10 Things to Expect & Not Expect Your First Year of Teaching

My first year, just like mostly every new teacher, was sooooooo hard. Mostly because I didn’t know what to expect. These are tips that would have helped me when I was beginning my first year of school.

Expect to be overwhelmed. Teaching is such a big job. You only find out how big those shoes are [...]

Good-bye Reading Rainbow (The End of an Era)

The last episode aired Friday, August 28, 2009 on PBS. It’s the end of an era. Reading Rainbow is gone.
The theme song I’ll always remember:
Butterfly in the sky, I can fly twice as high, Take a look, It’s in a book, The Reading Rainbow
Reading Rainbow aired from 1983-2009, with the last original episodes being taped [...]

A.P.L.E. news!

Anyone signed up for A.P.L.E. will be happy to hear this news regarding A.P.L.E. payments. Someone just left a comment on my page regarding payment. They finally got it. I’m happy to hear that. I was starting to get nervous because I will start getting payments next year. I was beginning to think I wouldn’t. [...]

Hot me!

I cannot believe this heat. It is too hot. I am sitting under the fan. I want to turn on my air conditioner, but don’t want to see the bill. Last time, it was over $500, when it’s usually about $350. For now, the fan’s good enough. I can’t even imagine being up in La [...]

Happy 1,000th Post To Me!

Yes, dear readers, as the title states, I am celebrating my 1,000th post. It has taken me a little more than two years to reach this milestone, but I’ve finally done it. So, Happy 1,000th post to me!

25 Books to Read the First Weeks of School

Here is a complete list of my pick of 25 books to read the first few weeks of school. Enjoy!

A Very Full Morning by Eva Montanari
Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
Ruby the Copycat by Peggy Rathmann
I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont
Just Like Sisters by Angela McAllister
Stand Tall Molly Lou Mellon by Patty Lovell
Secret of [...]

Books to Read on the Fifth Week of School, Part 5

Here is the end of the list. I read to my class everyday. I highly suggest that you read to yours everyday. Your students will greatly benefit from it.
Roxaboxen, by Alice McLerran, is one of my favorite books ever. It celebrates one of my favorite subjects of imagination. This is the true story of the [...]

Books to Read the Fourth Week of School, Part 4

Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes, is about being proud of your unusual name. Before Chrysanthemum goes to school, her parents dote on her. They tell her how perfect she is and how they love her name; that it’s simply the best name EVER. The trouble begins when she goes to school and someone makes fun of [...]

Hopeful me!

I got a lead on a new job. Hopefully it will all work out. I used Facebook to make connections. That’s what it’s for. After all, it is a social networking site. Hopefully this will pan out. If not, something else will. It always does.

Guess How Smart I Am?

Well, guess! I am so smart that I didn’t know that David started school on Monday. Yes, people, today is Wednesday. The year just started and already, he’s missed 3 days of school. I could just scream.

Books to Read the Third Week of School, Part 3

Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind, by Judy Finchler, is a book I could have written myself. It’s about a teacher who loves to read trying to inspire the same desire in her students. The exciting part begins when the school enters a contest to read 1,000 books. However, Miss Malarkey doesn’t just want the [...]

Inspired me!

I am so inspired. I got a dose of inspiration from last weekend’s Los Angeles Black Book Expo. There were many authors & wanna-be authors there. I am one of them. One of the key things that inspired me was this psychologist/writer/publisher from Texas (I cannot remember her name right now). She gave a workshop [...]

Books to Read the Second Week of School, Part 2

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Mellon, by Patty Lovell, is a great book about self-esteem. Molly Lou Mellon has teeth nearly as big as her head, she sounds like a bull frog, and she’s the shortest kid in her class. However, none of that stops her from believing in herself. She learned it from her dear [...]

Mission Impossible Assignment # 3: School Shopping on a Budget

Okay, all you shoppers out there. Boy, do I have an assignment for you: School Shopping on a budget. Should you choose to accept this assignment, you may encounter a store full of shoppers, some rude, some not. You may also stop and park @ several locations looking for the perfect deal. Well, lucky for [...]

Classroom Discipline 101

I am very excited. I just found an excellent Classroom management blog. The author is a 20 year veteran of some of L.A.U.S.D.’s toughest schools. I have not purchased this book yet, as funds are low. But, I will purchase it as soon as I can. It looks very promising. I will let you know [...]

Books to Read the First Week of School, Part 1

I’ve compiled a list of 25 books that would be great to read the first week of school. Initially I only intended to make one list, but it got so hard to narrow it down to only one week. Since I read to my students everyday, I thought it would be nice to give some [...]

Yesterday’s Los Angeles Black Book Expo

Yesterday’s LABBX was fantastic. I made a couple of connections. I met author L.A. Banks (no relation), author of The Vampire Huntress Legends series.
Most notable was meeting E.P. McKnight, actress & author of Words ‘n’ Action- Inspiration for the Human Spirit for valley moments in life. Her book was so powerful. I was low on [...]

Just Like Sisters by Angela McAllister

Just Like Sisters (2005), written by Angela McAllister andillustrated by Sophie Fatus, is a nice little read aloud. I first came across this book when I had to review a series of books for my Children’s Literature class. For the assignment, I had to review 25 books, write a review on them, and make a [...]

The Marshmallow Incident by Judi Barrett

The Marshmallow Incident (2009), written & illustrated by husband and wife team Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett, was a cute little book. It wasn’t hilarious. It was more of a thought provoking book. It’s an underlying theme of prejudice and silly feuds (a la The Hatfields & The McCoys). This book kinda’ reminds me of [...]

It’s all about who you know!

I haven’t so many things on plate, I don’t know where to begin. However, this one problem has been the most pressing because it deals with my being able to get and keep a job. Well, God is working it out for me. At the beginning of summer, boredom was one of my biggest problems. [...]

The Day I Saw My Mother-in-Law’s vagina!

Ah, the day I saw my mother-in-law’s vagina. What a catchy title? You just have to read this post now, don’t you? Trust me, this post is not going to be what you thought it was going to be about. This post is about a couple of things. Like to hear them, here they are:

Why [...]

Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry by Bebe Moore Campbell

Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry (2003), written by the late Bebe Moore Campbell and illustrated by E.B. Lewis, is a wonderful book. As you know, if you’ve read a couple of my reviews, I am a great believer in bibliotherapy. This book is perfect for that. The author had personal experience dealing with mental illness [...]

An interesting discussion with Phillise

I just had an interesting discussion with Phillise. As I was writing a book review that E.B. Lewis illustrated, Phillise noticed his name and said,

“Hey, that’s the same person who illustrated I Love My Hair.”
“You are absolutely right,” I said. I missed it. Good job of catching that. Give me a high five. I was [...]

The Big Elephant in the Room by Lane Smith

” Well? What is it? Is it the big elephant in the room?,” one friend asks another.
I loved this book. I thought it was cute. However, others…not so much! I read other reviews where the reviewers did not care for this book. I understand there’s an underlying theme in regard to one friend not sticking [...]

Fretful David!

My little boy, David, frets so much. I just received his CST scores and he performed exceedingly well. He was 8 points away from Advanced in Language Arts, and 11 points away from Advanced in Math. Yet, he was still upset.
“I didn’t get Advanced, mom?” he asked with a whimper.
David, forget about it. You worry [...]

ZOOM by Diane Adams

Zoom (2006), written by Diane Adams, and illustrated by Kevin Luthardt is a fun, rollercoaster ride of a book.
I actually meet this author. She’s a friend of my Children’s Literature teacher, Katherine, from APU. So, Katherine got her to come to the class, read the story aloud, and share her experience with us. That night [...]

Reflections…

Now that I’ve had a couple week’s downtime, I feel that I am sufficiently rested to be able to reflect upon the school year so far with a clear mind. I cannot believe how overwhelming this thing called teaching can be.
This year and last year, I have alternated between feeling on top of the world [...]

It has to land sometime!

The plane has to land sometime; especially when it’s in a holding pattern and has been that way for quite a long time. I feel like my life is perpetually on hold or in a holding pattern. I’m not moving forward. I think this means that there is still a lesson that I need to [...]

Carnival of the Animals by John Lithgow

Carnival of the Animals (2004), written by John Lithgow and illustrated by Boris Kulikov, was quite a treat. It even has a music CD in the back of the book. The New York City Ballet choreographer, Christopher Wheeldon, wanted to create a new ballet based on Camille Saint-Saëns’s orchestral suite Carnival of the Animals. He [...]

Bartholomew & the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss

Bartholomew & the Oobleck (1949), written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss, was a nice read. I don’t know how I never ending up reading this book, but I never did until this May. I read it to my class. We were supposed to make the oobleck but ended up running out of time. That’s okay [...]

How to make Oobleck!

I read this book to my students and was supposed to make the Oobleck, but ran out of time. I will make this one of my first science experiments when I return to work. I love to connect literature with everything. My students loved this book.
What is Oobleck? Oobleck was the name given to a [...]

Purposeless me!

I don’t know how I never really made the connection of deep depression in the summer. I have always valued my summers because I had the chance to do absolutely nothing. I could also sleep and read as much as I wanted to. However, I’ve run into a snag this summer. I didn’t have anything [...]

In the money me!

That’s right people, I am in the money. Joe Ryan, from the Career Ladder called me and informed me that the Career Ladder owed me a scholarship payment of (drum roll!!!) $1,500. You could not tell how excited I was from how calm I remained on the phone. Inside I was screaming… Yes, yes, OMG, [...]

The Quiltmaker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau

The Quiltmaker’s Gift (2000), written by Jeff Brumbeau and illustrated by Gail de Marcken, was a wonderful book. I plan on purchasing this and reading it to my class. As I sat in the bookstore, in the middle of the aisle, so engrossed was I in the story, I didn’t realize that I was blocking [...]

Oh, that damn R.I.C.A.!

Just returned from taking the R.I.C.A. I hope I passed this time. I do not want to take it again. Only time will tell!