Pencils Down! has been forty-five years in the making. It is hoped that by sharing classroom experiences, the reader will be entertained, enlightened, and educated. The ideas presented are written for all educators: veteran, novice, substitute and student teachers, parents who homeschool, college and university professors, as well as for anyone who has a child in his or her care. The guide offers the fruit of my experiences, gleaned from a lifetime in the classroom. Writing this book has been a labor of love, and it is my sincere hope that all educators reading this book will find some fresh insight into the wonderful profession of teaching. Pencils Down! will take you on a journey whose itinerary begins in elementary school and spans more than four decades. I have taken that journey at the head of the class. Many an author has written a book on education without ever having stepped into a real classroom. I have stepped into many classrooms, many times, over many years, and now feel qualified to write my first book. Having successfully survived as a teacher forty-five years in the public and private sectors of both the New York and Nevada school systems prompted me to write this book, a book packed with lessons that work, school humor, enrichment activities, and sage advice ready to be used by anyone who desires to instill a love of learning in a child. You may wish to do many of the lessons with your students. Most of the text deals with activities based on beloved children’s books. I have selected more than fifty children’s books I most enjoyed reading and teaching my students. Although some of these books never achieved Newbery Medal award status, each book teaches something of life’s lessons, and each is a gem. My first priority was selecting excellent children’s books. I have selected a broad and diverse collection of children’s books with the hope that by using these books daily with all elementary school children, each child can learn to love books and apprecia
