finally.

NaBloPoMo Post 16: Lists

I like to make lists. Lists of things to pack, to do, to clean, to buy. Mostly, I like to make lists so I can cross things off. Makes me feel like I’ve accomplished quite a bit. You should have seen some of the lists I made before we left for Ethiopia.

And when I can’t think of anything important to blog about, you get a list. So, in no particular order:

20 Things I Love

1. etsy
2. banana chocolate chip bread
3. sleeping in t-shirts that are really, really old and super soft
4. board games
5. board games with friends
6. kettle corn
7. music
8. teaching
9. a good debate
10. colorado
11. striped socks
12. autumn
13. books
14. m&m’s
15. traveling
16. a cold morning, a warm blanket and no reason to get up
17. breakfast for dinner
18. olympics
19. hiring a babysitter
20. making lists

To Do

It’s really not a “to do” list. It’s more of a “to make” list. I’ve got several projects that need to be finished or to be started and then finished.

Here’s my list:

• Ari’s birthday present. I have one more little gift that I need to finish and send to my nephew.
• Lexi’s birthday present. Limor’s friend Jessica made Charlotte this fun cloth diaper set. I’m 100% stealing her idea and making one for Lexi.
• A case for my new TomTom (yes, I’m that directionally challenged that I need a computer to tell me where to turn.)
• Christmas ornaments for Lexi and our Little Guy
• A sling for my mom’s friend. I found the coolest material and I’m trying a combo of several patterns I like – very curious to see how this one turns out.
• Christmas stockings. I’m knitting stockings for Lexi and the Little Guy.
• Cute little kimono-style sweater for the Little Guy. I found a free knitting pattern and I’m going to try it. It says “easy” and for “beginners”. We’ll see how easy it is.
• One of those things to hang on the back of a car seat to store kids’ toys, sippy cups, books, etc.
• A diaper bag for my cousin-in-law.

Hopefully that will keep me busy until March when we can go pick up our Little Guy. I also have a “to do” list of stuff I want to get done around the house but that’s not nearly as interesting. Kevin will be tackling part of it tomorrow when he puts shelves in the closet. Then I can start organizing kids’ clothes.

50 by 50 revisited.

I stopped making New Year’s Resolutions a long time ago. But several years ago I did make a list of 50 things I wanted to do before I was 50. Since it’s the first of the year, I thought I’d see how far I’ve gotten on the list. Anything in bold is something that I’ve completed.
—————————————–
50 things I want to do before I’m 50
In no particular order
1. Travel to at least 2 foreign countries I’ve been to Mexico, England, El Salvador and I will be going to Ethiopia.
2. Become fluent in ASL
3. Finish grad school I didn’t actually finish but I finished all the parts I wanted to get done, so we’ll call it good.
4. Get a second dog
5. Read all the books I own
6. Hang curtains in my house I’ve got curtains in both the kids’ rooms. Our room is next on the list.
7. Get my dog his CD or CDX title (HAHAHAHA. Speak has joined the Dog Union and has decided that all union breaks will be taken during either training sessions or competitions.)
8. Earn my play therapy certificate
9. Take a pottery class
10. Participate in the 3 day walk for breast cancer
11. Take a photography class
12. Learn to knit I’m working on my second hat right now. I also have plans to make the kids Christmas stockings.
13. Eat fruit 4 times a week
14. Go to Hawaii – I don’t know if I really want to do this anymore…maybe I should change to “dream vacation”
15. Build a bookshelf
16. Learn to play guitar or piano
17. Relearn how to play viola
18. Go camping in Colorado (again)
19. Go horseback riding on the beach
20.Take a cooking class
21. Learn self-defense
22. Make a new quilt for our bedroom – I haven’t done our room yet but I’m counting Lexi’s quilt and the quilt for the baby.
23. Help build a Habitat for Humanity house
24. Visit the 5 continents I don’t live on. (I’m not counting Antarctica. I don’t really want to go there.)
25. Train a dog to be used for pet therapy (See Dog Union) Although, later on, I may get a dog that would be better at this. There’s also the possibility of puppy raising.
26. Teach my children sign language
27. Stop worrying about money
28. Write letters to friends (instead of e-mailing) on a regular basis – I was so much better at this a couple years ago.
29. Join a book club
30. Go to Disney World
31. Plant and maintain a garden (Maybe I should start small. Something like keeping 1 houseplant alive)
32. Be able to say I never owned a cell phone (I’ve owned 2 since I wrote this list. The responsible parent in me won out.)
33. Finish building my Macquarium (I sold this at a rummage sale)
34. Work as a dog trainer I’ve taught Level 1 & 2, Canine Good Citizen, & Junior Trainers
35. See Kevin’s book for sale at Barnes N Noble
36. Go to Alaska
37. Stop procrastinating I’m getting much better at this.
38. Keep up with my blog
39. Get 8 hours of sleep a night
40.See U2 in concert (again)
41. Go to the Olympics (If Chicago gets the bid….)
42. See a show on Broadway
43. Volunteer at the Humane Society
44.Start a Kindergarten program at my daycare I don’t work there anymore. I’m counting this as done because I teach kindergarten.
45.Figure out a way to get that damn Arby’s ovenmit off television I didn’t do it but he’s been gone for a while now.
46. Adopt Our baby boy will be coming home early 2009!
47.Watch less T.V.
48. Continue to own only 1 car We had 2 for about a year, maybe less, but we are back to just 1.
49. See a Red Wings game in Detroit
50.Own a house with a fireplace. Our house has 2.

Top 100’s

Kevin did a count of how many of the top 100 movies, music, books and T.V. shows he’s seen/hear/read from the Entertainment Weekly. And since I lack originality in my blogging this evening, I’m doing the same thing but I’m also adding the stage list and the tech list (and just to clarify, the tech list is stuff that I either own or use on a regular basis).

Movies 51/100

1. Pulp Fiction
2. Lord of the Rings Trilogy
3. Titanic
4. Toy Story
5. Saving Private Ryan
6. The Silence of the Lambs
7. Die Hard
8. Moulin Rouge
9. Edward Scissorhands
10. Spinal Tap
11. The Matrix
12. Jerry Maguire
13. Do the Right Thing
14. The Lion King
15. Schindler’s List
16. Rushmore
17. A Room With a View
18. Shrek
19. Hoop Dreams
20. The Bourne Supremacy (I was just informed that I did not see Bourne Supremacy. I saw Bourne Identity. Whatever. I’ve still seen more movies than you.)
21. When Harry Met Sally
22. The Breakfast Club
23. Fargo
24. The Incredibles
25. Pretty Woman
26. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
27. Spider-Man 2
28. Speed (or The Bus that Wouldn’t Slow Down)
29. Dazed and Confused
30. Clueless
31. Rain Man
32. Men in Black
33. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
34. The Piano
35. The Naked Gun
36. The Truman Show
37. Risky Business
38. Ghostbusters
39. Scream
40. Beverly Hills Cop
41. Big
42. Dirty Dancing
43. Thelma and Louise
44. Office Space
45. Out of Africa
46. Terminator 2
47. Waiting for Guffman
48. The 40 Year-Old Virgin
49. Austin Powers
50. Napoleon Dynamite
51. Back to the Future
52. Ed Wood

Books 12/100

1. Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire
2. Beloved
3. Bridget Jone’s Diary
4. The Joy Luck Club
5. Naked
6. Angela’s Ashes
7. The Poisonwood Bible
8. Waiting to Exhale
9. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
10. Holes
11. High Fidelity
12. The Da Vinci Code

T.V. 60/100

1. Simpsons
2. Seinfeld
3. The X-Files
4. Sex and the City
5. Lost
6. Survivor
7. The Cosby Show
8. Friends
9. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
10. Freaks and Geeks
11. The Daily Show
12. The Office
13. The Oprah Winfrey Show
14. Arrested Development
15. American Idol
16. ER
17. Beverly Hills 90210
18. Roseanne
19. The Real World
20. Law & Order
21. The West Wing
22. Late Show with David Letterman
23. Gilmore Girls
24. My So-Called Life
25. thirtysomething
26. Beavis & Butt-head
27. Fraiser
28. L.A. Law
29. NYPD Blue
30. Late Night with Conan O’Brien
31. Jeopardy!
32. Ally McBeal
33. Baywatch
34. Melrose Place
35. Felicity
36. Will & Grace
37. Moonlighting
38. Pee-wee’s Playhouse
39. The Amazing Race
40. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
41. The Office
42. Mystery Science Theater 3000
43. Family Guy
44. Everybody Loves Raymond
45. NewsRadio
46. Project Runway
47. In Living Color
48. The Golden Girls
49. King of the Hill
50. Murphy Brown
51. Northern Exposure
52. The Kids in the Hall
53. Malcolm in the Middle
54. Dawson’s Creek
55. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
56. Married…with Children
57. Designing Women
58. The Arsenio Hall Show
59. Party of Five
60. Saved by the Bell

Music 19/100

1. Purple Rain – Prince
2. Achtung Baby – U2
3. Madonna – Madonna
4. Nirvana – Nirvana
5. Come On Over – Shania Twain
6. Jagged Little Pill – Alanis Morisette
7. CrazySexyCool – TLC
8. Sheryl Crow – Sheryl Crow
9. Legend – Bob Marley
10. Homogenic – Bjork
11. American IV: The Man Comes Around – Johny Cash
12. Rhythm Nation – Janet Jackson
13. The Joshua Tree – U2
14. Metallica – Metallica
15. Play – Moby
16. Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen
17. Vs. – Pearl Jam
18. Home – Dixie Chicks
19. Siamese Dream – Smashing Pumpkin

Stage 5/50

1. Rent
2. The Phantom of the Opera
3. The Lion King
4. Les Miserables
5. Stomp

Tech 9/25

1. DVD player
2. iPod
3. YouTube
4. Stadium Seating in Multiplexes
5. MySpace
6. Netscape Navigator
7. Netflix
8. Gameboy
9. Polyphonic Ringtones

Randomness

Too lazy to write full posts about several topics so I’ll write several topics in one post.

• No work tomorrow. This is good.

• Child who said “MAKE ME” is now suspended for 3 days (bad for him – huge relief for the staff for 3 days) And no, he wasn’t suspended just for saying make me, his list of crimes for the day is long. Very long. And it includes calling me “Stupid face”. Zero points for creativity in the name-calling category. I prefer such insults as “Bunny-hopper”, “Chicken-head”, “Baby-ass” or “Spicey-spice hands”.

• Tomorrow is the Missions Dinner at church. I’ll be there, all day, cooking Thai Pork Satay and assorted side dishes for 100 people.

• The Walk for the Animals is Saturday. Lexi, Speak and I might walk it. If it’s not raining or snowing. Mazie, however, needs to stay home because she’s forgotten how to play nice with others.

• Been thinking a lot lately about shopping for a cause. This may become its own post. Basically, I’ve been trying to decide if it’s financially possible (for us) to limit our shopping to stores that support fair trade, support small business men and women, support local produce growers/farmers, etc.

• Kevin is getting very close to being bald. Kinda freakin’ me out.
• Did I mention that the plan for cooking for 100 is actually grilling for 100? And that it’s supposed to rain tomorrow?
• Consider yourself warned – Rummage Sale Madness, Part 2 will soon be upon us. So if you missed the first one, come see what’s at the second sale. Rumor has it there may be new stuff to view.
• Did you know Ice Hockey is now the official Minnesota State Sport?
• I need to go to bed now.

Spring Break

This has been a pretty enjoyable spring break. Usually my long vacations from school (except for summer) are filled with 5-12 hour drives, visiting family, having family come here and lots of commitments. But not this one. The only things I scheduled were a play date today, picking up some rummage sale stuff and I had to teach a private lesson for a dog school client. The rest of the week was spent doing what I wanted, some of it was responsible stuff and some was fun stuff but regardless, it was all stuff I wanted to do.

Here’s what my week looked like:

Saturday: Taught dog classes, went to a Tupperware Party with friends. (While I was gone, Kevin finished painting the kitchen for us. w00t.)

Sunday: Organized all the rummage sale stuff and hauled everything that will be sold from the garage to the garage. I also got around to packing up the second half of the Christmas decorations. (Yes it was after Easter. Get over it.)

Monday: It snowed. Lexi and I made chocolate chip cookies.

Tuesday: Bought fabric for Lexi’s curtains and this babysling. Drove to North Branch to pick up a carload of rummage sale stuff. (My car was so packed that I couldn’t see out of the back window or any of the passenger side windows.) Got home and sorted it all out. Made Lexi’s curtains.

Wednesday: Made the baby sling. Did a private lesson. Went to house group. Made a mini-sling for Lexi.

Thursday: Kevin and I took Lexi to the Children’s Museum. We rode the bus to get there. Very exciting. Katherine came over to watch Lexi and Kevin and I went to Chatterbox for dinner and some old school NES.

Friday: Lexi’s friend Cosette came over for the day and hung out. Tonight we went to Target.

Not quite sure what I’ll be doing tomorrow or Sunday. Probably not too much. All in all it’s been a good break.

I didn’t do it this week, but over Easter my mom and I made valances for the baby’s room.

P.S. I’m pretty proud of the sling I made. I used a pattern on line but made the straps wider. I also made it reversible. And I made it slightly bigger than the pattern called for because I wanted it to comfortably hold a toddler (because the baby we bring home may not be a tiny newborn). And, it’s got a pocket…can’t wait to use it.

A few lists

It seems everyone is doing lists on their blogs lately. (It’s a good think nobody tried to peer pressure me in high school or I would have been screwed.)

So here is a little of me, in list form.
1. I was born in MIlwaukee
2. I moved to Green Bay with 3 weeks left of 8th grade.
3. It was tramatic.
4. I met a kid named Josh.
5. He loaned me a pen.
6. He was the only other person from my high school who went to Bethel.
7. He and Kevin were roommates freshman year.
8. I married Kevin.
9. I lived in Green Bay.
10. This does not make me a Packer fan.
11. It doesn’t even make me a football fan.
12. Although I enjoyed the day off of school when they won the Superbowl.
13. I like hockey.
14. Specifically the Detroit Redwings.
15. Kevin is from Detroit.
16. He likes hockey as much as I do.
17. I liked the Wings before I met Kevin.
18.I’m a teacher.
19. I like to teach in places most people don’t.
20. Right now I’m teaching kindergarten.
21. My kindergarteners have taught me how to speak Somali.
22. I can count to 20 and say about 10 words in Somali.
23. I have a daughter.
24. Her name is Madeleine.
25. We spelled her name the same way Madeleine L’Engle spells her name.
26.We call her Lexi.
27. I own almost all of L’Engle’s books.
28. I own a lot of books.
29. Really, it’s a lot.
30. I own a book signed by Ceasar Millan.
31. I waited in line for 2 hours to have it autographed.
32. He made it out to Speak and Maize.
33. It’s supposed to say Speak and Mazie.
34. I train dogs part time so it was cool to meet Ceasar.
35. He’s really short.
36. If I hadn’t married Kevin I’d probably be a crazy dog lady.
37. If I had my way, I’d have at least 5 dogs.
38. I’m lucky I have 2.
39.I’m re-reading all 6 Harry Potter books before #7 gets delivered to my house.
40.I’m only on book 1.
41. Book 7 will arrive July 21.

More lists to come.
Thanks for playing.

Top 100

Tom has been blogging about the Top 100 of things (movies and books) so I was curious about the list and which of the books I have actually read. Since the list is the Teacher’s Top 100 Books and I’m a teacher, I feel like I should have read at least 75% of the list. Here’s the whole list. Books I’ve read have * and books I own have +.

1. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White * +
2. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak *+
3. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein*+
4. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss*+
5. Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown*+
6. I Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch*+
7. Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
8. Oh! The Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss*+
9. The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
10. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg*+
11. Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner
12. Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco*
13. The Cat In The Hat by Dr. Seuss*+
14. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss*+
15. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
16. The Mitten by Jan Brett*+
17. Crunching Carrots, Not Candy by Judy Slack
18. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willlems*(I don’t actually own this one but we bought it for Lexi’s grandpa.)
19. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling*+
20. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle*+
21. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst*+
22. Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman*+
23. Corduroy by Don Freeman*+
24. Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes*+
25. Stellaluna by Janell Cannon*+
26. Tacky the Penquin by Helen Lester*+
27. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis*+
28. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams*+
29. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.*+
30. Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type Doreen Cronin*+
31. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson*+
32. Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss*
33. Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park*+
34. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder*
35. Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey*+
36. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster*+
37. Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini
38. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper*
39. The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone*
40. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
41. A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon*+
42. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett*+
43. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg*
44. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
45. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli*+
46. Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann*+
47. Olivia by Ian Falconer*+
48. The BFG by Roald Dahl*+
49. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn*
50. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett*+
51. The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss*+
52. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle*+
53. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel*+
54. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett*+
55. Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
56. Bunnicula by James Howe*
57. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss*+
58. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl*+
59. Charlie the Caterpillar by Dom DeLuise
60. Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
61. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary*
62. Frederick by Leo Lionni*
63. Frindle by Andrew Clements
64. Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel*+
65. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney*+
66. Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen
67. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion*+
68. Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss*+
69. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss*+
70. I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt
71. Is Your Mama A Llama? by Deborah Guarino*+
72. Jan Brett’s books*+
73. Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin Jr.
74. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott*+
75. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton*
76. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney*+
77. My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
78. My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss*+
79. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George*+
80. No David! by David Shannon*+
81. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss*+
82. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein*+
83. Stephanie’s Ponytail by Robert Munsch*+
84. Swimmy by Leo Lionni*
85. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
86. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner*
87. The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
88. The Empty Pot by Demi
89. The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop*
90. The Giver by Lois Lowry
91. The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle*+
92. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien*+
93. The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown
94. The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements
95. The Napping House by Audrey Wood*+
96. The Quiltmaker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau
97. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats*+
98. The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
99. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka*+
100. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt*+

Not bad – there are only 24 that I haven’t read.

And if you are interested most of these authors have written several books and if one of their books made the list, all of their books should have made the list (in my opinion).

Happy reading.

Here’s your list Steph.

I have a huge collection of kids books and I teach kindergarten so when people are looking for book suggestions, I get asked. Anyway, here’s a list of some of the titles I could think of without sitting in front of my bookshelves.
Lexi’s picks are the books she carries around with her on a daily basis. Board books are books that don’t drive me crazy to read over and over again. Picture books are good for kids who are old enough not to rip books but too young for chapter books. And the last section is for kids who like to read on their own, or you want a book with a little bit more of a plot.

Big piece of advice: If you pick up a book at the bookstore and think, “man, this is an annoying book, but the pictures are cute, maybe I should just get it anyway.” Don’t do it. That will be the book your kid wants you to read over and over and over and over and over….
Lexi’s Picks
Doggies – Sandra Boynton
Hey! Wake Up! – Sandra Boynton
Barnyard Dance – Sandra Boynton
Snuggle Puppy – Sandra Boynton
Have you seen my cat? – Eric Carle
The Going to Bed Book – Sandra Boynton
Moo, Baa, La La La – Sandra Boynton
Mr. Brown can moo, can you? – Dr. Seuss
There’s a wocket in my pocket. – Dr. Seuss
Touch and Feel Books
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb – Al Perkins

Board Books
Anything by Sandra Boynton
Goodnight Moon – Margaret Wise Brown
Big Red Barn – Margaret Wise Brown
The Napping House – Audrey Wood
The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle
The Very Busy Spider – Eric Carle
Head to Toe – Eric Carle

Picture Books
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse – Kevin Henkes
First Day Jitters – Julie Danneberg
Officer Buckle and Gloria – Peggy Rathmann
Strega Nona – Tomie dePoala
A Chair for My Mother – Vera B. Williams
Fox in Sox – Dr. Seuss
Green Eggs & Ham – Dr. Seuss
The Giving Tree – Shel Silverstein
Harold and the Purple Crayon – Crockett Johnson
Goodnight Moon – Margaret Wise Brown
Silly Sally – Audrey Wood
The Napping House – Audrey Wood
The Ginger Bread Baby – Jan Brett
The Mitten – Jan Brett
The Snowy Day – Ezra Jack Keats
Corduroy – Don Freeman
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day – Judith Voirst
Miss Nelson is Missing – Harry Allard
Where the Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak
We Share Everything – Robert Munsch
Stephanie’s Ponytail – Robert Munsch
Flat Stanley – Jeff Brown
Odd Velvet – Mary Whitcomb
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales – Jon Scieszka
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs – Jon Scieszka
Math Curse – Jon Scieszka
Tuesday – David Weisner
Jumaji – Chris van Allsburg
The Z was Zapped! – Chris van Allsburg
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! – Mo Willems
Walter the Farting Dog – William Kotzwinkle
Click, Clack, Moo, Cows that Type – Doreen Cronin
Stellaluna – Janell Cannon
Owl Babies – Martin Waddell
Verdi – Janell Cannon
Olivia – Ian falconer
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom – Bill Martin Jr.
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie – Laura Joffe Numeroff
Froggy Goes to School – Jonathan London
The Red Book – Barbara Lehman
Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin – Lloyd Moss
The Apple Pie Tree – Zoe Hall
The Handmade Alphabet – Laura Rankin
Whistle for Willie – Ezra Jack Keats
Catching the Wild Waiyuzee – Rita Williams-Garcia
Who Is the Beast? – Keith Baker
It Looked Like Spilt Milk – Charles G. Shaw
The Doorbell Rang – Pat Hutchins
The Great Kapok Tree – Lynne Cherry
Tops and Bottoms – Janet Stevens

Books for Older Kids or to Read Aloud
Where the Sidewalk Ends – Shel Silverstein
Amber Brown is Not a Crayon – Paula Danziger
Junie B. Jones – Barbara Park
Freckle Juice – Judy Blume
Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis
Matilda – Roald Dahl
James and the Giant Peach – Roald Dahl
Superfudge – Judy Blume
Ramona – Beverly Cleary
The Mouse and the Motorcycle – Beverly Cleary
Charlotte’s Web – E.B. White
Sideways Stories From Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Class Lists

Normally, I keep a notebook of the funny things kids say during the school year. This year, I have added a second notebook. It’s entilled “Things Zuhaib Has Eaten.” There have been 27 days of school and so far the list contains: Crayons (about 1 a day), pencil erasures (6), the name tag off his desk (twice), puzzle pieces (letters U, W, S, T, and K), the corner of every worksheet I’ve assigned, string, the button off his shirt sleeve, the snap off of a different shirt sleeve, beads (I have no idea where these came from), and my personal favorite, while we were doing a taste testing talking about sour, bitter, sweet & salty, Zuhaib refused to try the lemon and wouldn’t eat the pretzels, but he did eat a large bite of the plate the food was on.

For all of you worried about this kid’s health, don’t be. He doesn’t actually swallow 99% of what he eats – I think it’s his solution to the “no gum in school” rule.