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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? –From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme hosted 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.

Even though I was on Spring Break this week, I was sick. I just didn’t get much reading done. I was trying to make sure I finished the Slice of Life challenge and working on some other writing. I was also just feeling yucky and the sinus headaches really stopped me from reading. So the list of books I finished is really short.

Books I Finished This Week:

I enjoyed the second installment of the Seven Wonders series by Peter Lerangis. There are some good twists and turns to the plot and I know that some of my students who love a good mystery/adventure will love this one too. I am excited to get to the other three books in the series soon.

Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon was a really quick read, but it has really powerful ideas. I enjoyed reading the book and I like how it helped me open my mind a little more about being creative and how to do so.

Books I Am Currently Reading:

I am almost finished listening to Queen of Shadows. I love this series. I am also reading Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. It is such fun!

What’s Next?

Well, I will probably get to book three in the Seven Wonders series. I also have Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D.James from the library, along with a couple self-help books that I will want to dive into. I guess it will depend on my mood and on how much reading I can get done this week.

What are you reading this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

Join us in the Slice of Life story challenge. Every day for the month of March, bloggers all over the globe are writing their slices and sharing them on the Two Writing Teachers blog.

Today is the last day of the Slice of Life Challenge. I did not write every day this year. I missed two days because I was feeling sick and just didn’t have it in me. The end of the challenge made me start reflecting a little bit about my chosen profession. Being on Spring Break makes it easier to sit back and really reflect.

I have been teaching for fifteen years now. It hasn’t gotten any easier. In fact, it has gotten much harder. There is more paperwork to do. There are more expectations. I am expected to give up more of myself and my time off in order to complete the work that I am supposed to do. I am always facing down the most ridiculous to-do list. I never am able to get my day in the classroom to go exactly right. There is always something that I have not yet finished or something I want to improve. Yet, I would not choose to do anything other than this.

Lately, especially in the last few years in Wisconsin, teachers have been discontent. There are more people than ever talking about leaving the profession completely. There are so many people, at least in my school, who are so negative about the job and the work that needs to be done. I understand this sentiment to some extent, but I do not share the negativity about our chosen profession.

Every single school day I get the chance to give my students a safe place. I get the chance to wake up their curiosity and ignite their passion for a subject. I get the chance to read to them and with them and to talk about characters and situations and to celebrate when they finish books. I get the chance to be told the ins and outs of their lives outside of school. I get to help these kids be good friends to one another. I get the chance to show these children how to create good content and how to be good digital citizens. I get to show them how amazing it feels to solve a really tough problem and how awesome math can be. I get to laugh and be silly. I get to talk and to listen. I get to teach and encourage and love these kiddos. And I would not trade it for anything.

We all have invisible stories inside of us.

In the fall of 2013, during the first two weeks of my school year, I went through a scary week of weird symptoms and ER visits, with a final diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. Most symptoms of MS are invisible symptoms. They are not something you can see. Most days, I am fine. But some days, I might be struggling to keep my balance or battling some extreme fatigue or dealing with that burning sensation in my left shin. These invisible symptoms and the worry that more might come are things I have to deal with every day.

As a child, I had a stable and loving environment. My family was an upper middle class family. We didn’t get everything we wanted, but we had everything we needed. My mother and father loved each other and they loved us and we knew it. I was a good student and had a lot of advantages that a lot of other kids don’t have. On the surface, I had a very charmed life.  However, I was dealing with a lot of angst and worry. You see, my father had a massive heart attack when I was in third grade. His heart attack was so severe that he lost the function in one-third of his heart. He had to be careful and we had to make changes for his health. Our refrigerator never had anything hanging on it. We couldn’t have the magnets because they would mess with his pacemaker. We had to take it easy when we were home. I hardly ever got to host sleepovers, because my mother was worried about the extra stress it would cause. We all worried about my dad every day. If you had been my teacher or my classmate at that time in my life, you might not have known this about me. This anxiety and stress was something invisible that I carried with me each day.

There are so many people in our world who carry invisible burdens that we have no idea about when meeting them and seeing their outside shell.

What do we do when we meet these people and they somehow have wronged us?

Do we treat them with kindness? Do we try to understand where they are coming from?       Sadly, a lot of the time, the answer is no.

Unfortunately, many people in our society have not learned to have empathy for others.

You can see it at any place where a customer is screaming at a clerk. You can see it on social media rants. You can see it anywhere, if you look around.

Our world is lacking in empathy. Our world is lacking in kindness.

Just the mere fact that there is such a trend as “random acts of kindness” shows that we are lacking in this department. Don’t get me wrong. I am all for doing as many acts of kindness as you can. I just think it says volumes that we started to see this need.

So, how do we create a society in which we encounter kindness every single day?

We create readers. Say what? Yes, we create readers.

Reading books develops empathy. Learning to get lost in the world of a story and to connect to the character and understand their plight, helps children (and adults) to learn to apply this in real life. Placing ourselves in the shoes of the main character gives us practice seeing the world from different perspectives.

But it is not enough to create individual readers, we must work to create reading communities. We need to help kids to love to read AND to love to talk about reading. By creating a community of readers, we help students to learn to empathize with the characters and to learn to communicate with others and create connections. We help them to come out of the shell of selfishness to a place of collaboration. We help them to talk about their own struggles and share their perspectives. We help them to see that treating others with kindness is the best way to do things.

This is no small task. Creating a community of readers is hard work. Helping children get over the selfishness that is prevalent in our society and learn to collaborate and connect is tough. But the chance we have to create a generation of kind individuals is too great a chance to pass up. 

By sharing my experiences on my blog, I hope to inspire you to do the hard work of creating readers in your life and your classrooms. And in so doing, we will create kindness in the world.

What I loved about 2015:

    A new principal who has been working to facilitate big changes in our school. She is not always appreciated by everyone, especially those who would like to dig in their heels and stay where they are, but the changes are needed and I am excited about the direction we are headed.

    The opportunities I have had this year for traveling and spending quality time with my family. It is so fun to watch my niece develop and learn.

     My new kitchen! It was so worth the headaches of construction and the cost of the remodel.

      So many opportunities for learning! I attended All Write last summer and loved it! I also went to Summer Spark, which is a new conference started in Milwaukee last year. This fall, I was able to attend a workshop with Lucy Calkins. I love being able to learn new things and solidify the understandings I already had.

    There are so many other things, big and small, that I had to celebrate in 2015. I love the Celebrate This Week blog posts because they helped me to focus on the positive.

My goals for 2016:

     One of my biggest stressors is the way I am not as organized with my financial picture as I would like to be. I have to be better at this. I plan to have a budget and stick to it. I have a couple of apps that are helping me with keeping better track of things and I know this will be much better from here on out.

     I want to write more. I really got lazy with my blogging this fall and I would also like to do some more writing of stories and possibly a book. Daily writing is my goal. I have some plans for some structures that will help me make the time for this.

     I set my reading goal at 130 books. I like that I was less obsessed this year with finishing a ton of books. I have given myself permission to do other things and have taken some of my reading time back. I still am a voracious reader. I just also have other things I want to do.

     I am excited to be participating in the Whole Life Challenge starting January 16th (if you are interested in joining my team, click here). I need to be healthier and lose weight. I think the fun online game way of doing this will be motivating for me. I am looking forward to eating cleaner and really focusing on some healthy habits each day.

    I am using a Bullet Journal for the first time in earnest this year. I did a variation of this for a couple months in 2015, but I had a planner and felt guilty that I wasn’t using it so my bullet journal practice fizzled out. I am excited to use this system because I think it will really help me with productivity and keeping track of some things that I should be keeping better track of. I am looking forward to a small bedtime reflection routine which will include this tool.

    While looking around the internet at some different bullet journals, I stumbled upon a description of The Miracle Morning. The small description of this routine intrigued me, so I bought the book and read it. I had already been starting to rethink my morning routine and this book came into my life at just the right time. I am excited about implementing the Life SAVERS routines into my mornings. This is a great way for me to be able to incorporate a daily writing time. I am also happy to think about a structure in which I also will develop a meditation practice and do some exercise every morning.

I know that this all sounds like a lot. I just really think this is the time for me to take the bull by the horns and focus on some self-improvement. I hope I will be able to stick to the routines that will help me to do so.

Happy New Year!

     This summer, I have been lucky enough to attend multiple professional development events and to read some great professional books. All of the reading and reflecting has my head spinning with the possibilities in my classroom this next school year. I have been reminded this summer of the vision I have for a truly student-directed learning environment in my class.  I also have been inspired by truly excellent ideas for innovation in education such as flipped learning, genius hour, and gamification. Now, I need to begin to synthesize my learning and to decide what to focus on for the coming school year. There are some beliefs that I know I need to adhere to when thinking about my classroom:

• Classroom culture is the single most important thing. It is imperative to spend the time needed to teach students to respond to each other with kindness and to give them opportunities to collaborate with each of their classmates. 
• Students should be leading the learning. I want them to be setting goals and keeping track of their own learning and communicating that with their parents. 
• The classroom is OUR classroom. Involving students in setting it up and establishing some of the routines is important to me. 
• The workshop model is what works best for me and what I think is best for students. 
• READING is essential. Read aloud and independent reading need to happen every single day. 
• Encouraging a growth mindset is also imperative to helping students succeed
• Involving families in our learning is important. I want parents to have a place to go to see what we are doing each day in our classroom. I want them to feel like they are part of our learning. I want them to truly understand the standard-based report cards they receive each trimester. 

    A few weeks ago, I was cruising on Twitter and saw some tweets that caught my eye.  I had recently started following Jason Bretzmann (@jbretzmann) after attending one of his sessions at Summer Spark. Jason was tweeting out reminders about #patiopd. Hmmm, I thought. I wonder what that is. Then, I followed the link and found out that patio pd is exactly what it sounded like. Jason invites educators to come join him and Kenneth Bosch (@kennybosch) on his patio to have conversations and to learn about flipping classrooms and anything else teachers might like to know. It is a fabulous idea, right? If you want more information, you can find it here: http://bretzmanngroup.com/?page_id=530

    I quickly made a plan to get to the first session. I even convinced my husband Ramon, who just finished his second year teaching, to come with me. We had a wonderful time. The best part of the experience for me was sharing it with my husband. I had not been able to convince him in the past to attend edcamp with me. I didn’t convince him to come to Summer Spark with me. Somehow, this format was less intimidating or something and he came along. Woo-hoo! He loved hearing ideas from other educators and finally understood what I have been talking about for years…this kind of collaboration is energizing and inspiring. I love that he also was able to help a few teachers to set up their Google classroom accounts and to be the expert for that part of the time. I will have a lot more success in the future when I am trying to get him to come with me to PD opportunities.

     So, you ask, what actually went on at this session of Patio PD? Well, I am glad you asked. First, Jason and Kenneth took time to describe what flipping a classroom means. They each told about how they implement this concept in their own classrooms. This conversation morphed into a discussion about passion time/genius hour/20% time. We talked about different models for genius hour and how it is implemented in different classrooms and subject areas. A shout-out was given to Joy Kirr (@JoyKirr) and her amazing LiveBinder all about genius hour. I shared a little bit about how I have implemented this idea, both in middle school ELA classes and in 4th grade. Our discussion really got people thinking about what this would mean in their own classrooms.

     Another thread of conversation at our Patio PD was the discussion of implementing Fantasy GeoPolitics in middle school. This is a really cool resource for any Social Studies teachers out there. Since I teach 4th grade, I am not sure this will be something I can do in my classroom, but I think it would be a fabulous way to bring current events to a middle school or high school class. This is an activity similar to fantasy football or baseball. The students do a draft and get countries throughout the world. They then get points based on mentions in world news for the country they drafted. I am sure students would really love it. To find out more about this amazing resource you can go here: http://www.fantasygeopolitics.com/

    One other fabulous website that we looked at is Kahoot I have never used this website, but I was glad to be able to ask my questions about this fun site. I think both my husband and I will be using it this year.

    Then, the coolest part of our session was playing with the cool tech toys. We looked at a lot of fun tools that would have varying uses in classrooms. Of course, now I really want to buy all of these great tools. Here is what we got to play with:

 Swivl –I had heard of and even priced this tool in the past. It would be excellent for making a teaching video for any of the many reasons that people might do this. I think a tool like this would be fantastic to have in the classroom. The demonstration and conversation focused mostly on being able to make videos for flipping. We also talked about how videos are great artifacts for evidence in the Educator Effectiveness evaluation process in Wisconsin. I also think this would be a great tool for videotaping student groups during a time like literature circles.

Osmo — This is a fun game accessory that works with iPads. Students can manipulate things on the table and the iPad reads what they are doing. It would be so much fun to come up with games for students to do as stations or small group work. Right now, on the website, there is a buy one, give one promotion. When you buy an Osmo, the company gives one to a classroom in the USA of your choice. What a great deal!

Sphero — I want to do a lot more with coding in my classroom this year. Sphero is a great tool for helping students to be motivated to do this. I would love to have multiples of this tool. Oh, how I wish there were funds for one of those classroom packs!

Catchbox — This is a microphone that is in a protective, cushy box that can be thrown. Oh, the possibilities for this fun technology. I am imagining class meetings, great presentations that everyone can hear, and even better days for my voice. Time to drum up some funds.

As we wrapped up our day together, we did have a discussion about how to afford these types of tools in our classrooms. We suggested that DonorsChoose would be a wonderful resource for helping us to be able to get some awesome technology.

    Overall, our time at Patio PD was well spent. Ramon and I left energized and still talking about all the great ideas we heard. My mind is spinning with all sorts of new ideas about technology and how to continue with passion projects this year. I know Ramon is also really interested in doing Genius Hour in his AP Spanish Language and Culture class. I am excited to get to more sessions to hear the great ideas and collaborate with these great teachers! If you are nearby, you should definitely join us for Patio PD!

2014 was a fabulous year for me as far as reading goes. I read so many really good books. I have narrowed down my list to my favorite books for adults, young adults, and middle grades.  This is an extensive list, but it was so hard to narrow down any further. I hope you enjoy!

This year I read 29 Novels for Adults

My favorites:

I finally read En el tiempo de las mariposas (In the Time of the Butterflies) by Julia Alvarez. What a beautiful novel! This is one that rose straight to the top of my all-time favorites.

This is a love story about the love of books and reading as much as anything else. It is an incredibly wonderful story and you absolutely need to read it.

The Crane Wife is a gorgeous story based on a Japanese folk tale. Patrick Ness is genius and writes such beautiful stories. His writing always makes me think and this one is no exception to that rule. This is another must-read book.

It is the cover that caught my eye with this book. I am so glad it did. This is another wonderful story about love and life and the ways that lives intertwine.

In The Blood by Lisa Unger is not the most literary of books, but it is a thrilling read with a twisting plot. I was intrigued by the premise of the book and the central question of whether there is a genetic influence to being a psychopath and what you would do if you were the son or daughter of a killer.

I don’t know how to describe this novel exactly. It was an interesting premise and definitely made me think about how one event can influence the future.  The book is an interesting look at the era in history in which we experienced both World Wars, starting with the birth of the protagonist in 1911.

I listened to the audiobook of this one. For some reason, I thought this would be a mystery book. Boy, was I surprised when it was a fantasy book. However, I really lost myself in the world created by this author. I am really looking forward to the next one.

I read 63 Young adult books

My favorites:

I don’t really want to give away too much about this book. I absolutely felt for Gerald. This is another one by A.S. King that is about much more than what it seems to be about. I love the way her books make me think.

I could not put The Adoration of Jenna Fox down. I was so intrigued by the science fiction and riveted by the mystery in the book.

What I thought was going to be a retelling of Snow White became an historical fiction novel about the holocaust. Jane Yolen is a master storyteller and manages to teach readers about history through the powerful narratives she writes.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King is a powerful story about grief and letting go as well as the destructive power of keeping secrets.

An absolutely brilliantly written book that devastated me. I was unable to pick up another book for a few days after finishing this one. Powerful, powerful writing.

It took me a couple tries to get into this book, but this time it really got me. I don’t exactly know why it wasn’t one that I could sink my teeth into before, but I really enjoyed the story this time. I love the way Markus Zusak plays with conventions in his books. This book also made me think about the ways in which we influence others in our lives without always knowing that we are doing so.

With every new installment of this series, I am loving it more. If you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for?  Get out and read it now.

Eliot Schrefer is doing some great things by highlighting these great apes and their home lands. This story is every bit as enthralling as Endangered and I cannot wait for more. These stories tell about the plight of the apes as well as the plight of the humans in the dangerous areas of the world in which the apes live.

This was a beautiful story about how a special child deals with the grief of losing both her parents. Suddenly a child who needs the structure of routine is thrust into circumstances that would be hard for anyone. It is a heartwarming story about forming bonds and accepting new people into your life.

I really liked this fantasy trilogy and I loved how it ended. The strength of a female protagonist really shines in this book and I highly recommend this series.

I loved this book. It was so heartwarming to read about the transformative power that companionship brings. I loved reading about the lessons that the teenage protagonist learned throughout this story.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick was a powerful, powerful read.

I am cheating a little bit here because I technically finished this one in 2013, but it was released in 2014 so I am going to include it here. This is a powerful story that you won’t soon forget.  You absolutely must read this one.

This year I read 30 Middle Grade books

My Favorites:

I am not sure what I was expecting from this book, but whatever my expectations were, the author exceeded them. I love the way the author really helps the reader to feel what it must have been like to be denied rights because of race. This is a must-read for students learning about the Civil Rights movement.

This is a great story about how a caring person can help a child to change the way he thinks. It is a beautiful story and I would highly recommend it.

This is a powerful and brilliant narrative about a girl with special needs. I wanted to go into that book and slap her father silly at several points in the book. It is ultimately a book about hope and survival. This is another must-read book.

What sounded like a far-fetched and unbelievable narrative turned into a page-turning unputdownable book.  Jennifer Holm wrote a great novel about family relationships and the inevitability of growing older.

This is a another powerful narrative about empathy and understanding each person’s story. It is a great novel for deep discussions about how we treat other people.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library was like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but with books. I loved it and I know kids will love it too. It was especially fun to look for the book titles that are scattered throughout the dialogue.

I loved A Snicker of Magic. I don’t know how to do it justice on the page so I will just highly recommend it.

This is another powerful story that is important to share with students.

Brown Girl Dreaming is another must-read. Jacqueline Woodson writes such beautiful verse about her childhood and growing up.

I read other books, some professional books, some graphic novels, some picture books, etc. for a grand total of 174 books. I didn’t make my goal of 220 books, but that is because I read some might long books and took it east on myself. I had become a bit obsessed with challenges and had really been using reading to avoid some other things in life. I am happy with the total I did get and have set my new goal at 160 books to help myself continue to balance reading with other things I need to do.

Here is to another wonderful year of reading amazing books!

The following is a free-write, very rough, of a childhood memory turned into a work of fiction.

The bell sounded and the students all scrambled to clean up so that they would be ready to be dismissed for recess.  Ms. Ryan looked around the room and gave the signal that released the class.  And then, “Sam and Shelly, stay here for a minute please.”

   Sam turned around and felt her insides quaking.  This could be many things, but it didn’t seem like it would be good news.  She racked her brain to figure out what she might have done wrong that morning.  She couldn’t think of anything.  What did Shelly have to do with anything either? They never really talked to each other and there wasn’t much that would bring them together. Biting her lip, Sam walked over to Ms. Ryan’s desk, where Shelly was already standing.

“Sam and Shelly, I had a chance to go through the applications for the newspaper positions and I have some good news.  You two have all the qualifications necessary for the Editor-in-Chief position.  Unfortunately, I am having a very hard time deciding between the two of you.” Ms. Ryan paused while Sam and Shelly warily eyed one another.  “I have a choice for you girls to make.  Either you can work together and be Co-Editors or we can put the choice to the class for a vote.  Keep in mind that I already have decided all the other Editor positions so the person who loses the election would then be in a worker position.”

There was a long pause.  Sam and Shelly looked at each other and shrugged, each feeling the unbearable weight of this decision.  Each wanted the position badly, and each wanted to be the only one with the prestigious title of Editor-in-Chief.  Shelly spoke first. “I think we should have the class vote.” Sam cringed and thought, “Of course you do.” Sam knew that she was not popular. But this vote wouldn’t be a popularity contest, would it? Surely her classmates would vote for the person who would do the best job.  Sam knew she was the best girl for the job and she was sure her classmates would see the truth of it.  “I guess the vote would be okay.  I agree that we should have the class vote.”

“Are you sure? Whoever loses the election will be out of the editor job and in layout. Wouldn’t you rather share the responsibilities?” Ms. Ryan wanted them to be sure.

“We’re sure.” Sam said confidently and Shelly nodded along.

“Okay, then the election will be immediately after recess.  Think about what you want to say to the class.” Ms. Ryan went back to her stack of papers to grade. Sam and Shelly headed outside for the remainder of recess.

When the class came back inside, the vote happened fast.  Sam lost.  She was shocked and devastated.  How could her classmates be so dumb? Didn’t they see that she was the right girl for the job? Shelly beamed and soaked up the congratulations offered to her by Ms. Ryan and the rest of the class.  Sam felt hot and she felt tears prickling the corner of her eyes.  She wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

This will be the third summer that I am participating in Teachers Write.  I am so excited to participate! I thought it would be good for me to reflect on my past participation and to make goals for this summer so that I can get the most out of my experience.

Before the first summer of Teachers Write, I really didn’t write that much.  I had the ideas tumbling around my head and definitely wrote during mini-lessons, but I didn’t really write.  I made some goals for myself and worked to start daily writing times.  I did not succeed in making the time for writing and I did not do much fiction writing, which I had hoped to do.  However, the best thing that came out of that summer for me was a blog.  I definitely became a more regular blogger and it had a lot to do with my participation that summer with Teachers Write.

Last summer, I had grand plans for what I would do.  I was planning to have some extra time to myself because I was out in California with my sister and was planning to be the babysitter when she went back to work.  I did not end up having that time because my sister changed her mind and didn’t go back to work.  I did not end up being more visible with my participation as I had hoped. I did manage to post on one Feedback Friday post and to post more often to my blog over the summer.  I also read some great books about writing and gained information from them.

This summer, I am planning to be a more active participant. In order to do so, I have the following goals for the summer:

1. I will spend less time reading and more time writing.  I did not give myself the bookaday challenge this summer because I wanted to make more time for writing.

2. I will make the time EVERY DAY to write.  I am going to start with making sure I set aside at least 10 minutes a day.

3. I will continue to research for my novel idea.  I have a list of action steps to follow for this research.

4. I will work on writing a series of personal narratives this summer and short stories for the exercises of Teachers Write.  This will make it easier for me to participate, because in the past I have tried to get my ideas flowing for a novel, but I am not ready to do that.  I need more time to research and plan.

5. I will make sure that I regularly post a Slice of Life on Tuesdays in addition to the It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? and Celebrate posts that I usually post.

I hope to have a much more active participation during this third summer of Teachers Write.  See you at camp!

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.

#1  This bookshelf is so fun!  I would need a LOT more space, but what a fun idea for decoration. 

#2  This chair is the bomb! It would be so nice to cuddle up among all those books to read. 

#3 These mugs are awesome!  I have had them on my wish list for a very long time. The one pictured here is the First Lines of Literature mug by Unemployed Philosophers Guild.  I also want the Shakespearean Insult mug.

#4 This clock says it all!

#5 What could be better than a great, cuddly pair of pajamas?

#6 This necklace from Kate Spade is so cute!  I would love to have it. 

These book clutches are awesome!!! (also Kate Spade)

#8 Harry Potter reference? Yes, please! 

#9 This poster would be amazing for my classroom.  

#10 Last, but not least, I would love a library room!

What bookish things would you love to own?  I would love to hear from you in the comments!