Poetry Friday -- Summer Solstice

Watermelon by rawallison

Night in Day
by Joseph Stroud

The night never wants to end, to give itself over
to light. So it traps itself in things: obsidian, crows.
Even on summer solstice, the day of light's great
triumph, where fields of sunflowers guzzle in the sun--
we break open the watermelon and spit out
black seeds, bits of night glistening on the grass.

I found this poem at American Life in Poetry: Column 220.

We're still not quite to the Summer Solstice (closer than last week) but there's something about the light this year, the lengthening of the days, the amazement that 9:00 pm can feel like 7:00 pm (and if it were cold, it could be 5:00 pm!!) that has grabbed me and made me pay attention.

The round up this week is at Critique de Mr. Chompchomp.

iPhone App-a-Day All Summer

My iPhone App-A-Day mission is going well so far. My first app--100 Sounds has been quite a hit with friends. I think it could be a great app for kids to use when developing videos--so many sound effects at your fingertips. Thanks to Tod Bernhard, the developer of the app, I was able to see some of the apps used in videos. My favorites are the cartoons and stick figure animation. Great ones to show kids when sharing the possibilities. I am thinking that I have to learn lots of apps and then live with the idea and think about the possibilities as the summer goes on. This week I've found more great apps.

APP #2 of my App-A-Day learning. Today, I learned Sketches, a pretty simple draw program.  I spent a little bit of time learning the tools and reading the FAQs on the site. I figured most of it out.  My 9 year old learned it a bit faster than I did and produced a much better drawing. This program gives you the capability to save up to 30 drawings, to send them via email and to tweet them out on twitter.  It also can create a type of slide show.

Not sure yet how I might use this with kids. I am hoping that some need arises where I need to sketch something out this summer. So many times, I am in a conversation with someone and a sketch explains my thinking.  Instead of paper and pencil, I can just pull out my phone to sketch my thinking.  I can see kids doing similar things with their thinking--another tool to help them hold on to some of their thinking. Much quicker than a draw program on the computer if you are just saving thinking rather than creating a product. I can see a quick sketch to solve a math problem, etc.

APP #3 was a Sunday and I decided to choose something quick and easy to learn. And something that was marketed for education and younger children. I tried WHEELS ON THE BUS which is a great song/reading app for young kids. Last week, I was looking at our very old cassette players with headphones. I believe strongly in the use of audiotapes to go along with text for new readers. I see the impact they make on language and literacy development. But CDs, playaways, etc. are pretty expensive. This new app is simple and fun. A colorful version of WHEELS ON THE BUS with some interactive things that kids can do. My daughter and i had fun opening the doors, swishing the wipers, etc. Kids have control of when to go to the next frame, how long to listen to one page, etc. I am hoping to find more apps like this. A great way for kids to read and listen to text on the iPod touch.

APP #4 Kerry at whatchareading recommended Indiebound, an application that shares new books and has great booklists from Indie Booksellers. A great way to keep up with new books on my iphone. There are several monthly lists that share top 10 books.  I can see how this will come in handy as I keep up with new books. 

APP #5 I bought CameraBag this week. It is a simple app that lets you alter photos on your iPhone/iTouch. You pull up the picture and then have lots of options to change it visually--infared, instant, fisheye, 1962 and more. There are some other things you can do with photos using the apps too. I think with a focus on visual literacy and media literacy, this will be an easy way for kids to alter photos for any type of presentation they are doing--just enough to change the feel of the presentation.

I am finding that the apps are not hard to learn at all. That seems to be the easy part. What I am finding is that there are so many apps out there, that the research and decision-making is what is taking most of my time. So many great apps, so many versions of similar apps, so many possibilities. I am learning a lot just from searching.  

I think I am going to focus on some apps that might support booktalks and conversation next week. Look at a few of the apps that might work to help kids hold their thinking.  Right now, I am starting to think about tools that might be out there that would support deeper thinking and encourage creativity and authentic communication. Time to focus a bit on the apps I am learning.

Hodge-Podge Books in Albany, NY Closing

When I visit new cities, I always try to find a great independent bookstore to visit. I am extra happy when I find an independent children's bookseller. I know we are lucky, lucky, lucky in Columbus to have Cover to Cover and its owner Sally Oddi right here. I think there are so many people who know and love children's books because of Sally.

When we were in Albany, New York last year, we had the chance to visit Hodge-Podge Books and to meet Frank Hodge. In our short visit with him, we all left with great new books that he shared with us. His knowledge of children's book and his ability to instill a love of children's book in others is phenomenal.

I was sad to hear that his great children's bookstore would be closing on June 30. I am glad that the Albany newspaper is celebrating the store and Hodge's work today.

I hope that all cities with great children's bookstores and owners like Frank Hodge and Sally Oddi realize that these stores are not the norm--that we are very lucky to have these resources. We sometimes take it for granted.

I am glad I had the chance to visit Hodge-Podge Books and to hear about books from Frank Hodge when I visited last year. Even though I only visited once, I am sad to see it close.

New Books From My Shopping Spree

I picked up several new picture books on my shopping spree on Saturday. I thought I'd share a few today.


I am excited to add LOOK AT THE STARS by Buzz Aldrin to my collection. I am kind of hooked on the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11. This is a great way to celebrate the flight. Astonaut, Buzz Aldrin starts with an introduction inviting readers to look at the history of flight. On each 2 page spread of the book, Aldrin looks at one piece of the timeline that led us to space travel and looks ahead to where we might go next. He highlights important times in the history of flight and space travel and gives interesting information with each. The book is definitely one that kids can read and follow. The end of the book includes an extensive timeline of important dates including events from the year 1543 through 2010. An exciting celebration of the discoveries that led us to current missions in space. An added bonus in this book are the end papers--they are filled with great quotes about flight by those who are known for their contributions. A great book!

I loved WHAT SHOULD I MAKE by Nandini Nayar the minute I picked it up. It is a simple story of a little boy, Neerah, who is"helping' his mother make chapatis (Indian flat bread). As she is making the dough, she gives Neerah a ball of dough to play with. He makes many things and uses his imagination about what the animals he created may do. The story is a simple one--fun between a mother and child while baking. The back of the book, there are directions for Making Chapitas. I could see lots of options for this book. I initially picked it up because I am looking for good "How-To" books to add to the library collection and the pages provide some good samples of simple "how-to" writing that kids could learn from and use in their own writing.


Bill at Literate Lives suggested GONE WITH THE WAND by Margie Palatini and I so glad I listened to him and ordered it immediately. I love a good fairy tale and I love fairy godmothers. (The ones in Sleeping Beauty are my favorites.) This is the story of a fairy godmother who has lost her magic. Her friend works hard to help her find a new way to use her magic but nothing seems to be the right fit. The story is a fun one and the illustrations make the fairies in the book quite a hit. The fairies definitely have personality and the illustrations really add to the characters.

48 Hour Read Challenge Summary

Well, I can never fully participate in Mother Reader's 48 Hour Read Challenge although it is one of my favorite "holidays" of the year. It usually falls just after our last day of school and is a great way to make sure to start the summer with lots of reading.

This year, we had our annual Central Ohio Blogger Breakfast followed by a rather expensive trip to Cover to Cover bookstore. Sally and the staff were gracious as always and we left with great books. I didn't get much reading in on Saturday except for catching up on blogs and twitter. But I spent a good part of Sunday reading. About 4 hours. It occurred to me that I had forgotten to tell my family that I would be participating in the 48 Hour Read. I thought it was clear that I would do nothing but read but they didn't realize it for a few hours. There were a few of us who were dying to read CATCHING FIRE so I finished that up last night.

And, I donated $2 per book from Cover to Cover to Mary Lee's Fish-A-Thon even to support Casting for Recovery. As a group, we raised over $200. I loved this new addition to Mother Reader's event.
All in all a great weekend, even though I did only have a few hours to read. I felt like it was a weekend filled with books and even though I couldn't participate fully, I did feel like it was a great reading weekend!

While You Were Shopping and Reading...

The first ever (first annual?) Ohio Casting For Recovery Fish-a-Thon took place Saturday, June 6 at the VOA Park near Cincinnati.

Melissa (pictured here) and I were the Past Participants team. She attended the 2008 retreat, and I attended in 2005.



Each of the 9 teams had balloons on a stake so they could be spotted around the lake, and a clipboard and a measuring tape to record catches.

Our clipboard didn't get much use, but we had a blast working on our casting, watching the ducks and ducklings,  and pretending we could land the 24" monster fish we could see but who could not be interested in our flies no matter how well we placed them. 

Here we are, measuring one of our five catches for the day. Yeah, I know. You're saying, "What fish?" 

That's why we took this picture so you could see the cute little bluegill that was silly enough to think my fly was real food!

So, we only caught 5 fish between the two of us in three hours of fishing, but if you divide our pledges by our fish, each of those fish was worth more than $200. 

That's right, together Melissa and I raised over $1000 in pledges for Ohio's Casting for Recovery program. The folks who supported us paid for one breast cancer survivor of "any age, any stage" to experience a Casting for Recovery weekend. One more survivor will come to Indian Bear Lodge alone and leave with a new group of friends who are fellow survivors. One more lady will experience the unique blend of a weekend of pampering, connecting with others, and learning fly fishing.

We were both diagnosed with breast cancer when we were relatively young, so we certainly appreciate all of the money that is raised for breast cancer research and education about early detection. But we are also both survivors, and we understand the need for programs like CFR that address the needs of those who have already had breast cancer.

Thank you to everyone who sponsored us, and an extra big shout-out to the Central Ohio Kidlitosphere Bloggers who supported us with their unique "bucks for books bought" pledges.

EDITED TO ADD...if I'm totaling correctly, you all raised $234 for CFR!!!!

PICTURE BOOKS DEALING WITH ADOPTION

I am always looking for new books that deal with issues of adoption. I picked up Darlene Friedman's STAR OF THE WEEK: A STORY OF LOVE, ADOPTION, AND BROWNIES WITH SPRINKLES. This is the story of Cassidy-Li. As part of being "Star of the Week", Cassidy-Li has to create a poster telling about herself. She adds many things to her poster--including the photo in China when her parents adopted her, she and her cousin at the beach, playing soccer and more. But, she realizes that the one thing that is missing is a picture of her birthparents. I am not a huge fan of "Star of the Week" routines, but I liked this book because it is one of the few that deals with issues adopted children face when doing some of the assigned school projects that are pretty typical. So many classrooms ask students to share baby pictures, create timelines and to make family trees. All of these things, along bring up some unique issues for children who are adopted. This book seems like a good one to start conversations about those issues and how to deal with them in a way that makes sense and respects privacy. Although my 9 year old is a little bit older than the anticipated audience for this book, I am glad to add this one to our shelf at home. It seems like a good one to have on hand to revisit when difficult school projects come up.

I also picked up a copy of TEN DAYS AND NINE NIGHTS, an adoption story by Yumi Heo. I reviewed it here earlier before it was released. It is now available.

CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins

Although I can't manage the entire 48 Hour Read event, I did take advantage of the event to get read lots. I have been reading most of the day and just finished CATCHING FIRE, the upcoming sequel to THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins. "WHOA" as Mother Reader said about the book earlier today. I have not heard one bad thing from anyone who has read THE HUNGER GAMES. An amazing book that is engaging and disturbing. This new book is due out in September and it is as good, if not better than the first. Characters are big for me and I love these characters. The plot is brilliant and I am not sure how Collins does it. I don't want to give anything away but this book 2 is no disappointment. Well worth preordering it today. The only thing I am wondering is how I will ever make it until the final book in the trilogy is available. Loved the book. Not a book for an elementary school library but a great first read of summer.

If you have not read THE HUNGER GAMES, I would put it on the top of your pile for this summer. And then run out and get CATCHING FIRE as soon as you can!

Shopping For a Good Cause and the 48 Hour Read

In Central Ohio, we might have to rename Mother Reader's 48 Hour Read as the 48 Hour Shop. We have definitely made it a tradition to shop for books a lot on this reading weekend! Today, the Central Ohio Bloggers met at our favorite breakfast spot, Northstar Cafe. We ate and chatted. Then we headed over to our favorite children's bookstore, Cover to Cover. Since Mary Lee couldn't join us, due to her Fish-A-Thon, we made some donations based on books we left the store with. We missed Mary Lee today--it wasn't the same without her. But we are pretty sure that our books outnumbered her fish.

Sally, the owner, was nice enough to share several ARCs---they were set up on a table in the back. We tried to be kind but there was definitely some stress over some of the more anticipated titles. We all left with great ARCs and promise to share them with each other as we finish. We also each purchased several books. It was definitely a great way to start the 28 hour read.

Megan of Read, Read, Read was not able to join us today. Instead, she decided to pledge $1 for EVERY book that we walked out of the store with. Together. All of us. Now, Megan has shopped with us before, so I think she knew it would be a pretty hefty pledge. I took photos as we left and we tallied our books (both arcs and purchased books counted.) Cover to Cover was having a 20% off sale which made it even more worthwhile to buy lots.

Bill of Literate Lives left with 14 books.

Julie of Raising Readers and Writers left with 28 books.

I left with 16 books.

Karen S. of Talkworthy left with 15 books.

Katie of Creative Literacy left with 16 books.

Karen of Literate Lives left with 21 books.

Mandy of Enjoy and Embrace Learning left with 30 books.

So, the Central Ohio Bloggers have added 140 books to our collections and lots of money to Mary Lee's Fish-a-thon for Casting for Recovery.

We will be reviewing as we read.

A great way to start summer vacation!

An iPhone App-a-Day All Summer

Our school received a district grant and will be receiving 25 new iPod Touches this fall. So many possibilities for our students. So, I decided that my summer goal is to learn 50 new iPhone apps before school starts in the fall. That means about 1 per day if I take Sundays off. Over the course of the summer, I will share these applications. I figure that the more applications I find that are useful for me, the more possibilities I will have for students. I am looking for good, authentic applications. I'm thinking this is a good use of my summer--learning as much as I can and find ways that I authentically use apps and then figuring out what that means for kids. Just having the experience of researching apps, trying them out, thinking of ways to use them, etc. will be a great learning experience. I'll be blogging to share the new apps I find. (After today, I'll clump several together each week but since today is my kick-off of this summer fun, I thought I'd give my first app its own post:-)

Since it is officially the first evening of summer, I decided to try a "just for fun" application. Nothing too difficult for my first app. I was looking hard at "More Cowbell" and was ready to buy that but then I came across "100 Sounds". Yesterday, we had a clapout for our 5th graders on their last day. I was thinking it migh have been fun to have a loud sounding bell or whistle. So, I thought a sound application might come in handy someday.

I chose 100Sounds, downloaded it and played a bit. This app gives me 100 Sounds to use. Quick sounds such as an evil laugh, a burp, a trumpet, a gavel, a guitar and more. Many more. It was fun to listen to many of them and I imagine I will be driving people crazy with the new sounds I discover. You can have the sounds play once or loop and play over and over and over again.

I didn't download this because I thought it might be good for school. I just thought it sounded fun. But as I was playing, I realized that it could be great for kids who are creating slideshows, podcasts, videos, etc. A great, easy way to get a variety of sound effects. I imagine the kids will drive me nuts as they have as much fun with these new sounds as I do, but when the novelty wears off, this could be a great application for students to use in their own creations. It was well worth the 99cents!

If you have any great app recommendations, I am very open to suggestions!