Showing posts with label we love books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label we love books. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Terrific Tuesday Linkies with Spiders in My Hair!

I have found quite a few fabulous linkies for Tuesday and am super excited about ALL of them. So without further delay, let's get started!!!

Tasty Treat Tuesday with Mr. Greg @ Smedley's Smorgsboard of Kindergarten


We all love tasty treats, right? Well I have a super easy and super yummy one for you!!!!

Dairy Free Fruit Smoothie
1 cup Coconut Milk (you can use any type of milk you like but I like the sweetness the coconut adds.)
2 cups frozen fruit - any kind, any mix
2 packets of Truvia (or any kind/amount of sweetener you like)
Blend until smooth!!!

What is your favorite treat? Leave a comment and link up with Smedley's Smorgsboard to share!

Book Talk Tuesday with Deanna Jump @ Mrs. Jump's Class

Now on to my FAVORITE topic, BOOKS!!!! have you been following along with Mrs. Jump's class? I just completed an Amazon order for all the fabulous books I have discovered thanks to all of all the fabulous teachers that have linked up!

Lets talk about the Spiders in my hair! I have been trying to narrow down which book to share with you and let me tell you, it is hard. Inspiration struck the other night when I was brushing out my hair. My hair had been in a messy bun on top of my head all and and was full of knots. Those painful stubborn buggers reminded me of my favorite local author, Sheila Booth-Alberstadt, and her lovable character, Maggie McNair!!!!

In  Sheila Booth-Alberstadt's first book, Maggie McNair refuses to brush her hair and so in move the spiders and hilarity ensues!! What is so great about the Maggie books is that they are written based on  Sheila Booth-Alberstadt's own struggles with her little girl not wanting to brush her hair!
This book is amazing and will delight you and your kiddos! 


Above pictures from SBA Books
My kids and I are so lucky that Sheila Booth-Alberstadt is a local author and LOVE when she comes to school to read her books. Not only is she a brilliant author, she is an amazing woman! She started SBA Books for authors to have a publishing platform for books that focus on helping children and teens deal with daily life and more. I strongly recommend that you check her and her books out!

Click books below to get more info from Amazon!

I am still reading my last Jinx Schwartz book but have also started re-reading PBL in the Elementary Grades. If you are interested in implementing project based learning in your class, this book is a must read. I have read it once while going through my county's Digital Leadership Academy but next year our school is starting collaborative planning and we will be teaching project based lessons. This is a big change for us!! (Prayers appreciated, we are a group of 9 strong and amazing teachers!)

(Click book to check it out on Amazon - sorry it is so fuzzy??!!)

Do you have a favorite local author? Are you reading a great book right now? Share in the comments and then head over to Mrs. Jump's Class to learn about more great books and share yours!

July Currently

It is the first of the month and time to link up with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade!





Two for Tuesday with The Teaching Tribune


This is my first Tuesday linking up with The Teaching Tribune for Two for Tuesday. Today I am sharing two of my "FROG-tastic" Teachers Pay Teachers products for 50% off.

First up is my new "Where Are We" cards that I featured on yesterdays post {here}.
Click on the picture to take you to my store!
Next is my updated Frog themed Space Writing Unit. Writing graphic organizers and class rubric based on the book The Common Core Writing Book, K-5. (Five for Friday post {here} about our Space Unit.)
Click on the picture to take you to my store!






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Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Book Talk Tuesday



Happy Book Talk Tuesday!  Have you visited BookBub and signed up for your emails with free and low cost books? Isn't it great?! It's like a new gift everyday!
Unfortunately I have not had a lot of time for reading this week. I have been on bed rest and meds that keep making me sleep. But I missed posting last week and really wanted to be able to post this week!

One of my favorite children's books authors is Jim Arnosky. He and his books are amazing. I use quite a few of his books during the year. When introducing my weather unit, I read Rabbits and Raindrops. When introducing nocturnal animals, I read Raccoons in Ripe Corn. In our reading series we read Armadillo's Orange. All three of these books are wonderful. 
This year on Discovery Education, I found a Reading Rainbow episode (Did you hear they have a Kickstarter to try and make more episodes??) about Raccoons in Ripe Corn I was blown away with how amazon Jim Arnosky is as a person and writer!!! I wish I had my books here at home so that I could share with you the amazing stories and illustrations in these books. Trust me, you need to check these out!

Right now I am reading another Hetta Coffey mystery by Jinx Schwartz, Troubled Seas. I don't want to say too much about this book because there is no way I could and not reveal spoilers! I have not been able to read a lot of this book since I started it the night before my surgery but so far so good!
Click the pic to purchase from Amazon.


So now you know I am a Potter Head and LOVE Mary Higgans Clark but that is just a small part of my book/reading addiction. I am also in love with Southern writers and Southern characters. One of my favorite Southern writers is Dorthea Benton Frank. Her "Low Country Tales" are amazing. The books are set in South Carolina with wonderful characters. I have added just a few of my favorites to the slide show below. There are many more, in fact I have a new in my pile to read this summer!



What are you reading or have read that you would recommend? Leave a comment below and then link up with Mrs. Jump's Class!


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

We LOVE Books! Week 2



Happy Book Talk Tuesday! Thank you to Deanna Jump at Mrs. Jump's Class for hosting!! Have you already started your list of all the fabulous books being shared through Mrs. Jump's Class linky? I have...

Last week I shared with you the book that started my reading addiction {here}. If mystery is your thing and you have not read Mary Higgins Clark, finish reading this post and then head straight to your local library, book store, or follow this {link}to Amazon and start!

After posting last week, my OCD kicked in and I decided I wanted needed to give myself more of a "template" to follow for selecting books to share - it was just way too hard trying to decide.  So here we go:

 (And since I am now addicted to PicMonkey - I just HAD to make labels! Cute little frog from Lettering Delights!)

This past school year my kids and I have fallen in love with a little blue cat named Pete! On the first day of school, Pete rocked in his school shoes all through our school. Although we never caught up with him, we sure met a lot of new friends and found a lot of new places! Pete was a very real part of our class. Every time a new book or video came out we could not wait to see the adventures that cool cat would have! On the last day of school Pete taught us that we can change our mood just by looking on the bright side of things.


Over the past two weeks I have worked my way through an amazing series by Jinx Schwartz thanks to BookBub!
(**Warning - "Squirl" moment**)
Have you ever heard of BookBub? Are you an avid reader on a digital device? You NEED to check them out.  BookBub is a free service that has changed my world! After filling out a short reading profile I began receiving daily emails alerting me to great book deals. The prices ranged from FREE to about $3. You can pick genre, retailer, and how often you want to receive emails. 

I found the first three of these books through BookBub unknowingly downloading all 3 over the past few weeks. 
When I printed out the list of book on my Kindle to help with this post I had just finished the first book and realized I already owned #2 and #3. These books are hilarious! I might be a little bias considering the main character, Hetta, is a feisty red head! I highly recommend these books to anyone looking for a feisty, funny, adventurous, murder mystery. 
Best part - the Kindle editions are only $2.99 & $3.99. There is also a combo pack for the first 4 for $8.99.

{Below is the description of each book from Amazon. Click the pictures to if you would like to purchase from Amazon.}
 

                           HETTA COFFEY IS A SASSY TEXAN WITH A SNAZZY YACHT, AND SHE'S NOT AFRAID TO USE IT!

Just Add Water, winner of the National EPPIE Award for BEST MYSTERY.
Hetta Coffey is a globe-trotting civil engineer with a swath of failed multi-national affairs in her jet stream.

Plying the San Francisco waterfront, trolling for triceps, her attention is snagged by a parade of passing yachts—especially their predominantly male skippers—and experiences a champagne-induced epiphany: If she had a boat, she could get a man.
In spite of a spectacular ignorance of all things nautical, Hetta buys her dream boat, but a shadowy stalker, an inconvenient body, and Hetta’s own self-destructive foibles imperil her goal. Hetta Coffey brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “sink or swim!”




Hetta Coffey is a sassy Texan with a snazzy yacht, and she's not afraid to use it!
 A globe-trotting engineer with attitude, a penchant for trouble, and a yacht, Hetta is back, and this time she's steering us into hot Mexican waters. Miffed that vacation plans with her chronically absent boyfriend, Jenks Jenkins, have gone awry, she accepts a job in Baja. So what, if she and her friend Jan are spectacularly unqualified to take her yacht on a thousand-mile cruise in the eastern Pacific Ocean during hurricane season?
 Hiring a handsome, if somewhat fishy captain for the trip might keep them off the rocks, but probably won't do the same for her future with Jenks. Meanwhile, a little eye candy on board can't be all bad.
 Hetta's fierce independence impels her to tackle a very profitable (if environmentally and politically incorrect) project south of the border. True to form, her irreverent nature and disregard for danger soon swamps her in a sea of mayhem, illegal aliens, a pesky whale, and a menacing Mexican machinator.
Set sail for Baja Mexico's Magdalena Bay as Hetta Coffey leads us once more into a morass of intrigue that will keep you laughing, breathless, and wanting more.



 Hetta Coffey is a sassy Texan with a snazzy yacht, and she's not afraid to use it!
A globe-trotting engineer with adventure in her soul, Hetta is determined to solidify her relationship with her long-distance boyfriend, Jenks Jenkins. What better place for a romantic interlude than aboard her yacht in Mexico's hauntingly beautiful and solitary Sea of Cortez?
But where Hetta goes, trouble follows, and chaos is sure to ensue. After a run-in with a couple of sea serpents that threaten to rock the boat, she nevertheless decides to take on a project in the Mexican port city of Guaymas. After all, Jenks is headed back to Kuwait, so why not cash in on the best of both worlds by picking up a few pesos while living aboard her boat in Mexico?
Once again Hetta's indomitable spirit, stubborn independence and penchant for deceit will keep the reader in stitches as she launches herself and her best friend, Jan, into a sea of trouble. A pesky parrot, a drunken aunt, and a shadowy figure who is handsome in a "criminal sort of way" lead to murder, mayhem, kidnapping, and run-ins with several federal agencies on both sides of the border.



Hetta Coffey is a woman with a yacht, and she's not afraid to use it!
As a self-employed engineering consultant with a penchant of oddball (read: shady) projects, she has a way of attracting trouble.
With her floating home drydocked for repairs in Mexico, Hetta needs a place to live and a job to pay for boat repairs. Landing a project at a mining operation not far from her boat, Hetta finds herself on the tumultuous Arizona/Mexico border, where all hell is breaking loose even before she gets there.
 As a self-employed engineering consultant with a penchant for oddball—read: shady—projects, Hetta Coffey has a history of inviting trouble. But now that she's been hired for a legitimate mining project in Mexico's Baja, it looks like smooth sailing ahead...until she discovers that people and pesos are disappearing faster than you can say, "This job is the pits!" And Hetta Coffey as sleuth? Goodness knows she's nosy enough, but her detective skills leave a lot to be desired. Luckily for her she gets help from her best friend, Jan, and a mysterious Velveeta thief.


Hetta Coffey is a sassy Texan with a snazzy yacht, and she's not afraid to use it!
 As a self-employed engineering consultant with a penchant for oddball—read: shady—projects, Hetta Coffey has a history of inviting trouble. But now that she's been hired for a legitimate mining project in Mexico's Baja, it looks like smooth sailing ahead...until she discovers that people and pesos are disappearing faster than you can say, "This job is the pits!" And Hetta Coffey as sleuth? Goodness knows she's nosy enough, but her detective skills leave a lot to be desired. Luckily for her she gets help from her best friend, Jan, and a mysterious Velveeta thief.



This week: stepping out of my self-created "box" and falling in love with more than one genre!

When I was in collage, my "Teaching Elementary Reading" professor shared with us those most magical things called Scholastic Book Orders. She said the best way to start a class library was to start early and don't you know I jumped on the chance to GROW my library. Let's face it, I had been hoarding books for years and this was just another good excuse to get more - "the teacher told me too"!

As we all sat around class each week checking out all the fabulous books we could pick from, one character kept popping up, some kid named Harry Potter. None of us had heard of this character - we were "sophisticated 19 year old collage students". Why would we be reading children's chapter books? We were focusing on picture books to teach reading. But each time we got a book order form, there was that Harry Potter character again. I did a pretty good job ignoring his existence until I heard they were making a movie and it was predicted to be pretty good. I NEVER watch a movie based on a book without first reading the book. I also stopped reading "silly" scifi and fantasy books when I was a "child". I liked my books more based in reality because that is what "adults" read - right? But now I had a problem, the movie did sound really good but I could not see it unless I read the book - my own rule - but I didn't read those silly children's books anymore - my self-created box. I decided my desire to see this movie that was going to be so fantastic because that "silly children's book" was so amazing, won out. With only a week before the movie was to be released, I BORROWED (I was not investing my hard earned collage student money) the book and read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in one sitting. Yes my friends I am now a Potter Head! I was addicted!!!! I have since read (own in hard back) all the books, watched (own) all of the movies, and played (own) all the board games and Lego Harry Potter Xbox games!
(click pic to purchase)
I tease people and say Harry Potter was my "gateway book". I am now a full fledge scifi and fantasy geek! That one book opened my mind to a whole new world in literature and film.  Thanks to J. K. Rowling and Harry Potter I have also read (and loved) these books as well:

Interested in purchasing any of these series? Click on the pictures to take you to Amazon!
  


What are you reading or have read that you would recommend? Leave a comment below and then link up with Mrs. Jump's Class!