So far this has been a very interesting semester. At the beginning, I was really looking forward to taking
this class because Children’s Literature is one of my favorite genres to read. There is so much variety and with all
the choices, I really get sucked into this world of reading. I haven’t been let down because all I’ve been doing
is reading many wonderful books for this class!
And I don’t have to feel guilty about spending
time reading because it is for homework!
So far I have read about 31 books. I’ve listed
them all on my book list and I am still working on the small annotations under each title. I’ve been having so much
fun finding books from my childhood and re-reading them for this class. Also, it is exciting to discover new literature that
has arrived. I have read the first two books in the Uglies series by: Scott Westerfeld.
These books are amazing! I am happy to have found an author who keeps me (almost) as interested and excited as J.K. Rowling
did with the Harry Potter series. Reading is truly an adventure and I am discovering that
I still love, love, love children’s literature. Even the picture books are amazing. I just love to sit and read and
get lost in the illustrations. I have been focusing most of my reading
on my favorite genre which is Science Fiction/Fantasy. I now want to shift my focus onto other genres for the last half of
the semester. I want to read more general fiction as well as poetry, folklore and informational. I know I will find many books
that I read as a child and have just as much fun re-reading them as I did for this first half of the semester. I also know
I will discover new authors and new books that I have never heard of. I can’t wait to keep going and I eventually want
to reach 100 books.
The weekly visits to
Tibbets Middle School
have been a wonderful experience. Even though I am not pursuing a career in teaching, working with children has allowed me
to experience something that I have always enjoyed. In high school I worked as a kid’s camp counselor at the Country
Club for two summers. I loved working with the children and guiding them to learn new things and teach them new experiences.
I have found this situation to be similar but now literature is involved. This makes the classes even more rewarding because
I am offering the kids skills that they need and can take with them the rest of their lives.
I have never been shy while working with kids. I feel as
though I am someone who has a lot of qualities to offer the children. I feel as though I am fully capable of guiding the children
into the world of literature and offering them skills that they can use forever, even though I am not going for a degree in
teaching.
I haven’t had the
chance to be at the school more than a few times because of all the school holidays and the illnesses floating around Farmington, but I am making it a point to be at the school every Monday
till the semester is over.
So far with the readings
and the trips to Tibbets, I feel like I have earned a B in this class. This is because of the fact that I haven't been able
to be at the school more than a couple of times. But I am doing well with keeping up with reading the books for my book list. Also,
I almost have my genre page finished and I will be posting it later this week.
