It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 8/10/20

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop co-hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts which focuses on sharing books marketed for children and young adults. It offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

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Tuesday: Review and Giveaway!: Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten by Laura Purdie Salas, Illustrated by Hiroe Nakata
**Giveaway ends tomorrow!**

Saturday: Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: Classic Starts Favorites

Sunday: Student Voices: Digital versus Traditional School by Nitya A. and Sarah W., 7th Grade

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

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Kellee

Sorry for the length of this update, but I wanted to share everything from July and this first week in August as I haven’t really updated during that time.

July:

  • Trent and I really love the Questioneers series–both the picture books and the chapter books. We highly recommend them. They are well done and exactly the type of kids I want Trent to be reading about.
  • We love Salina Yoon! If you haven’t read ALL of her Bear or Penguin books, Trent and I both recommend it.
  • Lulu, Old Rockand Kat were all reviewed here on Unleashing Readers–check out the reviews!
  • The Panda Problem by Deborah Underwood is on our state list for K-2 and we already owned it, so a win-win. Also, it is a hilarious book. I really love when the fourth wall is broken.
  • We read The Infamous Ratsos for Camp Candlewick! What a great program and book–I know we’ll be reading the rest of the series. I love the focus on what makes someone actually tough.
  • Itch by Polly Farquhar: “Isaac’s sixth grade year gets off to a rough start. For one thing, a tornado tears the roof off the school cafeteria. His mother leaves on a two month business trip to China. And as always. . . . there’s the itch. It comes out of nowhere. Idiopathic, which means no one knows what causes it. It starts small, but it spreads, and soon–it’s everywhere. It’s everything. It’s why everyone calls him Itch–everyone except his best friend Sydney, the only one in all of Ohio who’s always on his side, ever since he moved here.”
  • I love that Hands Up by Breanna McDaniel takes a negative connotation and gives ownership of the phrase to the Black community in a positive way.
  • Alma by Juana Martinez-Neal is such an important read for all kids because it talks about the importane of names.
  • Ella McKeen Kickball Queen by Beth Mills is another state list book. It is a book that kids are going to relate to because it looks at changes at school and dealing with them.
  • Sing a Song by Kelly Starlings Lyon is a book I needed. And Trent needed. So I assume others will as well. I had heard of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” but I did not know much about it nor had I heard it. This book introduced me to it, showed its power, and led to Trent and I listening to it. Beautifully done book as well!
  • You Loves Ewe by Cece Bell cracked Trent up and was a fun intro to homophones.
  • Donald Crews is brilliant. Read everything by him.
  • Trent and Henry read How to Test a Friendship together; Ricki and I plan on reviewing it later in August or in September because it is SO GOOD.
  • Pusheen Cat has a new fan in Trent!
  • Five Fuzzy Chicks by Diana Murray was our multi-read, read whenever we had a chance book for a while. Trent would read it to whomever would listen. He loved it–I think I am going to buy it for him (it was a library book) as a beginning of the school year surprise.

Last Week: 

  • THANK YOU SONA CHARAIPOTRA AND DHONIELLE CLAYTON for breaking my reaidng rut! If you haven’t read Tiny Pretty Things or Shiny Broken Pieces and love YA dramas, get on it now. They are everything you want in drama-filled, back stabbing, redemption book!
  • I cannot gush enough about Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o and illustrated by Vashti Harrison. WOW! First, the illustrations blew me away. They are perfection. I’m serious. Second, the lesson taught in the book is one that all kids need to hear–either for themselves or to make them thing about others. Third, the story does a beautiful job of entwining mythology and the contemporary story. Highly recommended.
  • This last week Trent and I read books from some favorite series: Poppleton, Mr. Putter & Tabby, and Yasmin. All as good as we expected.
  • We also read from two new series: King & Kayla and Bad Kitty. They are both now favorites and we’ll be finishing them both!
  • The Littlest Family’s Big Day by Emily Winfield Martin has such soft, beautiful illustrations–it is worth reading just for them. But the fun story of a new neighborhood makes it double worth it.

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page  or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

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Kellee

Oh man… well, I am back at work. I have NO idea what I am going to read or what I am going to read with Trent–I’ll update you next week 🙂

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Tuesday:  Build a Castle: 64 Slot-Together Cards for Creative Fun by Pail Farrell

Saturday: Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein

Sunday: Author Guest Post by Fleur Bradley, Author of Midnight at the Barclay Hotel

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Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

 Signature andRickiSig

Student Voices: Digital versus Traditional School by Nitya A. and Sarah W., 7th grade

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Digital versus Traditional School by Nitya A. and Sarah W., 7th grade

Thoughts on Digital School:

Sleep: You definitely get more sleep because you don’t have a set time for class. This means you can wake up whenever it feels right for you and do your work whenever you want.Since you control what you do throughout the day and when you do it, you can move your schedule to get more sleep.

Disruptions: You won’t get disrupted as much. Instead there is a due date and the teachers give you more freedom to be productive on your own time and/or scheldule. This leads to more sleep, and a good look at self-control for future jobs/projects.

Engagement: Since you don’t have teachers to make you stay focused on what you are supposed to be doing in online school, you can become very lazy and not do work. When your work is due and you haven’t done it, it can be very stressful for some students. In online school, there is no one to enforce rules and tell you to stay focused so you can procrastinate a lot and not be very engaged in what you’re doing.

Flexibility: Since you don’t have a set schedule, you can change your schedule in any way you see fit as long as you complete your work. You have lots of flexibility when it comes to online school and when you do your work during it.

Time for extracurricular activities: You have more time for your extracurricular activities because you can choose when to do your work and when to do something else. Also if you finish your work early, you can use the time that was not used for school to do some other activity. Since you don’t have to sit in class for most of the day and limit the time you have for extracurricular activities, you can have more time to do other activities.Lastly, even if your extracurricular activities outside of home are canceled, you can still do other things inside of your home to keep active.                                    

Thoughts on Traditional School

Sleep: You will get less sleep because of the schedule for school. This is because when you have normal school, you have a set amount of time for each class and a set amount of time you are in school. Since you will most likely have homework for after school that may take up lots of time, sleep is also limited and you have less of it.

Disruptions: There will be quite a couple disruptions because you have so many breaks between classes and you might not be completely focused due to those “disruptions”. Since there are many disruptions and you aren’t focused on the task at hand but rather talking with your friends or something else, your grades, performance, and participation might drop drastically.

Engagement: Engagement may take a toll on many kids during online school because during normal school you are being watched over and teachers are making sure that you’re doing your work.

Flexibility: During normal school many kids don’t have a lot of flexibility during their day. They have to get ready to go to school, come home and go to their activities, then do their homework and go to bed only to do the same thing the next day. This means that students don’t have much room to change their schedule or be flexible.

Time for Extracurricular activities: During normal school there are many opportunities for Extracurricular activities. But for some this makes your schedule a lot tighter and harsh to manage. While others may miss all the excitement and activity going on whether it’s going to soccer practice or a ballet class.

Thank you, Nitya and Sarah, for comparing the two types of school from a students’ point of view!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 8/3/20

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop co-hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts which focuses on sharing books marketed for children and young adults. It offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

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Tuesday: Shifu Orboot Earth: AR-Powered, Interactive Globe

Sunday: Student Voices: Ten Characters I Would Love to Meet by Brooke A., 7th grade

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

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Kellee

First day of preplanning for me today. Learned last week that I am going back face-to-face with students, so I have lots of work to do to make my library accessible for students and safe for all. Happy reading this week, everyone!

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page  or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

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Kellee

Tiny Pretty Things definitely sucked me in! Still feeling a bit rutty when it comes to reading, but it and now its sequel are energizing my reading muscles again!

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Tuesday: Review and Giveaway!: Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten by Laura Purdie Salas, Illustrated by Hiroe Nakata

Saturday: Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: Classic Starts Favorites

Sunday: Student Voices: Digital versus Traditional School by Nitya A. and Sarah W., 7th Grade

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Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

 Signature andRickiSig

Ten Characters I Would Love to Meet by Brooke A., 7th grade

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Ten Characters I Would Love to Meet by Brooke A., 7th grade

10) Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson series: I would love to meet her because she is so smart and seems to be always ready for adventure.

9) Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson series: Percy has dyslexia and I think it is cool how he shows that you can still have struggles and still be a hero!

8) Katiniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games series: I would love to meet her because she risks her life for her sister. I think she is super brave!

7) Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series: I think it would be cool to have him teach me some magic and how to play quidditch.

6) Hermione Granger is from the Harry Potter series: I would love to meet her because she is super smart and knows magic really well.

5) Goldilocks from the Land of Stories series: She is super adventurous and helps her friends defeat evil every time!  She cares so much about her family and will do anything to protect them.

4) Seth Sorenson is from the Fablehaven series: He is a little too adventurous for his own good. Even though he doesn’t listen very well, he still is a pretty big hero.

3) Kendra Sorenson is from the Fablehaven series:. It is easy for her to follow the rules, so she gets the job of watching her brother and making sure he doesn’t get into trouble. In the end she ends up saving everyone because she is so good at listening!

2) Alex Bailey is from the Land of Stories series: She loves reading. She is very powerful and she always wants to use her powers for good. She will do anything to help others around her.

1) Conner Bailey is from the Land of Stories series: He will do anything to protect his family and the rest of the world. He loves adventures and knows how to defeat evil! He believes in magic and he uses it for the good of others just like his sister does.

Thank you, Brooke, for sharing the characters you would like to meet!
Readers: Who would you like to meet?

Shifu Orboot Earth: AR-Powered, Interactive Globe

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About Orboot from Shifu

An award-winning educational toy, Orboot is a no-borders globe that connects with the fun & interactive Orboot app.

A STEM toy that sparks the imagination and creativity, Orboot encourages the little ones to explore and discover on their own. It builds knowledge as well as develops linguistic and cognitive abilities in the process.

Explore the world with 400+ highlights and 1000+ cool facts across 6 categories – cultures, cuisines, monuments, inventions, animals and maps (national and state boundaries of countries).

Visit https://www.playshifu.com/orboot/earth to learn more!

Four Reasons to Love Orboot

And Trent surely does love Orboot!

What makes Orboot stand out versus other globes and other geography apps is that it combines the two: hands on and technology. The globe can be used like a standard globe but it also can be taken to the next level by using the AR-powered app to dig in!

There are some awesome pluses to the app: all aspects of it is free, it is available in many different languages, and once you download the app WiFi isn’t needed. Also, there is a portion of the app that can be used if the physical globe is not available!

There are so many different ways to play with your globe with its app. First, you can learn information about six different categories: maps, monuments, animals, food, inventions, and culture. There is also a scavenger hunt type game, quizzes, and the ability to build their own national park. And that is the digital puzzles and activities.

In addition to the digital activities, the user also gets a passport, stickers, guide, and stamps to keep track of the countries you “visit” while using Orboot.

Trent adores his globe! He will sit with it for hours, listening to facts, interacting with the information, telling me about the places he traveled to, and making connections between what he is learning and what he knows. Trent says, “I like that I can learn about different places!”

I was surprised that the coins, stars, gems, and badges he could earn wasn’t what kept him going back to the globe, it was the knowledge and the mysteries. He loved figuring out all of the clues in the scavenger hunt type mysteries, and he likes throwing out the “Did you know?” questions at us. He likes looking up places he sees in books or entertainment to learn about them. Who can argue with a learning toy that engages kids this way?

He also really likes the Oko Park aspect because it allows him to take his knowledge about the world and apply it to make a virtual national park. In the park the user looks at the balance of the national park, problems in the national park, and ways to keep their national park healthy. Trent says, “I love that I can learn to help nature.”

As a teacher, I could see Orboot as a center all by itself. It has such possibilities that it, by itself, could fill a center need and would allow students to dive into geography, social studies, and science!

Orboot takes kids on an adventure that they’ll love!

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**Thank you to Shifu for providing a globe for review!!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 7/27/20

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop co-hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts which focuses on sharing books marketed for children and young adults. It offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

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Tuesday: Paint By Sticker Kids: Dinosaurs from Workman

Thursday: Review, Discussion Guide, and Giveaway: Lulu, the One and Only by Lynnette Mawhinney, Illustrated by Jennie Poh
Giveaway open until Wednesday!

Sunday: Student Voices: Homestruck Webcomic by Morgan M. and Melanie S., 8th Grade

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

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Kellee

Educator friends: Are you doing okay? So much of our livelihood is in question right now, and I wanted to check on you. My district still is bargaining and there are still a lot of questions, so I know the stress and questioning and sadness are a lot, so I wanted to just say: I see you, you’re awesome, stay safe, do what is best for you and your family, and you’re not alone.

Also, through all of this, is anyone else struggling to be in the mindset to read?My brain just isn’t able to focus for that long–I read every day, just shorter amounts. You’ll notice that I have way less novels than normal in July because of this. I know this, too, is temporary though, so again, if you are feeling this way know: I see you, you’re awesome, and you’re not alone!

Since I last posted at the end of June, here is what I have read and new books I’ve read with Trent:

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page  or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

I’ve been writing this week, so I’ll report all of the books next week!

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Kellee

  • The book I hope is going to pull me out of my slump: Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton
  • With Trent: Random picture books
  • And not listening to anything right now since I’m not driving much.

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Tuesday: Shifu Orboot Earth: AR-Powered, Interactive Globe

Sunday: Student Voices: Ten Characters I Would Love to Meet by Brooke A., 7th grade

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Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

 Signature andRickiSig

An Introduction to the Webcomic Homestuck by Morgan M. and Melanie S., 8th Grade

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An Introduction to the Webcomic Homestuck by Morgan M. and Melanie S., 8th Grade

Hey! It’s Morgan and Melanie  🙂 Here’s an introduction to our favorite webcomic, Homestuck!

Let’s start with a summary of Homestuck:

4 kids start the end of the world by playing a video game called SBURB. They have to find 12 trolls who are represented by the Zodiac signs in order to save it. Then we come across Walmart-brand mysterio who likes to mess everything up. They also meet another set of kids and trolls who are all old as heck. Follow these 8 teens and their gray alien buddies as we face death (multiple times), teen drama, emotional issues, and the LGBT community. Thank you, Andrew Hussie.

Thank you, Morgan and Melanie, for introducing us to Homestuck!