Poetry Friday -- Best

BEST

What does that mean,
"Do your best?"
Push myself
without any rest?

No time for play?
Never have fun?
Don't take a break
'til it's done, done, DONE?

Here's what I've learned
(disagree if you will)
sometimes...
occasionally...
it's a good idea
just to
chill.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2013


It's been a crazy school year so far.
I'm struggling with what it means to do my best.
"My best" is a moving target.
Sometimes it means "A lot."
Sometimes my best is complicated,
and sometimes it is simple.
Sometimes it takes skill and long hard work,
but other times it takes luck, timing and inspiration.
My best at this sometimes depends on all of that.

I am not one thing.
I have many things that need me
to do my best.
So what is my best
changes.

"My best" has a floor,
but not a ceiling.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2013



Dori has the Poetry Friday Roundup this week at Dori Reads.

September Mosaic

Ah, September! You lasted a lifetime, yet you were gone in a blink.
Gardening
Teaching
Volunteering
Meeting/Eating
Celebrating
Silliness
Broccoli Blooms and Bees
Photo app play (Poetics, Finger Focus)


You can view the set on Flickr here.

Change of Plans

What I thought I'd be working on this year:

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School
by John Medina

How the Brain Learns
by David A. Sousa



What I'm actually working on this year:

Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics: Developmentally Appropriate Instruction for Grades 3-5 (Volume II) (2nd Edition) (New 2013 Curriculum & Instruction Titles)
by John A. Van de Walle (and others)

About Teaching Mathematics: A K-8 Resource, 3rd Edition
by Marilyn Burns

Good Questions: Great Ways to Differentiate Mathematics Instruction, Second Edition (0)
by Marian Small

Good Questions for Math Teaching: Why Ask Them and What to Ask, K-6
by Peter Sullivan and Pat Lilburn

Slice of Life

When my doctor  told me I'd have to take 6 weeks off school due to my never-ending concussion, I was not happy.  (understatement) But once I'd been home for a few days, I decided I should use my time well.  There was little I could do as much of my life is consumed by "brainwork", so I decided to spend some time doing spring cleaning and finding some new hobbies--planting some things, learning some crafts, etc. I decided that regardless of how unpleasant it was to stay home, at least I'd have a clean house and I'd have learned some new crafts! I was determined to do all of those things I always meant to do if only I had the time. 

Fast forward a few months. I went into our guest bedroom and I noticed a pile of odds and ends in the corner.  Things I was meaning to donate or put away or toss.  I looked around the house and noticed other little piles waiting to be dealt with.  I realized that these were all remnants of my concussion days.  Those first weeks of time off work. Those weeks of figuring out who I could be without doing the things I love most.

Well, it is now October, 3 months from when the concussion restrictions were lifted.  And, guess what? I still haven't taken care of that pile and my guest room closet is a little bit of a mess again.  The minute I had restrictions lifted, I went back to my "regular" life.

And, the tomatoes I planted?  Well, you can see in the photo above how those turned out...I pretty much forgot about them the minute I was able to get back to my life of reading, writing, exercise, work, thinking.

I'm always looking for the big lessons in life and it seems that there is something to learn from all of this.  My thinking is that the lesson is about accepting the fact that I am who I am. I had some time to live my life without those "brainwork" things that I love most.  I tried some new things, most of which I haven't held onto.  Because really, when given the choice between cleaning and reading, I choose reading. When given the choice between watering tomatoes and almost anything else, I choose almost anything else.  At some point, I imagine the piles will get to me enough that I choose to take care of them before I choose to sit down and read a book.  But, not today.  

 If there are a few extra piles around the house, chances are I found something to do that was more worthwhile than dealing with them.  Rather than looking at the dead tomato plants or the pile on the floor and beating myself up about not doing all that I have decided "I should", my concussion weeks taught me  that I am the one who gets to choose how to spend my time.  And that alone is a gift, something to celebrate.  I realized that I have taken that for granted all of my life. 

Henry's Map by David Elliot

Last week, when we visited the Dublin Library, Miss Val shared a stack of new books.  One that caught my eye was Henry's Map by David Elliot.

This is a great book. In the story, Henry is a great character:

"Henry was a very organized sort of pig. He liked knowing 

exactly where everything was in his tidy little sty."  

But once looks out his window and notices what a mess the farm is, he decides to make a map so that everyone would know what belongs where:-)

Henry goes onto make his map, walking around the farm and adding the animals on the map.  The animals are thrilled to be included on his map and the final hand-drawn map is a good one for kids who are just learning about maps.

I love lots about this book. I love Henry. He is a great character who makes me smile. I also love the illustrations as they bring the farm to life in a happy way.  Mostly, I love the humor--you will have to read the book to find out the amusing part in the book. It is sweet humor (nothing like the wicked humor or I Want My Hat Back or Carnivores!).

For primary kids learning about maps, this is a fun read.  I thought it would be great for my 3rd graders as an invitation to map writing in Writing Workshop. Creating a map to trigger stories from your life is one I learned from Ralph Fletcher and I love to share the map in the front of Marshfield Dreams. This will be another one to share in those minilessons.

This book is great fun and has lots of possibilities!

Books Coming in October!

These are some books I am excited about-they are due out sometime in October!

The Misadventures of Salem Hyde: Book One: Spelling Trouble by Frank Cammuso

Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad by Monica Edinger

I'm a Frog! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (Elephant and Piggie Book, An) by Mo Willems

Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka

Eat Like a Bear by April Pulley Sayre

God Got a Dog by Cynthia Rylant

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell

Celebrating Writers: From Possibilities to Publication by Ruth Ayres

Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts--and Life by Chris Lehman and Kate Roberts

2 professional books that are recent released that I am excited about digging into:

Finding the Heart of Nonfiction: Teaching 7 Essential Craft Tools with Mentor Texts by Georgia Heard

The Writing Teacher's Troubleshooting Guide by Lester Laminack

Ling and Ting Share a Birthday by Grace Lin

I love all of Grace Lin's books and I especially loved the first Ling and Ting when it came out.  I was thrilled to see that the second book in the series, Ling & Ting Share a Birthday  was due out this month!  I love this series and I love these twins!

Sometimes I am disappointed by the second book in a new series. But not this time! I loved this one as much as I loved the first!  In this story, Ling and Ting have a birthday.  And they share it of course.  The book is divided into 6 chapters (and the Table of Contents is ADORABLE!).  Each chapter tells a little story about the birthday.  Each one is a great story and the stories connect a bit throughout the book.  The humor makes me smile:-)

I spent lots of the summer reading books that would be good for 3rd graders. But I am new to 3rd grade so I am still learning what 3rd graders enjoy. I know how a book might support them as readers but I am still figuring out what they find funny and the level of complexity that is right for this age.

Ling and Ting is a great book for those transitional readers in grades 1-3.  The book is a chapter book with lots of supports--short chapters that each tell their own story, 2 characters to get to know, chapter titles, and picture support. But most importantly, this is a good story that kids will enjoy. I'm excited to share this with students and I so hope that Grace Lin writes lots more about these twins! 

Slice of Life: A Visit to the Pet Store

We are now a family with 2 dogs.  Deciding to get a puppy for our 14 year old was a big decision but the timing seemed right.  We have not had a puppy for a VERY long time and we are EXHAUSTED! Arnie (the puppy) is adorable and we are having fun but he is a handful for sure!

I decided that Arnie needed some new chew toys as he has been chewing on the carpet, the windowsill, the woodwork and the kitchen chairs.  I thought maybe finding toys that had more interesting textures would keep the puppy off the other chewables in the house.  So, we made a trip to the Pet Store. We came home with a few toys that seem to be helping. But I must say, I have not been to a pet store to shop in years. Our older dog doesn't really play and hasn't played much in years. So the trip to the pet store was quite an experience.

Who knew that you could dress your dog as Big Bird for Halloween?

Who knew that they had Ugly Christmas Sweaters for dogs?

AND....Who knew they had Halloween Socks for dogs?

We restrained from the Halloween costume and the Christmas sweater but I could not resist the socks (that come in packs of 4, of course!). I was sure Arnie would be adorable in these socks. My husband, however, adamantly disagreed as he has said from the start that Arnie is a "cool dog" and he did not think these socks were cool enough for Arnie.

Well, we got home and Ana tried to put the socks on Arnie. He doesn't growl often but he did growl and snarl once the first sock was placed on his foot.  I figured he would get used to it and tried again the next morning. The minute I tried to put on the sock, he grabbed it from my hand and ran away with it. Within seconds, nearly the entire sock was in his mouth and he ran far away.  We are pretty sure he would have swallowed it whole but we caught him and had a 2 minute battle to pull the sock out of his mouth.  He clearly hates the socks.  (My husband reiterated that the socks are totally uncool...)

How a sweet little baby puppy can hate these adorable Halloween socks is beyond me. Hoping he is not opposed to the ugly Christmas Sweater in a few months....

Picture Perfect Perfection by Deborah Diesen

I  have never been one to buy "holiday" books.  I would rather spend money on books that kids will enjoy all year round so the book has to be REALLY good to connect to a holiday.  But my love of Google Doodles is changing my attitude about that a bit. I love waking up in the morning and seeing a Google Doodle connected to the date. It is always a great way to start the day and to learn a bit and think a bit about it.

Picture Day Perfection by Deborah Diesen is going to be the perfect read aloud for our morning meeting time on Picture Day.  It is a great story of a boy working hard on a perfect school picture.  The book captures Picture Day perfectly--in the way that kids have to go through a regular school day yet still look perfect for the school photo, which could be at 3p.m.  It is a great story and a big selling point for me was that it is illustrated by Dan Santat, who has become one of my favorites. My kids loved CARNIVORES and this is the perfect book to add to what they know and love about Santat as an illustrator.

I bought this book because it seemed like a fun way to start the day on Picture Day this year. But it is also a great story with a great character. It will no doubt make a good read aloud.  The illustrations will engage readers immediately and it is a perfect picture book for independent reading time.

Here is a very fun book trailer (thanks to Colby Sharp for finding this one!)

Poetry Friday -- Ebb and Flow

Wikimedia Commons photo 

THE TIDE RISES, THE TIDE FALLS
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town,
     And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
     And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
     And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Tabatha has the Poetry Friday Roundup at The Opposite of Indifference. I won't be able to visit the round up this week -- see you next week!