Happenings this week

Books:

• Remarkably Bright Creatures - I read this in 2024, and I’m rereading it.
• The River is Waiting - This is an audiobook that I listened to. I got halfway through, and it was so depressing that I gave up on it. I returned it to the library early.

Knitting:

• Scrappy Socks for Don - It is so satisfying to use up my sock yarn scraps in this fun way.
• Antique Filigree sweater - a colorwork sweater. I always forget how much I love colorwork! The exciting thing is that this whole sweater involves colorwork!

Food and drink:

• Things I’ve cooked this week: Spinach and Mushroom quiche, stuffed peppers, and rice, pork burgers, and pickled beets.
• I made green smoothies for us a couple of times this week.

Watching:

I’m watching some TV shows that I’m sure others have already watched, and I’m a little behind the times.

• Tracker
• Marshals
• FBI

Special Events:

• Don had a cortisone shot in his back.
• I’m recovering from my second cataract surgery.

Fruits and vegetables:

• We picked lots of blueberries and some figs today. 
• I also found little tomatoes growing on my tomato plants.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Book Fair Equity

In Book fairs - unfair? From Blue Skunk Blog, Doug Johnson shares,

“In reality, book fairs will be just one of dozens of things that will bring the attention of children to economic inequity in our society.”

He asked for readers to share their thoughts about school book fairs. This is what I posted as my response:

I grew up as one of the kids who couldn't afford to purchase books at the book fair but my parents always gave me enough to get one book. When I became a teacher, I decided to let students go to the book fair and make a list of the 3 books they would want me to purchase for our class library. From that list, I would attempt to buy one book from everyone's list with my own money. Sometimes the kids had that same book on their list so that helped narrow the list down. Then I decided to do a book exchange at the time of the fair for kids who couldn't afford to get any books. I had colleagues and volunteers who were glad to get rid of their children's books that their own children had outgrown. I let my students get one book from the collection to bring home and when they returned it, they could get another one. They really enjoyed that.

It would be nice if every aspect of life would be equal but in reality it isn't. I don't believe that this situation should be made equal for all because it is just another example of real life. Some people can afford cars while others have to rely on public transportation. Do we stop selling cars because everyone can't afford to get one?

How would you respond? Please share.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

2019 Reading Stats

I’ve been using Goodreads for the past few years to keep up with my book reading and I really enjoy the end of the year stats. It is a free site and I think students would enjoy keeping up with their progress also. The hardest thing to do is to get in the habit of logging in the book when you begin and end it but once you get used to it, it is worth the time and effort. This might help get your students into the habit of reading.

Here are my yearly stats:

1.     I’ve read 25,959 pages across 77 books.

2.     My shortest book was 116 pages – A Very Merry Princess by Susan Mallery

3.     My longest book was 640 pages – Prairie Fires: The American Dream of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

4.     Average length of book was 337 pages.

5.     The most popular book I read (or reread) was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

6.     The least popular book was Friends Forever by Sherryl Woods (only 4 people also read it).

7.     My average rating was 4.6 stars.

8.     My first review of the year was Divine Justice by David Baldacci.

9.     My last review of the year was Year One by Nora Roberts.

10.  My goal was 70 books this year and I read 77 which means I completed 110% of my goal.

Do you use Goodreads? How did you do this year?

Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash

Book Signing

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This past weekend was my very first book signing. It was held at the Barnes & Noble bookstore at Furman University’s Trone Center. It was also Furman’s homecoming so there were a lot of people on campus. Due to the rainy weather, many events were moved to the Trone Center. The tailgate luncheon was moved there and all the department drop-ins were moved there also. This meant that there was a lot of foot traffic. My husband and daughter were there to support me too. I met a couple of other authors also and it was interesting to share our different experiences in publishing a book.  I also made several connections with school district personnel who bought a book and may call me about future speaking engagements.

If you haven’t gotten my book yet, you find more information about it here:

The Successful Teacher’s Handbook

Original photo by Pat Hensley

The Successful Teacher’s Handbook – Release

Well, the day has finally arrived. Today is the official release date of The Successful Teacher's Handbook. To all my friends, family, and supporters who have preordered the book, I hope you think it is worthwhile to read. If you thought it was useful, please write a review on Amazon or Barnes and Noble for me so others may find it in their search for books that help their teaching.  For those who are going to buy the book, I truly appreciate your support.  I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart!