Some Like It Hot!

   http://www.stockfreeimages.com/    I am trying to post a pic, but having no luck!!!!

Not me!  It is suppose to reach 100 degrees, actual temperature today!  I do not like it this hot.  The definition of my air conditioning consists of open windows and fans.  My perfect temperature is 75 degrees, no humidity.  The only time I like it warmer is when I go swimming or to the beach, which is rare these days. Oh well, what to do.  The good thing is that it gives me a good excuse to just sit and read, read blogs, write a blog post, work on my writing, and work on school plans.  Do I really need an excuse?  They are all valid and important activities.  I can do all of these activities sitting with a fan in front of me.

I have been itching to get into school.  Today is the day.  I have a bunch of stuff in a pile that I want to take to school and get it out of my house (de-clutter).  I want to open up my library and begin searching for mentor texts that I know I own.  I also want to make copies of some lesson ideas from some scholastic teacher books.  I'm not planning to work very long, but you all know how that goes.  It will also depend on the heat.  We do have air conditioning, but it will probably be turned way down.

The good news is that we are going to have a cold front coming through tonight!  Awesome!  We will have about 4-5 pleasant days.  I plan to tackle the de-clutter and summer cleaning that I had listed on my bucket list.  My younger son is going to help me.  I have listed 70 items that need to be done.  Everything from the basic dust and vacuum to washing windows and hanging new curtains.  I am going to pay my son for his help.  I wanted to pay him minimum wage per hour, but he wanted a dollar amount for each room or space.  So, I had him go through the list and he assigned the dollar amount.  Some areas I felt he was overcharging, but other areas were undercharged, so all in all I think his price was fair.  It is also well worth it. We plan to work 4-6 hours each day.  I think we can get it done and it goes so much faster with two people.

Tomorrow is suppose to be cooler and we could start cleaning, but I am going to get some basics done like grocery shopping and meal prep.  I also want to go to Target.  I read that their school items will be in the dollar spot beginning tomorrow.  If I find some goodies, I will take pictures and attempt to upload them onto my blog.  I also have some Kohls cash and coupon.  I have been eyeing their summer dresses.  Oh, and I need a new mouse for my computer.  It is not working well at all!

Only 23 days until Summer School begins.  I want to do a theme and can't decide.  More on that dilemma later!

Kind Thoughts,

Kathy

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

  This is a picture of Kate Messner.  I discovered her through the Teacher's Write Summer Camp.  Not only is she helping hundreds of teachers to write this summer, she is also a wonderful author for children.  I sidetracked from my reading list last week and read The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.  I loved it.  I think it will make a perfect read aloud for my students this fall.  I really like the quiz you can take at the end to determine "What Kind of Tree Are You?"  I was already planning on having a tree bulletin board so...  Her website is http://www.katemessner.com.

Anyway, back to last weeks list.  I read many of the books on my list last week, but not all.  So, I am not going to add any new ones to my list.  If I finish last weeks list early, I will read from the stacks, yes stacks, of books I have here in my home and the hundreds of books on my Kindle!  There's always the library, too.  I wanted to run to the library on Saturday, when I got the notice that Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe was ready to be picked up.  But, I knew I still had many books to read so, I held my self back, but I will go and get it - yes, today!  Anyway,  I want to recommend The Fluent Reader by Timothy V. Rasinski.  




  He talks about the value of reading aloud to students and practicing oral reading in the classroom.  He shares many great ideas to accomplish this.  He discusses assisted reading and shows a model for effective learning.  There is a CD that shows video clips, podcasts, and ready-to-print pages.  My book is well bookmarked and I am ready to use many of his ideas in my classroom.

I decided to not read Skeleton Letters by Laura Childs.  I've read several of her books and honestly it felt like the same old, same old.

Books still on my list:

• The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White
• Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
• Essential Strategies for Word Study by Timothy Rasinski & Jerry Zutell

Happy Reading Everyone!

Kathy