Online Book Talks

When I started my quest to read so many books this year, I wasn’t really sure why I was doing it.  To become a better person?  Maybe.  To know about the books I was “selling” to the kids?  Sure.  To find the best books to buy for the students?  Yeah.  But I didn’t expect to inspire and be inspired! 

Nate finished his quest to read 55 books! Way to go, Nate!

When I first announced what my goal was, Nathan, 2nd grader, told me that he was going to read 55 books this year.  Little did I know, (and I am sure Nathan didn’t know either) he finished his goal HALFWAY through the year!!  When he came in this morning with his book of books he read, I became inspired to perservere through my reading – I still have half a year to meet my goal!!   But, you know what?  If I don’t make my goal of reading 2011 books, I have encouraged Nathan and Mrs. Gentile’s class to read and keep track of what they are reading – and it was worth it! 

 I was looking through his book and he has read some really interesting books.  He read about snakes and UFO’s.  He read stories about the Magic School Bus, Star Wars, and the Magic Tree House.  He even read a book about becoming a Bounty Hunter!  Is that what your going to be when you grow up Nathan?  I asked him how many books he was going to read during the summer.  He started with just 3, but by the time he left the media center he was going to read 100.  Whatever number he decides on, I am sure he is going to meet his goal - because that is the kind of kid he is!  I’m proud of you Nathan!!

I know I haven’t blogged in a while about the 2,011 books I was supposed to read this year, and it is because I am doing terribly!!  I can barely read 100 books in a month and if you know math, then you know I am way behind.   Well, I have some help!  Mrs. Gentile’s class said that they would read some books for me!  I am so thankful that these first graders are helping me out and reading!!  Here are some pictures of them creating their books and wondering what to write in them.  Mrs. Gentile’s class added 169 books to my total.  Way to go, Mrs. Gentile’s class!!!!  Thank you!!

Already writing in her journal!What did I read? Hmmm...

Batanglo  Reading list Dorsey  Reading list Oneda  

4th graders have been working on summer reading lists in media the past couple of weeks (although Mrs. Chucko’s class still has to do this!) They have been using an online database from Carroll County Public Library called Novelist. Anytime that you read a book and you think, boy that was a great book, I’d love to read another one like it, go onto Novelist and type in your fabulous book and it will spit out 9 other book titles that you might be interested in! So we talked about what they liked about books – adventure seemed to be a keyword – and then used those ideas to choose books similar to their favorites. Each class received their lists, but I told them that I would post them on here to see what others in their grade wanted to read. I hope they have a great time reading. Please comment to this post over the summer to let us know if Novelist was any good at picking new favorites!!

Thank you to everyone who came to Mechanicsville’s Reading Night at the Finksburg Library. We had a wonderful time promoting reading to all of the families who were able to come. Kids enjoyed face painting, crafts, a scavenger hunt around the library and Wii bowling and tennis. I also saw a lot of families going home with an armful of books! Yay!! If you are interested in seeing some photos from the fabulous night please click below. The password to get into the site is Mustangs.

http://s777.photobucket.com/albums/yy51/slkahle/Reading%20Night/

Also, some kids were asking how I got their favorite literary characters as a Mii character. With your parent’s permission, you can google your favorite character and include Mii or Wii in the search. Then you will get the directions to create your favorite character. There are videos or written directions – I suggest those, because they will count toward your summer reading goals!!

These are awesome. The 2nd graders did a fabulous job on these wonder autobiographies. I hope that you enjoy them!! Please comment on what you liked about each one or what you found surprising about your friends.

Zach Alex Alliyah Alyssa Annalise Chris Ben Connor Courtney Dalton Dawson Derek Ella Eric Garrett Hailey Harley2 Hope Justin Oliviac Shalin powerpoint Thomas

I hope you enjoy. It should be about 20 minutes long. We were busy this time around.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Enjoy!!

March hasn’t been a good month for reading, although I am not going to take full responsibility for that. I had a few weeks of blurry vision and luckily after going to the doctor’s everything seems to be fine in that department, so I can continue reading!!! I have a stack of books from the public library that I can’t wait to get into. I also bought a Nook and last night was the first time I could actually sit down and read with it without the blurry vision.

Tomorrow is April Fools day. Does anyone have any wonderful pranks they like to play every year? I would really like to know some of those. My sister deserves to be pranked, but doesn’t every sister? (Well, except me!!) If you are the first person to tell me your favorite prank I have a wonderfully small prize for you.

Enjoy!!!

This past week I have read a little over 1/8th of the books I need to read for 2,011. Does anyone know how many books I have read? The one who guesses the closest and posts it in the comment section will win a prize!!! For the past two weeks I have been debating on whether or not I want an e-reader. I have decided if I get an e-reader I would get a Nook. I also like the idea that you can borrow books from the library and from friends with the Nook. If I had an e-reader I could read anytime and anywhere and that would really be helpful this year. So my major decision now is: should I get the regular Nook or should I get the Nook color? Parents – what do you think? I was also thinking how when I buy children’s books on the Nook, if I knew of kids who had access to a Nook, I could share some of my books with them. I thought that would be a cool way to read the black eye susan chapter books for next year!! Well, wish me luck this weekend – losing an hour of sleep is really going to hurt my reading!! Have a great weekend!