Here I am, talking like a book nerd again...but you have no idea how liberating it has been to admit to myself that the high school classroom may not be the place for me. I enjoy children's literature far too much to abandon it in favor of the required classics that I have to force myself to read let alone enjoy. I mean seriously...when a supposedly dedicated English major would rather turn to sparknotes more often that actually reading the novels, that should be a sign.
Now that I have come to the realization that I would rather work with an age group where I can concentrate on motivating kids to read for the pure pleasure of it rather that force-feeding them Shakespeare, I have allowed myself to feel even more strongly connected to the books I read as a child. At one point a couple of weeks ago, I started to panic when the thought crossed my mind that I am SO behind in what kids are reading these days. I've been too caught up in figuring out how to get around reading the entire list of required novels for all of my lit classes that I of course had no time to start browsing lists of recommended reading for young adults. Since then, my evenings (and sometimes late nights) have included endless hours of perusing amazon for latest and greatest in adolescent lit. I've also spent a great deal of time searching for the books I once considered my friends. Authors like Beverly Cleary (who I've already discussed at length) Kit Pearson, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Joan Lowry Nixon have been my top priority as I've scrolled through pages of book reviews and plot summaries.
I would love any suggestions from anyone who might be a bit more up to speed with middle school book lists (Briana, I need your help on this one!). I feel like I need to catch up!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Too Tired for Full Sentences
Just got back from a week of traveling up and down the East coast (with 2 babies)....caught a nasty little cold that's trying to take me down...leaving AGAIN to go to Colorado for the next few days...needing SLEEP.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Life Update
It has been a while since I've attempted to update the blog. For whatever reason, I'm having the hardest time writing anything at all, and when I sit down at my computer, I stare at the blank screen for about 10-15 minutes before concluding that it's not even worth it. So I'm trying a different method tonight and actually getting it all down on real paper first. My thoughts seem to come much more freely and without interruption when I'm faced with a forgiving spiral notebook rather than the empty text box that appears on my blogger homepage.
So...life has been both moving in crazy directions and becoming quite stagnant at the same time. Not exactly sure how that works, but I guess I'm talented that way. First and most exciting, is my job this summer. I don't really know how it happened, but I have landed the mother of all nanny gigs. Who knew that celebrities would actually use craigslist to hire domestic help? I mean...it hasn't exactly gotten the greatest publicity recently. Basically, one of John Mellencamp's band members (the lead guitarist) has young kids and needed a nanny who was willing to accompany them during parts of the summer tour. We've been keeping busy in Bloomington so far, but the next few weeks will consist of day trips to see shows in Kentucky and Ohio, and then we're off to the east coast for a bit. It's pretty crazy. I feel like I belong in some kind of chick-lit novel like The Devil Wears Prada--ordinary girl finds herself employed by some famous person and spends her time flying on private planes with superstar celebrities (ok, so I already mentioned the plane thing on facebook once, but I think I have some bragging rights on this one). Thankfully, I'm treated much better than the main character in that particular book/movie. I feel like I'm on of the family, really.
In other news, I've done a fairly good job of learning my way around Bloomington, and I've even gotten the hang of the dreaded one-way streets. It is such an interesting city with the most bizarre combination of people, businesses, and causes. There truly is something for everone and yet I still cannot picture myself living her permenantly. It has always been a vacation destination fo sorts for me...I've been coming here to visit Heather for the past 10 years, and I think the chances are good that I will always be a visitor rather than a resident (although I wouldn't mind taking Avers Pizza back home with me...that stuff is AMAZING!).
What else? I have been trying hard to catch up on my reading list, but I'm afraid it's a losing battle. Right now I'm on a kick where all I want to read are the children's books that so captivated me when I was younger. I know I'm getting a degree in secondary education, but I'm learning that my real passion in its truest form lies in children's literature. At the risk of sounding like a complete dork, there's a scene in You've Got Mail when Meg Ryan's character, the owner of a children's bookstore, passionately declares: "When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity the way no other reading in your life does." I didn't realize until a few days ago that that line had stuck with me so long until I finally saw how much truth it carries. We all know that children are impressionable, and reading a good book at a young age (for me it was any Ramona Quimby book by Beverly Cleary) often leaves a deeper impression than any classic piece of literature that we force older students to read. I can remember almost every detail of Ramona and Her Mother and recount to you all the ways in which I felt that I was just like Ramona Quimby, but it would take a great deal of effort to discuss with that much passion the literature that has been deemed "important" and "worthy" by the literary gurus that us English majors are supposed to love and respect. Why is this? Because Ramona Quimby has become a part of me. I had copies that had been read so many times, the covers were falling off and the pages falling out. I would bury myself into those selfsame pages in order to drown out whatever drama was happening around me, and as a result, I got sucked into her fictional world, pulled in as if I belong with her and her "normal" family rather than my chaotic one. I remember reading books as a 12 or 13-year-old and feeling overwhelmingly relieved to identify with a character who was misunderstood, lonely, or longing to fit more easily into her surroundings. I gobbled them up, absolutely desperate to know that I wasn't the only one. That's why I've returned to some of those old favorites, trying to experience their power and magic once again. And just like that--about 10 minutes ago, in fact--I realized that I might be better suited for middle school. When I really think about it, I've always been drawn to that age group; I've just always had the idea that someone else could do it better. Now I'm starting to wonder...
I had planned on hitting a few more topics before I finished for the night, but my hand is getting cramped from writing, and I'm feeling some Jesus time coming on to help me sort through this newest dilemma. Maybe I've have to include a "Part 2" later on. Wish me luck!
So...life has been both moving in crazy directions and becoming quite stagnant at the same time. Not exactly sure how that works, but I guess I'm talented that way. First and most exciting, is my job this summer. I don't really know how it happened, but I have landed the mother of all nanny gigs. Who knew that celebrities would actually use craigslist to hire domestic help? I mean...it hasn't exactly gotten the greatest publicity recently. Basically, one of John Mellencamp's band members (the lead guitarist) has young kids and needed a nanny who was willing to accompany them during parts of the summer tour. We've been keeping busy in Bloomington so far, but the next few weeks will consist of day trips to see shows in Kentucky and Ohio, and then we're off to the east coast for a bit. It's pretty crazy. I feel like I belong in some kind of chick-lit novel like The Devil Wears Prada--ordinary girl finds herself employed by some famous person and spends her time flying on private planes with superstar celebrities (ok, so I already mentioned the plane thing on facebook once, but I think I have some bragging rights on this one). Thankfully, I'm treated much better than the main character in that particular book/movie. I feel like I'm on of the family, really.
In other news, I've done a fairly good job of learning my way around Bloomington, and I've even gotten the hang of the dreaded one-way streets. It is such an interesting city with the most bizarre combination of people, businesses, and causes. There truly is something for everone and yet I still cannot picture myself living her permenantly. It has always been a vacation destination fo sorts for me...I've been coming here to visit Heather for the past 10 years, and I think the chances are good that I will always be a visitor rather than a resident (although I wouldn't mind taking Avers Pizza back home with me...that stuff is AMAZING!).
What else? I have been trying hard to catch up on my reading list, but I'm afraid it's a losing battle. Right now I'm on a kick where all I want to read are the children's books that so captivated me when I was younger. I know I'm getting a degree in secondary education, but I'm learning that my real passion in its truest form lies in children's literature. At the risk of sounding like a complete dork, there's a scene in You've Got Mail when Meg Ryan's character, the owner of a children's bookstore, passionately declares: "When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity the way no other reading in your life does." I didn't realize until a few days ago that that line had stuck with me so long until I finally saw how much truth it carries. We all know that children are impressionable, and reading a good book at a young age (for me it was any Ramona Quimby book by Beverly Cleary) often leaves a deeper impression than any classic piece of literature that we force older students to read. I can remember almost every detail of Ramona and Her Mother and recount to you all the ways in which I felt that I was just like Ramona Quimby, but it would take a great deal of effort to discuss with that much passion the literature that has been deemed "important" and "worthy" by the literary gurus that us English majors are supposed to love and respect. Why is this? Because Ramona Quimby has become a part of me. I had copies that had been read so many times, the covers were falling off and the pages falling out. I would bury myself into those selfsame pages in order to drown out whatever drama was happening around me, and as a result, I got sucked into her fictional world, pulled in as if I belong with her and her "normal" family rather than my chaotic one. I remember reading books as a 12 or 13-year-old and feeling overwhelmingly relieved to identify with a character who was misunderstood, lonely, or longing to fit more easily into her surroundings. I gobbled them up, absolutely desperate to know that I wasn't the only one. That's why I've returned to some of those old favorites, trying to experience their power and magic once again. And just like that--about 10 minutes ago, in fact--I realized that I might be better suited for middle school. When I really think about it, I've always been drawn to that age group; I've just always had the idea that someone else could do it better. Now I'm starting to wonder...
I had planned on hitting a few more topics before I finished for the night, but my hand is getting cramped from writing, and I'm feeling some Jesus time coming on to help me sort through this newest dilemma. Maybe I've have to include a "Part 2" later on. Wish me luck!
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