As March ends and spring begins I am always caught up in reflection. I am on the countdown to the end of the school year. Always, a bittersweet time for me. I absolutely love being able to see the growth in our students but I will sorely miss my first grade friends that move on to McKinley Elementary.
Cat In The Hat This month has been a busy month. We started the month off with a visit from the Cat In The Hat, in celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday.
100th Day Of School
We also celebrated our 100th day of school and it tends to be one of my most favorite days of the school year. This is my grandson, Carter dressed like he is 100 years old. It makes me giggle every time I see it.
Spring Break
Then we had a lovely 10 days off from school. My family and I went to Branson and got to see my mother in law. We had a wonderful visit and we always find fun things to do in Branson, even on rainy days. Enjoying my book and a beverage.
Holm Automotive Readers
Once again this school year we welcome Holm Automotive to Kennedy School. They come and read to our students promoting literature and community support.
Jamie Hodges from Holm Automotive reading to Mrs. Hoffman's 1st grade class.
My Current Read
I have been reading so many books and already have 14 books read this year see my Goodreads Reading challenge at this link Goodreads Reading Challenge
I am currently finished reading the book Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica and she is so amazing. I love her books and am excited to finish this roller coaster ride. You must read this book a psychological thriller you won't soon forget.
Heidi
lives in Chicago with her busy corporate lawyer husband and young
teenage daughter. Her husband describes her as a ‘bleeding heart’ and
she spends her days looking after the needs of immigrants, many of whom
don't speak English. She had always wanted a large family, but some
years ago serious illness had brought an end to this dream.
One
day, as she travels to work, she spots a girl on the platform with a
baby. It's biting cold and Heidi worries they look ill equipped to
survive in such an environment. As days pass Heidi eventually spots the
pair again, this time in the local library.
The tension built as Heidi
first made contact with the girl, offering her help, and then brought
her into her home to provide temporary respite. The
fact that after a number of days, Heidi only knows the girls name and
the child's along with Willows brother, Matthew does not ring any alarm
bells. Chris is majorly concerned pointing out they have no idea who the
girl is or her background and without Heidi's approval gets a
investigator friend to try and find the truth. What is discovered will
send shock waves through Chris, who is unaware that the baby has brought
back tragic memories in Heidi, that have been dormant for years and
send her into cathedrals of despair. What seems on paper to be an
impostor brought into the home is in fact far more complicated as a life
ruined by death and abuse.I read Mary Kubica's first book The Good Girl and loved it. I have to say that Pretty Baby is even better. 5 stars for me.
This swap is one of my most favorite swaps that the lovely ladies over at Chaotic Goddess Swaps puts together. You still have time to sign up so follow the above link to find out all the details.
This is a swap hosted by Lesson's With Coffee. This swap is for teachers bloggers and non-bloggers alike. I hope you will check it out this is a wonderful way to meet other teachers.
Wow! Where did January go? It was here and gone in a flash. My first graders and Kindergarten friends had 3 week long projects. Kindergarten friends learned 20 nursery rhymes and had to recite their own nursery rhyme that they selected. I am so proud of all of them.
My Booster Kindergarten friends in Mrs. Alderson's / Mrs. Desbien's Class enjoyed listening to A Garden For Groundhog by Lorna Balian and It's Ground Hog Day by Steven Kroll. We then made our own Groundhog Day hats. They all look great!
My First grade friends worked on their animal research papers and I am always so aware of their growth when we complete this project, it's one of my favorite projects.
I get many kiddo's coming down to read to me and I love it. It is one of my most favorite parts of my job. It shows me how much they have grown since the first day of school. This is a video of my grandson Carter when he came down to read to me the other day. I will share more video's of readers, I love this idea.
What Are You Reading
My current book club book is The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett.
I enjoyed this book but didn't love it. This
book surprised me. Throughout the whole thing, I was never exactly sure
how much I was enjoying it, and yet I couldn't wait to pick the book
back up and continue reading. By time the book was done, I wanted to
read more, and wanted the story to continue.
The story itself is
strange, it draws you in immediately. It's the story
of a woman named Sabine who is coming to terms with exploring the hidden
past of her husband, a famous gay magician after his death. You wonder
how this story is going to work, which is the beauty of how well it
draws you in. It's a beautiful example of story-telling, and the writing
is flowing and enticing. Sabine,
the main character, spends time with her dead husband's family, none of
whom she knew existed. The reader is supposed to come along on the
journey with her to discover the missing parts of her longtime
friend/spouse. The story felt like I was eavesdropping on someone's conversation.
The West Coast Magician reinvented himself well, so much so, as
to have no connection to the Midwestern teenager he once was (by the way, the
Midwest is NOT as bleak and backward as portrayed in this book -some of the
stereotypes were obnoxious). After a traumatic childhood, he left town
and ended up with love and friendship and happiness.
I am excited to take this story apart with my book group and get some other perspectives. I hope you pick it up and give it a try.
I am listening to an audio book of Ember in The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir which is a YA fantasy book and I have been wanting to read it for some time now.
I'm also reading The Witches, Salem 1692 by Stacy Schief, for my online book club and these 2 books can't be more different. I try not to read more than one book at a time but if I listen to an audio book it is different somehow...I don't tend to confuse the stories or details within. I have an uncanny ability to remember most every book I have ever read. Maybe not minute details but the majority of the story.
Swaps
My Cuppa Swap buddy was so good to me. I received 2 books from my Goodreads wishlist By Patrick Rothfuss. They look amazing and I knew I wanted to read them after reading the blurb about them. Although, after seeing them they are a bit intimidating with nearly 700 pages in one and 1000 pages in the other. I can't wait to get started!!!
Not only did I get a Game of Thrones coffee mug I got a wonderful Wild Blueberry Coffee and a yummy Toostie Roll Hot Cocoa. I love it all Thanks so much Cyra Schaeffer from Rattle The Pages.
My exciting news for one of my most exciting swaps is the #otspsecretsister project, selected partners this past weekend. I have a new secret sister and I am so excited to get to know her. It runs for 6 months at a time and is dedicated to those with a love of books. I am so blessed to be a part of these lovely ladies. I have gained some incredible relationships and have met people from all over the country.
Happy Reading,
Mrs. Shamhart
This is always a fun time learning about character traits; caring, responsibility, respect, citizenship, trustworthiness and fairness.
8th graders from AMS that are part of the Longhorn Leaders came over to implement the lessons. We had a wonderful time.
Watch this video so you can be a part of what made us so "happy" Tuesday!
The Corner On Character:
Top 10 books on character you must share with your child. (Pre k- 2nd grade)
1. Caring- Horton Hatches The Egg by Dr. Seuss
2. Respect- The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
3. Responsibility- I Just Forgot by Mercer Mayer
4. Honesty- Ruthie and the Not So Teeny Tiny Lie by Laura Rankin
5. Kindness- Hey Little Ant by Phillip Hoose
6. Friendship- Enemy Pie by Derek Munson
7. Manners- Time To Say PLEASE! by Mo Willems
8. Empathy- Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
9. Acceptance- Stand Tall Molly Lou Mellon by Patty Lovell
10. Citizenship-What if Everyone Did by Joann Stover
I hope you will find time to share these wonderful books with your child and enjoy reading them together.
This week was a short week with MLK Day on Monday, we didn't have school. Then on Thursday we had a snow day. We received about 5 inches of snow. The Snow Day Bucket List I shared with my kiddo's.
My grandson, Oliver and his daddy building a snowman "Olaf".
Book club:
My book club just got started reading our newest selection The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett
I am only about 75 pages in but I am really getting hooked. I have been thinking about it all day. I am hoping I can finish it this weekend.
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
My Review:
Red Queen was incredible. For anyone who enjoys YA and dystopian fantasy books you will not be disappointed.
The
book is a dystopian fantasy with two main groups of people. The Reds
and the Silvers. The Reds have no real value they are powerless and
subject to the Silvers cruelty. Silvers on the other hand have these extreme type of powers and they are considered to be like gods who live
in the lap of luxury. With a revolution on the rise and a simple Red girl
somehow having powers that only Silvers should possess things get really
interesting pretty quick.
Mare Barrow's life is challenged in so many ways... being a Red is just one of them. When the royal family discovers that Mare has
powers that they can't explain away, they give her a new identity as a
Silver. She can either go along with the charade or they will kill her.
I
loved Mare, she gets thrown into a world she knows nothing about, she is
in constant danger from discovery of her true identity. Yet, she meets two princes both seeking her affection. Yes, there is a
love triangle of sorts but luckily it all gets nipped in the bud so
don't let that stop you from reading Red Queen.
All the key
characters were very well developed and even the villains were complex.
There was so much betrayal and manipulation...oh what a plot
twist! When you thought things couldn't get any more intense...it does.
Just when you thought you had a character figured out...they would
somehow surprise you. I think the quote that can sum up Red Queen would
be...
"Anyone can betray anyone."
The world created by
Aveyard was cruel and beautiful all at once. If your looking for an
addictive read that is full of action and a real page turner I highly
recommend picking up Red Queen.
We continued working on our lessons we started last week. In kindergarten we are learning 20 nursery rhymes. We worked on Pat-a-cake, Old Mother Hubbard, Little Miss Muffet, Hickory Dickory Dock, Hey Diddle Diddle, Jack Be Nimble, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. The students did an amazing job practicing and learning these rhymes. Yesterday, each kindergarten friend received a nursery rhyme that they will have to recite in the coming weeks. They were very excited ( I have to say, I absolutely love their enthusiasm). First grade friends have been working on their research project here in the library. They each selected an animal that they would like to know more about, they had to read a book about their animal and we just started filling out their graphic organizer to help them to write their research papers. Ask your student what animal they selected to learn more about.
Best In Books
I have been asked so many times this month (it's only the 15th), what was your favorite book in 2015? I have to say that this is a loaded question. I looked back at my Goodreads account and broke things down the best I could, I hope this helps to answer the question...
1. Best Book You Read In 2015? Wild by Cheryl Strayed
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t? All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?Mosquitoland by David Arnold Loved it!!! 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?The Good Girl by Mary Kubica and The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins
5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015? The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (for all three)
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015? Mary Kubica
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone? Cinder by Marissa Meyer
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year? Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins
9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year? Winter Stroll by Elin Hilderbrand. 10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?
11. Most memorable character of 2015?Cheryl Strayed in Wild
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015?The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015? From Wild by Cheryl Strayed So many amazing and thought provoking quotes throughout this book. Loved it.
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015? Shortest: 181 pages – The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, Longest: 504 pages The Signature Of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
17. Book That Shocked You The Most: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart 18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!): (OTP
= one true pairing if you aren’t familiar) Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell 19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year:Lucy and Marva Object of My Affection by Jill Smolinsky 20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously: Winter Stroll by Elin Hilderbrand 21. Best Book You Read In 2015 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:In A Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware 22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?Dashiell Sutherland from Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber 23. Best 2015 debut you read?The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year? Cinder by Marissa Meyer 25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?If I Could Turn Back Time By Beth Harbison 26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?The Life Intended By Kristin Harmel and The Martian By Andy Weir 27. Hidden Gem Of The Year? Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight 28. Book That Crushed Your Soul? The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015? The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens 30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)? We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Swaps
As I posted last week I am in a swap with Chaotic Goddess Swaps called The Book and A Cuppa Swap. I love being involved in their swaps they are so much fun and I get to meet people from all over, that blog and read. I just got assigned my swap partner and her name is Cyra and her blog is amazing Rattle the Pages.
I am currently part of the OTSP Secret Sister Project and I absolutely love my Secret sisters. I have only one I know and can't wait for the other sister to reveal herself. Signups for the next round are this weekend and I am so excited to get started. LOVE these ladies and the many that are involved in #otspsecretsisters I have come to find I read many of their blogs, pick up the books they suggest and enjoy getting to know them all.
Here is a little info on this swap:
The Basics:
The What:
The Secret Sister project is essentially a cheer club. Think Secret Santa but all year round (in 6 month intervals) with less emphasis
on big presents, and more thoughtful notes, cards, small somethings
sent just to let your secret sister know that you are thinking about
her!
The When:
Sign-ups will go live on January 16, 2016
This round will run from February through July 2016
The Who:
You guys! But there are some conditions that must be met prior to
signing up, we are going to outline those below under “The Rules.” The How:
On January 16 we will be posting questionnaires on our blogs for you
to fill out. In addition to the questionnaire, you will also be asked to
answer a few questions for a Google form. PLEASE NOTE:If you do not fill out BOTH of these things in full, then you will NOT be paired. The Google form is NEW this round, but it is what we will be using to pair, so DO NOT FORGET.
What am I reading?
I just started the book The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard here is a photo of my book and beverage last night. I will keep you posted on how it goes. So far I am loving it.
Last week I told you that I was finishing up the book The Martian by Andy Weir and let me just say it was wonderful!!! I am so glad that I read it before seeing the movie. I really enjoyed watching the movie and laughed a bit.
This
book was fantastic! A thrilling survival story with a hearty dose of
humor. The main character Mark was very tongue and cheek throughout the book and I LOVED IT. The
voice and the premise hooked me right away and kept me thoroughly
engaged the whole time. My only real issues were that some of the minor
characters didn't really stand out as much as they could've, and some of
the science heavy bits were a little hard to follow and felt a bit of info-overload
at times. But the human aspect, the heart of the story, was totally on
point, and for the most part I just had a great time reading this!
Over the holiday break I enjoyed catching up on Game of Thrones since, HBO was airing a Game of Thrones marathon. I absolutely enjoyed spending time with family. Even though I was a midst the holiday break I never stop thinking and planning for school. If I could just put the breaks on and slow this break down I could balance my time with my family and all that I want to accomplish at home and at school. If I only had another week off...I might even get a chance to finish the 3 books I am reading. My one word is Love because everyone needs love.
Special Note:
I have taken some time off from blogging and I am ready to get back into the swing of things.
Back To School
As we head back to school and welcome in the new year, we will be starting our research papers in 1st grade (this seems to get earlier and earlier every year). My kindergarten friends will be starting our nursery rhyme unit and will each be given their very own nursery rhyme to recite in library class. This is a collaborative effort with Mrs. Christner our music teacher. She will be preparing kindergarten classes for their spring music recital, using some of the same nursery rhymes we will be learning here in the library.
It has been a bit frozen here in Kansas this past week:
Other book-related and mug-related goodies – bookmarks, coffee, hot cocoa, etc.
This is the perfect swap for me.
My Current Read:
I'm so engrossed in this book, I have only a few pages to left and will finish tonight. I highly recommend it. I wanted to read it before I went to see the movie. My #otspsecretsister sent this to me she knows me to well. Please let me know what you are reading.
As many of you know I love fall, it happens to be my most favorite time of year. I enjoy the cooler weather, football, pumpkin everything and especially our family visit to the pumpkin patch.
Kindergarten:
We worked on bats in the library this week and enjoyed a lesson on fiction and non-fiction. We shared the books; Bats In The Library By: Brian Lies and Batsby Natasha Wilson
Last week we worked on Scarecrows and had fun sharing The Scarecrow's Hat and The Lonely Scarecrow.
1st Grade:
Worked on Acorns and a writing. We enjoyed reading Earl The Squirrel by Don Freeman. We read several stories about squirrels and made an anchor chart.
100th Day Of School
Spring Break
