This book is a collection of vignettes about writers and books that they love. It's kind of a fun book to read because you don't have to read it from beginning to end - you can jump all over. Here are some of my favorite parts from the book:
Nicholas A Basbanes: Something else Professor Berkelman preached in all his courses - and I took eight with him over four years, quite possibly a Bates record - was the merit of reading favorite passages aloud, a practice I use to this day, most productively with my own writing. When my daughters were children in the 1980s, it became customary for us to read their literary assignments together at night, and to discuss what we had just learned as we went along. Shakespeare's plays were by far the most fun for us. We selected our roles, assumed what we thought were appropriate voices, and visualized the scenes as if we were directors staging our own productions. We tinkered with blank verse, examined the language, shared our perceptions. Most of all, we allowed reading to enter our lives, and to work its magic.
I wonder if this is one reason I love reading books with Peirce so much - because we always read aloud. There's something special about reading aloud!
Benjamin Cheever: When a friend sticks a book in my hand and crows, "It changed my life," my heart plummets. They never say, "It changed my life." They sing it out, as if boasting about intellectual suppleness, while not talking about the book at all. As if change were easy, welcome.
I know better. Sure the Renaissance was change, but so was the Ice Age.
Plus, I'm not intellectually supple. When one of those books does come along, it knocks me over. I'll read it twice. If I can possibly get a recording of the book, I'll do so. I'll run with it in my iPod, wash the dishes with it. I'll dog-ear and underline my copy. I'll quote endlessly from the text in e-mail. I'll bore my neighbors, embarrass my friends, infuriate my family.
I think I like this guy. I love his description! I love how he loves books. :)
Claire Cook (her favorite was the Nancy Drew series!): She talks about how she grew to love Nancy Drew. Her mother had died and she relished getting lost in the world of a book, rather than living in her own. Nancy, interestingly, also didn't have a mother. She talked about helping kids love reading, and says: The truck is, as I came to see it, is that once you fall in love, really in love, with that first book, you'll never be able to stop. There will still be plenty of time to introduce the classics. I give Nancy full credit for that teaching epiphany.
That's so true! That's my goal with the kids I teach...and with my own kids :)
An author named Sark (no last name....just Sark) said she was touched by Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. She said she was abused and while reading the book she had an epiphany. I went to hear Maya Angelou speak at the same library where I'd found her book, and clearly saw her invincible spirit as she talked to the group. Right there, sitting on that folding chair, I decided to have no more shame about the abuse that had happened to me. That is amazing. Books can bring miracles!
Then there are a few books I noticed, that I'd love to read. One of them being by Maureen Corrigan. It is called "Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading." Now that is right up my alley! I also learned some strange facts. Like, did you know: Sherlock Homes is....the only fictional character ever made an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry because of his contributions to forensic investigation. A fictional character! LOL And I learned some funny things about some authors I love....like Jack Prelutsky. He said: When I was in junior high....I fell in love with Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Thompson Seton. I hid the book in an obscure place in the school library so it was always waiting for me, and read it a couple dozen times. I wonder why he didn't just sign it out? LOL
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Friday, 7 October 2011
Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo
Well, I've really got to get better at blogging! Once in September, and suddenly it is October 7. Life seems to spin faster and faster!
Peirce and I joined a book club this year at the public library. The first book we read was Elephant in the Garden. The book is pretty good. It's a story of a family in Germany during the second world war. It was interesting to read a World War II story from the perspective of a German family. It made me want to read more of his books though. It was a great introduction to this author. You can read more about the book here. It isn't a book I probably would have ever pulled off the library shelf on my own. That's one of the great things about a book club! It gets me reading books I wouldn't have otherwise.
More than anything though, just the experience of reading a book with Peirce has been really wonderful. I seriously recommend it! I am pretty sure it wouldn't matter what the book was about - it is good bonding time. Next month will be a test to see if my theory was right because next month's book looks like a girls' book to me! Time will tell!
Peirce and I joined a book club this year at the public library. The first book we read was Elephant in the Garden. The book is pretty good. It's a story of a family in Germany during the second world war. It was interesting to read a World War II story from the perspective of a German family. It made me want to read more of his books though. It was a great introduction to this author. You can read more about the book here. It isn't a book I probably would have ever pulled off the library shelf on my own. That's one of the great things about a book club! It gets me reading books I wouldn't have otherwise.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
The Race
Well, you can tell when school started for me because the blogging stopped. I have been able to come up for air so thought I would try to catch up.
I went to teacher training mid-August. I attended it last year so I was lucky to be able tonattend again. I found it really helpful because ow I have some experience and a place to file the info in my brain. The new teachers I was with are really great. I lived the entire experience!
The big news work wise is in August I got a call asking me to come in to chat with my principal and vice principal. Hmmmmm......intriguing! it turns out one of the teachers got engaged this summer. I got to sit down with her one day and listen to the whole story. It is the kind of story movies are made of. Very romantic and definitely meant to be. I got goosebups on my goose bumps and shed a tear or two over the beauty of it all! Her fiancé is from South Africa and while he waits for immigration to allow him to move here, she is taking a year off.....so they asked if I would move to Gr. 3. I said yes and while I felt a little disappointed (I was really looking forward to teaching something again) now I realize what a blessing for me it all is. I thought it would be more work because I am learning a whole new curriculum. Whole that is true, the teachers I am teamed upmwith are amazing! They are very organized and very helpful, and lfe is very very good. Not only that, my class is a dream! I taught all but one last year. There are a few from my Grade two class, and the rest I taught math to last year. I felt like I was able to hit the ground running since I already knew them. All in all, I am really loving teaching this year!
At the end of summer the kids went to Grandma Camp. This was a different year. Poor Grandma was really worn out by the end. They had good times, but there was too much bickering amongst cousins. Not sure if it was lack of sleep, too much planned, or the ages they are at, but it was a tricky time. Grandma was a real trooper through it all.
Peirce has been particularly miserable. Grumpy, Fights with his sister, a doomsday attitude about everything, particularly his new school, and a few other issues had me considering adoption. LOL After some thought and prayer we wondered if he has wheat issues like Allen does. We decided to try taking him off wheat and saw a remarked improvement quite quickly. It is an adjustment for us all.....but we will get it figured out. All I know is my happy and quiet boy is back!
Another great thing in our life is swimming. Jill counted down all summer how long it would be before swimming would start again. She has moved up again and now swims six days a week. She couldn't be happier with that. Peirce is also swimming competitively this year and has been loving practices and his new coach. I am at the pool six days a week and twice on Tuesdayand Thursday. Oh boy!
Jill is loving being in Grade 8. She says it is the perfect time because she is no longer the youngest, the Grade nines are just old Grade eights, and she gets to see her old Grade Fives who are finally in Grade seven! .......confusing, I know. But she's happy, so the logic works for me. Peirce's school closed last year....er, rather, the program moved. He has been in a wonderful small school and has never had more than 16 kids in his class (kindergarten had 9 kids!) and now he is in a more normal sized class and there are 5 classes of his grade! He was really nervous about the change, but his new teacher is wonderful, he is with some of his old friends, and he already has someone who has a crazy crush on him. All works out in the end!
Allen has been a wonderful help in all the craziness of the schedule being back in full swing. He is busy with Bishopric responsibilities, and business is going well. I love him more and more all the time.
So, life has turned up a notch. I will try to keep up with blogging so we can remember it all!
I went to teacher training mid-August. I attended it last year so I was lucky to be able tonattend again. I found it really helpful because ow I have some experience and a place to file the info in my brain. The new teachers I was with are really great. I lived the entire experience!
The big news work wise is in August I got a call asking me to come in to chat with my principal and vice principal. Hmmmmm......intriguing! it turns out one of the teachers got engaged this summer. I got to sit down with her one day and listen to the whole story. It is the kind of story movies are made of. Very romantic and definitely meant to be. I got goosebups on my goose bumps and shed a tear or two over the beauty of it all! Her fiancé is from South Africa and while he waits for immigration to allow him to move here, she is taking a year off.....so they asked if I would move to Gr. 3. I said yes and while I felt a little disappointed (I was really looking forward to teaching something again) now I realize what a blessing for me it all is. I thought it would be more work because I am learning a whole new curriculum. Whole that is true, the teachers I am teamed upmwith are amazing! They are very organized and very helpful, and lfe is very very good. Not only that, my class is a dream! I taught all but one last year. There are a few from my Grade two class, and the rest I taught math to last year. I felt like I was able to hit the ground running since I already knew them. All in all, I am really loving teaching this year!
At the end of summer the kids went to Grandma Camp. This was a different year. Poor Grandma was really worn out by the end. They had good times, but there was too much bickering amongst cousins. Not sure if it was lack of sleep, too much planned, or the ages they are at, but it was a tricky time. Grandma was a real trooper through it all.
Peirce has been particularly miserable. Grumpy, Fights with his sister, a doomsday attitude about everything, particularly his new school, and a few other issues had me considering adoption. LOL After some thought and prayer we wondered if he has wheat issues like Allen does. We decided to try taking him off wheat and saw a remarked improvement quite quickly. It is an adjustment for us all.....but we will get it figured out. All I know is my happy and quiet boy is back!
Another great thing in our life is swimming. Jill counted down all summer how long it would be before swimming would start again. She has moved up again and now swims six days a week. She couldn't be happier with that. Peirce is also swimming competitively this year and has been loving practices and his new coach. I am at the pool six days a week and twice on Tuesdayand Thursday. Oh boy!
Jill is loving being in Grade 8. She says it is the perfect time because she is no longer the youngest, the Grade nines are just old Grade eights, and she gets to see her old Grade Fives who are finally in Grade seven! .......confusing, I know. But she's happy, so the logic works for me. Peirce's school closed last year....er, rather, the program moved. He has been in a wonderful small school and has never had more than 16 kids in his class (kindergarten had 9 kids!) and now he is in a more normal sized class and there are 5 classes of his grade! He was really nervous about the change, but his new teacher is wonderful, he is with some of his old friends, and he already has someone who has a crazy crush on him. All works out in the end!
Allen has been a wonderful help in all the craziness of the schedule being back in full swing. He is busy with Bishopric responsibilities, and business is going well. I love him more and more all the time.
So, life has turned up a notch. I will try to keep up with blogging so we can remember it all!
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