"No man is an island. Every book is a world." ~Author Gabrielle Zevin.

Happy Weekend!  If you're a teacher, and you survived Halloween (amazingly on a Friday, too!), you've reached a great milestone!  

Today I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for their weekly link-up!

FRIDAY FAVORITES & MORE!

Too Good To Go App = Discounted Food = Fighting Food Waste!

One weekend, my sister visited and brought some delicious cookies that she got through the app: Too Good to Go.  Today I used the app for the first time to get a surprise box at a bakery in Melrose.  For $7.00, I got a surprise box of baked goods:  4 cupcakes, a muffin and an apple turnover.

According to their web site:

Too Good To Go is a social impact company on a mission to inspire and empower everyone to fight food waste together.

Here's a link to the app so you can help save good food from going to waste:

 https://tgtg.onelink.me/OGjG/z8zzyhjv.

If you like pandas, check out this book:  Panda Kindergarten

When I was a teacher, I needed a book to read so I peeked in my Trait Crate (3rd grade version)* and found a book called - Panda Kindergarten by Joanne Ryder:

This non-fiction books tells about a place in China that takes special care of panda moms and their cubs.  Panda moms care only care for one cub so if there are twins, one gets ignored.  Not at this place - the special people take care of the other panda while the mom tends to the other cub.  Then the people switch the cubs so that they both get what they need from the mom.  When the pandas are old enough, they go to kindergarten where they get to play outside on equipment; they even have rest time!  My students were crazy for this book!  Now they all want a turn to take it home.  You know it's a winner when that happens.

*P.S.  We only used the Trait Crate as a writing program for a few years before switching to Lucy Calkins Writing.

 

 

A Great Quote!

Now that I'm an older, retired adult, I read a lot.  Years ago, I took this picture at a book store on Nantucket, and I really loved it.  It still resonates! 

If you've read The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, you might remember this line from the book:

On the faded Island Books sign hanging over the porch of the Victorian cottage is the motto “No Man Is an Island; Every Book Is a World.” A. J. Fikry, the irascible owner, is about to discover just what that truly means.

Have a Happy Halloween and a wonderful week!

Friday Favorites: My Friend Published a Book! Read All About It!

Happy Autumn and Welcome to October!

Thanks for visiting today as I link up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for:

                                     Friday Favorites!

Wow, My Friend, Claudette Sabbag, Published a Book!

Check out this information written by Claudette herself!

My name is Claudette Sabbag. I'm a retired teacher, like Susan, whom I worked with for many years in Woburn. I retired in 2019, just in time to miss the COVID years. I had an idea for a book in my head that I had been working on intermittently since 2011. When I retired, I had more time for writing. Then, I joined the Writers' Collaborative Learning Center in Reading, MA, and actually finished and published my first novel in May! Deer in the Road is about a young man whose life is transformed by a single random incident. Set on Cape Cod, it explores family issues, life choices, and cultural differences and features a touch of romance.  

Click here or on the book to read more about this book on Amazon!

Here is a review from Amazon:

Just finished Deer in the Road and found it to be a nice read about very likable characters and their lives over many years. It also had some very interesting culture references about the area where the story takes place. Anyone who has a loved one in a care facility will truly identify with the descriptions that are in this book. They are very accurate. it is a perfect book to sit on the beach and read and be taken into the lives of many interesting characters.

September Weather is Amazing!

Before I retired, September was a hectic and stressful month with Back to School and getting to know a new class.  I never really paid much attention to the weather (unless it rained, and we had to stay in for recess).  I have totally enjoyed the weather this month with its cooler temperatures and warm sunshine.  My sister and I went up to York Beach one day, and all the stores and the beach were empty (it was a cool and cloudy day so not ideal for the beach).  We still enjoyed our day and bought some Maine merchandise!

Our favorite shop is Whispering Sands!  Everything is now on sale including Teddy the Dog t-shirts from York Beach!

Puzzles:  An Interactive and Fun Way to Learn Geography!

In Social Studies, kids need to be able to locate where they live in the world.  We happen to live in  Massachusetts which has a distinct shape.  This week we started USA and World Map rotations.  There are 2 World Map puzzles and 3 USA Map puzzles, and the groups will rotate until they finish the puzzles.  If they finish early, they can draw a picture of the completed puzzle:

Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Favorites in September!

Welcome to September!  I hear people say that summer is over after Labor Day.  I say that it's still summer because I want to enjoy every last day of warm weather and blue skies.  Plus, now that it's officially September, it's time to link up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for:

               FRIDAY FAVORITES!

What I'm Reading

I have always loved Sophie Kinsella's books with their happy endings and fun story lines.  This book is somewhat autobiographical as the main character, Evie, has glioblastoma ~ just like Sophie Kinsella in real life.  I was heartbroken to learn this about a young person who is such a successful and intelligent woman who has an incurable form of brain cancer.  Luckily, Sophie Kinsella has survived 3 years with this condition.

 What would summer be without an Emily Henry book?  I found this book a bit slow at the beginning, but then totally enjoyed it.  The setting is Little Crescent Island which is inspired by Tybee Island in Georgia.  We were there in April so I enjoyed the coincidence!

If you haven't read this book, I recommend it because it is easy to read and takes place in the summer (more summer = more fun!).  Here's a brief intro. from Amazon:

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the twentieth century.  

Consuming:  Hello Fresh TWICE a month!

After my husband recovered from esophageal cancer, his food preferences drastically changed.  He doesn't even like pizza any more!  Who doesn't like pizza?  Consequently, I now get a Hello Fresh box every two weeks rather than once a month.  He really enjoys the variety of the Hello Fresh meals with the tasty sauces and spices.

Every box three different meals.  I try to get one chicken, one ground turkey and one steak meal.    

I LOVE this sesame soy rice bowl which I have even made on my own with ingredients from the supermarket!

Click here to see the recipe!

 Discovering

I don't think I'll ever see enough rainbows!  The other night we had unsettled weather when the sun just magically popped out so briefly, and an amazing double rainbow appeared.  I stood outside in the rain and gazed at it until it disappeared.

Once upon a time, before I retired...

I made this most adorable sign for my classroom:

I fell in love with this safari friends themed poster at Lakeshore Learning.  Of course, there are matching products, but I limited myself to this poster ~ it took a lot of self-control...

Saving

I save too much of everything!  After I retired, I just spent so much time purging my teaching materials and papers.  I don't want to save so much "stuff" in general!  What about you?  Do you save things, forget about them, find them a year later, and wonder why you saved them in the first place?  It's a bad habit that I need to break.  In addition, it would be helpful if I started purging again.  

As we all enter the Back to School season and the meteorological fall: 

this September and into the fall!  Thank you for visiting the blog today!