Last week we all read A Wreath for Emmitt Till and How I Discovered Poetry, both written by Marilyn Nelson.  I didn’t care much for A Wreath for Emmitt Till, however, I enjoyed How I Discovered Poetry, most likely because I was able to relate to the main character.  Outside of this class I might […]

Mirror, Mirror in my hand… How many books become mirrors to our own understanding of the world?  Do we prefer books that are mirrors, reflecting back to us our personal choices, or do we prefer windows that help us to connect to the world around us? The articles this week Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass […]

The DS106 site is a site where creativity is on display daily. There are so many aspects to this site, it will take a long time to explore it all. One of the best assets on the site, however, is the Online DS106 Non-Course Course, designed to teach multiple ways to tell a story digitally […]

This week I did a quick experiment, like I talked about – Frozen Corn!  I wondered if it could possibly be as good as the peas?  I don’t have any freeze-dried corn to compare it with, but I wanted to find out if it could be dried, so here we go… I followed my pattern […]

It’s Monday! Time to talk about two great books – The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares The pants were from the second hand thrift store, previously loved.  They were an essential kind of pants, jeans, of course.  […]

I read that I can dehydrate frozen vegetables, as well as fresh, so I thought I might try it.  You’re wondering why I would want to do this, aren’t you?  Dehydrated vegies will be good for hiking and camping, and I can keep it in my pantry without refrigeration or freezer.  Two tablespoons of dehydrated […]

It’s still February, but I’m already thinking about my garden this Spring, so cultivating my PLN meets gardening for this blog entry,… 1. Explore: Seek out new plants for your garden. I visit the local Earl May store to explore the racks of heirloom seeds (because they will produce seeds for year after year planting!) […]

This past week I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, and Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this book! Although I’d been told […]

I confess cookies are my all time favorite snack, but I’ve gained a new appreciation for dehydrated fruit from the types that I’ve tried.  The taste of the fruit slice actually gets sweeter after drying.  While reading tweets this week I found this message from Mik: Dehydrated fruit is my go to snack now 👍 […]

A personal learning network (PLN) is an informal learning network that consists of the people a learner interacts with and derives knowledge from in a personal learning environment (PLE). In a PLN, a person makes a connection with another person with the intent to learn.  My personal learning network is already well-established, including business and educational […]

“Deep in the meadow, under the willow A bed of grass, a soft green pillow Lay down your head and close your sleepy eyes And when again they open, the sun will rise. Here it’s safe, here it’s warm Here the daisies guard you from every harm Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings […]

In my experience working with non-profit organizations, there’s one thing I’ve learned – know your audience. This may be the most important aspect of selecting appropriate reading materials for school libraries or classroom study and discussion. The freedom of inquiry is essential to education, yet some schools still have guidelines to which they adhere based […]

There appears to be a running theme in my reading lately!  If reading is your passion – and we’ve talked about passion being a fire – have I got some books for you! I’ve just read “Catching Fire: The second book of the Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, and also “Fahrenheit 451″ by Ray Bradbury, in the […]

Passion-based education – I admit, it sounds wonderful.  Who doesn’t want to do something they love for a career? “Whether you are talking about passion, inspiring passion, cultivating passion, or thinking passionately about your own interests, you can be the one to revolutionize learning.” 25 Ways to Institute Passion-Based Learning in the Classroom I’ve developed […]