My Hobby Hunny!

My husband is always telling me: you need to find a hobby! He has so many different hobbies, from cars, to home theater, to photography. And I do have hobbies but that are just not as extensive as his. This summer I am finishing my masters degree but have found that I have had a LOT of free time.  A little too much time sometimes! I've actually started missing being at school teaching my little second graders! Crazy, right?! Well, I've started putting some thought into my classroom for next year and what I want to change and implement next year and have found so much JOY out of researching, and planning, and thinking, and creating! So, hubby, I've figured out that teaching is my hobby! How great is it that my career is my hobby?! Okay, so maybe all this free time is getting to me a little bit, but I think it is so true.

I have spent so much time these past few days learning about The Daily 5. It is such an interesting idea and I really want to try it in my classroom next year! I'm reading the book right now but The Sisters and just love the idea.  I've also found some blogs that have been so helpful in getting started. But I still have so many questions! I've read so many people have implemented this in their classroom in such young grades and that was one of my main questions -- can my second graders handle this?! Well, so many kindergarten teachers have tried it and loved it, so my kiddos must try it! Will my principal approve? How can he not if the kids are reading and writing! That's what we want them doing right? Okay so I guess I'm able to answer some of my questions but there are still so many more! I wanted to use this during my guided reading block which is around 60-75 minutes so I can pull my four guided reading groups. How long should the kids stay at each dailie? Do I really need to check in after each dailie? I don't have time for that in my schedule.  I have 60 or so minutes to meet with all my kiddos for guided reading and that's it! And that's not a lot of time! I don't have any books on tape. Are they easy to find or can I substitute something else in place of that? How many dailies can be done in 60-75 minutes? All of these questions I am just not sure! 

So I still have a lot of figuring out to do for implementing the daily 5 into my class for next year, but I am really excited about it! It sounds so beneficial to my kids and for me as a teacher! For now, I'll just keep reading and hope all the answers will come to me! If not, I guess I'll just give it a whirl and figure it out as I go!!