happy WIM week!!!

(Write in the Middle – not Walmart Is Mad:)

finished Musketeers, and then read a biography on Don Mattingly (who’s an awesome person – was an awesome baseball player and now i know the other side of him – at least, a bit more), a non-fiction/fiction self-help book (The Noticer – it came recommended – i’ll do well to forget who recommended it…), the president’s alzhemeier’s initiative (downloaded it to the nook b/c i wanted a bit more info than the news articles had on it) and Bobby Bowden on Leadership (by Pat Williams, Orlando Magic GM – great book – already been lent to someone – someone who’d better be studying state spelling bee words)

I go back to Musketeers b/c i think i was trashing it last week – the last 100 pages were okay enough to make me glad i read it – pretty decent classic – each musketeer was unique – so that was a good feature – and my favorite was highly gifted – so i ended up pretty okay with it – except that it was still very, very long – just can’t fit into a classroom environment – which is actually probably good for it b/c then teachers would llikely kill the enjoyment of the thing

hope your week is wonderful – i think we’re getting closer to “last journals of the nine weeks”

mafeld

okay, julie… “inception” has been watched – verdict??? it was great – thanks for recommending it

(the message to the rest of you people is if you can’t recommend books to me, then at least go with movies:)

on, to the reading…

“how winning works” by benincassa – we’ll do some writing this week on some of what the author mentioned – basically, that it takes a team to be successful – and the author should know b/c she’s spent 17 years traveling the world as an ultrathlete teammate

“tyler’s magic mountain” by ater – based on a true story – west virginia middle school wrestling team gets inspired by a kid with cystic fibrosis – quick read – would be nice for battle of the books

“leaving story avenue” by laRosa – best book i read this week – cbs writer now, ny newsman back then – a memior of escaping housing projects to fit into an entirely different arena – good gifted tie-ins

“rules the red rubber ball” by carroll – how combining work and play is key

“teaching in comics” – teacher rules in a graphic novel – LOVED IT!!! wish more of my edu books had been comics…

as for now, i’m working (working – and slowly) through “the three musketeers” by dumas – it’s not every exciting and very long (672 pages on my nook) – but i guess that’s why there’s president’s day:)

have a great week

maf

I SURVIVED 26.2 MILES AND LIVE TO SPEAK OF IT!!!

even more, i’m blogging to get you started on a great week – hope your journals are as awesome as my running (i have my doubts, you’re going to have to bring your A game this week to top me:)

“the world in your lunch box” – oh, a cute book that elementary BOB needs to add next year – all about the science and history behind what we eat for lunch

“that’s what i’m here for” – by a detroit lions linebacker i loved growing up – story of his wife’s 12-year battle with cancer – great story of faith sustaining you through life’s tragedies – and, how our heroes can grow and be more than we ever thought (and thus, really heroic in the first place)

“shattered hopes” – story of canada’s 1980 olympic team – good for middle school as an example of even the best plans of some don’t always work out – imagine working four years towards and olympics and then it’s suddenly taken away from you because your country is boycotting…

“prefaces to shakespeare” by tanser – got from the au library – i now know how to teach the three plays we read this year – unfortunately, we’re done with them:)

hope your week ahead is great – if you watched for my red bama toboggan this morning on channel six, all the more best wishes to you!!!

maf

so i’m running 26.2 miles in a week – no promises on a blog that day:)

wow, at the books i finished this week – in a somewhat disorganized order…

“marathon” by yakin – graphic novel (comic) about the first marathon – after the battle of marathon – impressed with the blend of history and graphics – must/needs/get for the classroom:)

“mondays with my old pastor” by navajo – we’re going to write on some of the themes in this book this week – so i won’t spoil the fun more than to say it was a great encouragement to anyone who wearies of the path ahead – and a great book about looking to mentors – or the wisdom of our elders

“painting the corners” by weintraub – entertaining book to get you end the mood for baseball season (not that i need more help:) anyway, short fictional stories set in different time eras – i had vol. 1 so i would assume when it’s all together that some of the stories would be great for the classroom (if it doesn’t tick off a football-obsessed world…)

“dead in norbelt” by gantos – newbery winner – now, i’ll say that i’m all for newbery choosing “safe” – not having to make a statement with the book – this was really the most “blah” i think i can recall in a long time – same basic plot as the last two newbery’s – so i’m going to beat everyone to the punch and write an award winner this year – just taking columbiana and a few back issues of the local paper to tell a mystery where a young person comes of age in like the 1930s through the help of the town – and some mentor-ish old person (that’s slightly wacky)

i also reread the ryan hall book – i love ryan hall – love reading running books – anyway, his book was about his journey on the way to the 2010 boston marathon – and his faith – great encouraging read

“shine” by myracle – bonus for the student who lent it out to me – captivating story – marj didn’t like it, but what does she know??? 🙂 good reminder that in a small town, you can’t burn bridges b/c the person’s still there – they don’t go away (but oh how we wish they would – well, there was that one student, trey – he left – but the rest of you hang around:)

happy reading/writing

maf