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.

Problem Solving

I recently read a blog by Doug Johnson that I believe is relevant to all students. It is a list of mini activities to teach online research skills. It is applicable to all ages. The activities include checking the forecast and predicting what to wear the next day, locate science articles that relate to the current lesson in class, or read book reviews and make recommendations. What a simple way to teach beginning research skills. As for me, this will become part of my library curriculum.

The Book Whisperer

I cannot believe how long it has been since I last wrote a post. Hopefully, as the year progresses I will get more done on this site.

My school will be doing a book study this summer and the upper grades will be reading The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller. Several teachers, including myself, have already starting reading this book. I love it. She is a huge advocate of free reading and that you can increase a child's test scores without doing worksheets. I am so thrilled that many teachers on my campus will finally realize that true reading is the best way to teach reading. I am currently working with two teachers who will be using this technique next school year. I think exciting things are about to happen at my school and I can't wait to be part of it!!

My Top Ten Children's Books

1. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

2. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman

3. Verdi by Janell Cannon

4. Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

5. Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco

6. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

7. The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens

8. Oh, the Thinks You Can Think by Dr. Seuss

9. Wilford Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox

10. Anything by Mo Willems

Library Circulation on the Rise

According to a recent article in the Boston Globe, circulation is on the rise. As our economy spirals downward, more people are returning to libraries in record numbers. Many customers are also gettting movies because they cannot afford to rent them any longer. Some libraries have had as much as a 19% increase in circulation compared to this time last year. Hopefully, this trend will continue and library budgets won't decrease.