Summer Routines

Summer for me started two days ago, and I wanted to get off on the right foot.  My dog and I went for a nice walk first thing in the morning, then I sat down to my usual breakfast (yogurt and granola) plus a couple leftover muffins.

I decided that I will take breakfast outside every morning that I can, enjoying the flowers and birds and morning breezes.  This was a great way to begin the day.  Of course, the second day of vacation, it rained, and I had to eat breakfast inside.  But my dog and I got our walk in just before the shower came through.

My second "summer resolution" is that the TV will stay off between 9 am and 5 pm.  I don't need to know what Kelly Ripa is up to every day, and Hoda and Kathie Lee will be fine without me.  Already I am more productive.  Today I transplanted a spider plant, yesterday I made two banana breads... so this is definitely a good thing.  And it will give me more time to read, which is something I need to keep up with in the summer, as our middle school librarians' committee is busy picking books for our upcoming Cafe Book Program.  There is a ton of reading that goes into this program, so having quiet time away from the computer and TV is a must.

I made a To-Do list of things I want to accomplish this summer, and since we're not really traveling much, it's the perfect summer to accomplish stuff that I don't have time for during the school year.  I have fabric to make curtains for the basement, and an idea to make an over-the-door flag holder for our outside flags, and several other projects.  I am a list person, and I love crossing things off!

And there's also time for this in the summer--flowers! My patio containers are doing great, and the marigolds I planted rescued just in time are finally looking healthy.  On the side of the house I don't really visit a lot is this beautiful hydrangea, and I make sure I take a look at it every day in the summer--so gorgeous!!

He Got Me!

We are working on our annual Battle of the Books (BOB) program with third, fourth, and fifth graders.  The kids have about 3 months to read eight novels specifically chosen for their grade level.  I've been really talking it up with the classes, trying to encourage more student participation.  In some classes, especially fifth grade, participation wanes, and I can't put my finger on why.  The kids are SO excited about it in third grade, and then fourth grade is pretty good, but fifth grade always has the lowest participation.

So as part of my goal to have more kids participate, we've been talking about the books every time they come to library.  I give the kids updates on their participation, and then I ask them to tell about their favorite book and why.  We also talk about books they didn't like and why.

The other day, I had a fifth grade class that wasn't particularly excited to read the books, so I was really trying hard to build excitement.  One little boy, Coleton, talked all about why he didn't like Fairy-tale Detectives.  (I don't exactly blame him--it's a book with girl characters and I didn't love it, either--but I didn't tell the kids that!!)

So today, Coleton came in with a very dour look on his face holding another BOB book, Kensuke's Kingdom.  He put it in the book return while saying, "You remember how I tried Fairy-tale Detectives and didn't like it?  Well, this one (and he shook his head and frowned)....(and then he paused)... WAS GREAT!!! And he smiled a big smile, knowing that he totally got me!! I LOVED IT!!!! Then he told me all about why he loved it and exactly how long it took him to read it.

Coleton had no idea how he made my day today.