Our own little Wicked Witch. The costume and green face were her choice.
The trading begins, Emily with 76 and Thomas with 92 pieces of candy.
Life is Good
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Successful Halloween
Our own little Wicked Witch. The costume and green face were her choice.
The trading begins, Emily with 76 and Thomas with 92 pieces of candy.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Outdoors in October
Thomas at soccer.
The Pumpkin Patch
Salad Garden
Beets (almost gone), Carrots, Parsnips
The Rose Garden
The Pumpkin Patch
Salad Garden
Beets (almost gone), Carrots, Parsnips
The Rose Garden
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Great Idea Rex
Here is a video from a Denver news station sharing what my brother Rex is up to these days. Good job Rex! You look great on TV too!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday Night Lights
What's a girls supposed to do on a Friday night when she doesn't have a date? Well, I took my traveling partner, Emily, and tagged along with Scott to the Friday night high school football game. I met up with some girlfriends who were also solo for the evening and we talked our heads off......seriously, I only saw the first two touchdowns which our team scored in the opening minutes of the game. I know nothing about the rest of the game except the final score. We were still talking when we realized the game was over and the stands were nearly empty, probably a good 15 minutes after the final buzzer. I guess we had a lot of important things to talk about.
The band was impressive as always. Here is the quote from the newspaper today, "Merced High School (the opposing high school and cross town rivals) simply couldn't compete, its faithful forced to face the music. The march ate up the final 5 minutes of the fourth quarter. Small forward gains, one right after another, the heavy-lifters first, followed by the gunners and flag carriers. This was a drive Knute Rockne would have been proud of. Yes, Golden Valley's 180-piece band and color guard were impressive on Friday evening, their instruments shining under the lights of Don Odishoo Field. The band stole the show in the waning moments of the junor varsity game, filing out onto the track in their immaculate game-day uniforms, a seemingly endless stream of tubas and trumpets. Quite the sight."
Scott in the middle of the row.
The band was impressive as always. Here is the quote from the newspaper today, "Merced High School (the opposing high school and cross town rivals) simply couldn't compete, its faithful forced to face the music. The march ate up the final 5 minutes of the fourth quarter. Small forward gains, one right after another, the heavy-lifters first, followed by the gunners and flag carriers. This was a drive Knute Rockne would have been proud of. Yes, Golden Valley's 180-piece band and color guard were impressive on Friday evening, their instruments shining under the lights of Don Odishoo Field. The band stole the show in the waning moments of the junor varsity game, filing out onto the track in their immaculate game-day uniforms, a seemingly endless stream of tubas and trumpets. Quite the sight."
Scott in the middle of the row.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Book Review: Silas Marner
Silas Marner and Two Short Stories by George EliotMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
What I learned from this book is how tender and sweet love can change a person, and bring hope and purpose into a life that has long ago been dimmed by misfortune and isolation. It took me a few pages to get into the language and rhythm of Eliot's short story. It reminds me of Thomas Hardy or Charles Dickens, and just takes reading a few pages before I can hear the words correctly in my head. The story takes place in the late 1700's, in Raveloe,a small English village where Silas has come to settle and work as a weaver after some unfortunate dishonest acts by his friend. From the beginning to almost the end of the book Silas leads a lonely, hard and isolated life. With no one to love him, he in turn loves no one. But as events unfold and Eppie comes into his life, it is wonderful to feel the warmth emanating from the hearth in their humble cottage. I lived in fear that the ending might leave him broken hearted, but joyfully there is a sweet and peaceful conclusion.
View all my reviews >>
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
On Reading
"No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance" -Townsend
"The man who does not read great books is no better than the man who can't" -Twain
Thanks to a suggestion by Peggy, I recently read The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller and have had "reading" on the brain. Miller is a school teacher and her philosophy is basically this...if you want to teach students to read, then make (or let) them read. I agree with her complaint that so much of school curriculum consists of teaching students how to read without ever letting them put it into action. The excerpts and short stories from standard reading books, read together as a class do little to get kids excited about reading. She requires her students to read 40 books during the school year. Most students come into her 6th grade classroom having read 2-3 books the previous year. I believe the best way to teach comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, and writing is to read, read, read. Each student must read some from several different genre and keep a reading journal. She corresponds with them in their journal, commenting, asking questions, giving future reading suggestions and taking suggestions from them. My kids have had a couple of teachers do this and it made the school year so exciting for them. It is similar to being in a book club. When you are going to discuss a book you pay better attention and it is so exciting to find someone who loves or hates a book as much as you do. She notes that a 2007 survey indicated that the average American adult reads only 4 books per year, in addition 25% of the adults surveyed did not read one book. She says "We have created a culture of reading poverty in which a vicious cycle of aliteracy has the potential to devolve into illiteracy for many students. By allowing students to pass through our classrooms without learning to love reading, we are creating adults (who then become parents and teachers) who don't read much. They may be capable of reading well enough to perform academic and informational reading, but they do not love to read and have few life reading habits to model for children." One of my kids favorite teachers, Mrs. Roland - 7th grade, has a reading day each week. She teaches the students for two periods each day and every Wednesday one period is devoted to reading. At first, I was so surprised by this, simply because my kids had never spent long periods of time reading in the classroom. And, I'm embarrassed to admit, I felt that maybe she wasn't doing her job, because to me, reading is a luxury. Maybe I was just jealous because they got a full hour every week devoted to uninterrupted reading. I would love to spend one hour a week, uninterrupted and reading...how about every day? True luxury! I don't think I was a great reader as a kid, but it is definitely something I've come to love and see great value in helping my kids read. My personal reading successes come from joining a book club. I have loved this group of women, simply because they are dear friends of mine and because we all love to read. Knowing that each month I'll get to talk about a book helps me actually think about and remember what I'm reading. Recently I transferred my book log to Goodreads and found that since August 2005 I've read 136 books, not counting church books or scriptures. I was absolutely tickled to see that I'm reading about 26 books per year. I think that as my kids get older I will have more time for reading and studying, something that gives me great pleasure. So, my purse holds a book and there's a stack of books on my nightstand. I'm going to follow the advise of Horace Mann, "Resolve to edge in a little reading every day, if it is but a single sentence. If you gain fifteen minutes a day, it will make itself felt at the end of the year." Do you think I can do 40 books by next October 1st?
"The man who does not read great books is no better than the man who can't" -Twain
Thanks to a suggestion by Peggy, I recently read The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller and have had "reading" on the brain. Miller is a school teacher and her philosophy is basically this...if you want to teach students to read, then make (or let) them read. I agree with her complaint that so much of school curriculum consists of teaching students how to read without ever letting them put it into action. The excerpts and short stories from standard reading books, read together as a class do little to get kids excited about reading. She requires her students to read 40 books during the school year. Most students come into her 6th grade classroom having read 2-3 books the previous year. I believe the best way to teach comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, and writing is to read, read, read. Each student must read some from several different genre and keep a reading journal. She corresponds with them in their journal, commenting, asking questions, giving future reading suggestions and taking suggestions from them. My kids have had a couple of teachers do this and it made the school year so exciting for them. It is similar to being in a book club. When you are going to discuss a book you pay better attention and it is so exciting to find someone who loves or hates a book as much as you do. She notes that a 2007 survey indicated that the average American adult reads only 4 books per year, in addition 25% of the adults surveyed did not read one book. She says "We have created a culture of reading poverty in which a vicious cycle of aliteracy has the potential to devolve into illiteracy for many students. By allowing students to pass through our classrooms without learning to love reading, we are creating adults (who then become parents and teachers) who don't read much. They may be capable of reading well enough to perform academic and informational reading, but they do not love to read and have few life reading habits to model for children." One of my kids favorite teachers, Mrs. Roland - 7th grade, has a reading day each week. She teaches the students for two periods each day and every Wednesday one period is devoted to reading. At first, I was so surprised by this, simply because my kids had never spent long periods of time reading in the classroom. And, I'm embarrassed to admit, I felt that maybe she wasn't doing her job, because to me, reading is a luxury. Maybe I was just jealous because they got a full hour every week devoted to uninterrupted reading. I would love to spend one hour a week, uninterrupted and reading...how about every day? True luxury! I don't think I was a great reader as a kid, but it is definitely something I've come to love and see great value in helping my kids read. My personal reading successes come from joining a book club. I have loved this group of women, simply because they are dear friends of mine and because we all love to read. Knowing that each month I'll get to talk about a book helps me actually think about and remember what I'm reading. Recently I transferred my book log to Goodreads and found that since August 2005 I've read 136 books, not counting church books or scriptures. I was absolutely tickled to see that I'm reading about 26 books per year. I think that as my kids get older I will have more time for reading and studying, something that gives me great pleasure. So, my purse holds a book and there's a stack of books on my nightstand. I'm going to follow the advise of Horace Mann, "Resolve to edge in a little reading every day, if it is but a single sentence. If you gain fifteen minutes a day, it will make itself felt at the end of the year." Do you think I can do 40 books by next October 1st?
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