Friday, May 31, 2013

Book A Day Challenge - It's On!



The 5th Annual Book-a-Day Challenge is underway and I am ready!!
As a matter of fact I am on a roll!
Summer is my go-to time for delicious reading, library trips, haunting my favorite bookstores and sorting through my TBR stacks. I LOVE it!
Now I can tally my reading and report back to my students that I read a Book-A-Day!
You can too.
Check out the challenge at The Nerdy Book Club and dip your feet in, if you dare~!


Sunday, May 19, 2013

Sunday Salon - The Norovirus, Report Cards and a Glee Marathon


The Attack of the Norovirus, Report cards and a Glee Marathon!


These little guys invaded our casa this week...first baby Tinsley, then her momma, then her daddy and then Rich and finally....on Saturday - MOI!!
I felt blessed that I didn't have to miss any school.
This virus was awful and our poor little baby is still not her typical happy/joyful self. No-fun, Mr. Norovirus. We are tired of you visiting and officially demand that you leave.   


Report cards are the focus of the day...since I spent my day in bed yesterday. 


Since we are all a bit punk and under the weather J and I decided that a Glee marathon was in order!

On the book front....

1. We finished Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief  by Rick Riordan with one of my reading groups! They LOVED it. Tomorrow we start the movie at our lunch time for the next 4 days. They are so excited.

2. We are in the middle of reading The Cay by Theodore Taylor with my regular class of students. Again, this is a home-run book for them. We went on "blind walks" as one of the main characters becomes blinded due to a boat accident. Both boys and girls are loving this book and the dialect from the Caribbean. We have calypso music on during reading time now.

3. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson was one of my book group reads. Unfortunately I was in a house of illness when book group night arrived, so I stayed home to nurse the sickies and kept from becoming Typhoid Mary to my friends. Too bad, discussing the characters in that book would have been fun.

4. Six Years by Harlan Coben. There is one author that I can always trust for an exciting read. I discovered Harlan Coben when I was working as a manager at a bookstore. His book, Tell No One, was a riveting read for our staff and we all literally passed one copy from one to another. It was a page turner. When we emailed Mr. Coben he responded immediately. We became fast friends and big supporters. Since then his books have become my gotta reads when a new one appears. I love him for how he keeps the dialogue real, the tensions high and the reader involved. It's just plain exciting. I also love to hear him speak about other authors. He has such respect for his profession and he is well read and willing to share the great works of others. He is a walking book reviewer and commercial!


Summer is fast approaching.....4 more days with students to be exact!! 
Until then there are writing folders to finish up and a classroom to take down. Ah, yes....the madness continues for a few more days and then.....take a breath...a rest!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Still teaching...for 6 more days....

What the heck...while other teachers are taking their stuff down we are putting things up!!
The Trouble With Tuck by Theodore Taylor
Literature Study


My 4th graders loved it!!
Now we're on the The Cay by the same author...I will admit that we are not making a bulletin board though.

For my Walk to Read kids we have...




Greek mythology and Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief!

Report cards are due Sunday night and classrooms should be getting packed up and stored away but we still have a great book to work on...
These kids do NOT want it to end!

This is such a small photo that doesn't show the busyness of the classroom but it DOES explain why I am still not done with my book-group-book yet for this month!!

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming!!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Happy Mother's Day

Hang up the cape today and enjoy yourself!!

Friday, May 10, 2013

Saturday snapshot!!


Watermelons mean summer is coming!
I love it that Tinsley has her first taste!!