Familiar Authors, Different Story - Dance with Rosie

I've been excited to find authors I know from a series and discover they have other titles and stories to share with readers.  Dance with Rosie is one I discovered by Patricia Reilly Giff.  I was drawn to this book because I know many of my students will be or have taken dance lessons.  Rosie has great aspirations to be just like her Grandma Genevieve.  However, life doesn't always go as smooth as one would like.  Rosie's neighbor Amy has been taking dance for quite some time and she practices every day on her porch.  Her best friend Murphy is mad at her.  The ballet class she wants to take fills up very quickly and she doesn't get a spot.  Her solution is to take the class out in the alley by looking through the window with Karen, a different friend.  Things start to turn around for Rosie.  She and Karen get a spot in the ballet class and things start to look up until even that has some glitches.  Rosie is a real kid, with real kid problems and learns to work through them and grow from them.  There are a few other titles with Rosie as the main character.  

Here are two lines I love from this story and hope you find, if you pick this book up.

"I could feel the syrup of happiness in my chest, honey-colored, sweet, and smooth."

"It means it took a long time for Jenny to become a dancer - for her to become Genevieve," he said.  "It means that all we know about people are little bits of things.  And it means we have to use our heads to figure out the rest."

Launching Math Monday!

I'm so excited to share with you my idea to host Math Monday.  I love the teaching of math!  I love to spot math in my life, spark interest and curiosity with numbers and other areas of mathematics.  I love planning math instruction and watch students learn to struggle and think through problems.  I've wished for quite some time there was more math discussion and conversations in the twitter/blogging world.  It's getting better and there seems to be momentum brewing so let's take it a step further with a chance to blog and talk more about math within our online community.  

It is my hope Math Monday will be a place to share ideas, connect with others, and celebrate anything math related.  Here are some ideas of what could be shared on Math Monday.

-A great picture book or chapter book with math ideas in it. 

-A picture book or chapter book to launch a problem solving situation.  

-A professional resource you've just read.

-A math manipulative you love or don't love.

-Digital math resources.

-A "Math in my World" picture

-A celebration involving math teaching

-A reflection on something that didn't go as well

-A plea for help in understanding a math concept

-Ideas for bringing math into your classroom

-Ideas for organizing math tools or workshops

-Student work

-Anything is possible!

I hope you will consider stopping by weekly or once in a while to help create a community fostering mathematics and supporting each other with the hard work we do, called teaching.  I need your help to build this community.  Please consider joining next week or in the future and spread the news that teachers of math have a place to come together and connect.  Math Monday is just starting with so many possibilities!

Classroom Lens

Classroom lens posts will capture the weekly realities in my classroom.  Teaching is hard, messy, and beautiful.  Be prepared to see any of these each week.

My second grade classroom, this is progress but quite a bit messy right now.

Celebrate This Week

So, excited to be back and celebrating this week with Ruth Ayers.  

Thank you for hosting, Ruth.

Today I wanted to celebrate taking a month off from blogging and give a sneak peak to what is ahead in my writing journey.  I've thought about writing and realize shorter post will allow for more writing.  Also, having a monthly plan/outline can guide my writing.  I hope to share more later about this.  I've studied some blogs I follow outside the education word and discovered some features I like and think I can carryover to my own format.  I hope you can stop by and join me this month.  While walking on vacation this week I dictated a list of posts I hope to write during a month.

Authors New to Me
Classroom Lens
Familiar Authors, New Story
Math Monday
Old Friends Have Returned
Out and About
Professional Learning
Series for Second Grade

Writing Communities I hope to participate with each month

Celebrate This Week
Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge
Poetry Friday
Slice of Life

Renewed

I always admire how my friend Mary Lee uses Flicker and shares photos each month.  I decided the best way to talk about renewal and show you what I've been up to is visually with a photo format.  It's nice to be back!

Row 1 - knit a scarf, watched softball, composting
Row 2 - farmer's market, 4H cooking project, college shopping
Row 3 - 4H sewing project, Jeni's ice cream, Fitbit love
Row 4 - Seabrook Island, SC, 23 years of marriage, dolphin watching
Row 5 - Reading in the car, on the beach, while it rained
Row 6 - Sunset, beach walk, and sunrise

Not shared via photos - 
bike riding, sewing a skirt for myself, reorganizing my creative space.  

I hope you've been following my #bookaday adventures via twitter or Instagram.

Picture Book 10 for 10 is back

Dear Cathy,

I am sneaking out from my blogging break and moments of renewal to check in with you.  Did you remember today is the day we launch Picture Book 10 for 10?  It's just one month away and I can't wait to co-host this event with you.  I still tell people who ask me about blogging and twitter how I met a mentor when I shared reading her book and then she asked me what my favorite picture books were to use in my classroom.  I was just thrilled you left me a blog comment and I was clueless how we could brainstorm and feed off each other to make this teaching journey fun, more work, and rewarding!  It is an honor to be your colleague and friend.

I do have to give you a heads up though.  I had a piece of writing not accepted for publication elsewhere but realized it was really meant for this event.  It was more about my own learning and of course 10 picture books are included.  So, I am ahead of the game.  I have my pre-event post to share some new learning I recently have.  I have also completely changed my list of 10 favorites, anchoring them to a theme.  This is huge my friend.  If readers look closely, my list just get tweaked a bit each year.  Favorites are like good habits, why break them?

I can't wait to see what everyone shares.  I was scared last year when you did some big publicity that the participant numbers would be too high.  It wasn't, it just proved that the more the merrier actually works!  I hope this note finds you a bit nervous.  Do you have your list of 10 favorite picture books, ready?  Do you have the energy for positive people to join us and share such wonderful ideas?  Did you plan a #pb10for10 book shopping budget?


Your friend, Mandy

PS Readers - 

Contact us on our blogs, or Twitter (@mandyrobek or @cathymere), or by e-mail to let us know you are joining this event.  On the day of the event - August 10th - we will be linking all the "must have" posts. Please use the hashtag #pb10for10, it's another way to help us find you.   In the  past, we or I should say Cathy creates a Jog the Web.  I can't wait to have you join us!

Slice of Life - Renewal

I just spent a couple of fabulous days at a writing retreat and reflecting on renewal.  This ended an unusual month for me, with opportunities that took me away from my girls.  My summers are usually spent with much more home time and time with the girls.  

As I returned home and thought about renewal, these are things I discovered.  I have fun adult books waiting for me to read.  I have a play/craft room that needs revamping.  I have yarn waiting for me.  I have fabric that wants to be a scarf or a skirt or a bag.  I have some online story/scrapbooking classes to do.  I have photos to organize and writing to do.  I have running to figure out again and pilates to return to my mornings.  I have thinking about this space to process.  I have a new classroom to set up.  So, in an effort to really enjoy and embrace renewal I'm going to take a vacation from blogging and return August 1st.  I will stop by July 10th with a special announcement.  

You will be able to continue my #bookaday reading via instagram and twitter.  

Enjoy your July.