nErDCampBC 2013

I had to get up before five o'clock to drive, but it was a beautiful morning and I loved walking up to the high school in Battle Creek and catching sight of the nErDCamp sign in the window. I was so excited to be part of this unique professional development opportunity put on by the Nerdybookclub.

Our Awesome Leaders!

If you have never been to an EdCamp, watch this video explanation. 

If you have an opportunity to attend one, please give it a try. By the way, for people in or near Wisconsin, there are several coming up soon. 

July 27, EdCamp Janesville/Milton in Milton

August 7, EdCamp Oshkosh

August 8, EdCamp Lake Superior

I arrived early and was actually feeling a bit of my childhood shyness sitting at a table alone. It didn't take long though to start connecting with new people and also those I had met on Twitter over the past few years. I was so happy to meet Jen Vincent who has inspired me to do Teachers Write and is such an encourager.

After grabbing some food and settling in, Colby got us started. 

It was cool to meet this amazing teacher who has gotten so many students excited about reading. My students will be jealous when they find out I have now met the man who walks on desks when he talks about his love for reading. I also got to talk to author Laurel Snyder for a few moments. Squee!

It didn't take long for our morning session topics to start flowing. The session chart was filled in quickly. The nifty thing about the chart was that it also had a google doc linked to each session and notes were taken so if anyone wasn't able to attend a session, they can still access the notes. I was happy since there were times when I really wanted to be in two places.

I was able to share with other library media people in the first session and then learn with Donalyn Miller and Suzanne Gibbs as they shared about Reading Writing and Technology. Donalyn said, "Whoever is doing the most work is doing the most learning." She explained that she has students create newsletters or messages for parents for that reason. Suzanne & Donalyn provided many great examples of ways to encourage reading and writing through the use of technology.

After lunch, I had an excellent time learning about Graphic Novels in the classroom. We were lucky enough to have Jerzy Drozd, Laurie Keller, and Katherine Sokolowski leading the session. I wouldn't have believed it, but I even made my own little comic while we were there. The session tied in really well with this month's topic for Book Boot Camp and is very helpful since our fifth grade teachers have just added a graphic novel unit this year. I had purchased Adventures in Graphica and brought it home this summer, but hadn't read it yet. Now with their encouragement, I have started reading. I learned a lot, and I got to meet Laurie Keller afterwards too. The day just kept getting better and better.

My final session was about book clubs with Holly Mueller. I am excited to make some changes and maybe some additions to my book clubs/groups this year. Travis pretty much convinced me to do a Mock Caldecott with my second graders. I know they will love it and learn a lot about reading critically through the process.

The day was full of laughter and learning. We also had some swag! I came home with posters, bookmarks, misc. lit items and best of all...books! If you hadn't noticed, this EdCamp had a literacy focus.

We were tired when we left, but it was a happy and satisfied tired. There was so much information to process, but it came with excitement and enthusiasm. There is already talk of doing it again next year. Sign me up!

The end of the day

Some Nerdy Poetry

In reading some of the books on the Nerdy short-list, found here, I have come across a few noteworthy poems this past week. Some of them were old friends and some are now brand-new friends. A few were even hidden in a narrative rather than featured in a poetry collection.

From Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart
  Selected by Mary Ann Hoberman

The Road goes ever on and on
(from The Fellowship of the Ring)

The Road goes ever on and on
      Down form the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
      And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
      Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
     And wither then? I cannot say.
      J.R.R. Tolkien


From A Stick is an Excellent Thing by Marilyn Singer

Really Fast!
 
Skateboard races,
          pigeon chases,
                running bases.
              Backyard dashes,
            racecar crashes,
       puddle splashes.

Everything's a blast
      when you do it really fast!

From Walking on Earth & Touching the Sky
    Edited by Timothy P. McLaughlin

Racism

Racism is a strong bullet through a person's heart.
Racism is like a bank with lots of unkind words.
Racism is like a gun in a child's hands
loaded with all the words a devil would say
     --Julian Bear Runner


Quiet

Quiet is the ringing in the ear.
Quiet is the pitch of the night.
Quiet is the feeling of relaxed.
Quiet is the soft touch of friends.
Quiet is the tenderness of babies sleeping.
     --Tia Catches

The Earth is God's face showing all over the place. --Sandy Red Feather

From No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller

Mother to Son

Well, son, I'll tell you:

Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

It's had tacks in it,

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor--

Bare.

But all the time

I'se been a-climbin' on ,

And reachin' landin's,

And turnin' corners,

And sometimes goin' in the dark

Where there ain't been no light.

So, boy, don't you turn back.

Don't you set down on the steps.

'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.

Don't you fall now--

For I'se still climbin',

And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

     --Langston Hughes

The Dream Keeper

Bring me all of your dreams

You dreamer,

Bring me all your 

Heart melodies

That I may wrap them 

In a blue cloud-cloth

Away from the too-rough fingers

Of the world. 

    --Langston Hughes

I really appreciate the Nerdy Book Club and it's unceasing quest to inspire and encourage reading. I especially like that we help each other to push past our usual boundaries and read a wide variety of books. I love being a part of this wonderful reading community!

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

Jen & Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts host a meme every Monday that invites people to share the children's and young adult books they have been reading over the past week and what they plan on reading the following week.

You may find more complete information about what I am reading at Goodreads.com or by clicking on the Goodreads widget along the side of my blog.

The Past Week

Except for the book Rabbit's Gift, everything I have read in the past week has been something off of the Nerdy Book Club nominees for the Nerdie Awards. I am busy trying to read as many as possible before voting. There are 154 nominees so it's a daunting task, but a fun one. Here are the ones I have squeezed in this past week.

For Next Week:

I will continue to chip away at the nerdie nominees. I am reading Bomb right now and have several more non-fiction books in my stack. I love that the list pushes us into books that we normally wouldn't pick up. Have a great week!

Newbery Challenge

I am so excited to be reading for the Newbery Challenge.  There are so many people participating and sharing neat things like this:

which is a lot of fun - Thanks @liblaura5!  

I finished Story of Mankind - the very first Newbery book, but haven't been able to start Dr. Dolittle yet.  I am hoping to get that one tomorrow.  The Story of Mankind was a bit of a challenge.  I enjoy history, but usually in smaller doses.  Of course, because it was a challenging book, I feel pretty great about finishing. 

This challenge should be a lot of fun since so many people from the Nerdy Book Club are participating and discussing the challenge on Twitter at #nerdbery.  It's not too late to join us.  To find out all about the challenge, stop by Mr. Schu's page Watch.Connect.Read. by clicking on the Newbery badge on the right side of my blog.

The Nerdy Book Club

Enjoying My Nerdy Book Club Gifts

I have had such a great time learning, laughing, and reading so far this year with the Nerdy Book Club.  This group of readers gravitated toward each other on Twitter and have gathered members rapidly. Within a month or two they have gone from talking about books on #titletalk and daily on Twitter, to organizing the First Annual Nerdies book award, creating a group blog, starting a Cafe Press Store for getting Nerdy t-shirts and other fun stuff, and contributing pictures of favorite reading spots to make a fun video.  I can't wait to see what the new year has in store with this very creative and extremely enthusiastic bunch of readers.  I'm so glad that I get to be involved!  Now I'm going to get back to my book.

Reading Stacks!

I am eagerly anticipating my winter break. Of course I want to spend time with my family, but I also have a plan - a reading plan. I have a stack of books from my own school library, a stack from the public library, and some from my son's high school too.  I have gathered them and ordered them from all over. Some from the public library are still yet to come on loan from many miles away. A lot of them are sitting in our office waiting for me to get out of school on Thursday and begin my winter reading break.  Here are some of them. Oh, and the knitting I hope to get to while I listen to a couple of audio books.

Not surprisingly, many of them are on my TBR list based on recommendations from Twitter friends. Some of them will also be read as a result of the Nerdy Book Club and in particular the very first Nerdy Book Club Awards. I tried to read many of the nominations before voting, but there were simply too many fabulous books to get through in a short time so now that I will have some extra time, I think I can catch up.

Next year, I hope to be better prepared.  This summer I signed up for the 2011 Reading Challenge, but half of the year was already gone.  This coming year, I will be in it for the whole year and so hopefully I will not be so far behind. I look forward to a fantastic year of reading and anticipate reading more books than ever before.

So I hope you are making your reading plans. I wish you many wonderful pages.