happy Reading. We will see you @ the Library.