Maria's Mélange

Check out the other Slices at Two Writing Teachers! It's been a crazy month for space exploration. The Mars Curiosity landing has me all in a tizzy, and fond memories of Sally Ride linger in the back of my mind. I wasn't alive when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, but even the echoes of that step were enough to inspire my childhood passion for space. I cheered for the Curiosity Rover. I look at every picture the twitter feed sends out, and I marveled anew that we have the opportunity to explore our sister world, even though it must be vicariously. I grabbed books about space and started to devour them in preparation for a budding unit I'll share with my students this year. I cried at the death of Sally Ride. I also smiled as I remembered how amazing I felt when I saw a woman heading into space. Then I cried again in memory of the moment I watched the Challenger explode on live television. Humanity dares to explore, but our daring is never without price.

It's official... this morning marks the last free morning of my summer. So what does my brain do? Wake up at 5 AM, of course. No worries, it's just time to get back into my teaching mindset, right? I have a bunch of errands to run today with the boys, and now I have time to get my post up before I get started. After you read my post, be sure to head to Teach Mentor Texts to check out the other wonderful bloggers who participate in this weekly event. Newbery - I managed to squeak in another Newbery read. This one was odd, but fun. A bit light on plot, but I enjoyed some of the strange inventions.  Nonfiction - I continue my quest to read more about space and space exploration. I loved  11 Planets (and included it in a three book NF review on Friday ). Cars on Mars will be part of this week's nonfiction review post. Urban Fantasy - I adored The Raven Boys ! It had some amazing plot twists that were unexpected and yet felt just right. Wonderful book. Y

As those of you who follow my blog or chat with me on Twitter already know, I adore science fiction. I did a decent amount of science fiction reading this summer, but not nearly enough to slake my thirst for new titles. Since I can't keep calling it #SciFiSummer now that the summer is winding down, I'll have to transition to a new catch phrase. If you have any thoughts, let me know! This past week I have been reading an Urban Fantasy ( The Raven Boys ), so I decided to take this Friday to review some science nonfiction I have been reading. After all, you can't have Science Fiction without Science Fact, right? The recent excitement over the Mars Curiosity Rover has reignited my interest in space exploration. As a little girl, and a not so little teen, I was passionate about science. I watched many of the shuttle launches live. (On television, unfortunately, never in person). My very first book review was about an astronomy book. I got paid actual money for that one! T

Join us at Two Writing Teachers for the weekly Slice of Life ! This is the time of the year when I feel blah. Okay, so it's not the only time when I feel this way... but I am pretty sure it happens every year. Summer is restorative and joyous... and boring. Yes, I get a chance to read, hang out with my kids, and travel a little bit. I don't have to cram my laundry loads or my grocery runs into the tiny window between work, homework assistance, and precious hours of sleep. Yet the lack of a real schedule ends up creating a lethargy within me that grows stronger each day. Clearly, I would be a terrible stay at home full time mom. Then I begin to think about heading back into work. Well, more worrying than thinking. Don't get me wrong - I adore what I do. Right before school starts back up, though, I worry. Insomnia, anyone? Tell me you're with me on this one. I've worked with my son on managing his "worry thoughts", so today I'm writing to help me

Summer is winding down, and I will soon have much less time to read. This week includes time in my classroom getting set up, as well as a full day of training. Next week ramps up with in-service days and a final summer hurrah (a weekend trip to Washington, DC with my husband and sons). I still intend to read, though, and I may have to bump up my Goodreads goal (again). I started the year with a goal of 175 books and bumped it to 250 once I realized I was going to be reading a lot of graphic novels and some picture books. Thanks again to the lovely ladies at Teach Mentor Texts (Jen and Kellee) for hosting this each week. And extra big thanks to Kellee for all the times she's given me suggestions in the Sci Fi range this summer. First, a big Whoo Hoo for The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee . Honestly, friends... if you haven't read Tom Angleberger's works, you are missing out. I even dedicated last week's Star Wars Thursday post to the Fortune Wookiee. Non-

As the summer winds down for teachers and students, our minds shift to the upcoming school year. If you are a teacher reading this, you know exactly what I'm talking about.  Summer is a time to renew and refresh, but it also allows me to refocus. I have to ask myself a few important questions. The most important of which sounds simple:  What do I really want my students to get out of this school year?  I think I can narrow it down to one word.  (Com)Passion.  I can hear the outcry now, "But Maria, that's really two words, and you just crammed them together!" Sue me, it's my blog.   PASSION   - live is drudgery without it. It is that inner drive, that all consuming need, that helps us create our own unique place in the world. My job is to model my own passions, and to expose them to as much as possible. I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes, which is one of the reasons I love my job. Over the course of the elementary years I share with

More information on Goodreads!  The Story Girl15 is part of an underground world; a world that struggles to survive in the aftermath of devastation to the world above. Her life revolves around her enclave, a small village that consists of Hunters, Builders, and Breeders. There are other enclaves, but trading with them requires venturing into the darkness and avoiding the attacks of deadly Freaks. In spite of the danger, Girl15 has her heart set on becoming a Huntress. Her training and dedication pay off, and she is awarded her adult name in a ceremony when she turns 15. Deuce, as she is now called, joins her new partner Fade on missions to capture meat for her tribe and protect them against Freak incursions. Yet there are secrets in her world. Secrets she manages to uncover. Secrets which the leadership of her enclave deny. Deuce’s journey is the tale of a heroine. As she ventures out beyond what she has ever known before, she must fight for survival, and for the survival of th

Once, again - 'tis time for the weekly cavalcade of reading! Thanks, as always, to Jen and Kellee for hosting this at Teach Mentor Texts . If you enjoy finding a great book, head over to their site to read more posts about amazing books. I was on vacation last week, which gave me some quiet time to read. I swear, I did also socialize with my family! Dystopian / Post Apocalyptic: I re-read Enclave and Outpost. I did just read them, but they are truly amazing. I was also rereading to prepare for a Q&A right HERE on my blog! Yes, I did get confirmation that I will be hosting part of Ann Aguirre's blog tour to celebrate the release of Outpost. My post will be September 10th. Whoo hoo! And.... panic! I haven't done anything like this before, so I made sure to check out any information I could that she already has out there. I'd hate to ask her anything dumb, right? PLEASE be sure visit that day (It's a Monday.... so I'll be sure to shout it out again).

  Join us at Two Writing Teachers for our weekly Slice of Life! This short piece is actually part of a collaborative project that I worked on, though it lost steam. I was writing some flashbacks that fit into the overall narrative stream. The team got up through chapter 8, I think. Check out The Perfect Apocalypse at the Runaway Writers site.  (Hmm... collaborative stories could be fun to jump back into!) Since I'll be out of town during the actual "Slice" day, and may not get anything new up, I'm posting this for your reading pleasure.  ***  A slow trickle of murky water drips from a rusty pipe into a small lake with slimy algae coating the surface. In the distance, a squat gray building mars the landscape. At the water’s edge nearest the pipe a small bush grows, rooted in a mound of ash. Scarlet blossoms release a hauntingly sweet aroma. Several vines have grown into the water, and the submerged blooms are swarmed by small fish nibbling. At the oppo

I'll be on vacation when this post goes live, so I probably won't get a chance to check in with many of your posts until later in the week. Still drop me a comment to let me know you stopped by! If you're here, be sure to hit the Teach Mentor Texts site for more posts to bulk up your own TBR list. Check Twitter for the new hashtag #IMWAYR Wow, my reading definitely slowed down this week. I could almost capture it all in one screen shot! Ah well. The good news is that I got to read two amazing ARCs. Even cooler - when I tweeted about how much I loved Outpost by Ann Aguirre, the rep who is scheduling her blog tour contacted me. I may be hosting a Q&A with her right here in September. Now I'm a nervous wreck about creating just the right questions to ask her! Any tips from "old hands" at this would be greatly appreciated. Graphic Novels: So glad I finally read Smile . That one is a real gem. I also continue to enjoy the Knights of the Lunch Tabl

On the lighter (and younger) side of Sci Fi -  I've been looking for some science fiction books that could be appropriate for elementary kids. Most of the books I've grabbed this summer have mature enough content (including violence and romance) that I wouldn't feel comfortable handing them to anyone under middle school age. Yes, there have been a few notable exceptions ( please do yourself a favor and read the marvelous Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner. A wonderful "near future" climate science fiction for middle grades and up). This week my son selected a book called Cyberia from the library shelves and I decided to give it a try. Cyberia - by Chris Lynch Goodreads summary:  The premise: It’s the future. Zane lives in a completely wired world, with completely wired parents. Technology has progressed so that every pet has a microchip in it that allows the pet to talk. Zane's happy about that. Until one day a strictly contraband wild animal -- a