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Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers host the Slice of Life every Tuesday.

Lately I have really been reflecting about the way life turns out.  It seems to me that life plans can come and go and they never seem to work out exactly as one had wanted.  My big life plan was to fall in love and get married young so that I could be married a few years before having kids, but still have at least one child before turning 30.  I made this plan in high school (never mind that I did not even have a boyfriend until the summer after I graduated).

My life plan started out well.  I met my husband while studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain and brought him home with me.  I was 22 on my wedding day.  Then came the next part in the plan.  My husband was not so sure he wanted kids at first, but I worked on it  and he came around to the idea.  It took us about six or seven years of being married to get through all the speed bumps in the road.  It is another story for a different post, but lets just say that it took a LOT of work for my husband to feel at home in this country and for the two of us to feel like our marriage was centered and strong.

After this amount of time, I was ready to try for kids.  After all, we had the strong relationship and had had multiple years to enjoy our time together before changing everything.  Now was the time…and I could still have a baby before turning 30 if we hurried it up.  So, we starting trying.  And trying.  And trying.  After four years of trying to get pregnant, we finally decided to investigate what was going on.  I am pretty sure that we waited so long because we didn’t want to hear what we knew we would probably hear.  So two summers ago we obediently went through test after test and found out that the chances were awful for us to conceive.  I won’t go into details, but we had some tough decisions to make and we are still trying to figure out our path.  It was devastating for me, and still is, to think that I may end up having to settle for being childless.  This was not my plan.

Another thing that was not in the plan?  Being an auntie before being a mother.  My stepbrother and his wife had a baby boy a little over two years ago.  I love getting to spend time with my nephew.  He is such a ham and we enjoy family dinners together.  Now that he is talking more, his personality is really shining through.

Showing off his artwork on the phone.

My nephew and my husband.

And now, as of May 1st, I am an auntie again. This time it has been more special for me because it was my sister who was pregnant.  I spent a lot of sleepless nights worrying about her since she was very sick throughout her pregnancy.  But now she is healthy and we have a new baby girl in the family.  I came out to California to visit and to help out when my sister goes back to work next week.

Me, the baby, and my sister.

 Looking at these amazing kids, I am so blessed to be an aunt.  I will shower these two children with love and loud toys that annoy their parents.  And I will hope that their parents have a chance to get back at my husband and me in the future.  But for now, no more plans.  Summertime is perfect for lazy days with no plan and fun hanging out with a baby.

It’s Monday! What are you reading? –From Picture Books to YA–is a weekly meme hosted by Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts.  Head over to their blog for links to many great blogs and a plethora of good book suggestions.

It was so nice to really be able to read every day this week.  I traveled from Milwaukee to LA on Friday and had a ridiculous flight combination due to using points for my ticket.  Therefore, I had hours upon hours to read (and make up for the loss of sleep from a really early morning flight).  Yeah for summer #bookaday!  I am actually right on track with 10 books read and 10 days off so far.

Books I Finished This Week:

What’s Next:

Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers host the Slice of Life every Tuesday.

This summer I again want to make time for writing and I am committing to making time daily to write.  If I could do it for the Slice of Life challenge in March, I can do it now.

Some great things came out of my participation with Teachers Write last summer.  First, I wrote more often on my blog this year.  Next, I got my students writing on their blogs more regularly and even set up some collaboration with students in another class.  Lastly, I learned about being vulnerable.  I really did not participate to the highest degree last summer because I did not find that great idea that was going to be the next Harry Potter…I am a perfectionist and it is really hard to admit that I am not going to write polished, amazing writing in the first draft.  I have some ideas for interesting characters and I will be throwing those around this summer as well as working on crafting some memoir short stories.

My participation in Teachers Write this summer will be focused on some concrete goals:

1. Create writing notebook pages using the bingo cards that I purchased from Corbett Harrison so that I can use these to show students what I expect them to do in writing.
2. Develop the idea that I have for a novel and do some word count goals to get a good start on the draft.
3. I did NaNoWriMo in my classroom last year and it was the best thing that I could have done. I was so pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm all of my students displayed for this activity.  I want to use the workbook from the NaNoWriMo website to work through pre-writing activities so that I have examples for my students when we do these exercises.
4. Post It’s Monday! and Slice of Life posts on Mondays and Tuesdays.  Then post at least one other time in the week, most likely with reviews.  (Also, the quick write prompts and exercises from authors)
5. Play with my writing territories list and heart map ideas to come up with some memoir drafts and poems.  Do as I would expect my students to do and produce multiple pieces of writing in different genres.

I am expecting quite a commitment from myself because I expect a lot of writing from my students.  If I don’t change my patterns and make time for writing, how can I realistically expect that from them?  If I can’t go beyond my fears of failure, how can I expect my students to do this?

I hope that I can keep up with my goals and really make the time for writing that I plan to do.  I know that the more experience that I get with writing, the better it will be for my students.  Who knows? Maybe my story is just waiting to be found.

It’s Monday! What are you reading? –From Picture Books to YA–is a weekly meme hosted by Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts.  Head over to their blog for links to many great blogs and a plethora of good book suggestions.

The last few weeks of school seemed like such a whirlwind and time seemed to fly by.  I am so excited to be starting with my summer #bookaday challenge.  I will be attempting to read 80 books this summer, which is a few more than the number of days off I have.

Books I Finished This Week:

Books I am Currently Reading:

What’s Next:

This review is a part of my #NerdPrintz challenge.

Title: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Author: Benjamin Alire Saenz

Publication: February 21, 2012
Source: Library book

Goodreads Summary: 

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

My Thoughts: 

5 out of 5 stars

This review is part of my #NerdPrintz challenge.

Title: In Darkness
Author: Nick Lake

Published: January 5th, 2012
Source: Library book

My summary:  The book starts out with Shorty, a Haitian boy, trapped under a pile of rubble after the hospital he was in collapsed in the big earthquake.  Shorty begins to think over the recent events in his life that led to him being here.  He lived in a slum run by two rival gangs and, like many young boys in those conditions, he became involved with the gang activity.  The author provides us with a gritty and sometimes very graphic picture of life in a slum.  As Shorty thinks back over his past, he starts to become aware of another presence and begins seeing things from a distant past.  The reader starts to hear the story of Touissant l’Overture, a leader of a slave rebellion in Haiti’s past.  The story weaves in and out of each man’s story and the reader gets a realistic picture of life in modern Haiti as well as a glimpse at Haiti’s tumultuous past.

My Thoughts:  When I first started reading this book, I really had no idea what it was about.  I found myself drawn in from the very beginning as I imagined what it would be like to be trapped as Shorty is.   Then, as I continued to read, I quickly realized that this book was going to be one to savor and one that would teach me a lot about Haiti.  I had to look up the author to understand how he could know these things.  I found the author’s page and felt much more sure that the portrayal of life in Haiti was accurate.  Visit the website about the book here for more information.  I was absolutely astonished by the beauty of the language in this book.  This author was able to describe scenes in such detail that I was able to perfectly imagine these scenarios even though I have never been in situations even remotely similar.  I also enjoyed the magical elements in the story.  The way in which the stories of these two characters were connected was brilliant.

You can get a taste of the writing in the very first passage of the book:

“I am the voice in the dark, calling out for your help.  I am the quiet voice that you hope will not turn to silence, the voice you want to keep hearing cos it means someone is still alive.  I am the voice calling for you to come and dig me out. I am the voice in the dark, asking you to unbury me, to bring me from the grave out into the light, like a zombi.
   I am a killer and I have been killed, too, over and over; I am constantly being born.  I have lost more things than I have found; I have destroyed more things than I have built. I have seen babies abandoned in the trash and I have seen the dead come back to life. 
    I first shot a man when I was twelve years old. 
   I have no name.  There are no names in the darkness cos there is no one else, only me, and I already know who I am (I am the voice in the dark, calling out for your help), and I have no questions for myself and no need to call upon myself for anything, except to remember.”  

Take a look at what the author has to say about the book here:

I would highly recommend this book to adults and teenagers.  I would say that this one is grade 8 and up because some of the scenes are quite graphic and there is language and violence in the book.  I think it is a book that all teens should read.

5 out of 5 Stars

Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers host the Slice of Life every Tuesday.

     Today my 8th grade students will have their completion ceremony and move on their way to high school.  This time of year is always bittersweet for me.  I am happy for the students that they will move on to bigger and better things, and truthfully, I am ready for a break from them.  However, I always know that I will miss this group of kids and I always wish there were time for more.  I can never believe how quickly the last few weeks of school seem to go and I am caught by surprise as the year comes to a close.

    As I have worked to wrap up this school year with my students, I noticed that I did not feel as close with my students as I have in the past.  This bothered me. A lot.  Then, I started thinking about what was different and I figured it out.  This is the first year that I have had 8th grade students who have only had me for 8th grade.  All of the other exiting 8th grade classes have been classes in which students were part of my class in a former year.  I taught 1st grade for the first five years that I was at my school and then moved up to 4th and 5th grades.  Some of my students in former years were in my class three or four times throughout their time at Morgandale.  No wonder I felt like this years group was not as close to me.  Maybe this is what it should feel like…it has been so long since I had a class only for one year that I don’t know.  I just know that this year feels really weird.

    Later this morning when I am watching all these young men and women hug each other and say farewell to our school, I know I will cry, just as I have cried every year that I have worked with 8th graders.  Some of these students have been at our school since K4 and now they will move on to high school.  It is a big change for them and many of them shed a few tears also.  All I can hope is that we have done the best job we can in preparing them for the future and giving them wings to fly.

     Some highlights from this school year with these 8th graders:

• We jumped in with both feet and did NaNoWriMo last November.  It was an awesome experience and most of my students told me it was their favorite writing activity this year.
• All students read at least 10 books.  This is not as many as I would have hoped they would have read, but I am proud of the fact that every one of my students, even the ones who scoffed and laughed when I introduced the 40 book challenge, has read multiple books and found books to love this year.  
• One of my students became a voracious reader…she didn’t really read until December and then, BAM! She took off.  Here total at the end of the year was 82 books.  And she didn’t count the long ones as two like I said they could.  She burned her way through series after series and now has a serious reading addiction.  I told her she had to stop to do chores though so she doesn’t get yelled at on weekends.  
• Multiple students are writing books and stories constantly.  Many of them had not been doing this before this year.  I can’t necessarily take credit for this one, but I think the extra encouragement has been helpful for them.  
• Many students made double or triple the gains that are expected in a year in math.  Although I am not always convinced by the standardized tests, I am excited that students were able to see that their hard work paid off and they felt success in understanding concepts that were difficult for them before.  
• Writing false apology poems and pi poems with students was so much fun.  It reminded me of the importance of introducing all types of writing and giving students the chance to be creative.  

It’s Monday! What are you reading? –From Picture Books to YA–is a weekly meme hosted by Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts.  Head over to their blog for links to many great blogs and a plethora of good book suggestions.

I cannot believe that we have arrived at the end of the school year already!  I am so excited for summer #bookaday and Teachers Write this summer.  I loved my experience in Teachers Write last summer and am really looking forward to participating more this summer.

This was another slow reading week with preparations for the 8th grade completion ceremony and picnic, along with the last days of student work to plan for.  The weekend was full of errands and shopping and finalizing the slide show so there was not much time for reading left.

Books I Finished Last Week:

I finally finished listening to Days of Blood and Starlight this week! Oh my, I am going to be absolutely on pins and needles until the next one comes out.  The prose in these books is so achingly beautiful.  I love the imagination of Laini Taylor.  There are so many things happening in these books and this world is a place both terrifying and fascinating.  I love Karou and Akiva and cannot wait to spend more time with them in the next book.

I enjoyed Rot and Ruin, but it took me awhile to get hooked.  I think I was just on zombie overload because my husband and I had just watched a bunch of episodes of The Walking Dead to catch up with last season.  I like how the protagonist really grows up and starts to be much more intelligent about what is really going on in his world.  This is a smart story about what it might really be like to be living in the world after zombies have taken over.  I will definitely recommend this one to my 8th grade students next year…especially the fans of The Walking Dead.  I would be careful recommending it to students any younger than this because of the violence involved.

Books I am Currently Reading:

I started reading The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom this week.  I am loving the humor so far.  I also started Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe this week.  I am also enjoying this one.

What’s Next?

I will play it by ear this week.  My last work day is Thursday so I will probably take some time next weekend to do a reading marathon.  I found the entire Pretty Little Liars series on clearance at Half Price Books today so I might start with some of those because I know they will be quick.  I am also looking forward to starting Code Name Verity.  I saved it for summer because I knew I might need to give it more focused attention in the beginning.  I also want to take time to read some books in Spanish this summer.  I have been so focused on reading a lot that I have been neglecting that.  It is always good practice for me to spend some time thinking in Spanish.

It’s Monday! What are you reading? –From Picture Books to YA–is a weekly meme hosted by Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts.  Head over to their blog for links to many great blogs and a plethora of good book suggestions.

Books I finished this week:

Books I am Currently Reading:

What’s Next?

It’s Monday! What are you reading? –From Picture Books to YA–is a weekly meme hosted by Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts.  Head over to their blog for links to many great blogs and a plethora of good book suggestions.

This was another busy week as we start getting ready for the end of the year.  With my 8th graders we also are in charge of planning a completion ceremony and 8th grade fun trip so things are hopping in my neck of the woods lately.  I finished most of my report cards today so I will have much more time for reading this week.

Books I Finished This Week:

Aprilynne Pike was one of the authors I heard speak two weeks ago.  She was really witty and fun and I found her book to be that way as well.  Wings was a fun read about a girl who one day wakes up and finds a flower growing out of her back.  Needless to say, it turns out to be a story about faeries but it is definitely a fun one!  I will be looking for the other books in the series to read soon.

Books I am Currently Reading:

I am currently listening (still) to Days of Blood and Starlight.  I thought I was almost done a couple weeks ago but actually I was almost done with the first part on the audiobook.  This book is so beautiful.  I love the narrator, but I will also need to look for a hard copy of the book.  I listen to the book while working out and find myself dwelling on the beauty of the language.  I wish I could be writing things down while listening.  (and I am pretty sure my heart is going to be breaking with the storyline also)

I am also reading In Darkness, which is heartbreaking and fascinating.  I am learning so much about Haiti through this book.  I can see why this one won the Printz award this week.  I also started Rot and Ruin and am finding this one quite entertaining too.  There is a little bit so far about the morality of killing zombies which is somewhat unique.  I will be interested to see how the rest of the book goes.

What’s up next?

I have SOOOO many books on my pile!  I want to get to Aristotle and Dante this week and I have Pepper which is a book about this spice from the library which seems quite intriguing.  I also would like to get to the new Eoin Colfer book which I have in e-galley form.  I will probably also start Notice and Note so that I can participate with the Twitter chat next week.

What are you reading?  Have a great reading week!