First Friday in August

It came. Whether we wanted it to or not (CONFLICT!!!!!) it came.
I think I've forgotten to mention lately ... if you're in a reader like Bloglovin or Feedly the embedded pins might not show up. So you might need to click through to see them, then click through to go to the creator's source cause they are the ones that made them.

Except for the videos. Just straight up embedding those instead of the pins.

Things I found interesting on the Internet this week ...


So many funny ones. I mean, a-ha is my favorite 80s band of all time. They are actually still around. But at first the Elmo clip was my favorite reading specific snippet. Then the Abby/Journey one grew on me. I want them to do a full length version! But of course Super Grouch is funny. As is (sorry if this is a spoiler) the Rickroll. I actually really liked Rick Astley back in the day. Had his tape. Tapes? Do I have it in digital form? I do not know.


I like this idea. Not quite sure how to do it for school as I find the ordering process really frustrating and I cannot foot the bill for everything. Not that we have the money for everything at school either, but we do have some. But in this case it's all contained in a box so ... portions. Now keeping what ... a class set would be like 10-12? One per every 2 kids? Keeping a class set stocked could get cumbersome. So for now it's just an idea.



She actually did a talk at BYU as well (they do bring in outside speakers sometimes!). They couldn't post that one (re my podcast reference earlier in the week). :( But here's her TED talk which you've probably seen but if not? TOTALLY RECOMMEND! and if you haven't read her book? Either Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking or the one for kids (I really don't know that kids would read it but still ... there are a couple of chapters that talk about school that could be really helpful to teachers) Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts. Seen that "Introverts Unite, At Home, Alone?" I am. But in reality it just needs to be a balance. Sometimes school is just so much people needing overload it's draining, right? But sometimes summer is so much alone time that's a little draining, too. Balance.



I signed up to do this Vlogging challenge (learned about via the Tech with Us community on FB?). There's no way I'll get to every day in August but hey, if I get even 5 done that's a win. And I've already got 2 posted and 1 ready ahead of time. So I think I can do more than 5. They are not good ... the first never are. But maybe they will get better? Dunno, we'll see. Posting them to Instastories and Youtube. If they get anybetter I'll embed them here. I might make video creation my TTESS goal (state educator requirement ... it's a little different for librarians than classroom teachers but you get the idea) this year ... since I already did the Google certifications over the summer. What was I thinking? I should've waited!


I am not a big fan of fall. Back to school is so crazy. Allergies kick back into high gear. There's a looooooong stretch of no school holidays (kids get a couple but teachers still work). It's still hot in TX. So I have to convince myself.


Anyone get something cool at the sale? I got some fun clip art--as if I didn't have enough already. And I got some coding stuff from Brittanny Washburn, a fun little book study on Stick and Stone from Cara's Creative Playground, and an iPad project on Dig Citizenship from Erintegration. Before the sale I'd already tried one PB font set and a digital librarian planner. I was going to say tell us what you got but then if it's awesome I'll spend more money! That could be bad ... 😛

Tuesday Tech Fave Podcasts

The COMMUTE will soon start back up. And a big five year construction job 😟 has just started on the main way I get between home and school. There are very limited alternate routes that will also fill up with people trying to avoid the madness. :(



This is an old pic I took once back when I used to go to the gym. I now live about what, eighteen miles further down that road (what was I thinking? Honestly I was thinking I'd change schools but that is another story). It sort of gives you a glimpse of why they had to do something. But five years. And WHILE they do the something. 😒 Did I mention I have a manual transmission car?







So I will probably get even more time for audiobooks and PODCASTS. Thought I'd share some of my faves with you. Some are library or book or education related, some are not. I actually wasn't much of a podcast listener until like maybe November?



Pretend I inserted a fun graphic of someone listening to a podcast here.



Some I listen to every episode ASAP, some I might subscribe but end up deleting episodes before I ever get them listened to because I get behind and I hate seeing them stack up, some I don't actually subscribe to but I've gone in and downloaded specific episodes from their back catalog because at least one has proved super interesting. Not telling you which is which cause everyone needs to decide for themselves. Just like every book has its reader, every podcast has their listeners!





In no particular order and I feel like I'm forgetting some (linked to webpages where you could try episodes out or get show notes and decide about subscribing ... most have the link to iTunes or Stitcher there) ...





Mike Rowe's The Way I Heard It (hilarious and interesting!)



The Google Teacher Tribe (I've fangirled before I think!)



Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers



Books Between



Fangirls Going Rogue (STAR WARS and general all things GEEK ALERT ;))



Star Wars Bookworms  (They don't do junior books and not many YA, which is actually what I read the most of. Big surprise. But it's still interesting to the super fan!)



Levar Burton Reads



All the Wonders



Masterpiece Studio (because I loved Downton and Sherlock and Victoria and what else ...)



Brains On! Science Podcast



House of #EdTech



Publishers Weekly PW KidsCast



TeacherCast Educational Broadcast Network (I'm not sure I got all these links right on the webpage ... but searching for podcasts they are different)



The TeacherCast Podcast



TechEducator Podcast



Song Talks with Richard Marx (there is some language on this one which personally I can do w/o)



The Wildlife Photography Podcast (this one is more interesting if you follow his IG feed as well, and have some interest in photography)



BYU Speeches (This one is quite faith based, though not entirely. I didn't take advantage of all the great speakers when I was there so now I listen to devotionals. Makes all the sense in the world, right? But they are not all devotionals. Some of them are just interesting sort of like TED talks? But the majority faith based.)





I wonder if later I will wish I had done this on like a Listly or something. Anyway. Later!

#IMWAYR July 31

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now… who knows, you might discover that next “must read” book!
Our Kid Lit to YA version is hosted by Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers.

Click on the image to go to Goodreads for a bit more detail. 

The Duck & Goose and There's Nothing to Do! were both E-ARCs coming out later this fall and so cute. I want to get both of them for our school collection. We'll have to see if we have the $$.

Mrs. Smith's Spy School was also an E-ARC. I loved the idea of it but the execution fell a bit short for me. At least in this book one. Maybe book two will tighten things up a bit? It sort of skipped around a little (I thought) for the sake of brevity. It's not necessarily easy to write for kids! You still have to cover bases but you have to do it succinctly! I liked the idea so I'll take a peak at book two.

Hunting Hour was an adult mystery. If you're a dog lover  (or a Lifetime/Hallmark movie lover) then totally give it a shot. Wasn't my cup of tea but I didn't actively dislike it.

I LOVE STAR WARS LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS! They are sort of retro. Like Mary Blair-ish? I'm no expert but that's the vibe they give me. The text to I am a Hero is simple but fine for what it is. The text to the starship one ... did not make my teacher librarian heart happy, as much as my Star Wars heart loved it. No organization to the starship madness. Is that nitpicky? Does there NEED to be organization to a made up non-fic book?

I actually read Children of Exile last week but forgot to put it on here! That's what happens when you read stuff on a short road trip. Totally weird ("Fred town"?) but I will be back. She comes up with some of the strangest premises and yet leaves you totally wanting more!


Still enjoying the Red Queen series. I keep falling for the same things Mare does and getting the rug pulled out from under me. It's so silly ... I actually highlighted several lines in this one. Kindle location 4847 (I wonder what page that is? "“I see you as you could become, no longer the lightning, but the storm. The storm that will swallow the world entire.”) Fits the story. Actually already started book three so that will be on next week's finished pile for sure.


And I finally finished Gears of Revolution. It took me a long time for some reason which is so not fair because I actually really like the series (it was a digital arc that kept getting hidden on my device ... books that are visible on a shelf are easier to keep track of but harder to read. Makes no sense at all, right?). Upper midgrade fantasy with a touch of steampunk. Flying robotic dragons ... to battle real dragons? Book three comes out in early Sept., I think it is?

I hope this will turn into my "Read" list next week. We'll see?! I might be dreaming too big but I want to finish these before back to school gets too crazy.

HAPPY READING!

Friday that is Almost (gulp) August

Well.
Two weeks from today I go back for two days of "voluntary" training (yes, that includes a Saturday).
Then two last days of break. Then back on contract! And a family wedding. Summer. There needs to be more balance. There's almost too much free time in summer but the school year. It's just too crazy and I get overwhelmed. Does anyone else get overwhelmed? I don't want to say I hope so .... Anyway.
Last Saturday when I was at the Houston Harry Potter Symphony with one of my sisters and my niece I thought about changing my Star Wars in the Library for HP. I really did. Kept thinking about it all week. It's his birthday week! So this week's "This is what I found on the webs" is pretty much all HP themed. Click through for original sources cause they created them.
(I am 90% sure I won't do it. But I was pretty tempted because it would be just as awesome as Star Wars. I heart Star Wars the most. But it's only a very little bit more most. HP is right up there.)


I have something sort of like this (not from this shop, but hey, they have some) but Star Wars themed in my living room. They are 11X17 but on wood so I didn't have to get them framed and they would last longer than canvas. Look at the fun HP ones! (Oh, when I clicked through I saw the set of three. Even more tempted now.) Only not a vendor so if I got them for school it would be on my own dime. Hmmm ...



Craft alert! Makerspace? Or just for fun ...



The pin goes to an Etsy store. The idea is so cute.



This could be kind of fun. Could take some doing but find the right sounds (takes going to another link) for transitions?



There are a couple more but they are being weird about embedding. Which in the end is OK ... who knows if embedding is the best idea, anyway. A set of growth mindset/quote posters (I think in that case quotes are more OK, because the maker added more of her own value. I used to have some freebie HP quote posters but then I took them down because I decided even freebie ... who am I to say I can use HP quotes? Even short ones? I didn't add a bit of my own to it. Copyright can be so confusing sometimes, especially when you add in layers of movies and product licensing and such) that are super cool. Make your own sorting hat! You can find them all easy enough via my recent Pinterest and then to their own respective original sources.

Pineapple Bookmarks

Been on a computer kick and (very quickly) made these. May have to take a rest, though, cause my word. Knots in the shoulders. Anyway. Can you tell I like coloring? Simple things? None of the super complicated "adult" style coloring books for me. Is that terrible it all started with what I liked? But the kids seem to like the same things ... they go crazy for them. Click on the pic to get a (not editable) pdf copy from Google Drive.

Tuesday (Google) Tool: Keep

Can you tell I'm trying? Hopefully it's useful to someone.
Anyway. Google Keep. I'm actually still really just learning about it ... it's been on my phone for a while but I didn't really pay attention to it until I started reviewing for the Google Certified Educator test. One of those things I download and sort of forget about until later. I do that sometimes. :/

It's available online and as an app on your mobile device. It syncs to your Google account.
You can add images and photos and audio recordings. You can add labels.. Checkboxes (who doesn't love to check things off?!). Color coding.

If you are moving to digital planning (for school ... I still like my paper planner for personal stuff. I even spent hours last summer working on a set of Avery printable teacher librarian planner stickers for paper planning ... and then found for school it just ... ugh. Didn't work for me. So I never ended up finishing them. I love analog planning for personal stuff but school, let's just go with digital) this is a MUST! There is no no no reason to keep a simple To Do list in Slides or Docs or Sheets. You can even add collaborators in Keep (though that part is easier to do on the desktop version).

Kasey Bell of Shake Up Learning has a great article (and lots of other things ... she's half of the Google Teacher Tribe) and lots of other things linked if you click through from the infographic found below.



So mine is too messy to actually show you. I'm too paranoid for that. But here's a glimpse.

Here's one short tutorial.


But here is a longer one from Matt Miller of Ditch that Textbook. He's an educator so it's worth the extra time! You might already have heard of him? He's the other half of the Google Teacher Tribe than anything but hey, whatever. He does it better than I could so we'll just let him, shall we? Since I was naughty and just got an Apple watch the GPS based reminders are especially interesting to me ... more help even than a buzzing phone. That could be helpful. You may hear about them again later.


Here's the link to the Chrome Extension.

#IMWAYR July 24

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now… who knows, you might discover that next “must read” book! Our Kid Lit to YA version is hosted by Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers.

I'm ba-ack. Two weeks in a row! And the new glasses, I'm sorry to say (because they are progressive lense bifocals and I wanted to be in denial they were needed), do help. Do you like how I never end up reading anything I was thinking about at this time last week?

Let's see ... how to organize all of these. The top pic links to my most recent Goodreads page. I never write super detailed reviews but there is a little more info there. I keep trying to figure out the best way to share books. Once a week in a big super post makes it hard to go back to later but easier to skim in feeds if that's not really your thing, especially where my choices are pretty eclectic. Dunno.

I'm super late ever talking about The Taxidermist's Daughter and The Impersonator. I think I won them on Goodreads? Both are adult books. Good ... not super great but definitely worth the read. Daughter was little extra gruesome in it's gothicness. And Impersonator predictable. But still both fun mysteries!

All By Myself, Alone is classic MHC. Also formulaic but still fun in fulfilling it's formula. Guilty pleasure popcorn reading.

Orphan Island I actually had as an E-ARC from Netgalley and I finally got it read. It had so many beautifully written lines and yet ... I'm going to say it. Another book that I don't get what the big deal was about. Yes, beautiful lines. But there were SO MANY weird parts and unanswered questions that seriously. Frustration. I need to meet a kid who has read it. What do kids think?

Maud was also an E-ARC from Netgalley. It is a historical fic book based on the life of L.M. Montgomery (author of Anne of Green Gables). I liked it. Not as much as I love Anne but I liked it well enough. It's not going to "convert" someone into enjoying Anne but for an already fan of Anne it's an enjoyable read.

Death on the River of Doubt was a little dry in places but still worth a read. The photos were a nice addition. I wish they could have been printed in a better quality resolution/on better paper but that would have increased the price of the book, I know.

Edge of Everything ... odd. I liked it! But also odd. Didn't really believe in the romance aspect but liked everything else about it. Interesting premise. Demon bounty hunter? I'll be back for part 2.

Red Queen ... late to this one but a page turner!

The Door Before ... is actually a prequel to The 100 Cupboards series but apparently it ties in to another series he wrote that I haven't ever gotten to. Maybe that's why I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the original series? I think it skews a bit higher in reading level (actually more for content than necessarily vocab) also. I liked this one but I liked the original series more, if that makes sense.


So for next week ...

The next two Victoria Aveyard books. Because thanks to Overdrive I already have them on my Kindle.
And I need to finish the second Mysteries of Cove book. Been halfway through it for a while. Not to say I wasn't really enjoying it. Most of last year is just best left behind. But hey! I got the ARC of book three (coming out in September) so a refresh is needed! If you like mid grade fantasy with some steampunk at all this one is fun. The author visited our school and he was so awesome.

I  need a good picture book binge. Our local public library just ... doesn't have very many. A few. But I really just need to head down to B&N again or something. I was only able to stop in for a couple minutes the other day.

If you have any idea what I'm talking about ... Happy Pioneer Day! If not ... oh well. Happy Pioneer Day to you, too. So glad I didn't have to walk across the plains and that treks were not a thing when I was in YW (knock on wood I am not prepared to be a leader! Just saying!).