Buy One Book & Read It Challenge

Amy at My Friend Amy has posted a challenge for 2009. There are 2 options for this challenge. #1: Buy one book and read it. The challenge for me is that it must be a novel read just for fun, not for work or for children. #2: Buy one book and read it each month of the year.

I am going to complete #1 and may increase my goal to #2. If I complete #2, I think that I will expand my goal to include the banned professional and children's books. Since there is only one day left in January, I guess that I get to go shopping tomorrow!

Celebrate the Author - Reading Challenge - January

Happy Birthday Harley Jane Kozak! (January 28)

This month I read Dating Dead Men by Ms. Kozak. Keeping me awake is a feat for almost any book these days and I stayed up reading this one on several nights. Wollie Shelley, greeting card store owner and artist, is busy attempting to date forty men in sixty days while staying in touch with her hospitalized brother. During a visit to P.B., her brother, she encounters a dead body and gets swept into an adventure that involves meeting an interesting guy and trying to outwit the mob. I'm glad that I tried this one and look forward to the next Wollie adventure.


Becky at Becky's Book Reviews has posted this challenge. Click here to read more.

Racing By....

Okay... I can count and realize that this is not 15 words or less as required by Laura at laurasalas
so I did not leave it in the comments. But... unfortunately, this poem really expresses the way I have been feeling about the school day. Laura's choice of picture this week inspired the following poem.

Take a deep breath and...

Zoom!
We're off.
The day has begun.
Here come the kids!
Math is first -
Number one.
Then comes reading,
A trip to p.e.,
More reading ,
And then
Let's go to lunch.

Breathe....
For...
A minute or two.

Inside recess,
Oh what fun!
Some spelling,
And writing
Science is done.
Pack up.
Coats zipped.
Hugs goodbye.
Another school day
Has raced right by!

Year in a Sentence

Kevin at Kevin's Meandering Mind has asked for a sentence describing 2008.

Here is my contribution,

A roller coaster year is completed!

2008 included friends' new babies, friends' and grandma's deaths, friends' marriages, mom's hospitalizations, and my completed master's' degree.

One Little Word

Ali Edwards at {A} encourages the readers of her blog to choose one WORD to focus on throughout the year.

I am loving this inspirational idea. This year I have spent a lot of time with words and just recently found your site through Ruth at twowritingteachers.wordpress.com. After some contemplation, my word for the year is STRETCH. (Not too thin, I hope!) I need to stretch physically. As a teacher, I am always stretched mentally. I need to encourage my students to stretch. I also need to stretch myself out of comfortable routines in order to get more out of life.


Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/swamibu/2911042795/

P.S. Hmmm... My word was not included on the l-o-n-g list of words at Ali's blog. So, I "searched" for it assuming that it had been lost in the blogosphere. Not true and I was not the only one with this word. Maybe it is some sort of sign that this is not my word. I guess I must think about this some more.

Celebrate the Author - Reading Challenge

Becky at Becky's Book Reviews has posted this challenge. Click here to read more.

I began by trying to find the birthdays of the Lipstick Chronicle authors. I have not read many of their books but enjoy their blog. It was not easy to find their birthdays, so Elaine Viets and Nancy Martin are in limbo at the bottom of my list. Maybe I will discover their birthdays before the challenge is over or perhaps they will need to be part of next year's list. Here is my list of possibilities.

January 28 - Harley Jane Kozak - I read Dating Dead Men.
February 1 - Meg Cabot - I read Size 12 is not Fat.
March 5 - Mem Fox (alternate Lois Lowry)
April 12 - Donna Andrews
May 6 - Kate Collins
June 26 - Charlotte Zolotow (alternate Robert Munsch)
July 29 - Kate Flora
August 18 - Paula Danziger
September 21 - Stephen King, On Writing
October 19 - Sarah Strohmeyer
November 25 - Charlaine Harris
December 19 - Eve Bunting

Elaine Viets
Nancy Martin

Remembering - Creating Memories

Stacey at Two Writing Teachers has made me think again. (That's the whole idea, right?)

At the end of each quarter we try to take some time to reflect on the accomplishments and set some goals for each student. I think this ties in perfectly with Stacey's thoughts.

I found a couple of sites that I think might help us to "remember" first quarter. Beth Lewis has an example of an "I Remember" poem at About.com: Elementary Education. I like how this guides the students to think about their first impressions, a field trip, a math activity, etc.... I also found another sample and an online version that will print the created poem.

Here is my poem.

Instant I Remember Poem

I remember popping into a new school year.
I remember meeting 28 students and their families.
I remember teaching about how to choose "just right" books
and how to build reading stamina.

I remember exploring a nature trail.
I remember shaking cream to make butter.
I remember making an accordion book about the planets
even reading word wall words by flashlight.

I remember writing a story about the Mysterious Squeak.
But my favorite memory’s yet to come!

I love the final line: But my favorite memory’s yet to come. Some memory-gathering at the end of the semester will set us up to write some goals when we return in January!

Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

Purpose?

I believe that it may be time to decide on a purpose for this blog. It was originally started as a class assignment (in other words: something that I had to do, not necessarily something that I wanted to do). Through my grad classes and more assignments to write blogs and read blogs, I have discovered that I tend to read 3 types of blogs: book blogs, teacher blogs and tech blogs. I suppose that I have the most to say about teaching, but I have some reservations about having enough quality information to pass on to others. (Do I really need an audience for this? Would it be helpful?) I also have had difficulty finding the time to write this fall. A plethora of second graders and an ill family member have required a lot of time. I continue to believe the TWT mantra that a teacher of writing must write, but lately I have felt that teachers of writing are too busy to write!

Message for Me?

Today as I wrote "Don't give up" as the moral on 24 papers for students that certainly don't understand the moral of a fable, I began to wonder if the message was really meant for me.

Written in the style of One Sentence - True Stories Told in One Sentence.

Day in a Sentence

Falling from the sky and covering the ground, the orange stars confirm the upcoming appearance of winter.

Brrrr…. I’m not ready!

It's Fall!

Fall has always been my favorite season. Sometimes I feel cheated when we seem to skip fall going from running the air conditioner to turning on the heater. This year has had several comfortable days and the trees have been just beautiful. The picture is of a tree in my backyard. I have a similar one in the front yard and a burning bush that is a wonderful shade of red. So far the leaves are holding on and so I haven't had to start the raking process yet. I am NOT ready for snow!

Master of Arts

I finally finished my Master of Arts degree in Educational Technology through the Independent Option at the University of Illinois at Springfield. I received my diploma and promptly put it in the frame that I had received from my class a couple of years ago. It is hanging in the downstairs bedroom which doesn't seem quite like the place of respect that it deserves. But... there is a nail there and it fits nicely. I will probably move it up to my "office" after I paint someday. Even though it seemed like forever, I actually finished right on my planned schedule. (3 years with 1 class each fall and spring, extras in the summers) I am thrilled that it is done, but why am I still so busy???

24 Hour Read-A-thon

Can you read for 24 hours? How many books are in your "to be read" pile? This is the perfect chance to concentrate on reading and sharing your reading with others by updating your blog. Mark your calendar for October 18, 5 a.m. Pacific. Check out The Hidden Side of a Leaf for more information.

Day in a Sentence

Day in a Sentence is back at Kevin's Meandering Mind this week. The challenge this week is to write about your day/week in the form of a question. From the dates on my blog, there has obviously been no writing time lately. :-( Here is my entry after a difficult week/month.

How much pressure is too much?

Day in a Sentence

This week Anne is hosting Day in a Sentence with an Olympic theme at her blog, Think, Wonder and Learn with the Web.




Hiking bluff and river trails, admiring the scenery and enjoying the beautiful weather was capped each night watching the Olympics back at the lodge.

Summer Sunset

I took this picture from the back deck a couple of days ago. I think the green of the branch on the left is interesting and I liked the funny little puffy clouds in the middle. I also think that it is amazing that there is a Walgreens just over the berm to the right and a Fitness center sign almost straight ahead. It looks pretty peaceful and for the most part it really is.

15 Words or Less Poem Challenge

Swooping up
Through the air
Ghosts fly swiftly
Into the sky-top towers
For a nightly rendezvous


Laura provides a picture as inspiration for the poem. Check out this challenge at http://laurasalas.livejournal.com/85501.html

Day in a Sentence

This week Jo Hawke is hosting the Day in a Sentence challenge at her blog, MrsHawke.com. Stop by and add your own or check out all the sentences on Sunday.









After about 4 hours, my classroom begins to look ready for students.

Setting up my Classroom

I am going into school to work on setting up my classroom. Why is it assumed that teachers will do this? Technically, we don't go back until Aug. 21 but then we will have professional development activities and there will not be much time to get the room ready. Okay...enough avoidance. At least it is not 100 degrees today, which leads to another debate/thread discussing air conditioning in public schools.

Things to Think About...

I was directed to Katie's list of things to think about for back-to-school (and throughout the school year!) by Mary Lee at A Year of Reading.

It reminds me to keep the students and their needs as my focus. It is not about how cute my room is (or isn't) or the new clothes and supplies or even the what we teach. It is all about WHO we teach and how we can make learning meaningful for THEM.

As my previous district superintendent used to say, "Happy New Year"!