Three New Newbery Books!

So far this week, I have read three more Newbery books! I, Juan de Pareja was pretty good--I enjoyed it because of the Spanish artist storyline. It's about a black boy who is the slave of the painter Diego Velázquez, and it's a pretty cool point of view from which to tell the story of the artist's life. Hitty, Her First Hundred Years was actually really good at first, but I felt like each new owner she had, the story got a little less engaging. My favorite was the first girl, and then by the end I kind of felt like the author was just ready to be done with the whole thing. It's Like This, Cat was another story about growing up in New York City--I am coming to wonder if the Newbery committee was a whole bunch of people who grew up in NYC during this period, because I have read more than one about growing up in the city (From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwieler comes to mind). Anyway, it was actually very engaging to me, and since I am not a teenage boy growing up in the city, that has to say something for the book!

I am not really sure what to say about these books sometimes--I read them, and sometimes I wonder if this was REALLY the best book out that year (like The Tale of Desperaux and A Gathering of Days) and sometimes I really think that a book deserved the honor (like Maniac McGee and Walk Two Moons). I would like to be a fly on the wall sometimes when they are deliberating over which books to choose for the medal and honor books, because sometimes they seem to look for one thing, while another year they are looking for something else. For example, a book like Maniac McGee is something that I think a kid could relate to: trying to figure out where you belong, and having to deal with other people's perceptions of you. A book like A Gathering of Days seems like something that kids would have a tough time relating to, and it wasn't especially exciting or engaging to me either. That year, it seems like they were looking for informative historical fiction, as opposed to relatability or engagement.

Anyway, it's interesting to read so many of these books and think about how things have changed over the years, and how some things are the same. Race relations were an issue as far back as Caddie Woodlawn (Indians and white Americans), all the way up through Maniac McGee (white Americans and black Americans.) It seems like we always like to read about how people who are different relate to each other; I guess a book would be pretty boring if everyone got along all of the time!

It's the morning...

Good Morning!

I am actually at school right now, but it's waaay before the kids get here, so I thought I'd post something really quick. Ummm...my kids are still adorable. I have two go home yesterday at the end of the day with fevers (over 100 degrees), so that's always something fun to look forward to: more kids getting sick!

I am so tired, so I apologize for the sliiiight sarcasm. I need a day off. We have not had a day off, where teachers didn't have to go to school either, yet this year, and it's been TOO LONG. The only day I had off was when I was sick, and that wasn't exactly fun anyway. I am tired and kind of cranky and I just need some time off. I don't even think I realize how much I NEEEEED a day off.

I went to the Book Fair at my mom's school last night, and spent $100! I got a LOT of books though, because it is a discount for people who work there (yay for the mom). I also spent $100 at the scrapbook store last weekend, so I guess it goes: 100 for me, 100 for them...100 more for them...and a little more for them...

Well, it's time to go track down the guy who is selling shirts for my school today, so I'll sign off now. I know I didn't really update you on anything (except sickness and exhaustion), but at least there's a little something to read!!

Update...long awaited

Hello!! I am back!

Short update shots:

• I told one of my kids he could die if he kept putting things in his mouth (and he had it coming, he does it ALL THE TIME, including beads and, well, anything)--update on that: he STILL puts things in his mouth, so it's not like he was scarred for even a week, let alone for life
• I told my kids they were not celebrities and the other kids were not paparazzi--one of my kids said "What's a celebrity??" and then I had to explain that I just meant that they weren't famous people who needed to stop and wave at everyone they passed
  
• We went to the zoo, and one of my kids was jumping up and down saying, "I want to see the lepers! I can't wait to see the lepers!"
• Again, when we went to the zoo and got off of the exit in Norfolk, another kid said, "We're in Mexico!!" and then started telling me random "facts" about Mexico (like, "There are a lot of people in Mexico")

I am verrrry tired, but it's really getting better every day.

Lame post, but at least there's something!

Week 1...I am alive!

*A kind of blurry shot of my kids on our colored squares, waiting for time to go home :)*

Wooooo! I have survived week 1. I ALREADY love my kids, but I also am already dreading the end of the weekend! Getting used to real working, where you go every day, and it's all you (as opposed to student teaching or long-term subbing, where you're really not the only one responsible for the kids' learning...) is hard...I am SO TIRED!

Here are a few highlights of the week:

1. one of my kids called me "class" all the first day...I think he heard "Miss Shindelar's class" and only remembered the "class"
2. one kid told me all about his poop on the first day (he was late for recess because of this poop) and apparently it was "green and SO gross"
3. on TWO occasions they have asked me to read a story again, immediately after we have finished it
4. the principal came in (when I was having them "wiggle all over") and told me I was doing a good job
5. the same kid had an issue with the bathroom again and kept yelling that it was "stuck" and wouldn't come out!
6. my kids came back from PE on Friday and attacked me with hugs...it was like someone yelled "GROUP HUG!"
7. we had a fire drill and my kids were super stars

Last night, we went to Rascal Flatts, which was also a BIG highlight of the week...the great ending to a great week :)

AND, tonight Chelsea, Morgan, and myself saw The Nanny Diaries, which was good...not at good as the book, which is one of my favorites, but enjoyable :)

I will post some more pictures later on...for now...I am off to finish cutting out some laminated paper which will become a positive behavior system, and then to beddddd!

Thanks for all the prayers and support :)

No locked cabinets for the weary

YES, this is a good thing! My filing cabinet has been locked, with no hope for a key...and I have pulled and banged and pushed this thing a LOT. Today, my dad came up and pulled on it once, and it opened--then, he pried out the locking mechanism with a pair of pliers. GO DAD!! Since we are going to get everything new in January, the assistant principal basically said to do whatever we had to do to get it. YAAAAY! I am so impressed, and excited to be able to get into the filing cabinet!

I had my last day of teacher orientation today. It was a lonnnnnnng 3 days--8-4, listening to people speak and looking at power points. A lot of it was very informative, but some of it wasn't exactly engaging. Anyway, I am so tired as a result of the past 3 days. I went up to school every day after the orientation; last night, I was there till about 8:30 and tonight till about 7:30. I am TIRED and school hasn't even begun yet!

What I want most in the world is a massage. I wish soooo much that I could afford the $85 for a 90 minute massage, but, alas, I cannot. I have to go till Sept 15 without a paycheck, because of how the pay system works. BUT, then I will have some money...but it sure seems that like money is getting promised awfully quickly!! Anyways, I am in need of some relaxation. Maybe if we had a hammock....

*To explain, my parents actually put in a bid and closed on our house and stuff before I knew anything about it (this was in 11th grade). My conditions, once I was let in on the deal, were that we get a tree for the front yard and a hammock for the back. They said SUUUUURE, we can do that. We got a tree, which my dad regularly threatens to cut down...but, it's still standing, so it counts as following through with the bargain. However.............NO HAMMOCK! I think it's clear who is getting the shaft in this arrangement!

Workin' it at school

I have been up at my new SCHOOL for the past week or so, pretty much every moment of my spare time! Here are the promised pictures of how things look right now:




I know those picture tell like nothing about how things actually are...and, since those were taken, I have put paper on the big bulletin board by the colored blocks (red) and on one of the small bulletin boards by the chalkboard (white). My mom came up this evening and helped me for awhile...she sorted through tons of magnetic letters--it took about an hour and a half to get through two boxes and one big ziploc bag. Here is a picture of my mom when she first started (and was overwhelmed by) the task:


After a lot of work (and a lot of "is this a p or a d?" and "is this a b or a q?"), she got through the whole stack (and saved me a TON of work and time!):


The finished product...a LOT of magnetic letters...and my mom had very dirty hands (because a lot of very dirty kids' hands have touched those magnets!)




And, just to end this short, picture-filled post right, here is a picture of Max, our kind of cat who used to live next door, but two families have left him and so he mostly hangs out in our yard (and in our garage, and on our porch, and in our driveway, and clearly with our car-washing mitts)...he looks like such a pimp:

I AM JOBBED!

Well, I actually have been for kind of awhile, but this is my first post in a looooong time! The funny thing is, my dad has been the main one asking me when I will update! Clearly, I need to please the masses and update with something about my upcoming job!

I will be teaching kindergarten in Virginia Beach, at the brand new elementary school. However, we will be in one of the old buildings until ours is finished in January (ish), then we will be moving to the BRAAAAAND NEW place!! :)

I am so tired now, since I have been in Indiana for the past week and am still recovering from lack of sleep and fresh picked corn withdrawal. Yesterday, my first day home from my trip, I went to my school for awhile in the afternoon/evening. I spent some of the time in Indiana in my Aunt Tina's school, and since they start Tuesday, they were very much all ready to go. It made me think about ALLLL of the things I need to do before I am ready! I was up there for a few hours after tutoring, then my parents came up for a couple more hours and helped me clean and move some stuff. They also had some good ideas about where to put computers and things like that. Also, my mom gave me good info: where to find the grown up sized broom and the fact that the desks can be raised and lowered (I need one of each, raised and lowered!). I will post pictures of the progress and stuff soon!

The last time I went in, there was a big puddle of water on the floor, coming from the AC unit. I went and told the AP, and the said they would fix it. Well, I guess that was two visits ago, because the last time i went, it was off with a big sign that said "DO NOT TURN ON" (PS-I didn't turn it on the last time). This time, yesterday, there was also no AC, but also no sign. I tried to turn it on to test it, but it didn't work. Hopefully soon!

I need to take in my aquarium and set it up so that the water can run for a good lonnnnng time, making sure that the impurities in the water will be all gone. I don't need dead fish in the first week of school! My mom and I will be going in on Monday for the whole day to clean and arrange and stuff. My dad did will hopefully come in that afternoon to install my lock on my big cabinet, so I have a safe place to put some stuff until I have a key to my room...I don't trust some of my stuff not to walk away!

**pictures of room coming soon!**

My parents are from Monon, IN. This is a picture I took of the railroad car they have there :)

This is so un-school related...but hey, everyone needs a break, and outside of being a teacher, I have a personality!! :)

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

I know this has been around to everyone and everything in the past week, but I think it's such an accurate portrayal of the mood and attitude around this whole state and really around the country. Something about the cartoon just really hits me...

I always have a good story :)

So, I started my long term subbing job this week. Overall, it's great. Being in charge, having my mostly own classroom, getting to make decisions, getting to teach kids about things--all great!! :)

But, of course, there are problems with everything. For example, behavior. There are certain kids who will just go off into "I'm not paying attention to you" land, and there is really very little I can do about it. I can send a note home, have them sign the behavior book (which could also lead to a note home) and take their recess. That is honestly about all I have up my sleeves. When two kids in particular get into this mode--we'll call them C and H--they could not possibly care less about any of those things. So, my other option is to buzz the office and ask them to send the guidance counselor or the assistant principal. Yesterday, I got to experience what happens who you buzz the office, and neither of those people is available. C had gone to the bathroom, and another teacher came to get me to tell me he was wandering around and ignored her when she asked him to go back to his class. So, I ask the IA to please watch the class for a sec, and I go to get him. He is getting a drink, and I ask him to please come back to class. I stay between him and the way out of the second grade area--there will be no running on me again. He eventually gets back to the door, and runs in and shuts it behind him. Earlier, he had locked the door from the inside (he was waiting to go to the bathroom), but luckily I had unlocked it and I followed him back in. I got down and looked him in the eye and told him that behavior was not acceptable, and he should never ignore a teacher when they are talking to him, and should not have shut that door on me. I told him to sign the book; he responded that he didn't care anyway. I told him that I cared, because it made me sad whenever someone had to sign the book (he and I do fairly well generally, I was hoping to guilt him, honestly). He still didn't care. We had to have a spelling test, and I passed out the papers for the kids (the poor other 10 kids in the reading group were just reading silently during all of this.) I show them how to set it up, and C is continuously fake burping. The first time he did it, I said what I always say to the kids, "Please say 'excuse me'" And he said some kind of nonsense words, like woozle wazzle. And he said he wasn't going to say excuse me, just woozle wazzle. I said okay, if you want that to mean excuse me, then that will be fine, you can say that for now. He said no, i don't want it to mean excuse me! So, I told him I would have to call the office if he couldn't get it together, because he was not being fair to the other people in the class. He said he didn't care again, and I said he had one more chance to do what he was supposed to do (number his paper), and then I was going to call the office because the rest of the class didn't need to wait for him. He didn't care, and didn't do anything I asked him to, so I buzzed the office. They called and I asked for the guidance counselor, and they said she was in a meeting. The AP was also in a meeting. So, basically there was nothing else I could do.

Now, I have H in this reading group too. These boys kind of feed off of each other, and they don't generally get along so well. He and C both understand that that exchange with the office meant basically there was nothing I could do about whatever they did (the principal was out of town). So, they both start acting up. I have the IA, and she is there to work with ANOTHER student, M. M is doing fine at this point though. So, I have C making obnoxious noises and tapping the table, and trying to hide his dictionary under his desk, and I have H making noises and generally just not listening to anything. I kept trying to address the whole class, and point out what a good jobt hey were doing--I really don't like having to focus all of my attention on just a couple of kids, it's so unfair to the rest! I told the girls at C's table that they could move if they wanted to. One of them did, the other two stayed. C didn't know how to spell something, so he pulled out his dictionary. I came up and said no, that is not how we do spelling tests, and basically pried it from his hands. About then, the special ed coordinator came in, and BOY was I happy to see her. She told C that he needed to pull it together, because she did NOT want to have to stay after school with him, and her children would also be mad because they all had plans together after school. She generally verbally wrestled with him for a minute, and then told him he had 3 strikes, and then he would be staying after school with her. He was generally all together, but H kept having little outbursts. Basically, she was kind of putting out two fires for me, which I was finally able to circulate the room and praise and ask other students questions. It took us almost the whole class period to do this test, because of all the problems. The coordinator left after the test, and we went to read some Shel Silverstein poems--there was just no way I was going to try and tackle any more instruction, and we only had about 10 minutes left.

Here is the final part of the story. On Fridays, I draw names from the buckets that each class has. When I see a child doing something good, I have them put their name in the bucket (I call them the "good choices buckets"), and then on Fridays I draw a few names from each class. So, I got the bucket because I didn't want to deny that to the rest of the group, just because of a couple of kids. We always review that it's not a big deal if your name isn't picked, because there's always next week, and that it's great to just get your name in the bucket, and how proud I am of all of them, etc. So, I draw about 3-4 names, then it's time to go. So, I say that is all, and tell them great job for getting so many names in the bucket. At this point, M (from earlier, the one with the IA), starts to cry and says he wanted his name picked!!! I think he got his name picked during his Lang Arts class, so I don't get why this turned into such a big deal at all. H, being very impulsive with positive as well as negative things, offers M a top he got as a prize from another class. M takes it and throws it across the room. Immediately, C runs after it and picks it up, even though the IA tells him not to, because M should pick it up himself. C refuses to give it to the IA, and so she says "I am going to count to five, then I am going to take it" and that's pretty much what happens. So, M is hiding his head in his shirt and crying, and refusing to apologize. He keeps saying he doesn't want that, and the IA tells him he needs to give it back to H nicely then. I don't think that ever happened.

Whew. So, that is an afternoon in the life of me...I need to work with the guidance counselor to figure out something to do about those two, C and H...updates as I have them.

It's certainly not all bad, and I am SO glad I get to do it, despite the afternoon in the three ring circus!

Wow.

Wow. I just read one of the best books I think I have read in my life...Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. My 5th grade (and 4th grade, incidentally) teacher recommended this book to me when I was in high school (I still visited him--he was great). I finally got around to reading it today, and wow. It was an amazing book.

I have read a whole long list of Newbery books, and I think this just might be the best one so far. I have liked a lot of them, such as The Higher Power of Lucky (most recently), but this book was such a good read. I was sad when it was over, because I wanted to know more about what happened with the main character and her family, and it almost made me cry on more than one occasion. It's about a girl whose mother goes on a trip to "find herself" and hasn't come back. The girl and her dad have to figure out how to make a new life without forgetting the old one. I can't say much else because it's all so fresh in my mind, I don't want to give anything away!

All I can say is that I have read a lot of books, and this is certainly on my list of the top 10-15 ever. Check it out! (Chels, it's coming to you soon!)


On another note, a non-Newbery note, I read another book I enjoyed last night, also a kid book. It's called Al Capone Does my Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko, and it's set during the Depression. The main character is a 12 year old boy whose father takes a job on Alcatraz Island (as a prison guard/electrician), and how the boy gets along there. He has a sister who has what we would call autism now, and their relationship is so real. He loves her and wants to to protect her and make things the best for her, but at the same time he is frustrated with their situation. AFTER you read Walk Two Moons, read this one :)

A long-awaited return...

And I am back!! I just finished reading The Higher Power of Lucky, and I have to say that I really REALLY liked it!! Anyone who is reading this knows that I not one to just accept that a book is good because someone says so, or because it won an award...this is truly a great book.

In looking for any information online about the book, one of the over-arching themes is the use of the word "scrotum" in the first chapter, and again at the end of the book. Seriously, people...I am so irritated about the fact that people feel the need to condemn an otherwise wonderful book because of one word (which, as someone on Amazon pointed out, is actually the correct term, not some kind of crude slang...). If I were reading this book out loud to a class (which I absolutely would), I would probably change the word to maybe "butt" or something (even though I know it's not the actual meaning of the word, it would be an acceptable substitution for the purpose of the story), and I would ONLY do that because I could see some ridiculous parent getting upset if their child said they heard that word without a signed Family Life Education permission slip. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it whatsoever, and people who get themselves all up in a twist because of something like that just need to find something better to do with their time, in my opinion.

If you don't like a book, then go read a different one, don't waste your time going nuts over one you didn't like. Also, like the whole Harry Potter controversy, I hope that all of the people who are causing an uproar about this book have actually READ the thing before they form an opinion. If you read the book and honestly do not enjoy it, that's perfectly fine, but if a person just hears about something in the book, or only reads that first page and then condemns the entire work as a result, that is just a waste. Ugh, I can't even express how much this bothers me. There is so much great stuff out there to read--if you don't like one book, then put it down and move on. There is no need for such a controversy.

And, I KNOW that I am somewhat guilty of the same thing, since I am getting upset about the controversy rather than just ignoring it and enjoying the book. However, before I read the book, I had stumbled upon some reviews/comments of it (actually, I was looking to try and find out why The Great Gilly Hopkins was banned) that all focused mainly on the use of this one word. So, as I read the book, I became more and more bothered that people were focusing on this one element rather than on the wonderful story. Anyway, end of soapbox for the time being!!

Read the book!

TANGENT!

Totally unrelated, but I SAW BILLY JOEL TODAY!!! My mom and I went to see him in concert, and it was soooooo good!!! Almost unreal, seriously! See picture below :)

This is just a quick update to say yay for snow and ice days (but that I am kind of bored!) and that I have been reading the Princess Diaries books, and am totally, officially, hooked. I know I am 23 and those are meant for teenagers, but they are so funny...literally make me laugh outloud at least once per book!

Oh, and, rock on thrift stores...had another super trip to another thrift store, yay!!

Thrift Store Wonderful-ness

So, as I often do, I went to the thrift store to look for any good books to get cheaply for my future classroom. I'm not psyched about paying full price for books that kids are going to read (translation: tear up), so I try to get them cheap whenever I can! I never buy crappy books just because they are cheap, but it's amazing how many good books you can find in thrift stores for pennies!

Today was a super day for thrift-ing, and in one store (Goodwill) I found and purchased the following:

• A Chick Fil A book (for Chels)
• A cute little poetry picture book
• A princess tales book (for Chels)
• Dear Mr. Henshaw (Newbery!)
• 5 Babysitter's Little Sister books
• A nice paperback Mr. Popper's Penguins (for classroom use)
• A novelization of Mulan
• The View from Saturday (Newbery!)
• Call it Courage (Newbery!)
• Johnny Tremain (Newbery!)
• Sounder (Newbery!)
• Harry Potter (paperback for a classroom)
• a little non-fiction fact book

Very good trip!! I spent about $7.00 on all of those...yee haw!

I re-read Dear Mr. Henshaw today...I had read it a lot when I was younger and really liked it, but I couldn't remember to whole story, so I didn't think it counted till I re-read it. Good book!!

Quick check-in

Finished another book and sent in the last parts of my application to work in Va Beach. The book is Thimble Summer and I really liked it...it's a very feel-good nice old-timey farm book. If you like that kind of book, I would recommend this one to you...kind of Caddie Woodlawn -esque!

The application stuff is crazy, the postcard asked for a couple of things (transcript, etc) and said they would invite me to the next job fair...job fair!!!! Whew! I might actually have a chance to have a job sometime in the not-so-distant future! Woo hoo!

The View from Saturday

I am so pleased that the title of this post is both cleverly appropriate AND the title of one of the Newbery books I have finished today! I finished The View from Saturday and The Midwife's Apprentice--I really enjoyed both of them!

I feel like I need to re-read Saturday because I know I missed some of the clever ways the author tied all of the little plots together...I was busy following the main line, and didn't pay close enough attention to the others! It was really enjoyable, and it was about (mainly) an Academic Challenge-type team made up of four sixth graders. The bulk of the book takes you through their matches and how they all ended up being on the team together. I did Academic Challenge when I was in middle school (oh so cool, VERY fun), so that's probably part of why I was so into the book! I read part of it while I was babysitting (during nap time for the little one, TV time for the older one), so I think that's why I feel that I didn't tie everything together in my head right. Interestingly, the author of this book (E.L. Konigsburg) also wrote From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which I also liked a lot. She tells a story and, at the same time, says a lot about children and their feelings and experiences, which is pretty cool for a children's book author. Usually you only find those kinds of layers (a normal story and a commentary on something else) in older books (for example: in The Mixed-Up Files, the main story is about a girl and her brother who run away to a famous museum, but it is also about a girl who doesn't think she is important to anyone and how she finds out that she is...not exactly high literature, but more so than some I have read so far). Also, her first name is Elaine :)

**trivia: E.L. Konigsburg is the only author to have won the Newbery Medal and been one of the honor book authors in the same year. The Mixed-Up Files won the medal in 1968 and Jennifer, Hectate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth was an honor book the same year. I want to read the honor book, but I haven't yet!

The other book, The Midwife's Apprentice, is one that I think I will buy (I got it from the library to read today). It's historical, but tells a story that is actually really interesting, unlike A Gathering of Days, the last historical Newbery I read. It's the story of a girl who is homeless, and is taken in by the local midwife. She becomes an "apprentice" to the midwife, and she also makes friends with an animal, which I thought was one of the best parts of the story. I can't say much else about why I liked it without giving anything major away, but I really did...I read it in about an hour, it was that engrossing!

Erin and I went to Barnes and Noble today and browsed some of the Newbery winners they have on their shelves...Erin is a good sport. This is her shout out!

another Newbery read, but...

I finished another book (Jacob Have I Loved), but then they had to go and declare NEW award winners for this year!!

This year's medal winner is called The Higher Power of Lucky, and it was ordered by all of the Jefferson-Madison regional libraries the day it was declared the winner (the 22nd, I think?), and I am 5th on the list for the whole region to get a copy. I know I can't buy all of these books, so I am working the library thing unless I think one is amazing. Here is the summary from amazon for the new winner:

Lucky, age 10, lives in tiny Hard Pan, California (population 43), with her dog and the young French woman who is her guardian. With a personality that may remind some readers of Ramona Quimby, Lucky, who is totally contemporary, teeters between bravado--gathering insect specimens, scaring away snakes from the laundry--and fear that her guardian will leave her to return to France. Looking for solace, Lucky eavesdrops on the various 12-step meetings held in Hard Pan (of which there are plenty), hoping to suss out a "higher power" that will see her through her difficulties. Her best friend, Lincoln, is a taciturn boy with a fixation for tying knots; another acquaintance, Miles, seems a tiresome pest until Lucky discovers a secret about his mother. Patron's plotting is as tight as her characters are endearing. Lucky is a true heroine, especially because she's not perfect: she does some cowardly things, but she takes pains to put them to rights.

Needless to day, this looks like it could be pretty darn good. One that I read that kind of reminded me of this one was a book called Everything on a Waffle. It was an honor book (I read it just because it looked good), and I enjoyed it...predictable in some spots, but enjoyable...kids like predictable sometimes!

While thinking about good books and how they could be used, I just thought about Missing May, which is a medal winner that I read awhile ago, so I haven't mentioned it here. This is a book that I think would be amazingly great to share with kids who might be going through a loss, like if someone close to multiple students (or even one) has passed away, or if there has been a death that impacted the whole school or class, or even the teacher. Check it out...I think it's a great book to own (my aunt sent it to me before this whole quest began...she's great about picking good ones, and I get a person note in each about why she picked it--it's great!!)

Jacob Have I Loved was good. I had heard it was like amazing, and I didn't think it was better than Patterson's The Great Gilly Hopkins, which was only an honor book. One sister feels trapped by her circumstances, and feels as though her sister is beloved by everyone while she is kind of unusual. She ends up finding her own happily ever after, don't worry! I would say it's one to read, I would recommend it to others!

**DISCLAIMER**
I am totally just giving my opinion on these books I read, because it helps me remember them and it also might make someone else want to pick one up...if you disagree with any of my conclusions about a book, PLEASE, by all means, share it with me. I totally want to give a book every fair chance, and maybe you see it in a way I don't!

Little update (very very little)

Taking classes sucks. I miss student teaching! I miss the routine of having the same times for doing stuff everyday! The first couple of days this week I kept feeling like I was skipping student teaching, because my back hurt. If I wasn't laying down, I kept having little twinges of guilt for not resting, then I remembered that no one cared that I was in my apartment for like two days without leaving!

I talked to C. about long term subbing when she has her baby--it's still on! I'm excited to start sometimes in April, although it will be an odd experience to be for real teaching, without someone else in the room always kind of keeping an eye on things. If an unhappy parent calls, it's all me! Ah!

Oh, what I learned about teaching from the hand experience: teachers are the best ever for rallying around one of their own. This happened to be at a school where I know a lot of people, but even people I didn't know were coming out of the woodwork to help when I got hurt. In fact, some people are STILL asking my mom how I am and checking up on me! So, it makes me feel really good to know that other teachers will always be there if something happens--I am/will be part of a community!!

It's been a slow couple of days for Newbery winners, but I did read a couple. One that sucked majorly was A Gathering of Days--I absolutely un-recommend it (whatever the opposite of recommending is). It's got a good time period and stuff, it's set in the 1800's (see list to the right for actual dates), but it was SO boring. A character dies (they tell the reader this in the prologue), and honestly it was the best part of the book, because I think it was the only time I actually cared about what was going on--not a good sign! So, in short, don't run out looking for this one.

*Going to go visit C. on Monday at school, so I'll know more about subbing and stuff then!

And another Newbery is conquered! (plus, a bonus story: why I still don't have full use of my hand)

Last night I finished another Newbery, yay! This is one that I had been pretty excited about, it was Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women. Since that is one of my favorite books and she is one of my favorite authors, and has been for much of my life, I was way excited about this one. The beginning was kind of slow, but it was very cool to read about her adult life and when and why she wrote all of the books I know and enjoy. Overall--read it if you like any of her books :)


And now, for the story of the hand. I was subbing in first grade in Va. Beach, and I had been in this one class for 3 and a half days (one and a half before the holiday break, almost two after). There was one child, we'll call him X, who was very emotional and, when he got upset, would hide under his desk or generally retreat into hiding. Well, almost at dismissal time on the 4th day I had been in the class, when we were about to draw weather pictures, he kind of slyly goes over to the door...I follow, and put my foot in front of the door. He tells me that he is going to quit school, and I tell him that I'm sorry, he can't do that, so let's go back and finish the weather picture, since it's almost time to go home. He is still not moving from the door, so I ask him what makes him want to quit school, and he says everything. I ask him for an example, and he is silent. I guess he realized that I wasn't moving away from the door until he did, so he went over by a table and got down on the floor. In my past experience with this kid, when he got hunkered down, it meant he was just waiting until HE wanted to come back to things, so I said, "Well, if you can't tell me what's wrong, I can't help you fix it. You can stay there until you are ready to come back and join us, but if you go out that door, I will have to call the security guard and you will be in trouble, you will have to go see the principal. DO NOT TOUCH THE DOOR."

So, I turn my back (well, my side...I could still see him, but I truly didn't think he was actually going to do anything) to get the rest of the class set up with this activity (because they had ALL been watching the X-situation). I am walking BACK to the door after I have finished passing stuff out, because I'm not sure about what this kid is going to do, and as I am allllmost there, he gets up and bolts. He runs toward the doors leading to the outside, so I sprint after him. There is a teacher standing in the hall, and I say, GRAB THAT KID, and she says, "Are you serious?" and makes NO MOVE to get the kid. So I say YES I AM SERIOUS and keep running at the door. A teacher in the hall apparently saw this and wondered what kind of game we were playing until she heard me yell NO NO NO. Then she ran down to try and help, but he was out the door. I run out the door after him, and I trip and fall. I slid on my face and my right side, and I was not able to chase the kid. At this point other teachers took up the chase, not even knowing what was going on, just that there was a kid running. It turns out that he lived across the street, and he ran home. When all of these adults came running in, along with her child, the mom was yelling, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" and they kept asking if she was his mom (since no one even knew which kid it was really, only I knew that and I was down). When she said yes, she was his mom, they all came back up to school to try and figure things out. I was trying not to cry, but I had to go back to my class, who had been alone for this like 5 minute incident. They were fine, and I told them to please keep working on their pictures, I needed to go in the hall for a second. I was shaking like crazy, and apparently bleeding on my chin, but I didn't know that yet. Another teacher gave me a hug and told me it was not my fault, and offered to let me use her room to wash my face while she watched my kids (she didn't have any kids then).

EPILOGUE:
I had to get my glasses replaced and my hand X-rayed. It wasn't broken, just "bruised or strained," thank goodness, although it still hurts, and this happened on the 3rd of January. since I am not a contractual employee, the school system would not pay for my glasses, which sucks, since it isn't like I walked into a wall or something, I was trying to protect a kid. X was suspended for two days.


Ask any teachers you know about their "children running away stories." I have found that most every teacher has one, and they are very interesting. One that I heard involved a child being gone for 24 hours, which made me feel better about mine, since we knew where he was the whole time (that child was found and everything was fine, BTW).

Look for the next post to tell about what I learned from this experience.

Explanation of a List

I have added a list of the Newbery award winners I have read thus far...I decided over winter break that I would read all of the books that have ever won the award. Not because I think they are all wonderful--in fact, I think that The Tale of Despereaux is one of the most boring kid's books I have ever read. I want to read them all because I think, as Erin said, it will make me "a well-informed teacher." (or something like that) Really, it seems like it is a good representation of where children's literature has come in the past 84 years, and I have already discovered a couple that I really liked but probably would have never otherwise read (The Twenty-One Balloons and Lincoln: A Photobiography). Not that I think that everyone in the world, or every teacher (goodness knows there's not enough time once you're actually teaching, at least in the beginning) or even everyone who likes kid's books should be forced to read them all, but it might be fun to pick up an obscure one at a thrift store or a book sale, just to see what some people thought was the best children's book one year.

**trivia: Lincoln: A Photobiography is the only non-fiction book to win the Newbery medal in the last 50 years. (not counting the two poetry books that have won)

Something to mention while introducing my sort of quest is that I am not trying to read all of the books that have the little Newbery seal on them. Some of them are Medal winners and some of them are honor books. There is one Medal winner every year, but most years have at least two honor books....while I have already read a bunch of honor books throughout the years, and think some of them are great (The Princess Academy, The Little House series), that is waaaay too many books to try to read in any conceivable amount of time, so I'm sticking to only the Medal winners! Stay tuned to see how I do, and what I think of the books along the way!

FYI: The Newbery Medal is given to "the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year," while the Caldecott Medal is given to "the artist who has created the most distinguished picture book of the year"--someday, I might tackle the Caldecott, but not until I meet the challenge of Mount Newbery!

The Beginning of an Epic!

Even though I have already navigated who knows how many years of education about education, I decided it is time to follow in my good friend Chelsea's footsteps and have a little teaching blog. If nothing else, she will be amused, and my mom might like it too!

The first thing to address is the amount of years I have been going to school for my Master's Degree. I have been filling out applications for teaching jobs, and they all (well, all two of them so far) want to know what the years were that I have attended school for both my Bachelor's and Master's. The thing is, they overlap. Because I am in a 5 year Bachelor's/Master's program, I started taking my first education classes in the fall of my second year of college...so I was still very much in the Bachelor's period. So, do I list 2002-2006 as my Bachelor's years, and 2003-2007 as my Master's years? Will that make me look like I am not capable of finishing things in the normal number of years? I am guessing they will understand, but it's still a dilemma when actually filling out this one document upon which they will place judgment about my ability to teach in their school system. Applications in general kind of suck, since one serious typo (which you might not catch no matter how much you proofread) could sour the opinion of you as a candidate. AHH!