This weeks book...

So this week book was called "Small Steps, Big Changes.  Eight Essential Practices for Transforming Schools Through Mathematics".  Our school is focusing on changing our math practice this coming year and I am suppose to be leading this so this book was calling my name.  It is written by a principal and coach and gives their experiences in changing teachers practice and raising test scores. It was a pretty good read.  Not too much new but I did take away a couple of good nuggets, mostly on how to question kids so they do more of the thinking!

The book challenge

So several us at our school follow Dona Lynn Miller's and her book challenge on The Book Whisperer.  She does a book a day challenge which includes magazines, pictures books and all other novels. She gets an amazing amount of reading done.  I have challenged myself to a book a week and may make it. I haven't done any picture books yet but if I get desperate I'll pull those out especially the week or two before my sons wedding.

Just Finishing....

Just finishing the second book in the Everlast series (Everlost)  I don't think I'll be reading the third one but a very good series for students.  They are a YA series and if kids liked Hunger games they will like these.

Strength Finders 2.0
So as part of our leadership team we had to take a survey and then read the chapters in this book that pertained to how we fell out from the survey.  There wasn't any huge surprises for me for my leadership style.  Apparently we are getting together this week now and assigning responsibilities based on those skills.  It should be very interesting.

My areas of strength were:1) Achiever, 2) Learner 3) Discipline 4) Responsibility and 5) Significance Basically I like to get things done, learn new things but only if they apply to what I can do.

New book Finished:
So I just finished the book called "Brain Rules 10 simple rules for brain functions".  It wasn't a whole lot of new information for me but it was reaffirming to how I teach and what I need to remember to do.  Especially those brain breaks!!!

Now onto some fun reading!

Last weeks reading:
So don't laugh.... I know you think I am crazy that I do professional reading during the summer, but I find if I intermix it with my "fun" reading it is easier for me.  Last week I read "Pathways to Common Core" by Lucy Caulkins.  We are just starting to adopt CCSS and this coming year I will be part of the leadership team to help implement them.  I found this book to be quite helpful in dissecting the meanings behind the ELA's.Of course it is their perspective but still... helped break them down for me.  Here is the link from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_8?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pathways+to+the+common+core&sprefix=pathways%2Caps%2C209
I couldn't get the picture to copy with the MAC.

Patriots an Loyalist Podcast

Here is the version in MP3 format.

Podcast

Here is my attempt at my podcast.  Hope you enjoy

Summer Lovin' Reading: Where is your most favorite place to read? Mine i...

Summer Lovin' Reading: Where is your most favorite place to read?  Mine i...: Where is your most favorite place to read?  Mine is on the beach.

Where is your most favorite place to read?  Mine is on the beach.

Hello all,
I have created this blog to talk about what kind of books we are reading this summer.  We will include the good, the bad and the ugly of all levels.  They can be of all levels, children and adult.  I love having discussions about what is being read.

I just finished my first summer book "Everlost" by Neil Schusterman. It is the first book in a series (which I love to get my kids hooked into)  It is about a place where kids go that is between the living and the dead and how kids react when they are there.  The main heroine wants to go back home and have contact with the living but struggles to do that.  I think this would be a great read aloud to aid to discussion in what the value of life is.