It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. 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.
GREAT IDEA! Check out all of the What Are You Reading? participants for title ideas.
Last Week
Two Graves. "Grown up" reading but hey. Gotta do that sometimes, too. Pendergast. If you like mysteries ... have you read them? Awesome!
Ways to Live Forever. Umm ... kind of sad. :/
Reached. The first one is still my favorite. But hey, you've got to get the whole story, right? And it was good.
The Fire Chronicle. FUN fantasy series. Trying to decide ... middle school could definitely read. Could fourth and fifth grade read and understand and enjoy?
Coming Up
I totally need to finish Benjamin Franklinstein because the author is coming in like ... 10 days?
Here's the whole series (though I do not know why #2 is listed with the co-author, only). Great for ... I would say average third grade and up at least. Would need to be a STRONG second grade reader. Not as creepy as the covers might intimate so it's not content. Vocabulary.
Plus I will be reading these with the young kiddos. Should've finished all my plans for them over the break. #dumbbreak #spentsomuchofitsick Well. I did play with my nephew when I could control the coughing/sneezing. He already had a cold so we figured it was OK.
Now, see this series? I am behind.
Maybe not exactly finishing this week. Let's say finishing number three.
Here's to ... #mindingthegap.
And this series.
And one of these? Is this doable the first week back to school after the break?
Anxiously awaiting a couple book orders. If they come? All plans might change. Well. Except for the author visit prep.
Oh, I am late, late, late to this linky party (and this is two posts in one day ... #bloggingnono) but how does it go? Mejor tarde que nunca? Better late than never?
(PS FINALLY ... if I'd had a clue that to link a picture all you had to do was insert the picture, view in "compose," and click on link? Would have been doing it a LONG TIME AGO. Before when I googled I got html code stuff and I never did quite get that right. But I digress.)
I find it kind of funny that I discovered this the weekend before I am thinking of visiting my very first comic book shop. For me. New Star Wars comic series coming out on Tuesday. Don't get me wrong ... we've had them in the library but that was mail/vendor order and I never really "got" the appeal. Just went on reviews. Now I am tempted to go buy myself a copy on release day. Will I feel like a total geek walking in?
Then I read all of the Lunch Lady and Babymouse books this summer. FUN!
We actually have a pretty good Guys Read program going in our library. We have a great Watch DOGS program and our family specialist always includes a meeting as part of their volunteer day. All I had to do was suggest in and provide is some fun high-interest non-fic books. At first I thought it had to be more "planned and structured" but our volunteers have been great about talking to the boys about all the different places and reasons they read. (I do eavesdrop sometimes on both them and her talking to the volunteers about what to do ;).)
In no particular order other than maybe from K to 5 in general reading level. And even that is not exact.
First of all, ANYTHING with gross, disgusting, or unexplained in the title.
Fly Guy
Frog and Fly
Ready Freddy series
Flat Stanley series
ANYTHING by Steve Jenkins ... the art is amazing, topics are cool, and the info is interesting!
I so want to make these with maybe Kinder or first grade. But we need to get ready for an author visit so I'm doubting there will be time before it's all hot again here. And yes. One COULD still read about and make polar animals. But it's not quite the same now, is it?
And these, too! Sigh. Sort of a bit of a frustrated art teacher today, aren't I? I WOULD COMBINE THEM WITH BOOKS, OF COURSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CAN YOU STAND HOW CUTE THIS IS? I love her SW stuff, too.
Would love to see something like this on all the teacher's doors.
This is a fun app and it's FREE. Plus there is less mess than making "real" paper snowflakes.
AND OH MY GOODNESS YOU MIGHT THINK I AM WIERD BUT AS OF NEW YEAR'S EVE THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE PIN OF ALL TIME.
And ... now to enjoy the last weekend before we finish the holiday break.
It is THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY. And I am thinking EEK! Not quite ready to go back to work on Monday. I was sick for so much of this break. Can we get a do-over?
But ready or not here it comes.
First ... I just finished a (for now ... text) page of links to printables (usually bookmarks or library signs with some lessons!)... both freebies hosted here on Google Drive, freebies on TPT, and priced items on TPT. If you are interested.
THEN ...
So I saw some of those little flip book things on Pinterest and started playing around with making one Library-Centric. I can't give out the entire template because I'm still not quite sure on the Lettering Delights TOU ... freebies, even? I only bought the personal use fonts so I'd better leave it at this little preview and if you are so inspired, you can recreate your own. Plus I might not even use these. Color ink and all. I wish the same shapes came in blacklines. Maybe I'll just use die-cuts for the numbers. Then they'd be colorful.
Anyway.
Not much to it but if you want just the part I can share ... click on the pic and download the pdf! My Own Topher font from Kevin and Amanda. The Lettering Delights little previews you can see ... I think they were called Denim Stitch and ... something to do with Moustache. Anyway. Those you'll have to get for yourself or have the kids create their own numbers!
2 Books I Loved Last Year
For me? That would be Wonder and The One and Only Ivan. Both read in February!
O Genre I Never Tried but WILL TRY One This Year
Hmm. Pretty much tried all of them at least once. But I will read more non-fic and graphic novels.
1 New Place to Read
OUTSIDE. I'm always on the couch. Only ... DRATTED POLLEN AND TEXAS HEAT. So this limits times of day and seasons. If not outside then maybe ... the bookstore? Don't hang out there too much, actually. Or the public library. Grab my books off the hold shelf and go.
3 Books Recommended by Friends
The ideas is if we do this together in the library they can turn and talk to their friends about the "2 Books I Loved Last Year." The idea. These things never work quite like you think, do they?
This is a bit of an update for the series that I did last summer when the iPad was brand new. Go here, here, here, here, and here for the original posts! This one didn't change much but I think the others might.
BOOK APPS
Most of these are not free. Don't despair (because for a LONG time I wasn't allowed to pay for any apps either) ... not all posts will be about apps you have to purchase. But this one is.
Still LOVE
Harold and the Purple Crayon (Oddly enough ... I cannot find this on the US app store anymore! Did they quit selling it? It's so awesome! One of our favorites.)
Harold at the North Pole (this one either ... SO STRANGE and I must say ... a bummer for the rest of you ;])
The Monster at the End of this Book can also work on either. Totally worth the price. I like it better than the second one but the kids like that one, too. Could just be me and nostalgia.
Barnyard Dance is only $1.99 and will work on either device. FUN!
Dr. Seuss books from Oceanhouse Media. I have the two collection sets.
I also have the Smithsonian books from Oceanhouse Media. For your lovers of non-fic they are definitely worth it. Plus? YOU don't have to try and figure out how to say "pachycephalosaurs."
Weird but True is a totally fun app that works on either size device. Can't really be used for directed research but for fun ... maybe as a game where kids then tried to figure out where they'd go in the library for MORE information or to verify a weird but true fact?
Bobo Explores Light. Great way to introduce inventions, inventors, and properties of light. A little confusing to navigate, though.
OVERDRIVE ... is so awesome can hardly stand it. Will work on iTouch or iPad or Droid devices. For audiobooks it's just a matter of downloading. For ebooks you have to create an Adobe account first and sign in ... but that's just a one time thing. Go here for help! And maybe go here to get a splitter for headphones.
Want to Try
(Will get our Terracycle check sometime in January and hope to use it to get an iTunes Volume Purchasing card ... but haven't been able to buy any new ones since I first started posting about apps.)
Brave Interactive Comic ... not usually a huge fan of movie to books but this one looks good. And it's only $1.99.
Ultimate Dinopedia is $4.99. But it looks COOL. User reviews are mixed but it is a NYT Top 10 Best.
Didn't End Up Loving So Much
Pete the Cat will work on either iPad or iTouch. It's OK ... especially for the price. But it's NOT the book ... just sort of a couple extended activities to go along with mainly the School Shoes book. But again ... for $.99 you don't NEED the book. Just not a lot to it.
Curious George at the Zoo does not have much of a story. It was only $.99 but it really doesn't even have THAT much of a story. And it's got some in-app purchases that of course everyone wants.
Dare I say it? The Numberlys. By the same group as Morris Lessmore! LOVE the animation. The story ... not as much. But to be honest I haven't tried it with kids yet so I can't tell you their opinion. Just that I didn't quite "get" it.
I need to read Sunday in Kyoto with the music teacher and see what she thinks. Rhyme guitar with bizarre and you lose me. The pictures are kind of cool, though.
The Artifacts story is actually kind of interesting and the art fun ... but some of the interactive parts are not super intuitive. Kids end up just sort of banging around on the screen trying to figure out what the app wants them to do.
Our school district got a site license for the Reflector software (which actually goes on your DESKTOP). Makes it so you can project the iPad up on the projector screen without it having to be tethered to any sort of adaptor. When I do it it works pretty well but will sometimes make strange ... scratchy noises. Haven't asked around to see if that happens to everyone or not. (PS The free trial? Works for 10 minute increments. Which could actually be enough for many of you.)
Next Tuesday ... apps for Media Creation. (I will say that Puppet Pals Pocket Director's Pass will be discussed next Tuesday ... and drat. It was free yesterday but that's already over. I did tell FB fans in time. Apologies to everyone else. :/)
Tehnically it's New Year's Eve. I might not make it through the 5K I'm doing with my little brother tomorrow, though, so I decided to go ahead and post now (and hey! The Media Creation apps post is already written and scheduled ... so you'll get that much. Just may not get the Photo Editing, Utilities, and Miscellaneous posts cause they're not done yet ;]). Dumb allergies have made the last month super unpleasant and "training" has been not so good. But I REFUSE to wimp out. I will not start 2013 on an wimpy note. I WILL NOT. No matter how much I want to and how many strange NyQuil induced dreams I've sort of slept through the last couple of weeks.
A little overshared at this point but if you made it down this far ...
Teaching
1) MORE RESEARCH. Dear Teachers ... Please let us do more research? PLEASE!
2) Also more booktalks. Teacher librarians ... best way to deal with the overwhelming response to booktalks? How you can never have enough of the books that you talked about? Without having to prepare 50 different booktalks?
3) Reaching out to new teachers. We will have two newbies just in January, not even counting the newbies from September. So do whatever I can to help them get a good impression of the library. Drives me batty when I read teacher blogs where they are either afraid of or not impressed by their teacher librarian.
Creativity
1) Photoshop Elements. I have it. I'm a little scared of it. (Yay Ribbet! And iPiccy. And Picmonkey!) On a related note ... take more pics!
2) Try VINYL with the Silhouette Cameo. Only done paper. #silly
3) Can I count cooking here? Have some time to plan ... won't have the new kitchen until the new digs (see goals posting tomorrow) but my dad made sure I was ready. His Christmas presents to me? Toaster. Knives. Plates. Kitchen utensils. In storage for now but hey. I have time to plan and learn. Oh and a personal crock pot that I can use now. Will have to hide it behind some books seeing as how I have no office and am out in front of EVERYONE but I can heat up lunches at work. Without having to wait in the interminable line for the nasty microwave that sets things on fire in the staff lounge. :/
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