10 Reasons Why I Love Daily 5 {and "the sisters}

Just got back in town and let me tell you...this weekend I had such a great time!  Mr. Perry and the boys accompanied me to San Antonio.  In addition to the wonderful session that I attended with "the sisters," we did our share of shopping, eating, and just hanging out as a family!  If you use Daily 5, but you've never been to a conference with "the sisters," it is SO worth it!  

Here are 10 Things I Love about Daily 5 and "the sisters."

1.  They're still in the classroom setting every day.  This means that their activities, ideas, and strategies are being tested and used every single day.  While they were sharing some of their personal experiences from their own classrooms it just made me love them even more.

2.  They are life-long learners.  Both of them admitted during their presentation that the reason why they continue to hold conferences and meet with teachers is because they learn new information every day.  Some of their thinking has changed since their book was published in 2006.   They still read lots of professional literature and confer with colleagues.

3. They gave away so many great prizes and resources at the meeting, all of which I can use on tomorrow morning-I especially love the chimes!

4.  Daily 5 is a framework which is flexible, based on the needs of each unique group of learners, and it does not require me to copy any papers!  I love that I get to model and teach the framework, and then I spend the rest of the year focused on assessment, instruction, and coaching!

5.  Daily 5 has been implemented with students from all walks of life.  Both of the sisters teach in schools where they work with students from diverse backgrounds, ranging from autistic to English language learners to emotionally disturbed.  One of the sisters' schools has been designated as "The Last Stop," which means that her school is the last stop before students are sent to a juvenile detention or correctional facility.  This means that the teachers in her school do everything in their power to help those students reach their true potential.

6.  The sisters have based the Daily 5 and many parts of their classroom structure on brain research.  Brain research is fascinating to me, and it is so wonderful to know that "the sisters" consult with various professional educators, authors, and researchers.

7.  Daily 5 provides student with an opportunity to develop their own sense of independence and to blossom as readers and writers.  When students head off to second grade each year, I love to reflect on how they have grown in the areas of independence and problem solving.

8.  The sisters both teach students in the lower grades, and they realize that primary learners need consistency, consistency, and more consistency-especially the first few weeks of school.  I love how they shared their own plans and activities for the first week of school.

9.  I didn't know that I was also going to learn quite a bit about classroom management, but "the sisters" shared lots of tips, advice, and strategies for working with "barometer" students-those are the students who often determine what the "weather" or "atmosphere" is like in a classroom setting.  I have to remind myself that it begins with me as the teacher.  Even though we sometimes encounter frustrating situations, it is so important to be proactive instead of reactive.  I am so grateful that I got a chance to hear all of the strategies that they shared from their own teaching experiences.

10.  I love how the sisters believe that every child can learn to read and write, and that every child deserves to be treated with love and respect.  It seems like they are committed to giving students the tools that they need in order to be successful and to grow into life-long learners.

Both of the sisters have a great sense of humor and are very down to Earth.  They kept us laughing and on our toes the whole time.  I was rushing out and forgot my copies of The Daily Five and CAFE.  I guess that means I'll have to make arrangements to attend a CAFE session soon!