Studies show . . .

Last week, SLJ extra posted an article stating that studies show that an orderly home affects early literacy skills. I skimmed the article and felt immediately justified in my need for an orderly home. I keep trying to tell myself that I can't do it all and that some things must go, but I still crave order at home. Note: I did not say, I crave a spotless home (just check my baseboards and closets to verify that). I just need the appearance of a picked up, orderly home. I had been pondering the article in my mind over the weekend, when my two youngest invited me to a birthday party at their "house". They had been playing downstairs all weekend and for the most part we had left them alone. I grabbed a load of laundry and headed down.

This is what I found. . .


And this. . .

When I opened the door to the toy closet (under our stairs), I found . . . Tommi in her orderly space. That is a picture of Lance and I at Heidi's wedding hanging on the wall - too cute!

Levi (the pretend birthday boy) in his. Yes, that is a toy gun on the wall. My children are very well-prepared. . . there was also a lantern, binoculars and extra sets of clothes.

One last shot of my creative midgets in their orderly small space. . .

Does this mean they will be life-long readers? I hope so, we read to them often, model reading ourselves, and do our best to create a home that offers order in the midst of a chaotic life.

One last (totally random) note: I told the kids we had to head into town to run some errands and they needed to get dressed. Levi could not bear to get out of his jammies, so he pulled on a pair of camo pants and a bright orange and blue sweatshirt over his dino p.j.'s. Perhaps, the next study should show the affects of fashion choices on intellectual aptitude. . .

Love this author. . .

My first exposure to Sharon Creech was her Newberry winner, Walk Two Moons. I read it in two nights and wondered how I could not have read this author before. Quick Confession: I almost always read the end of a book in the beginning, but for some reason this time I didn't. I was so surprised by the ending that it nearly reformed me. I loved this book and as a result suggest it often. It is rarely on my shelves.

Two weeks ago, I picked up Love That Dog on a slow morning in the library. To be honest, I was looking for an excuse not to have to re-shelve books. . . I read the whole book. It is the story of a fifth grade boy, Jack, who is learning about poetry and begins to write letters in poetry form to his teacher. I brought the book home and read it to Tommi. Lance and Levi sat on the couch and listened in (that's a clue to the quality of this book). . . Spoiler warning: you may want tissues near at hand.

At the end of the book, I wanted to know more about the poetry that the fictitious Miss Stretchberry used (the poems are included in the back of the book) in her lessons. Heck, I wanted to become Miss Stretchberry. Sharon Creech has a new(ish) book: Hate That Cat. Jack opens the story like this. . .

Room 204 - Miss Stretchberry

September 12

I hate that cat
like a dog hates a rat
I said I hate that cat
like a doge hates a rat

Hate to see it in the morning
hate to see that
F A T black cat.

September 13

Sorry
I didn't know
you liked cats.
Didn't know
you have one.


I LOVE a book with a good hook. . . This one grabbed me from page one and I was sorry to leave Jack at the end. If you haven't read poetry in awhile, this is a gentle re-introduction and that will leave you wanting to read more. I love this author. . .

"Our Community Reads"

This past week was crazy in the library. We are in the middle of setting up for the book fair (if I say anymore about that I will start to whine. . .), it's the end of the trimester for elementary and it was Valentine's week. In the middle of this, we hosted an "Our Community Reads" lunch in the library.

I love this program. We had 22 High School students and 17 adults from our community signed up. Marty (public library director) and I chose five books. The adults and students are matched by the titles they choose. In the past, we have had all types of books: sci fi, historical fiction, non-fiction, bios and YA lit. This time around we decided to focus on social justice issues - something that is near and dear to the hearts of our Love Alliance group. It was so cool to look around the library and see teens and adults, many of whom had just met, discussing issues and the books they are reading. Several of the adults and students are planning on reading more than one title. Success!

The Books (the issues):

The Soloist by Steve Lopez (mental health and homelessness)

Sold by Patricia McCormick (Sex trade, slavery)

Irresistible Revolution: living life as an ordinary radical
by Shane Claiborne (social justice, poverty)

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson (literacy, education)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Holocaust)

Words cannot describe the joy I felt I as listened to students and adults talk about these issues and wrestle with ways they can change the world around them. I am so proud of our students and community. So, I am going to encourage you to take a moment this month to educate yourself about a social justice issue. Warning: It may change your life.

Everything's Amazing, Nobody's Happy. . . Louis CK

It finally arrived. . .

Yesterday afternoon, UPS delivered a lone book. As I unwrapped it, I hardly dared to hope. . . (Insert cheer here) It was Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw. I slapped a barcode on the book, stamped it and quickly cataloged it. Minutes later, as the fourth grade class filed in I handed it to Andy who had been daily asking for it. Ahh, the moment!! The look on his face when I finally came through with the long awaited book was worth, well, a thousand words. . . We headed over to the elementary section of the library and I wish I could say that Andy was riveted by my lesson, but he was not. He made a valiant effort to pretend to listen, and I in turn pretended not to notice that Jeff Kinney had just trumped me. I love it when a boy and book come together.

A Bottle in the Gaza Sea

One of the books that arrived last week in our shipment was Valerie Zenatti's A Bottle in the Gaza Sea. I brought it home the same night I cataloged it and stayed up late reading the entire book. It is the story of a teenage Israeli girl that sends a message in a bottle to Gaza, imagining it will be picked up by a girl her age. It is picked up by a Palestinian young man and the rest of the story chronicles their growing email relationship and very separate lives. I found the story compelling. One statement by the fictional "Gazaman" has haunted me this past week. . .

"The singular doesn't exist anymore: no me, you, him, her, there's just the plural - Palestinians. The poor Palestinians. Or the evil Palestinians, it all depends. But the plural is always there. To anyone who loves us without knowing us, or who loathes us without knowing us, we're never one + one + one, but the whole four million. We all carry our whole people on our backs and it's so, so heavy, it's crushing, it just makes you want to close your eyes. . ."

This book will be at the top of my high school "must-read" list for 2009. . .

Tech savvy kids. . .

Lance just returned from the CASE (Colorado Association of School Executives) conference in Denver. It seems the minute he walked back into the door we were thrust into the madness that encompasses parenting three active kids and have not had much time to visit. One thing he did mention was from a keynote speaker regarding children and the internet. The speaker said ( and I am paraphrasing something that was paraphrased for me), that we tell kids to "be safe" online but never teach them how. Lance then had the great idea that we allow our children to start their own blog. It accomplishes the goal of helping to teach safe internet usage while also helping us to encourage our pre-teen to do something other than game on the internet. Our children have run with the idea. Our nine year old, finally has an outlet for all the creative juices that flow in her brain and our 12 year old is writing! Levi also loves to sit down and work on his blog creations and daily wants to see if he has any followers yet. So, take a moment and check out our budding bloggers.