Easter Fun

How was your Easter? Did you put books in your Easter basket? In addition to making smaller baskets this year, my daughter and I decided to make baked goods. It was tons of fun.

Summer Reading

I am trying to "jazz up" the 6th grade summer reading list at my school. We will have one novel that will serve as a main novel and we will have one main novel that will jump start our year. Below are some titles we've discussed but fill free to add more!
Esperanza Rising
By: Ryan, Pam Munoz
Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.
Lexile: 750
Peak (May 2007)
By: Smith, Roland, 1951-
A fourteen-year-old boy attempts to be the youngest person to reach the top of Mount Everest.
Lexile: 780 [view chart]
Smile (Feb 2010)
By: Telgemeier, Raina
An autobiography in graphic novel format describes how the author lost two of her front teeth in an accident when she was twelve, and her subsequent struggles with various corrective dental techniques throughout adolescence.
Lexile: 410
Sixth-grade: Glommers, Norks, and Me (Jan 2005)
By: Papademetriou, Lisa
As she starts middle school, soccer-playing sixth-grader Allie Kimball worries about losing her best friend and being considered a "nerd," but ultimately makes important decisions about how to treat others and remain true to herself.
Lexile: 650
The Big Field (Mar 2008)
By: Lupica, Mike
When fourteen-year-old baseball player Hutch feels threatened by the arrival of a new teammate named Darryl, he tries to work through his insecurities about both Darryl and his remote and silent father, who was once a great ballplayer too.
Lexile: 970
Scat (Jan 2009)
By: Hiaasen, Carl
Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire starts near a Florida wildlife preserve and an unpopular teacher goes missing.
Lexile: 810
Bud, not Buddy (Oct 1999)
By: Curtis, Christopher Paul
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.
Lexile: 950

Little Shop of Stories Visit

My family and I travelled to Atlanta this weekend and we had such a great time. Along the way I visited a children’s bookstore, Little Shop of Stories. What an amazing place.  It was definitely kid friendly and organized. Every section of the store was labeled appropriately. There was a “grown up section”, a section for teens, as well as divisions by genre. The staff was friendly and helpful and my 15 year old walked away with a book simply because he didn’t have to weed through books that were “boring”. He went to the section that was most appealing for him and he walked away happy. There were games and “cute’ items, but the focus was on reading which I enjoyed! There was a reading camp being held upstairs during my visit and from the looks of things, the kids were having a blast. I would definitely recommend visiting this store if you are in the area.

Generation Gap

My daughter turned to me and asked why the Statue of Liberty was holding an iPad. A couple of months ago, she looked at me as if I was crazy when I explained to her that birds tweet. In her mind, she only associated tweets with Twitter. My daughter is 5. And while I am not a techie; she has access to laptops, an iPad, e readers, gaming systems, you name it and she does it. She also takes technology as a part of her curriculum in school.

I have been teaching for 8 years I can’t say whether or not I feel that technology is “the answer” or should take “the blame” for the successfulness or failure of our students. Because every child learns differently, I don’t think that there will ever be one answer. I don’t blame technology for the problems that children are faced with. I believe that every generation has their “thing”. As parents it’s our job to provide our children with boundaries.

My daughter lives in a print rich environment and is constantly exposed to books. Why did she think that the Statue of Liberty was holding an iPad? Why wouldn’t she assume that it was a book?

Was my daughter’s question the result of a generation gap, or am I missing a bigger picture?

Summer Reading

Summer is here! FINALLY. Below is a list of books that are centered on the theme of summer. The books are geared for grades 2 – 5.

 Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping

by Peggy Parish

 Blueberries for Sal

by Robert McCloskey

 By the Seashore

by Maurice Pledger

 Camp Granada: Sing-along Camp Songs

by Frank Lessac

 It's Summer!

by Linda Glaser

 Last Day, Hooray!

by Nancy Poydar

Ocean
by Miranda Macquitty

Painting the Wind
by Patricia & Emily Maclachlan and Katy Schneider

Sam and the Firefly
by P. D. Eastman

Seashells, Crabs, and Sea Stars
 by Christiane Kump Tibbitts

The Story of the Frog Belly Rat Bone
by Timothy Basil Ering

The Summer Solstice
by Ellen Jackson

Donate gently used school supplies

School is out! Not sure what to do with your student’s school supplies? Donate them. I have tons of books, crayons, and other art supplies that sit in baskets and on desks in my children’s room. While most of it gets used, there are supplies that simply go to waste. I always make it a habit to donate gently used supplies. School uniforms may also be donated.

 If your kids are anything like mine, they grow like weeds and none of their clothes will fit in August. Consider donating clothes to Oasis or the Goodwill. Books may be donated to The Book Swap. Churches and youth groups will accept gently used art supplies.

Any ideas on what to do with gently used school supplies and school clothes?

A Book Bash Party at Cherry Berry!

Only Kelly's Tales can take a book and turn it into a fun arts and crafts project!