Category: Uncategorized

                                               

This is a fabulous idea from Ruth Ayres in which we write about something to celebrate each Saturday. I am looking forward to participating in this link up each week and hearing about the awesome things happening in everyone’s classrooms and lives.

Celebrating this week:

1. Although she is not human, my dog is definitely a big part of our family.  I am celebrating having her back home with us after we got home from out of town.  I love the place she goes and am very thankful for the excellent care she receives while she is with them.  Here are some action shots from the doggy spa:

I love that we have a great place to take her and know she is happy and safe while we’re gone.  Now, I am happy to have her cuddled up with me on the couch as I write.

2. I had a blast with Ramon’s family in Spain.  His cousin threw us a surprise welcome party on the day we arrived.

Ramon and his mom enjoy one of their favorite dishes…snails!

After that, it was nonstop family time over the holidays.  It was beautiful as always in Sevilla.  The holiday lights are amazing there and it is always fun to see his family since we don’t get to see them often.

3. Almost ten years ago, I bought a necklace from an artist that works with glass at the art fair in Sevilla.  I went back to this same art fair each year we were there over the holidays, but have never been able to find that artist again.  This year, she was there again along with another artist with gorgeous pieces!  I am celebrating my new beautiful necklaces!  I love these because they are so unique.

4. Ramon and I brought an iPad mini for his parents.  We went with them to set up internet in their house and showed them how to use e-mail, Skype, and FaceTime.  I am so excited that they will be able to do video conferences with both Ramon and his twin brother who lives in another part of Spain.  They were so excited when they were learning the technology.  I am so happy we brought this for them and were able to teach them the basics.  I just know that Ramon’s parents will love being able to use the internet and connect with their family.

5. Our trip home was the smoothest trip I have ever had.  We had very little downtime…we didn’t have to run in the airport in Madrid to connect with our flight, but we were able to board immediately when we got to the gate.  We had a smooth flight which is made better because the plane now has individual video screens and you can select your own entertainment.  It definitely makes the 9 hour flight go faster!  I enjoyed watching Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 and The Great Gatsby (which I thought was very well done).  I also had some good time to read on the plane.  Then, going through customs in Chicago was quick, our bags came up fast, and the bus to Milwaukee was waiting when we got outside.  We usually have to wait about 45 minutes for the bus because we usually get outside about 5 minutes after the bus left.  It was nice to get home an hour earlier than we had anticipated.

6. I know this sounds weird, but I am also celebrating the fact that our car and house were fine when we got home.  No break-ins or any other bad things…I am always a little nervous that something will happen while we’re gone.

Okay, okay.  So it’s not Monday anymore. I just had to catch up with these posts because if I wait until next week I will have way too many books to talk about.

Ripper by Stephan Petrucha is a fun mystery set in the early 1900s. I enjoyed reading this book and I particularly liked the author’s note at the end that explained what was historically accurate and what was not. I am sure any student who is really interested in mysteries would like this book. 

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi is another excellent second book in a trilogy. I cannot wait to find out what will happen to Juliette in the last installment. There were some crazy twists in this one and I will now be waiting on the edge of my seat for the third book. I highly recommend this series to fans of dystopian series and fantasy. 

Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg is an ARC that I received at a fun literary luncheon at Liza Weimer’s house. I had not read any of Eulberg’s books before, but I will definitely look for them now. This one is a sweet book about friendship and romance. It is set near Milwaukee and I love all the references to Wisconsin. This book alternates narration between two friends with a little additional banter between chapters. I loved that. Once we are closer to the release date I will be reviewing this one. 

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta is a fabulous book. I will say that this book was slow to start for me because I was confused at first. This is the third time I started the book but I was determined to finish it this time. I am so glad I stuck with it. What a heartbreaking but beautiful story. I love how the characters are healed through the relationships and support that they have. I definitely can see how this one won the Printz award. I highly recommend it. 

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith is another sweet romance with some really complex characters. I love that these two characters met on a transatlantic flight. I also love how complex the issues are. I think most teenagers will be able to identify with the characters. I sped through this one in no time and I appreciate the fact that it is easy to read but still tugged on my heart. I will definitely be pushing this book in my classroom when we get back. My girls will love it!  

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is another awesome romance. Cath is the ultimate introverted nerd who is very self-conscious. I love that the protagonist of this book is such a nerd. I could absolutely relate to how she was feeling in college. I also thought the complex issues of dealing with one parent who left and another with bipolar disorder made the story and the character much more interesting. I LOVED both Fangirl and Eleanor & Park.  I can’t wait for more from this author. 

The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner is awesome. I am not going to go into much detail because I will review it closer to the release date, but suffice into say that you will need to read this book!  Pre-order a copy now. 

                                               

This is a fabulous idea from Ruth Ayres in which we write about something to celebrate each Saturday. I am looking forward to participating in this link up each week and hearing about the awesome things happening in everyone’s classrooms and lives.

This week was crazy with the full moon coming the week before Winter break!  

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? –From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

Books I Finished This Week:

Books I am Currently Reading:

What’s Next?

These are some things that I had to celebrate this week:

Monday–On our Teacher Professional Development Day my principal gave us the afternoon to work on what we needed to work on.  This does not always happen and I needed the time to collaborate with my grade-level partner and organize my class library.  There were books piled on my table and my desk and everywhere there was space.  I was so happy to have time to get some things done.

Tuesday–When I checked my mailbox on Tuesday morning there was an envelope from a local high school. There was a short letter explaining that they have a program in which their students write a thank you note to a former teacher.  And then there was this…

The ladies at Two Writing Teachers host the Slice of Life every Tuesday.

On Sunday, we were supposed to get snow but it was supposed to come in the afternoon.  My husband and I drove about 25 minutes away for brunch and were surprised but not too worried when the snow came early.  But then it just kept falling.  It was that beautiful kind of snow that makes you feel like you are in a snow globe as you look out the window.  The setting at our friends’ house was gorgeous. A snow-covered forest of old trees.

Then, it was time to drive home. I got to do the driving since I am a better winter driver.  My husband does a great job, but he didn’t grow up around here and does not have as much experience in the snow.  The interstate was still snow-covered and everyone was sensibly driving at about 35 mph tops. It was treacherous and scary and I was so happy when I arrived at home.  I was especially thankful that we got home safe when I turned on the television and saw on the news updates that almost every other spot in the city there had been a multiple car pile-up on the freeways.  We’re talking 20-30 cars in these crashes.  As I had mentioned to my husband as I drove us home, it was a blessing that everyone was driving sensibly and no one was trying to speed around everybody.

This is one of the multiple car crashes that happened.

When I got home, I started thinking about some of the conversation we had at the brunch table.  The people we were with were talking cars a lot of the time, which is something I know almost nothing about.  However, when talked turned to the crappy handling of some higher end cars in the snow, it was something that I could relate to.  You see, when I was in high school, I drove a Mercedes.

My father always wanted to have a Mercedes. We made fun of him and got him models of Mercedes. It was one of those things that he had always wanted for his whole life.  So, when the opportunity presented itself for him to lease one at a reasonable price, he went for it.  My mother was a teacher and he was a salesman, so they made decent money, but were not rich.  My father had his dream car for the last 6 months of his life.  When he passed away, my mother had the difficult decision of which car to get rid of.  She decided to keep the Mercedes because it made the most sense. It turns out that this car was something of a lemon.  So when I started driving, it became the car that I could drive.

The car I drove was a sedan similar to this one.

That car was horrible in the winter.  It had rear-wheel drive and fishtailed around every corner in the snow.  I got really good at driving in the snow.  Even though it was probably not the best idea for me to drive a car like that as a teenager, the experience taught me a lot about winter driving.  Now, I am a natural at handling tough driving.  My reactions when driving in snow are natural.  The car fishtails? No problem.  Having a hard time getting through that snow pile? No problem.  I have confidence and know what I am doing because of the crappy way that car handled snow and ice.

When I encounter the tricky winter driving situations like I had on Sunday, I am so thankful for the confidence that I have.  My reactions are automatic and I don’t even have to think about which way to steer or how hard to hit the accelerator.  I wonder if my dad knows about the lessons that his dream car gave me.  I hope so.

I am joining in on this weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week there is a different top ten list topic and a bunch of bloggers weighing in.  Head on over there to see more of the great blogs participating.

Books off the shelf:

I loved both Boy21 and Sorta Like a Rock Star. I am super excited to read Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick and was happy to get a good deal on Black Friday so that I could get a copy of this one.

I am a little embarrassed to admit that I have not read any books by Ellen Hopkins.  I have Crank and Glass on my shelf at home and need to read them so I can get them to my classroom.

The Dark and Hollow Places is a title on my dystopian challenge list.  I have read the first two books in the The Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy and want to finish the series.

I have been avoiding Out of My Mind because of the content.  My stepbrother, who had severe cerebral palsy, passed away last December.  I was a little afraid that this book would bring things a little too close for comfort.  I am still a little nervous about reading the book, but I think I am now a little more able to deal with it now.

Books on my Kindle:

The Silver Linings Playbook looks like such a great book.  I am really interested to read this adult book by Matthew Quick.

I am trying to read my way through all the Printz award and honor books.  On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta is a book that I want to get to soon.

The Forsaken looks so good! I have been completely intrigued by this book for over a year now.  It is a title that I have had on my Kindle for a while and I just keep forgetting about it.

I have never heard a single negative thing being said about any of these books.  I loved Eleanor and Park and cannot wait to read another one by Rainbow Rowell.  A.S. King is also an author I have recently discovered.  Ask the Passangers was amazing and I have big hopes for Everybody Sees the Ants.  I am also very interested to read The Miseducation of Cameron Post.

I have SO MANY books on my TBR shelf and waiting for me on the Kindle and yet I keep going to bookstores and looking at the daily deals on Amazon.  I hope I can at least get through these top ten books this winter.

Time to curl up with a nice mug of hot cocoa and get to reading!

What is on your TBR pile?  I would love to hear from you in the comments.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? –From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

Books I Finished This Week:

Books I am Currently Reading:

I am still listening to The Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare.  I am enjoying the audiobook narrators and the world of the shadowhunters.  I started reading Ripper by Stefan Petrucha the other day. As I was leaving my classroom the other day to go to my hair appointment, I realized I did not have a book with me.  This one has been sitting by my desk since the book fair earlier this fall.  So far, I am enjoying the story. I also just started reading Unravel Me and The Great and Only Barnum. Both are good so far.

What’s Next?

This year is going so fast!  This week was a crazy week with students full of energy and difficult to get them to work.  I am so glad I have this weekly ritual of looking for celebrations because the positive energy really pulled me through the week.

The power of a good read aloud is something to celebrate.  I read Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen every year because my 8th grade students need to start learning about the awful things that happened to slaves.  This book is quite graphic, but powerful and a great story.  This week we got to the intense part of the story and the quiet descended on the room.  I love when that happens!

I chose an article of the week that was about slavery today in the world.  Then, I sat back and listened. I love that my students made the connection that I was hoping they would make.  They were astonished to learn that there is still slavery in the world.  Their thinking was so deep and I was so happy to see that I was extending their world view and giving them something to think about.

This week, I also started using the brilliant ideas of Jeff Anderson.  I had planned to use his ideas throughout the school year, but never got myself together enough earlier in the school year.  This week we did a study of commas after introductory phrases.  I love how my students reacted to the ridiculous acronym AAAWWUBBIS.  They really got it and I am excited to do more with it next week.

One of the best lessons, in this series of lessons about the comma, was writing using the inspiration of “If I had $1,000,000” by the Barenaked Ladies.  I figured out that I need to use music more often in the classroom.  The students didn’t all love this song, but they did love the fact that we used it in the lesson.

A personal celebration this week was my hair appointment on Thursday night.  I love the chance to get pampered for a little while.  I also love it when my hair is straight.  I do not have the patience or the skill to get my hair so straight so I enjoy the day after my haircut and the compliments that I get.

My husband wants to create a classroom library for his Spanish classroom.  He is working on finding books in Spanish for his heritage speakers to read.  Therefore, we made it a priority to get to the Scholastic Warehouse sale last night.  It was such a nice Friday night.  We shopped the sale and I got a lot of great books that I have been wanting to read (although I  really shouldn’t buy any more books until my TBR pile is smaller). We also found some books in Spanish for his classroom.  Then we went to a local burger place for dinner and to our favorite bar for a beer before going home.  It was a nice way to end a stressful week.

I was able to make my #nerdlution goals every day this week!  I am loving the fitbit pedometer for motivation to get to the goals I set.

One last small celebration is the new antenna I ordered on Black Friday from Amazon’s flash sales.  We have had a really hard time getting good reception on TV channels with the other antenna we have. This one is amazing! I can’t wait to watch the Packer game on Sunday without having to adjust the antenna every few minutes.

What do you have to celebrate?  I would love to hear from you in the comments!