It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (9/9/13)...

*I'm sure everyone can relate with the craziness of the first week of school.  Needless to say I didn't get much reading done, but do try to squeeze in some reading time each night.

Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to their site...

                

                 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

Books I Read this Past Week...

Aces Wild by Erica S. Perl

*I continue to read a chapter or two each day.  

*So far, it is an enjoyable story. 

The Girl You Left Behind by Jo Jo Moyes

*My adult book.

*I read her other book Me Before You which was wonderful.

*I'm not getting to this as much as I would like, but can tell it is going to be a great story. 




Books I Will (continue to) Read this Week...

 The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

*I just picked this as our first book club selection for my BBC (Boy's Book Club) at school.  

*This will be the first book for our new "season" of reading. 







Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles

*With all the Twitter "chat" going on about this book and the new companion book coming out this week, I couldn't resist downloading this story.  

*I just started it and absolutely love it.   

The Sasquatch Escape by Suzanne Selfors

*This is our "Breakfast with Books" book club selection for September in my fourth grade classroom.   

*I am rereading this book as my students are reading it.   

My (#heartprint) Books...

Heart Print Books

*It has been so enjoyable (and heart warming) to following my Twitter friends and see what they have been posting as their #heartprint books.

*It got me thinking about all the books that I have read and the ones that have left a #heartprint on my soul.  

*Here are some of the books that will forever be in my heart...


Heart Print Books - Middle Grade Books

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Larger Than Life Lara by Dandi Daley Mackall

Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C O'Brien











Heart Print Books - Adult Books

The Crying Tree by Naseem Rakha

The Fault in our Stars by John Green

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

I Know this Much Is True by Wally Lamb

Friend Friday #7...

Hi!  I’m Irene and I’m reading the book called Eva of the Farm written by Dia Calhoun.

I think this book is my favorite because it is really funny and there are a lot of big moments.

My favorite part in the story is when Eva goes to the bead woman because they always have a lot of fun.  

The character that I liked best is Eva because I really like her parents.  

I think the author wrote this book because she likes poetry.  

I would recommend this book to my friends because it is super fun and it isn't hard.

Reading to me is my 2nd favorite thing to do because I like all the books I have. 

*Irene is a new fourth grader in my class.  She is the first "friend" in our fourth grade class to share a book for my blog.  Thanks Irene for sharing your thoughts.  I don't know this book, but I sure will check it out.

Trailer Thursday #7...

"What I Am" by will.i.am and Cast of Sesame Street

*This is our class Theme song and appears in our weekly newscast.

"Brave" by Sara Bareilles (Original Video)

*We used this video during our "Brave" discussion after reading The Story of Fish and Snail.

"Brave" by Sara Bareilles (Lyrics Video)

The Story of Fish & Snail by Deborah Freedman

*We shared this story and had a wonderful discussion about being brave. 

Wonder Wednesday #7...

 

Wonder Wednesday - The Beginning of a School Year

So many wonders have occurred in the last couple of days.  There is nothing quite like starting up a school year.  Even though it has only been two days with my fourth graders, I truly believe it has been the best and most WONDERful start up to a school year I've had in a long time. 

Here are some of the WONDERS I've experienced in the last 48 hours...

*Sharing my reading life with my new students.

*Reading the first picture book (First Day Jitters) and reeling them into the world of picture books.

*Starting our first read aloud called The Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library.

*Passing out the Ipads and sharing the Wonderopolis website.  

*Logging onto Biblionasium and setting up our book shelves.  

*Reading The Story of Fish and Snail and having a great discussion about bravery.

*Showing the video "Brave" by Sara Bareilles and writing our 2nd writer's notebook entry.

*Using the site "Today'sMeet" to record our thoughts about the "Brave" video.

*Sharing my life with the students via "Socrative" quizzes.

*Introducing new books to the class and having them excited to get them into their hands.

If the first couple of WONDERful days are any indication of how the year is going to go, then I'm in for a year full of many WONDERS! 

Treat Tuesday #7...

Treat Tuesday - Banana Bread

*My wife made banana bread this morning for our "back-to-school" week.  This is a family favorite!

*It will be my morning snack each day during my prep time.



**1/2 cup of shortening
**1 cup sugar
**2 eggs beaten
**3 ripe bananas mashed
**2 cups flour
**1/2 cup milk
**1/2 tsp baking powder
**1 tsp soda
**1 tsp vanilla
**1/2 tsp salt

-Cream sugar, shortening
-Add mashed bananas, eggs
-Add dry ingredients
-Beat 2 minutes
-Add milt and beat some more
-Bake in loaf pan for 50 minutes (or so) at 350 degrees


Treat Tuesday - Middle Grade Book

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards

*I use to read this book to my classes years ago.

*They always loved it.  It has such great imagination and creativity.






Treat Tuesday - Adult Book

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

*Despite the controversy with this book and Oprah, it makes for an incredible read.

*I remember reading it poolside many summers ago and couldn't put it down.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (9/2/2013)...

*With workshop week last week, I didn't get much read, but did read ONE incredible book!

Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to their site...

                

                 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

Books I Read this Past Week...

Aces Wild by Erica S. Perl

*I started this book last week and will continue this week.

Counting by 7's by Erica S. Perl

*5 STARS out of 5 Stars!

*This will definitely be a read aloud this coming year.

*See my review for further thoughts. 

Books I Will (continue to) Read this Week...

Aces Wild by Erica S. Perl

*My middle-grade book. 

The Girl You Left Behind by Jo Jo Moyes

*My new adult book.

*I read her other book Me Before You which was wonderful.