Books, Books, and more Books

I have been reading and reading. So want to share some great titles to add to your collection or for your kids to read in class.

The Shadows We Know by Heart by Jennifer Park

This book is a mystery and romance all rolled into a big myth of the East Texas Woods. Are the Sasquatches real? Why does Dad only have one rule? Don't Go in the Woods? Leah longs to escape a home life filled with grief of her missing brother. When she escapes into the woods and finds a boy who can't remember his past and has difficulty speaking. But he is living with the Sasquatches and she knows if she is not careful someone will find them and then who knows. So she must be careful, but she also must find out what this boy knows or remembers. But who else is watching?

The Stacks of reading continue. Next book I really loved this summer was Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel by Kimberly Willis Holt. "Soulful and Satisfying"- Kirkus Review and I have to agree. Holt just speaks to your soul when you read this story, sure bad things happen to great people but how we deal with those things builds us into incredible people. This one has it all, a tragic event, coping with loss, and dealing with crazy family members and even a slight romance with some humor. It is one of those books you want to say... "Just Read It"!

Comments

Have a great day, by helping someone else's day be great!

Today was my 17th 'first day' in education. My 11th in public school at Everman I.S.D. I am learning more and more every day. The kids make it so much more fun though. All summer I have been in and out of trainings, with some kids for summer school, and working the last two weeks with adults. Today was better because the KIDS were there. Some were scared and unsure. Some were angry their sleep was disturbed. Some were tired of the dress code already, but they were there. I know in their heads they are saying to themselves, "this year, THIS IS the year I am going to be awesome, I am going to start off on the right foot, and make great grades. I will be organized. I will ace every class. Then there are the ones in lines with parents trying to just register and praying they have all the paper work required like at the D.M.V. The constant paper work that ties us to places and people required to prove something. I like the kids....

Mid-Week Reads

I learn so much from Twitter! It is truly a constant PLN. I have been overwhelmed by it in the past. At iPadpalooza 2015 - it was stated WTF? What's the FEAR? About Twitter, but I know the fear of being unable to read it all, that's the fear. The fear of doing it wrong. The fear of never finding the hashtag? But I've fixed that in my head, I don't have to read it all. A colleague of mine said he is limiting his to 50 people to follow so he only selects great Tweeters who have something to do with his content of History. So his is more specific, while mine is jumping all over the place, with great librarians, principals, school leadership, teachers, authors, magazines, writers. I am trying to read all the blogs, reviews, ideas, books, plus Twitter chats scheduled all the time is just crazy. It goes so fast and changes so quickly. That's the FEAR! So this month my challenge goal is to calm down my own head about Twitter. Just read what I want,...

It's more than a device...it's empowering.

I saw a Tweet today linked to a blog that gave a teacher 4 reasons how technology can help with classroom management. ( I'm trying to find it again to give credit). But I thought about how my students react to having the Chromebooks in their classrooms. I have watched this happen in my own class, but when you hand a student a computer, iPad, or tech device, you send a message to this child. “You are worth it.” My campus is a title one district, some students deal with survival more than any student should. But to some, by having their own device, it sends the message you believe in them. They know you want them to be successful, and you can help them learn needed skills for today's world. It sends the message, you can be professional, you can learn, grow and we care. This is why students armed with technology are suddenly more engaged, they feel valued. A valued child can then grow confident and safe making learning easier. Less behavior problems happen wh...

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