Bursting with Ideas

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Two Writing Teachers

It's the two-week "rest" period before school starts.  No sports or summer school for my teens.

Ahhhhh.

My oldest daughter landed a job (hooray!) and will work next week, but this week is all about small errands, friends, reading and rest for the three of us.  My husband is happy to head off to work - he can't deal with too much unstructured time.
Since I've had more time to relax, I've spent more time on Twitter (I'm @ReadSoMuch) with my Personal Learning Network.  When people ask how that works, I tell them it's all about who you follow, and what you are looking for.

I'm looking for lots of ideas for my resource room and school reading community...

• read alouds
• organizational tips (!)
• ways to engage kids (and teachers) in reading
• how not to be overwhelmed by the Common Core State Standards

Now that I've had more time to research and dig into many tweets and blog posts, my mind is bursting with ideas.  The challenge I have is organizing (!) these ideas and figuring out how to best implement them. 

Some of my plans for the beginning of the school year:

1. Bring my books from home (labeled with levels and organized (mostly!) into book boxes) and reboot my classroom library
2. Ask teachers to share pictures of themselves from elementary school along with a book cover of their favorite read - this will share our "reading lives" (even if we were reluctant readers) with our students
3. Use Evernote instead of a planner (but I will miss writing with my colorful pens!) to keep track of team meetings
4. Journal many times during the week to empty my brain of stress and great ideas I want to capture

I'm happy to have plans, but I'm not stressing myself about any of them.  My plan is to avoid the back-to-school nightmares and ease into my 13th year of teaching.  

OLW update: Thrive

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Last week Stacey at TWT inquired about our OLWs, our One Little Word that we've chosen for the year as our mantra, instead of a full-out resolution.

My family's OLW for 2013 is thrive (here is the story of how we picked this word as a family).  We are two adults and two teenagers, and 2012-2013 has had its share of bumps in the road.  Nothing devastating, but challenging.

My husband, Jeff, had the challenge of heart surgery in May to correct a congenital defect.  He was doing great until a minor setback during his last week of leave.  His recovery was pretty easy (from my perspective - the one who didn't have surgery!), and it was tough to see him in pain the week before he returned to work.  Thankfully that issue resolved itself and he went back to work.  Jeff starts cardiac rehab later this week.  He's looking forward to redesigning his nutrition and fitness plan.  He's a man with a plan, and I know he will reach his goals and thrive.

My oldest daughter, Lindsey, is entering her senior year. (I will not cry. I will not cry.) It's a time of tough decisions (college!) and fun (fun!) and a full class load (no time for senioritis!)  I know she can balance all the school work, sports, activities, college apps and fun now that junior year is behind her.  I've offered to coach more and nag less in order to give her space to thrive.

My youngest daughter, Allison, will be a sophomore this fall.  She has her driver's permit (she's SUPER excited - like Mo Willem's pigeon).  We're hoping she can build her homework stamina and see school as more than a social scene.  She's got all the tools to thrive - she just needs to use them.

I am trying to walk and eat my way to a healthier body as well as organize my books, coach my girls (without nagging) and be my husband's number one fan.  I'm happy that I walked or biked over 50 miles in June (hooray!) and I'm eating more veggies and fruit.  I still spend a bit too much time nagging (old habits die hard) and I love surfing the 'net instead of exercising, but I'm not beating myself up about it.  I'm trying to thrive by living each day to the fullest - appreciating my good health, great books, the beauty of nature and all the positive people in my life.

Here's hoping you're doing your best to thrive as well!

Senior Summer

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It's summer.

Time for fun, sunshine, travel, reading, relaxing.

It's the summer before senior year.

Time for college visits, questions from family, decisions, job hunting, summer reading.

It's supposed to be a fun, carefree time

but

deadlines and decisions loom.

As the parent, I try to provide advice, but I find myself keeping my thoughts to myself.

I'm providing facts and guiding questions.

I'm not the one choosing a school or a job or when to do my summer assignments.

I don't have to live with the decisions... just the person who has to make them.

It's stressful to watch, but that's my place.  On the sidelines.  Coaching.

She's in the game.

Allison

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Tomorrow the baby of our family turns 15.  Wow. I don't know where the time has gone!

Allison is enjoying a busy summer full of classes, poms camp, hanging out with friends, dance, volunteering at swim lessons, and --most importantly -- driver's education!  Ask her when she is able to test for her permit, and I'm pretty sure she can tell you, down to the number of hours! As my second child in the driver's seat, I'm pretty calm about the process.  I even traded in my old SUV for a new crossover with better mileage and smaller frame.  It's new, but I'm not worried about dents or crashes.  As Allison reminds me all the time, she is an excellent lawn-tractor-driver at my parents' house.

I had the pleasure of watching Allison on stage last weekend as she performed in her 11th recital.  She's been taking dance classes since she was nearly 5 years old.  Back in the early days, she was extremely shy and didn't dance if it was observation day during class.  During the first performance of her first recital, she stood stock still on the stage, as her classmates "danced" next to her.  As I stood backstage in the wings, pushed right up to the curtain by the studio director, my heart ached for Allison.  I wondered what kind of mother puts her shy, wary preschooler on a stage in front of hundreds of strangers.  I was convinced she would be scarred for life.

Then something amazing happened.  Allison made eye contact with Nicole, a sweet girl in her class.  Nicole smiled and Allison smiled back.  They began to dance together.  I was astounded!  After the recital, two different moms came up to us to share that they had been rooting for Allison to begin dancing, and when she started dancing with her class, both moms had begun to cry.

Fast forward to last weekend.  My nearly 15 year old daughter confidently performed ballet, hip hop and contemporary numbers. She took care of her own hair, makeup and costumes.  She helped her friends prepare for their numbers.  My shy, wary dancer is now a teen with drive and ambition.  On Sunday night, after all the performances were finished, Allison shared that the stage and the dance studio are her "homes away from home."

Happy birthday, Alli!  You make us proud (and make us laugh) every day!

Summer Reading... so far

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I have been working through a few good books this summer, between cleaning out my daughter's room, washing lots of dishes (now I know why we like to eat out!) and purging the basement.  Here's a few I've enjoyed:

 (book cover photos from goodreads.com)

My sister-in-law shared Summerland with me.  She devours adult fiction and passes them to me (we love Janet Evanovich's quick reads).  I liked this book as it wove together the small town of Nantucket, MA as three families deal with a teen car accident.  The writing floats between the past and present, and reveals so much about the characters.

 The Caster Chronicles series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl caught my eye when the Beautiful Creatures movie trailer came out.  They tend to be a bit long, but the characters and the South Carolina town they inhabit are fun to read about.  The magical categories and boy/girl drama between Lena and Ethan keep me reading this series.  The next book in the series is Beautiful Redemption.  I may save it for winter reading.

 Butter is a morbidly obese high schooler who plays a mean saxophone and secretly pines for a girl in his class.  He's bullied by two guys, especially, and decides he should just eat himself to death.  Butter has some great mentors, but you can feel his desperation.  (Psst - it does have a happy ending, don't worry!)

The Book of Broken Hearts is my second read by Sarah Ockler.  I immensely enjoyed reading about Jude and her family (three intense sisters, hardworking mom, dad with early-onset Alzheimer's).  These characters are so real and dealing with such a raw, terrible disease.  There's great sparks and chemistry between Jude and Emilio.  He's a motorcycle repair kid from a family of heartbreakers who Jude is supposed to avoid.  Be prepared for heartache and tears in this story.  I couldn't put it down.

Finally, I need to go back and reread Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead.  This is my fave middle grade read this summer.  Georges, Mom and Dad downsize to an apartment building in New York.  Georges meets Safer and Candy, two homeschooled kids, who introduce him to the art of spying.  Georges deals with separation from his mom and a few bullies at school.  The ending makes you realize how much you missed while you read this book!  I didn't figure out the clues the author left, so I'm determined to reread and find them.  This would be a great read for those middle graders who crave a little mystery.

Happy summer reading!  I recommend setting up a Goodreads.com account and searching #bookaday on Twitter to find your next great read!

Progress

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Progress

We are all making progress in my house this June.  We have many different goals and dreams, but everyone is taking small and large steps.  

My youngest daughter (nearly 15) conquered her cluttered, tchochke-filled room and closet with just a little help.  She felt better about sending her stuffed animal collection to the basement or my classroom ("Mom, the kids need to have a Read With the Bears Day in your room!").

Her room is nearly ready for a fresh coat of paint, now that we've removed some furniture (*See my progress below) and cleared her space.

My oldest daughter (gulp, a senior) has been applying for a part-time job and deciding which colleges she needs to visit this summer before diving into the application progress.  I've tried my best to give her space and not nag her about the job apps (I'm failing miserably!).  She's asking lots of friends about where she should apply and has successfully answered hundreds of personality and work style questions on these 45-minute applications.

My husband is now at the 5-week mark after heart surgery.  He wasn't cleared to drive yet (UGH!) but he has helped me fix up a few items around the house with a screw gun and circular saw.  This week he plans to spend some time in his office and maybe work a touch on the basement.  He's determined to get into cardiac rehab ASAP so he can start working out.  

I took the bookshelf from my youngest's room and plan to house my home library collection in the basement.  I bought clear shoeboxes and started sorting a few shelves of books.  The basement floor is a total disaster, as I only work on this project when we have crummy weather.  I'm so glad that I've started to sort what I have - I didn't realize how many books need to be in my classroom library.  Once I can get back into school, I'll purge and organize there, too.  This project is long overdue, and I'm excited to finally be making progress.

A Little Stir Crazy

I started my summer vacation a few weeks early when my husband had surgery.  I think we both know we've become a bit stir crazy.  Today's episode proves it.

The UPS and FedEx trucks make frequent stops at our house.  We (especially hubby) enjoy shopping online, especially for hard to find items.  Today I was expecting a box of clothing, but a tall, skinny box was left on our porch.

"Oh! It's my garden weasel!" my husband exclaimed.

The following soliloquy ran through my head and out of my mouth:

A garden weasel?  The garden tool on TV?  You have got to be kidding me.  You really ordered a garden weasel? Why do we need that? We don't even have a garden! Did you order that contraption when you couldn't sleep at 2:00 a.m?  I seriously think you need to change your meds.  Are you out of your mind?  Why do you "need" the most random items? Why did you order a garden weasel?

He opened the box and inside was the famous TV tool.  He just looked at me with his mouth open, shocked that I couldn't understand why he ordered it.

I stomped  away and pouted on the reading chair.  A million ideas ran through my head:  I should call the doctor.  I need to hide his credit card.  The man has lost his mind!

A few minutes later, I found him in the bedroom.  I apologized for my verbal attack on his shopping habits.

"I bought the garden weasel so I could fix the patch of grass that got charred from the fire pit.  I figured it was the best tool for the job, and we didn't have one" stated my husband, matter-of-factly.  "Is that okay with you?"

Oh.

I guess it's time to go read a book or organize my home library.