Friday Favorites: Books; NYT Games; Children's Book Recommendation

Hello there!  Happy July and welcome to Friday Favorites with Erika from A Little Bit of Everything and Andrea from

 Momfessionals:

FRIDAY FAVORITES!

Enjoying:  Books I'm Reading!

What's not to enjoy about the summer?   We are on our 2nd heat dome of the year.  I am in awe of people who have weather in the 90's with humidity for more than 3 to 5 consecutive days.  

In addition, I get to go in my above-ground pool and do my water aerobics.  Plus, I get to read a lot!  I just finished this book:

I loved this author's book:  Where'd You Go Bernadette, and was excited to read her new book.  However, I had a hard time getting into this new book about a woman, Adora, who is a stoic philosopher and lives in New York City.  I almost decided not to finish, but I'm glad I stuck with it because the end is the best part.

Right now I'm reading:

YES!  You definitely would love this book.  It's about a young mother, April, who's on the brink of getting a divorce when her house burns down.  On top of that, her father is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease.   I'm always excited to open this book to see what happens next.  If you do read this book, I have also read another book by Sarah Damoff:  The Bright Years which is another engaging book.

NYT Daily Games

I continue to renew my games subscription to the New York Times for $50 a year.  Every morning I do the Wordle, Connections and Spelling Bee (until I get to great).  After lunch, I finish the Spelling Bee (I try to get to Amazing every day); the Mini; Pips; Tiles; Strands and Letter Boxed. 

I'm amazingly loving the Tiles Game in which you need to keep matching at least one element of each tile to another.  I do wish that they'd add some more variety to this game.

This is an example.  I hope my eyesight improves from doing these!

Hoping

I am hoping that author Ewa Erdman who visited our school in June, can sell lots of copies of her book:

The author adopted a three legged pitbull who became a therapy dog for amputees and other rehab patients.  In addition, Ewa donates all proceeds to animal shelters!

Here is a picture of Ewa and me when she visited our school:

As always, I appreciate that you visited my blog today!  Please let me know if you have any book recommendations.  

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Friday Favorites: Books; Fun Summer Game; and History!

Happy Friday!  Welcome to another week of linking up with Erika from A Little Bit of Everything and Andrea from Momfessionals for:

Books I've Been Reading!

Here are some books I have read and would recommend:

Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser

Etheldreda, aka Lady Tremaine, has two biological daughters; one step-daughter; a crumbling manor and no money.  She was married twice; both husbands died.  Now she's trying to find a way for her daughters to find a better life.  It's off to the ball where the step-daughter ends up dancing with the prince...

I recently read that this book is a different take of Cinderella in which the step-mother ends up being the "good guy."   I've just finished this book and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Click here on on the book cover to read more at Amazon.

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page

This is just a sweet and comforting book.  A husband who is dying of cancer secretly arranges for his wife, Tilly, to receive one book per month during the year after his death.  These books are meant to inspire and help his wife start living again.  In addition, the husband includes a written note to his wife in each book.  Of course, the book store owner, Alfie, helped to choose the books.  Overall, this book is very heart-warming.

Positive Thinking!

I follow Power of Positivity on Instagram, and I really LOVED this message:

 Field Day Fun = Fun Game to Try this Summer!

My all-time favorite activity from Field Day is this sponge relay race.  The goal is to fill up and empty your sponge into the container until the ping pong ball falls out:

Click here to read directions to play this game.

 Woburn Trolley Tour

The Woburn Historical Society is an amazing organization!  They raise money throughout the year in order to provide each third grade the opportunity to go on a guided trolley ride in which we stop at a variety of historical sites including their headquarters.  While there, the kids saw an exhibit about the 1960's!

What games do you remember?

Introducing Sergeant Stubby!

If you go to the Burdett Mansion ~ home of the Woburn Historical Society, you can see this picture. One of my favorite pictures is Sergeant Stubby:

I love this dog!  Click here to see the movie version!

Thank you for visiting the blog today!  

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What is the Back 9 Era?

Hello there!  Yet again, I am linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for their weekly link-up:

                                FRIDAY FAVORITES~!

Back 9 Era:  What is it?

I am 65 years old and still learning new expressions.  The other day in the NYT mini, the clue was for low quality digital content.  I thought the answer was "spam."  Eventually, I got it:  "slop."  My 33 year old son asked, "Didn't you ever hear of slop?"  Ha, not when the word refers to something on the computer.

Anyway, back to the "Back 9 Era."  I have a Peloton bike that I still ride frequently (my name is "Mrswatermelon," if you want to follow me).  I started noticing the hashtag Back9era.  Then I heard Jenn Sherman talking about this term.  I thought it had to do with football.  Wrong again!  Here is what it means:

The "Back 9 Era" is a, popular fitness and lifestyle mindset, particularly for people over 50 (or roughly 40+), representing the second half of life. It uses a golf metaphor—where the final nine holes (10–18) follow the first nine—to reframe aging not as a decline, but as a proactive, intentional, and strong new chapter. 

Still Waiting For Spring...

Spring brings on hope for warmer weather and longer days.  In Massachusetts, it doesn't really warm up until June, but if the sun is shining, it feels warmer.  More importantly, as long as it doesn't rain, I can take my granddaughter outside to play as well as take my dog for a walk!

Scaredy Squirrel has some new books:

Scaredy exercises, eats healthy foods, and stays very, very safe. But even healthy squirrels need to get a regular check up! Going to the vet can be scaaary, especially if you're Scaredy.

If you're a Scaredy Squirrel fan, like me, you'll definitely want to check out this new book!

This new book is a chapter book!  There are 4 chapters.  I have read the first chapter to my students; Scaredy Squirrel receives a crate of unknown origin.  You can guess that Scaredy goes into panic mode!  Click here or on the book cover to check out more at Amazon!

Also, there are 4 books in this Scaredy Squirrel's Nutty Adventure Series to check out!

The Old South Meetinghouse in Boston!

If you are planning to visit Boston some day, make sure to visit the Old South Meeting House.  Right across the street, you can also see the newer statues about the Irish Potato Famine.  

Our tour guide at the Old South Meeting House was Erica.  She lead us into the Meeting House where the kids sat in the pews while Erica reviewed the history of the building.  The Old South Meeting House was built in 1729.  Benjamin Franklin was baptized in this building.  Most importantly, the colonists discussed their options when dealing with the taxes England was placing on them.  The final decision to have the Boston Tea Party was made here in December, 1773.

An interesting part of the building includes this octagonal structure above the place where a speaker would stand. (It's hanging from chains right in front of the window.)

We learned that this structure acted as a microphone by directing the speaker's voice out toward the audience.

Another amazing artifact is John Hancock's travel-size desk:

The most amazing artifact for me, was this vial of tea leaves which was saved from the Boston Tea Party.  When one of the colonists returned home from the Tea Party, he found tea leaves in his shoes, and he saved the tea to pass down to his family.  Check it out:

We spent about forty-five minutes at the Old South Meeting House, and we sat in the building where the Boston Tea Party was decided upon.  Wow, what a great opportunity to experience history first-hand!

Have a great week!  It's almost Memorial Day Weekend!

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Happy Amazing April!

Happy April!  Today I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites!

National Poetry Month!

I love April because it is the gateway to spring.  Of course, here in Massachusetts, winter lasts throughout April (it was actually snowing last Tuesday), but there is hope in the air.  In addition, it is National Poetry Month.  Click here to check out a web site that is full of great poems and to get a free copy of this poster!

Click here or on the poster to download for free!

One of my very favorite poets is Doug Florian.  His poems are wry and colorful.  He has many books.  Here is one example:

Click on book cover to read more at Amazon.

Books to Check Out!

Some other books I have read recently and would recommend include:

Click here or on the cover to read more at Goodreads.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book which you should read before seeing the movie (I saw that, too).  The book explains about Dr. Ryland Grace and scientists' quest to save the Earth from "astrophage" ~ a bacteria that is taking the heat from the sun and will cause Earth to freeze and die.  The book explains the whole process in details which are not explained in the movie.  Plus, Dr. Grace meets and collaborates with an alien, Rocky, who is also trying to save his own planet from the same fate as Earth.

Click here or on the cover to read more at Goodreads.

With all that is going on in the world and in Iran, this book is very of the moment.  I loved reading about how life was in Iran in the 1950's and 1960's. 

This book tells the story of two childhood friends:  Ellie and Homa.  They both grow up in Tehran and end up at the same high school.  Ellie ends up moving to the United States where her husband becomes a college professor while Homa stays in Tehran and becomes a political activist.  I really enjoyed the story of friendship and how Ellie and Homa help each other out in ways they could never have imagined. 

Student Authors!

A few weeks ago I read New Nonsense from the North ~ a book written by third graders:

My students - Isabella, Sierra and Paige - loved this book so much that they made their own version at recess, no less!  I thought it was so original and creative that I had to feature it here!

Massachusetts in the American Revolution

This is the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War.  I always loved teaching all about the reasons for the American Revolution like the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party:

I recently updated and improved a slide deck titled:  Massachusetts in the American Revolution which you can check out here!

Amazing You Tube History Videos Using Legos!

Thanks to my students who have their very own You Tube channels, I decided to investigate myself and came up this perfect video about the Boston Massacre:

Click here or on the picture to watch the video.

That's it for this week ~ have a wonderful week!  Thank you so much for visiting today!  Make sure to click on the below graphic to check out more great blogs!

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Mid-March Marvelous News!

Hello there!  Today I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for:

             Friday Favorites:  Spring is Coming Some Day!

NORTH, SOUTH, EAST OR WEST, HOME'S THE PLACE I LIKE THE BEST!

After a year of cross-stitching, I finally finished this work of art:

I love doing my cross-stitching because it keeps my mind focused.  I bought this kit on Etsy, and it was a lot of work, but hopefully, it will be a family heirloom.  

Click here to see more counted cross-stitch kits if you would like to try it out!

NEW RYKA SNEAKERS 

I do love a new pair of comfortable sneakers!  I recently bought these Ryka sneakers (the ones of the right) on TJ Maxx.com for $39.99, and you can also find them on Amazon for $41.70.

These sneakers have lots of support so they are comfortable.  I walk a lot in the warm weather so I'll be happy to have these to wear.

APRIL IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH!

We're preparing for National Poetry Month which is in April.  I just love the way poet Doug Florian uses words so creatively. 

We also read a poem, Rain, by Robert Louis Stevenson:

I found the best poem by Eileen Spinelli for St. Patrick's Day (I changed Canadian to American):

We also wrote paragraphs about why we're lucky.

In addition, here's a reminder March 21st, is World Down Syndrome Day as well as Lots of Socks Day!

I have even prepared my Morning Message for tomorrow!

If you need a free activity to celebrate Lots of Socks and World Down Syndrome Day, look no further! 

Even thought these Morning Messages are dated in the past, I have redone them all and show them on the "big screen" in front of the room!

In the meantime, Happy St. Patrick's Day.  When my father passed, we put this quote on the prayer cards:

An Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

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Happy Valentine's Day Weekend Friday Favorites!

Happy Valentine's Day Weekend; Happy Chinese New Year and Happy President's Day!  Today I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erica from a Little Bit of Everything for:

Friday Favorites!  Happy Chinese New Year!

If you want to read more about Asian traditions , Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan gives lots of fun information.  Marissa's family lives in Oahu, and the whole family gathers to eat delicious dumplings on New Year's Eve.  It's Marissa's first time to make dumplings with her grandmother.  Her dumplings are far from perfect but are still delicious.     

If you want to hear me read this book, click here.  I have a You Tube channel with lots of great read-alouds!

We watched an excellent video of Chinese New Year.  This video explained how people prepare for Chinese New Year by sweeping their kitchen to get rid of any bad luck.  We also saw family members receiving red envelopes (leisses), the lion dance, firecrackers, etc.  The kids really enjoyed seeing an example of the real Chinese New Year.

This week we worked and completed our Square One Art projects.  Here is a picture of the kids' work:

From this sample of work, I notice that rainbows are "trending." (that's a word I learned from Twitter)

 Even I love making Square One Art.  Here are some of the ones I have made:

 These pictures can be made into t-shirts, water bottles, potholders, etc.  It's a really fun project.

Of course, I brought my Square One paper home to finish over the weekend.  While I was at the gym that afternoon, Gabi the Dog, ripped it to shreds.  My dog ate my homework!  Now it's back to square one if I want to make a new picture.

We did some MCAS prep. this week.  We read about Benjamin Franklin and wrote about why he is famous.  Also, we finally finished Don't Throw Your Bones On The Floor which explains how the Pilgrims ate.  Today we read Henry Hikes To Fitchburg which is such a delightful story about 2 friends who travel to Fitchburg in different ways:  Henry walks while his friend takes the train.  Even though these MCAS released items are older, the stories are engaging.  Moreover, they provide good test practice!

Have a wonderful weekend!

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