The First Day of School

Ah, the first day has come and gone. It was great to see returning students and a few new ones. In the library, we got started on my goals for the students. We are working on setting goals in reading. I'm sure the students were surprised to hear about this, but a few are really excited. I discussed how I set a goal of 111 books to read in one year. You could hear the shock ripple through the room! Next, I explained that I read easy books and chapter books so my goal has been easy to attain so far.

For the next few weeks the students will put their goal into writing, read from different genres, and work on reaching a goal they have set for themselves. This will be an exciting year for everyone as we strive to become life-long readers at Hodges!

Family Night

I won a grant for my campus so I will be having a Family Reading Night to work with parents and students. I used the money I was given and purchased many new books. As they've come in I have tried to read them. I am very excited about the new books and I believe the students will love them. One that I really enjoyed was If You're A Monster And You Know It by Rebecca Emberly and Pop!The Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy. I try to read books that involve movement or lots of laughter when I read to Pre-K and this Friday I will read If You're A Monster and You Know It. The students will have so much fun participating by stomping their paws and snapping their claws!

Next week I will be at the Texas Library Association's annual convention. I look forward to hearing about new ideas and techniques that I can bring back to my campus. I will try to blog about each session and provide links.

Reading, Reading, and more Reading

I am still working on my goal of reading 111 books this year. I am now up to 42. The only reason I have been able to read so many is that I read lots of children's books. I just received new books and have started reading! Spring break is next week and I hope to read a few chapter books such as The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan, Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine, and A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly.

A Look at Our Future?

I just viewed a youtube video that really impressed me. It is about future technologies that are probably not to far off. It is sponsored by Corning. The video is about 5 minutes long but worth the time. Follow this link to be amazed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38

A Must Read

I just finished reading Dirty Little Secrets by Omololu. It was a great book and perfect for young adults. It is about a 16 year old girl that doesn't let anyone come over to her house because her mother is a hoarder. One day she discovers her mother is dead after finding her buried under a pile of National Geographic magazines. The ending surprised me a little. If you have time this book is worth reading.

I am also reading Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. It is an easy to read self help book. I am hoping to follow his advice and become debt free to the point that I can purchase everything with cash including future cars!

The Ongoing Challenge

I am working towards my goal of 111 in 2011. I am currently reading Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. I must say that if Tom were one of my students I would going out of my mind. That boy is so mischievous! I am also reading The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. I must say that I am having trouble staying interested. I started the book in November and have read about half of it. I feel that I must finish because it has received so many great reviews. However, I just can't seem to get interested, but I don't like the idea of abandoning it since is so highly recommended.

I am using Goodreads to track my reading and to follow other readers. I love to find books "to read" later.

I hear so many people say they can't imagine reading anything besides an actual book. I must say I wasn't too interested in reading a book on an ereader or computer but that is changing. I now read books on my iPad frequently and it has actually been an easy adjustment. However, I do still enjoy the feel and smell of a good book.

Time to get back to reading...

Book Challenge 2011

I am planning to read books that I feel I've missed out on during my public education. I got the idea from Much Madness is Divinest Sense. My goal is to read them all before the end of the year. For now I want to read To Kill A Mockingbird, The Scarlet Letter, and many others. As I read each book I will blog my response to the book.