It’s Saturday and time to reflect on the week and celebrate. Join our community and celebrate this week by linking up or just stopping by the host Ruth Ayres’ blog to read others’ celebrations.
Today, my husband and I participated in a Firetruck Pull. Yes, that’s right. We pulled the fire truck. We were on the team with other women from the Barre gym I go to (and a couple more husbands). It was a charity event to raise money to get winter coats for children in need. It is the kind of event I usually think looks fun. It is the kind of event I usually don’t sign up for. But this time, I did sign up, which meant I had to show up. I couldn’t let my social anxiety keep me from this one. We had a team counting on us.
We had so much fun! I would not have had this fun if I had stayed in my comfort zone and let it pass me by. I am proud of myself for stepping up and deciding to do something this time.
What else in my week could compare to this? What a rush! We pulled the truck seventy-five feet in 23 seconds the first run and 22 seconds the second run. We came in 5th out of 9 teams, but the 4 top teams were all really muscular men. Two of the teams were firefighter teams.
It was most fun to watch how teams collaborated and strategized to try to beat their times. We all watched the model firefighter teams. Every team came out the second time and beat their first time. I couldn’t help but think about how much we all learned about pulling a truck. And about how applicable this story will be to my conversations in the classroom about growth mindset. In particular, I am thinking about some of the traits Kristine Mraz and Christine Hertz talk about in A Mindset for Learning.
Optimism: Firetrucks are really heavy, yet no one said they weren’t going to be able to do it.
Persistence: Some teams were a lot slower the first time, yet none of them gave up.
Flexibility: Almost all of the teams adjusted their strategy the second time around.
I can’t wait to share with my students. I think they will get a kick out of the videos of the truck being pulled by my team. And I am excited to share with them about the way I applied the traits to get my mind ready for learning.
What do you have to celebrate this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!
Today I start my third round of the Whole Life Challenge. This challenge asks participants to score themselves daily on 7 different health habits: nutrition, drinking water, exercise, stretching, sleep, daily reflection, and a weekly lifestyle habit. I loved the challenge the first time and it really helped me to change the way I was eating and to think about all my habits. I did not do as well the second time around. But I still loved the fact that I was actively thinking about my health habits every day. This time around, I am doing a more challenging level for nutrition. I will need to cut out more things, but I know that the way I was eating helped me lose weight last time, so I am motivated to do it. I love that this challenge is not at all about winning anything. It is purely about working to change your habits. It is with flexibility to adapt these habits that I will be successful.
Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin explores habits and how people form them. It is a really interesting book that gave me some food for thought when thinking about new habits that I want to form.
I listened to Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle. I had this title because it was one of the free titles offered by Sync Audiobooks. I didn’t know what this book was about before I started listening, but I really was drawn into this story and was fascinated by the mystery of what happened throughout the book. I recommend this one for high school and up.
I loved this book! Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson explores the way friendships change as girls get closer to middle school years as well as offering a glimpse into the world of roller derby. I learned quite a bit in this book and am looking forward to sharing this graphic novel with my students this year.
I am a very big fan of Gothic novels, so this book was right up my alley. Unfortunately for me, I was unaware that it was such a long book. That is the biggest drawback of Kindle! I enjoyed The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, but definitely had a hard time being patient with the drawn out nature of the mystery. I don’t know how much of this attitude about the book was influenced by my being unaware of the length of the book before starting it. If you like gothic novels, this one won’t disappoint…just be ready for a longer read.
This graphic novel is really well done. I was living in Brookfield, which is a suburb of Milwaukee, when Jeffrey Dahmer was caught and arrested. It was so creepy to know that a monster like that was living 20 minutes away from my house. I think this glimpse into his teenage years is really fascinating and it is baffling to think about how a kid could be struggling the way he was without having any adults try to intervene. I highly recommend this graphic novel to older teens and adults.
DIY Literacy is a good reminder of some tools that are important to use in the classroom. I am glad I read it and I will be working on putting together a demonstration notebook for the coming school year.
The Cuckoo’s Calling was a fun mystery to read. I like the characters in the book and will look forward to reading more mysteries by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling).
I didn’t realize that this was the script of a play. I think it made it a quicker read for me. I really enjoyed stepping back into the world of Hogwarts for this short time.
The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd takes place in an asylum for kids during World War II. The kids at the home are all infected with Tuberculosis. The main character sees horses in the mirrors but no one else sees them and they do not believe her. Then, one day, one of the winged horses from the mirror world shows up in the gardens that she is exploring. This is an amazing book. I highly recommend that you find it for your classroom library for middle grades. I was able to read an advanced copy from NetGalley. This book will be available in October.
I am absolutely an Austen fan. I love, love, love all of Jane Austen’s books. So, when I heard that Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld was a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, I knew I had to read it. I actually listened to the audiobook and absolutely loved this story! It was fun to hear how the author interpreted the events and gave a modern spin to the scandalous behavior of Lizzie’s sisters. I highly recommend this book to any fans of Jane Austen as well as any readers who like a good love story.
What do you need? This is the provocative question that a new social media site is asking teenagers in this thriller novel. The story follows the quick downward spiral into danger that happens as teenagers join the site and get what they desire by doing tasks. The tasks that are asked of them get progressively more dangerous and turn out to be deadly to some. Need by Joelle Charbonneau is a really good psychological thriller. I highly recommend this one for high school and up.
The Magician’s Elephant was a great little fantasy story. It almost read like a fable. I love Kate DiCamillo. She is amazing and this is another fun book to recommend to my students.
Winter is a phenomenal conclusion to a series that really just continued to get better and better throughout the books. I really love what Marissa Meyer did with weaving in the elements of the fairy tale stories into a science fiction series. I highly recommend the whole series.
Being the Starfish by Neal Anderson is a book about network marketing. I am doing some personal development and thinking about how to grow a business with doTERRA and since I am a reader, this is how I learn.
I had both of these Ranger in Time books on my shelf. I love the way Kate Messner brings different historical periods to life in this series. I highly recommend getting this series for grades 3 and up.
The Power of Habit was really interesting. It made me evaluate a lot of what I do and gave me some good ideas about how to change some of my habits. I thought the ideas about organizational habits were intriguing. This is definitely a good book for personal development, especially for leaders that might be looking to change their organization’s habits and culture.
Underworlds: The Battle Begins by Tony Abbott is one I will look forward to introducing to my students. It is a good start to a series and I am interested in reading the other books now too. I like the fantasy adventure and the references to mythology in this book. It would be a good one for kids that aren’t quite ready for Percy Jackson, but are still really interested in myths.
The Seventh Wish by Kate Messner is outstanding. She manages to treat a very heavy and serious subject in a way that is appropriate for kids. These kinds of stories are so important because there are so many kids in the world who, unfortunately, do have to deal with having drug addicts in their families. I think the treatment of this subject was tastefully done and that this will be an important book for many students. I also appreciated the glimpse into the world of ice fishing and the world of Irish dancing. I highly recommend having this book in your library for grades 4 and up.
I have the immense pleasure of knowing Liza Weimer in person. She is a local author and is very supportive of all things YA literature. I don’t know why it took me so long to read her debut novel. It is a case of too many books, too little time for me. Hello? was a novel that I devoured. There are so many heavy hitting issues in this book, yet it manages to be a book that made me feel uplifted and hopeful. I was immediately drawn into Tricia’s struggle to keep her head above water as she grieved the loss of her grandma. I got goosebumps with the hints at the supernatural and a grand plan for life. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys YA literature. It would be a fabulous addition to a high school library.