School Starts Tomorrow...

This is too late for me to be posting...and I didn't get a chance to plan out posts today.  Maybe I will tomorrow.  The sad thing is that I keep thinking of things that I really need to do tomorrow....so I'm not sure if I will get to it tomorrow or not.  Yeah this is real...

Pros and Cons of 365....

Okay...so I'm still trying to figure this out.  I'm going to take a cue from Rory Gilmore--and do a pro con list

Pros:

• It gives me something besides work to do everyday.
• It forces me to write everyday which I know is good for me.
• I like being able to talk about books, knitting, teaching, and I want to add in some more journal writing type ideas.
• It might force me to use some better time management.
• Might help me to get a brand off the ground, which I do think about a lot.
• It is important to have accountability which this blog is giving me

Cons:

• It is really hard to come up with topics to write about everyday.
• The last time I tried this while working at my current job, I was often too tired and it was too late to write--which is actually kind of sad about my "new" job that I thought would give me more time.
• Getting too personal that I cross professional/ethical/moral boundaries
• Is there something else that I really should be doing with my time?
• My computer is being silly...at some point I might have to replace this thing if I decide to keep this up

What if I can't do it....it looks like the pros are winning but just barely....maybe I should start planning

From Pinterest

Happy New Year!

So....I haven't written on this blog in almost a year.  On January 1, 2013, I wrote a blog starting a 365 day blog project.  In 2014, I tried to keep this blog up with like 3 posts a week....that didn't really work.  On January 1, 2015, I started up a 365 day challenge again.....that lasted until like February maybe....the last time I posted.

Today...I have been debating about starting a new 365 project....I have not decided yet....but I should at least post today while I keep thinking and deciding...

If anyone is reading.....feel free to chime in with your opinions :)

Bout of Books Day #2

Okay so my report from yesterday--an hour or so of my audio book, Jane and Austen.  I should have added my listening to the Book of Mormon to my goals specifically too, but I got my listening in on that.  It is so nice to be able to listen to that while I start my day and get ready for school.  Unfortunately did not get to Princess Bride, fell asleep pretty quick after I hit the pillow. I'm home earlier tonight so we will see.

Today I'd like to see if I can do the scavenger hunt on The Book Monsters' site.  Unfortunately I do not have an Instagram account, though I have thought about it--no time to set it all up tonight however.  So...we do it here :)

Looking for:

Book Scavenger Hunt:

1. A Book that begins with “B”  (for Bout of Books!)

2. A book you’re planning to read/currently reading for Bout of Books

3. Blue Book(s)

4. Books from your favorite genre!

5. A book on your TBR shelf, or your full TBR shelves

Though it starts with "the"...we are reading this very first for English this year.

The Book Thief Pic courtesy of Goodreads

I am currently reading....

The Princess Bride Pic courtesy of Goodreads

This is my favorite book and it has blue in the title...

The Blue Castle Pic courtesy of Goodreads

My favorite genre is hard...I like just about anything fiction wise though someone might say I read waay more YA than anything else.  My favorite from this summer was...

Wonder Pic courtesy of Goodreads

What would I like to read soon....

The Golden Specific (Sequel to Glass Sentence)
Pic courtesy of Goodreads

That was actually a lot of fun! Thanks gals :)  See you all tomorrow for another update.

Bout of Books Day #1

Yay it is day one of Bout of Books!! If you're not sure, here is the sum-up

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 17th and runs through Sunday, August 23rd in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 14 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Goals:
1. Read!! It is the first week of school so that is a huge goal. I am writing this at such a late hour because I came home around 8:15 pm after a back to school night.  Then I had to go to the grocery store and put all the food away....I haven't really read yet today but I will do a little bit before bed to wind down.
2. Finish The Princess Bride--book club is on Friday.
3. Finish my audio book--Jame and Austen by Stephanie Fowers...it is a little light romance.  It has been nice for the drives back and forth from school.

Wish me luck!

Five Minute Friday: Here

As I was thinking about this prompt today, I was thinking about where I was most of the day today--school.  School starts two weeks from yesterday.  I have been coming and going over there for the better part of three weeks, and I still don't feel ready yet! However, as I was thinking today about this word here...I decided that the reason that I spend so much time "here" is because that is where the most important work is.

Today I worked on organizing the list of students that need extra help learning English and support in their classes because English is not their first language.  I spent some time helping my fellow teachers set up a bit of their own classrooms and talked to them to see what they needed.  My classroom looking nice this year is very important to me. I spend a lot of time at school and I want it to be warm and inviting for the students, but also a place that I can feel proud of being there.

I should have taken some pictures today of my classroom and what I have so far, but it has a lot more color than your typical classroom.  One of my best teacher friends explained it one time to her mom as to why we take so much time and money at the beginning of the year to decorate our classrooms.  What is the one thing that you think of to compare the environment of a school to?  This mom said a hospital--it is so sterile, white, and plain.  Exactly our point--why would you want to spend a significant portion of your day in such a sterile environment. So I tried to make it not so sterile...


I will hopefully take some pictures tomorrow and add them to the post...

Book Review: Chasing Lincoln's Killer

This is my effort to restart this thing! Wish we luck :)

I am on a mission right now to try to finish a book every day or two. I finished this book Saturday and another book today!

Title: Chasing Lincoln's Killer

Author: James Swanson

Goodreads Listing

Genre: Young Adult Non-fiction/Non-fiction written in more story form

Rating: 5 out of 5

Why Did I Read? The 8th grade students are reading this at our school this year.  While I'm teaching 7th grade English, I am teaching 8th grade US History and I will have 8th graders in my ESL class so I wanted to make sure that I read it before the school year.

  

Summary: John Wilkes Booth is frustrated with the end of the Civil War. He has been wanting to take Lincoln out of the equation.  Now, the war is over and he really needs to stop Lincoln.  He finds out that the Lincoln family will be attending a play at the Ford's Theatre.  As an actor, he knows the theatre very well and feels that this is his opportunity to kill the president.  He gathers his fellow conspirators to also assassinate the vice president and the secretary of state. The next twelve days starts off a huge manhunt for the man that just killed the president.

What Did I Love: It was very well-written.  It was very readable and I miss being able to read a book that fast--it only took a couple of hours.  I appreciate learning a lot about that night in a really fun easy way.

It is a great book for teachers to use! With really needing students to read higher level things and read non-fiction that they can really connect to--this book really fits the bill!

What Did I Hate: It was only from the John Wilkes Booth perspective.  I really liked thinking about how it would fit in with some facts about the other conspirators--like how Mary Surrat was the first women hung by the federal government.  If you're interested--watch The Conspirators on Netflix.

From Google