Playing with Flickr

Too many things to play with, too little time to play. Just created a Flickr Badge of Christopher Paul Curtis' visit and am pretty excited. Now I want to figure out how to have a scrolling photostream of photos that is bigger...stay tuned!

Summer Reading

I am struggling with blogger shame as I have been out of the habit of writing for a while. A month to be exact. My old "blogging time" habit has been lost. I had been blogging in the parking lot of the girls' dance studio during their lessons, but with the change in times for rehearsals and the final shows I am done with that activity for the summer. I need to create a new habit.

That is not to say that I haven't been thinking about blogging and my topics...As I am wrapping up all the end-of-the-year work/school activities I am dreaming of all the time I will have to write and explore. And read.

Reading will be one of my biggest summer goals. Switching from elementary to middle school I have discovered that I have some rather large gaps in my reading expertise. I've been getting suggestions from online lists and the awesome group of middle school media specialists with whom I work. We have committed to reading at least three new books a month and then share/swap titles.

With summer approaching I want more.

I am turning to my online community for suggestions. Please, if you have any suggestions for summer reading let me know. I'll compile all the suggestions and may even get the podcasting portion of my blog going with book talks about the various books.

This is kind of scary; I am setting myself up for crickets chirping as I know this blog isn't exactly popular. But hey, it is a start...I'll never know unless I try.

Thanks in advance to those of you who respond with ideas!

Christopher Paul Curtis

Wow. That’s about all I can say is; wow. What a great day we had with Chris. He was an excellent speaker and what really made it nice was how well he related to the students. He also didn’t act “put off” by some of their more obnoxious antics…he laughed and took it all in stride. A sense of humor is a must when speaking to 1100+ middle school students…The feedback I have received from students and staff has been overwhelmingly positive. Everyone really enjoyed Chris and his presentation. Not only did Chris give three presentations, he also entertained students during a luncheon and a desserts session. Students asked plenty of great questions and I was so happy to watch the day unfold. I can’t imagine how tiring the week must have been for him, but he certainly didn’t act exhausted.

It was a wonderful experience.

Authors in April

Authors in April is enjoying another successful year! I completely enjoyed myself at the banquet last evening and am so looking forward to our day with Christopher Paul Curtis this Friday. Judge Asadoorian was a hit as MC. I see a future for her in entertainment if she ever tires of the judicial system. It was so nice to hear the other authors as well. I will miss seeing three different presentations at the school this year.

If you have never heard of Authors in April, you really should take a minute to visit their site. This dedicated group really does an amazing job year after year.

When Chris visits our school on Friday I am hoping to have the chance to talk to him about his research for Elijah of Buxton. I am also very interested in hearing about his perspective of Buxton. I was fortunate to visit Buxton recently with a group of middle school students and it made a huge impression on me. I shared my experience with our eighth grade students and believe it made an impression on them as well. Of course, it is best to experience it for yourself.

Hey- I should post my pictures on Flickr! I'll have to get them off my computer at work...

Can't wait to report about my day!