Jan 01 2010
I decided today that I would make a reading list for 2010. I want to make sure I read more this year and I knew I wouldn’t stick to it without a plan! Here is my list. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments. I need a few more books!
Sep 21 2009
That is all the knitting I have accomplished over the past two weeks! It’s pathetic! Now that school has started, every day is very busy. The school year has gotten off to a wonderful start, but the first few weeks are always the most draining. I am really enjoying my class. Every day they seem to be getting more into the swing of things. Today we read a really hysterical book–Epossumondas. I was laughing so hard I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to read. When I was little, one of my aunts read Epaminondas on tape for my brother and me and mailed it to us. The story I read to my students today was a retelling of that original. I must have listened to that tape a lot because I found myself using the same inflection in the story that my aunt did on the tape. Intestingly enough, Epossumondas was in a box of books that same aunt gave me when she retired from teaching!
I think this must be the longest I have ever gone without posting consistently. I have a list of things I need to blog about! Hopefully this week I’ll get back to normal with my blogging. Slowly but surely I am settling into a routine! It takes me a little while to get into my groove when school starts. I’ll be there soon though and my blogging will be more regular!
Stay tuned for updates!
P.S. I just couldn’t end the post without including a picture of our sweet girl! She has really been a trooper with all of the schedule changes around our house!
Aug 04 2009
I am devoting my entire day today to reading. I have several books that I need to read (not all today obviously).
I started reading The Story of the Von Trapp Family Singers while we were in Philadelphia. I am a huge Sound of Music fan. I even know the words to every song. I have enjoyed reading the “real” story of the Von Trapp family. Their real life is even more moving than the movie version of their life. I definitely recommend reading the book if you like The Sound of Music. I am almost finished with this book–just a few more chapters to go.
When I went by my school the other day, my principal gave me two books the staff is reading over the summer– Discipline with Dignity and The Daily Five. When she handed me the book on discipline she prefaced it with, “We do not have discipline problems in our school…” I wanted to hug her neck, but didn’t. I have started the discipline book and it is really good. The authors explore all of the reasons children misbehave in school and discuss ways the adults in the schools can help children be their best. It is an interesting and helpful book. When teachers go back for inservice in a few weeks, we are going to discuss the book and we will continue to have discussions about the text throughout the year.
I was shocked when my principal handed me The Daily Five because my aunt, who is a wonderful teacher (complete understatement), mentioned The Daily Five to me months ago and I have wanted to try it. (The Daily Five is an alternative to literacy centers.) I knew, however, that it would be difficult to implement if there were other requirements from the school or district that conflicted with the ideas in the book. I knew I would have to have the support of my administrator to make the change. I have that now!! Yay! I am so excited. At some point before school starts, our grade level will meet to discuss the book.
I think I heard angels singing when I opened an Amazon box yesterday and this book was inside. Debbie Diller has really outdone herself this time. This book is chock-full of fantastic ideas for organizing and designing classrooms. I flipped through it last night just skimming and today I hope I can really delve into it. Richard is taking off work Friday to help me move my personal items into the classroom. I know I am going to do some major cleaning out before I start arranging everything. I can’t wait to get into my classroom and really get started organizing! Spaces and Places has motivated me to clean out my classroom and consider how what I have in my classroom serves students.
After I finish reading all of these books, I have The Book Thief and Eat, Love, Pray to read!
I’m off to read!
Jul 14 2009
My friend, Dallas let her readers in on a little secret this morning and I thought I’d do the same. There is a great deal on Amazon for a subscription to Real Simple magazine! I couldn’t help myself and subscribed!
Click here for the deal.
Jun 28 2009
While my mom and I were at the beach, I got a little reading in. I read Nights in Rodanthe (Nicholas Sparks)and Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far (Amy Grant). I highly recommend both! Since I’ve been home, I’ve been searching our bookshelves for something interesting that I haven’t already read and I came across this:
The book contains excerpts from young people’s diaries during times of war and conflict. The book contains stories from the Holocaust and WWII, “the trouble” in Northern Ireland and the Isaeli/Palestinian conflict. I am reading the WWII stories now and in the introduction the author made an interesting point regarding the diaries that are included in the book:
It is astonishing that, even though most of the diaries are as powerful and well-written as Anne Frank’s they have remained obscure while hers has been thought of as THE child diary of the Holocaust, even though in some ways it was not representative of children in teh war and the Holocaust. Because Anne Frank was in hiding, she did not experience life in teh streets, the ghettos, the concentration camps, as it was lived by millions of children throuout Europe…
A couple of years ago, I was wanting a book to read while I was waiting on a book I had ordered to come in and Richard handed me Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl to read. I couldn’t put it down. After that, I read a book written by Miep Geis (the lady who worked downstairs and helped hide the Franks). After that, I read another book about Anne Frank. Her story is heartbreaking and fascinating. Since I have a lot of background information about what happened to the Franks, it has been very interesting to read the diaries of the children who experienced the war in a very different way from Anne Frank. I am gaining a better understanding of what the war was like for children in all types of settings by reading the excerpts from these young people’s diaries. Their diaries are very well written and descriptive. I have finished reading the writings of the children from WWII/the Holocaust. I still have not shaken the horrors they witnessed and experienced. It is difficult to put into words how their stories make me feel–angry at the people who committed the horrific acts, sobered by the victim’s experiences, awed at their bravery and courage, inspired by their willingness to give to others in complete sacrifice, and left wondering if I would have been able to survive. It is absolutely incredible to me that anyone was able to survive the Holocuast. I am embarassed to admit that I might not been as brave as these children. I feel very forunate that my life has not been overturned by war.
If you’d read about Anne Frank, I highly recommend reading Why Do They Hate Me? to learn how other children experienced the war.
Dec 02 2008
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On this board, I put printed copies of book covers that we will read over the course of the next 3 weeks. |
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In January, our focus in on non-fiction text. On this board, I had a copy of the cover of a non-fiction book about winter and a copy of a page that describes winter. |
I hope some of these December and winter bulletin board ideas are helpful. |
Nov 09 2008
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After a good night’s rest after our long day in L.A./Hollywood we were ready for some more sightseeing. We left Simi Valley and went back to Hollywood one more time. On this day we went to The Hollywood Museum (top left). There we got to see all sorts |
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Julie Andrews is my all time favorite actress. She won me over in her role in The Sound of Music. Richard’s favorite actor is Jimmy Stewart and I have to admit, Richard can talk just like him. |
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Last spring I read Split Ends(a great read!!!!) by Kristen Billerbeck. The main character in the book, Sarah, is obsessed with Cary Grant. My intentions were to see his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but that section of the walk was closed for maintenance. |
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From Hollywood we made our way to Olvera Street in LA. It’s really more of a marketplace than a street, but they didn’t After Olvera Street on this day of our trip, there were more adventures, but I’ll save those for another time. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Thank you for the Christmas movie suggestions! |
Oct 15 2008
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I have put off writing this post because I kept thinking I would take pictures of the two other bulletin boards I have up right now, but it hasn’t happened yet, so I decided to go ahead and post what I have! Maybe by the end of this week the other pictures will get taken! Things have been very hectic for us this week (and it’s only Wednesday!!!!). I’m taking my class to the zoo tomorrow. They are all very excited and so am I. Every day for the last two weeks they have all come in asking if we are going to the zoo today (it’s marked on our calendar and we’ve been counting down for weeks, but in first grade we struggle with concept of time). I hope these bulletin board ideas are helpful to someone. It’s my plan to be back with 2 more by the end of the week. |
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Sep 17 2008
After 4 days of no internet, we are finally back online! Somehow the storm damaged our modem. We purchased and installed a new one today. Well, I say we, my Technology Coordinator (aka my husband) took care of it.
After being absent on Friday, my kiddos (all 21 of them) were very “active” on Monday. After two days of boot camp, I think we’re straightening things out though. Last Thursday I had no voice and then I was absent on Friday because I couldn’t talk. Monday morning when my students were waiting on me to open the door when the bell rang they all were crowded around the door with their faces up to the window. They were yelling to me through the door, “Does your voice work?????” and when I nodded yes they all clapped and cheered and were saying, “Her voice works!!” It was really sweet.
Have you ever read the book Miss Nelson Is Missing? It’s about a class of children who are behaving badly (spitballs, paper airplanes, squirming, giggling, etc.). Their teacher, Miss Nelson is too sweet to crack the whip, so she disguises herself and comes to school as Viola Swamp for a few days. The children began to miss Miss Nelson terribly. When she finally came back a few days later they were so happy to have her there they were really well behaved. Every time I read it, I try to figure out how I could do the same thing in real life. I mentally go through my closet trying to figure out what I could wear and where I could get a wig. It’s really pitiful. My kids aren’t “bad” enough to go to that extreme!! We just need a few more days of boot camp to get our routines down (I gained 8 students a few days ago). Hopefully I am not the only teacher who thinks about trying out the Miss Nelson Theory.
I finally finished The Sweater. It turned out a little smaller than I planned. I made the 6-12 month size because the little darling was born at the beginning of August and I was thinking he wouldn’t need a sweater for a few months, so I should make the bigger size. Well, I think it’s too little. His parents swear it will fit, but I am convinced they’re just being nice.
This has been a very busy week! I have had meetings every night. I’ve been running a lot which has helped clear my mind. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to Friday afternoon!
P.S. Here is a link to a good recipe I used this week!
Jul 14 2008
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by Janusz Nel Siedlecki, Krystyn Olszewski, Tadeusz Borowski, Alicia Nitecki |
Your Six Year Old: Loving and Defiant by Louise Bates Ames, Ph.D. & Frances L. |
Click here to read reviews for Is That All He Thinks About?
We Were in Auschwitz is a book that was written by three Polish (non-Jewish political prisoners) survivors of Auschwitz. Since last summer I have been completely taken with Holocaust stories and this one has definitely been the most difficult to take in. I often have to put the book down because I can stand no more. Their experiences are absolutely unthinkable–yet true. Although the book has only recently been translated to English, the authors’ memories are fresh as the accounts are written shortly after liberation. Their recollections are devastating and unbearable at times, but for some reason it’s something that I can’t just turn my back to–I want to know more about it. So, I read on!
Your Six-Year Old: Loving and Defiant is a book that is helping me to understand the seemingly strange behavior of my six-year-olds at school. I am learning that their behavior isn’t acutally quite so strange after all. Apparently almost all six-year-olds have daily tummy aches, crawl under tables when they get upset, and have a very difficult time getting a long with friends. This book has been a great resource for me!
