It is so great that you are encouraging your kids to take Spanish. I didn't take Spanish in high school and it is one of my few regrets in life. Instead of being able to learn the basics in a class I had to learn Spanish on my own after moving to Spain. (Moving to Spain would have completely shocked high school me). I haven't read The Pearl since high school!
Thanks! I'm so glad they are taking Spanish, and my daughter has a few native-Spanish speaking friends, so that helps her so much! I'm impressed that you moved to Spain without knowing Spanish and then taught yourself! That's awesome!
Back to school time! I don't miss the stress and exhaustion, though those were fun years. Wow, hardly any homework? I agree - it's very important in those early years to establish the good habits. My sons had a LOT of homework (and so did I back in the day!). And as I've mentioned on my channel, one son LOVED to read and plowed through huge books (and still does) and the other hated to read. He's very good at reading but he hates to sit still for long! He probably was mildly ADD (and he asked me about it several times), but I told him as long as he was doing well in school, there was no reason to dx him. Anyway, he is now a successful sales manager in a job that does not require hours at a desk in a cubicle! And he brags he hasn't read a book (other than textbooks) since high school - sigh. I keep forgetting to include what my son and husband are reading in my Friday Reads videos. My son (the reader) loved the Alex Rider series - gripping & fast-paced - hope your son enjoys it. Fire Exit sounds excellent, and the identity themes seem similar to Firekeeper's Daughter. And, yes, we dealt with severe dementia in my FIL. I didn't realize Shorty Sept was 250 pages or less (I thought it was more like 150) - I'll have to look through my RIP pile to see what qualifies! I loved AP English - we had a fabulous teacher who just passed away this summer :( I like Irving and have been meaning to read A Prayer for Owen Meany. Great update! We're heading out on a 9-day camping trip, so I'll check in when we get back - lots of reading time!!
I'm not actually sure what the official definition of a shorty is. However, a couple of other Booktubers I follow say 250 and that was a good line for me, so I went with it! I'm hoping that my son liked the Alex Rider series. I really want him to find something that he's looking forward to reading and series are great because they hook kids! I hope you have a wonderful camping trip!
Just letting you know that as far as I know, the booktube prize is being announced October 5th, not the first. I look forward to seeing how you voted (and the results, of course).
I think I've mentioned this to you before - somewhere in our online encounters...I wonder if Camel Up is a board game that your whole family would enjoy. I really enjoyed The Pearl. I'm glad we read it for Shorty September. 🙌🏽
I’m starting Fire Exit this weekend, and I loved Night of the Living Rez as one of the best short story collections of that year, I especially thought it much stronger than If I Survive You, which got much more prominent awards list nominations. I just finished Wandering Stars, it too a follows up from a short story collection There There, which primarily takes place on the west coast looking at a complicated and complex extended Native American family saga. I didn’t really want to read them back to back, but my hold from the library became available, so it was best to take advantage of its availability. I thought it was going to be more of a novel, but kind of nestled between the two and was almost a prequel, than sequel to There There. It builds quite nicely and had a satisfying emotional arc. Steinbeck and Irving were some of my obsessively read authors of my teen years and early 20s, but I have not revisited them since. I’m on schedule to reread East of Eden, which I have declared my favorite novel since I was 16, and I’m a bit terrified to see if it holds up. It was supposed to happen last year, but I abandoned it. I did have the opportunity to reread Cannery Row this summer and it was a delight and I think another good entry point for Steinbeck. It’s got a rollicking cast of characters and feels like vignettes on the people of this coastal town. It’s quite short: novella length as well. I don’t know if or when I’ll reread Irving. I did feel like Lessons in Chemistry was in a similar vein with a more feminist edge, and I was very delighted by it and wanted more, so returning to Irving would seem logical. Ironically, I never did read Garp, and that would be a great place to start. Maybe Remember December can be about an author, instead of a title and I could pick it up then? We will see…
I read East of Eden for the first time last (?) year and I still think it is one of the best books I've ever read, so I'm sure it will hold up for you, but I'd be interested to hear what your re-reading experience is. I still have to get to Wandering Stars but, like you said, I want to give it a bit more space after reading Fire Exit. I am going to re-read Night of the Living Rez--I feel like Talty is creating is own little universe in his books and I'm wondering if he's going to keep writing in that (I hope he does!)
I've always wondered what teachers thought of the long classes. My daughters have some that really make them work, but (at least last year) had a few that were still trying to get used to teaching one class for 1.5 hours each time.
@@awebofstories It was hard for me. I usually divided the class into thirds - direct teach, project, “homework.” I wasn’t a creative teacher, but some of my colleagues made it work well.
It's my understanding from educator friends/parents that homework is an equity issue. Kids from lower income households are more likely to be home without supervision, so they don't have the support/encouragement to do it, and older kids in those homes often need to work, so they don't have time. So those kids fall further and further behind. Personally, I think this is reasonable, but isn't going to do the kids going to college any favors.
This is the basis of one of my rants about what "equity" actually is and what the school district thinks "equity" is, but I'll save the for offline! Lillie does seem to have significantly more homework this year, which is probably good. She only has 1 IB class this year (math), but next year it will kick into high gear, so this will be a good year to get the routines going.
I’m reading The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale. Enjoying it. You encouraged me to reread The Pearl. It sounds lovely.
I am currently reading 'The Handmaid's Tale,' by Margaret Atwood.
It is so great that you are encouraging your kids to take Spanish. I didn't take Spanish in high school and it is one of my few regrets in life. Instead of being able to learn the basics in a class I had to learn Spanish on my own after moving to Spain. (Moving to Spain would have completely shocked high school me). I haven't read The Pearl since high school!
Thanks! I'm so glad they are taking Spanish, and my daughter has a few native-Spanish speaking friends, so that helps her so much! I'm impressed that you moved to Spain without knowing Spanish and then taught yourself! That's awesome!
Back to school time! I don't miss the stress and exhaustion, though those were fun years. Wow, hardly any homework? I agree - it's very important in those early years to establish the good habits. My sons had a LOT of homework (and so did I back in the day!). And as I've mentioned on my channel, one son LOVED to read and plowed through huge books (and still does) and the other hated to read. He's very good at reading but he hates to sit still for long! He probably was mildly ADD (and he asked me about it several times), but I told him as long as he was doing well in school, there was no reason to dx him. Anyway, he is now a successful sales manager in a job that does not require hours at a desk in a cubicle! And he brags he hasn't read a book (other than textbooks) since high school - sigh. I keep forgetting to include what my son and husband are reading in my Friday Reads videos. My son (the reader) loved the Alex Rider series - gripping & fast-paced - hope your son enjoys it. Fire Exit sounds excellent, and the identity themes seem similar to Firekeeper's Daughter. And, yes, we dealt with severe dementia in my FIL. I didn't realize Shorty Sept was 250 pages or less (I thought it was more like 150) - I'll have to look through my RIP pile to see what qualifies! I loved AP English - we had a fabulous teacher who just passed away this summer :( I like Irving and have been meaning to read A Prayer for Owen Meany. Great update! We're heading out on a 9-day camping trip, so I'll check in when we get back - lots of reading time!!
I'm not actually sure what the official definition of a shorty is. However, a couple of other Booktubers I follow say 250 and that was a good line for me, so I went with it!
I'm hoping that my son liked the Alex Rider series. I really want him to find something that he's looking forward to reading and series are great because they hook kids!
I hope you have a wonderful camping trip!
Just letting you know that as far as I know, the booktube prize is being announced October 5th, not the first. I look forward to seeing how you voted (and the results, of course).
Oooh, good to know! Thanks! I'll make sure that my video goes up after the results!
I think I've mentioned this to you before - somewhere in our online encounters...I wonder if Camel Up is a board game that your whole family would enjoy. I really enjoyed The Pearl. I'm glad we read it for Shorty September. 🙌🏽
Just checked out Camel Up and ordered it for my son's birthday! It looks like a game he *might* like (but the rest of us would definitely like it!)
I’m starting Fire Exit this weekend, and I loved Night of the Living Rez as one of the best short story collections of that year, I especially thought it much stronger than If I Survive You, which got much more prominent awards list nominations.
I just finished Wandering Stars, it too a follows up from a short story collection There There, which primarily takes place on the west coast looking at a complicated and complex extended Native American family saga.
I didn’t really want to read them back to back, but my hold from the library became available, so it was best to take advantage of its availability. I thought it was going to be more of a novel, but kind of nestled between the two and was almost a prequel, than sequel to There There. It builds quite nicely and had a satisfying emotional arc.
Steinbeck and Irving were some of my obsessively read authors of my teen years and early 20s, but I have not revisited them since. I’m on schedule to reread East of Eden, which I have declared my favorite novel since I was 16, and I’m a bit terrified to see if it holds up. It was supposed to happen last year, but I abandoned it.
I did have the opportunity to reread Cannery Row this summer and it was a delight and I think another good entry point for Steinbeck. It’s got a rollicking cast of characters and feels like vignettes on the people of this coastal town. It’s quite short: novella length as well.
I don’t know if or when I’ll reread Irving. I did feel like Lessons in Chemistry was in a similar vein with a more feminist edge, and I was very delighted by it and wanted more, so returning to Irving would seem logical. Ironically, I never did read Garp, and that would be a great place to start. Maybe Remember December can be about an author, instead of a title and I could pick it up then? We will see…
I read East of Eden for the first time last (?) year and I still think it is one of the best books I've ever read, so I'm sure it will hold up for you, but I'd be interested to hear what your re-reading experience is.
I still have to get to Wandering Stars but, like you said, I want to give it a bit more space after reading Fire Exit. I am going to re-read Night of the Living Rez--I feel like Talty is creating is own little universe in his books and I'm wondering if he's going to keep writing in that (I hope he does!)
I taught those block schedule classes for a while… not my favorite thing.
I've always wondered what teachers thought of the long classes. My daughters have some that really make them work, but (at least last year) had a few that were still trying to get used to teaching one class for 1.5 hours each time.
@@awebofstories It was hard for me. I usually divided the class into thirds - direct teach, project, “homework.” I wasn’t a creative teacher, but some of my colleagues made it work well.
I wonder if your son’s non-competitive tendencies are an aspect of Enneagram 9? That’s true for me. I’m looking forward to Fire Exit!
Okay, that is so interesting! I'm going to have him take an Enneagram test to find out if he's a 9!
It's my understanding from educator friends/parents that homework is an equity issue. Kids from lower income households are more likely to be home without supervision, so they don't have the support/encouragement to do it, and older kids in those homes often need to work, so they don't have time. So those kids fall further and further behind. Personally, I think this is reasonable, but isn't going to do the kids going to college any favors.
This is the basis of one of my rants about what "equity" actually is and what the school district thinks "equity" is, but I'll save the for offline! Lillie does seem to have significantly more homework this year, which is probably good. She only has 1 IB class this year (math), but next year it will kick into high gear, so this will be a good year to get the routines going.