My awareness is growing!

So I guess I haven't been looking for literacy in as many ways and places that are possible. With the help of our discussions in class and pushing myself to step out of my box, I have been able to notice more literacy and communication that I was totally missing before! It's always so enlightening to realize what you've been overlooking...

So what I've been noticing throughout my world and classroom is how strong the connection between communication and literature is. This has been more fascinating that I originally thought. We briefly talked about this last week in class, but the deeper conversations we had on Tuesday after our kindergarten visit pushed my thinking even farther. Communicating can happen in a multitude of ways: communication via language...literature via language. It's all connected.

Looking around at the communication I see broadens my understanding of literacy. I took this thinking back to my Dyad classroom and realized that I had previously been so narrow-minded. There is Language, Communication, LITERATURE throughout the entire classroom. I just wasn't seeing it in the "neat and tidy library" form that I was so used to. However, as messy as this new classroom may seem, it's actually extremely accessible and inviting in some ways. The information and posters that cover the walls are not bold as you might expect but small print that invites and beckons you to come closer, read and learn from it. Then I noticed the many artifacts around the room, they do not have any words on them, but they provoke questions that you are able to research by turning to the endless pile of dictionaries and textbooks laying around. My interests were intrigued with these forms of communication and expression of the teacher's and class's interests, they all called me to look for more information.

I did enjoy some browsing in the classroom, then I found myself in a tiny room that was "the library". Why hadn't she shown me this little room before!? These books were all hand provided for the students from the teacher. It was a tiny room but absolutely filled to brim with books of all sorts! The teacher has only been there a few years and is loaning her personal books to these students. It sounds like a sacrifice, but a noble one. After organizing the mini-library I just found myself wanting to dive into a novel of some sort. Unfortunately I had to go back to my textbooks and articles... in fact, I need to go there now...