Discover Wonder

When I tell you this book is about a boy starting 5th grade, I know what you are going to say.  You are going to say you're too old for the book.  You are going to say you can't relate.  You are going to say it's lame.  But you will be wrong.  Wonder by R.J. Palacio is a book which will touch and inspire people of any age.

I read Wonder last fall after hearing a lot of buzz about the story of a boy who is different, but what I discovered is a book about how we are all different and why this needs to be celebrated.  What I love about the book is it is filled with surprises.  Just when you think you have a character figured out, you learn something new.  Teaching us that people can't and shouldn't be pigeon holed into one category.

The story is about August Pullman who was born with facial deformities so severe he has been homeschooled his entire life until he decides to attend public school for the first time.  The book recounts his experiences during this year of school.

In addition to the story's message, one of the aspects of the book that makes it a must read for me is that the story is told through the perspective of multiple narrators including August's friends and family. This reinforces the ideas that this isn't just a story about one boy trying to fit in; it is about how we all need acceptance.

Wonder isn't just on my top 10 list of must reads, it has received many accolades.  Wonder was #1 on the New York Times Best Seller List.  It won the Texas Bluebonnet Award and was chosen as Amazon's best book of the month.  I hope you add Wonder to your own list of must reads

Top 10 Young Adult Books Every Teacher Should Read

Many English teachers are caught up in the classics, but there are a lot of modern young adult novels that are just as important as To Kill a Mockingbird and Romeo and Juliet.  Here is a list of 10 young adult novels every teacher should read.

1. Harry Potter
2. Hunger Games
3. Divergent
4. Maze Runner
5. Fault in our Stars
6. Wonder
7. Speak
8. 13 Reasons
9. Crank
10. Perks of being a Wallflower

I hope you will read these this summer and consider putting them in the curriculm.

Planning is my Passion

A passion is something that brings you joy, lifts the corners of your mouth to a smile and courses through your body like an electric current.  I suspect when most people are asked to write about their passion, they turn to a hobby, a musician or sport.  But my passion is not a what or a who, but a how.  The thing I love to do more than just about anything is to plan.

Planning, when done correctly, can take an ordinary activity and turn it into an event.  For example, my daughter recently hosted a book club with a few girls from school.  With a little bit of planning they discussed the book, Princess of the Wild Swans while eating puff pastry swan sundaes.  Later they learned to make origami swans and they all left with a small swan of their own.  The book club was fun, but the best part was searching the web for supplies, writing the questions and setting the table: the planning.

Sometimes my planning passion can turn obsession.  Last summer my family attended a wedding.  I knew the wedding color was purple, so I spent nearly 2 months shopping at stores and scouring the internet to find the "perfect" outfits for the family.  I not only wanted to find the wedding purple, I wanted everyone to coordinate.  This vision became a quest and ended in a perfect family photo and tons of compliments.

The greatest part of pursuing my passion is tapping into the ideas of other passionate planners using Pinterest.  This is a website made for people like me.  It provides me with ideas on everything from Lego birthdays to recipes for Halloween parties to Christmas light designs.  And saving these ideas on my boards allows me to plan months in advance.

I am not sure if my preference for planning has lead me to teaching or if teaching has cultivate my natural interest in planning, which ever came first I am blessed to have found the perfect profession for my passion.