THANK YOU, Libby, for filling in as coach for the competition! Thank you, Marken, for creating such great looking T-shirts! (The stickers turned out great too!) Thank you, Paul, for doing what you're doing in the picture below! (Are you the timekeeper?) Thank you, Elizabeth, for sending the photos! Thank you to all the parents for sharing your girls with me for this activity. It was really enjoyable (at least for me) and reminded me about how much energy kids have and need from us!

Congratulations
on your
strong finish and good manners
​ 
​Great Job!

Meeting reports

Thank you for the beautiful flowers!

Great poster!

Madelynn studying her flashcards!

Dates

• Next Meeting: Tues, May 1 @ Lunch ​​in the 3rd grade Learning Lab.
  Coach Kathy would enjoy hearing the girls talk about how the competition went.  (Let Kathy know if this date doesn't work.)

​Questions?

Contact your coach, Kathy Haselmaier,
​via phone or text at 970.214.7267  or  send Kathy an email message

Book List for 3rd Graders

• Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares by Frank Murphy
  "Ben by Murphy"
  ​Available for check-out at the Public Library (Council Tree location)
• Strega Nona by Tomi dePaola
  "Strega by dePaola"
  Listen to the author read the story via YouTube
  Download audio book for free via the Public Library Hoopla app
  Available for check-out at the Public Library (Council Tree location)
  
• Inspector Flytrap by Tom Angleberger
  "Flytrap by Angleberger" 
  Download for free via the Public Library Hoopla app
  Available for check-out at the Public Library (Council Tree location)
• Freckle Juice by Judy Blume
  "Freckle by Blume"
  Listen to the story via YouTube
  Available for check-out at the Public Library (Council Tree location)
  
• Rise of the Balloon Goons by Troy Cummings
  "Goons by Cummings"
  Listen to the story via YouTube (this is part 1, the rest is out there too)
  Available for check-out at the Public Library (Harmony location)
• Where is the Great Barrier Reef? by Nico Medina
  "Great by Medina"
  Available for check-out at the Public Library (Council Tree location)

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STUDY MATERIALS

Overlaps between books

Mini Battle Questions and Answers

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Reading Status

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Book Status

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Team Member	Book Checked Out (# inside front cover)	Communication Preference (In case we need to contact your mom) ​	Notes
Rece	Balloon Goons #1 Strega Nona #1​​	Email	None
Madelynn	Inspector Flytrap #1​​ ​Freckle Juice #1​​​	Text	None
Gabby	Ben Franklin #1	​Text	None
Romy	Great Barrier Reef #10	​Email	None

Who is the coach?

Hello! I am your coach, Kathy Haselmaier, and I am also Madelynn's great-aunt. 

My kids are 27 and 22 years old. They attended McGraw Elementary when they were in 3rd grade. 

My husband and I live south of the Harmony Library and Front Range Community College, so not too far from Werner.

I am 55 years old and retired from working at HP about a year ago. I love to read, and can't wait to meet all of you so we can start preparing for the Battle of the Books!

You can contact me anytime at 970.214.2767 or via email.

Kathy's Coaching Philosophy
I didn't even know I had one until today :)  After learning about other coaching strategies, my own strategy became clear and is listed below. If any of these plans concern you, be sure to let me know. Since these are your kids, I'm happy to coach them in the direction that you all prefer. 

• "Winning" an extracurricular activity when you're in the 3rd grade can take different forms. I'll strive to help the girls to achieve the longest term "wins". This means I will focus on the skills and behaviors that I believe will help them well into adulthood. We'll focus on taking responsibility for our commitments, trying hard, persevering in the face of failure, treating others and the books with respect, gratitude, and stuff like that.
• Reading enjoyment and skills will be valued over winning the "Battle of the Books" competition. Some coaches have clearly developed and are sharing winning strategies that will produce better short-term results than I may be able to produce with my broader focus. I'm willing to sacrifice a short-term (i.e. 3rd grade) win if a life lesson can be learned. When possible we'll strive for both short and long-term wins.

While talking with my son (22) recently about the lessons that helped him most during college, he pointed to a fifth grade teacher who challenged him and held him accountable. Every day. Even though that year was tough on all of us, I was glad he had a teacher willing to teach him valuable life lessons at such a young age. It also made me realize that what felt like a difficult year filled with strife (and it was) was oh so valuable because it prevented more difficult years in the future that could have been filled with even more (and much more serious) strife. 

With that said, as a parent, my goal is to make this easy for you! It's my intent that you won't need to do much more than listen to your daughter's excitement when she talks about her "Battle of the Books" experiences this year.