I read this article today about worrying about children. It turns out that people are worrying about all the wrong things. Here are the t...

One of the things I lost in the earthquake chaos was my signed copy of Behind the Mountains , by Edwidge Danticat. It could have been among...

I grew up in a home where everybody read books. For most of my childhood we didn't have television. For two years we lived in a small ...

Watching this team of amputees play soccer, you ask yourself, "What were my problems, again?"

Books #48 through 50 were all YA titles. #48 was Lies: A Gone Novel , by Michael Grant. I wasn't that thrilled by the first two book...

I wanted a poem this week in praise of the ordinary; a poem that celebrates how beautiful everyday life is, the more boring the better. Her...

This morning my husband had a doctor's appointment (for a physical), so he left the house at 6 AM. He always makes me a cup of tea ever...

Here I told you about my missing binder containing lesson plans for the past three years. I had pretty much given up hope that this would ...

I read a pile of student drafts this afternoon, and also a class set of notebooks. The drafts were on self-selected topics, and one of the ...

"I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord.'" - Psalm 122:1 "And then I realized we ha...

The other day in class, a seventh grader got a frightened look on his face and when I asked him what was wrong, he said, "It felt like ...

I teach a poem every day to my middle schoolers. (This is all part of my effort to be Nancie Atwell when I grow up.) On Fridays, though, ...

Tomorrow it will be Friday already. Time goes much faster when you are staying busy. I am so glad to be back at work, and I think this was...

My beanbag chairs were unbelievably filthy, so I asked a school employee to wash them for me. She brought them back today and they were sti...

This morning it was wonderful to see all the returning students at school. There were many new faces, as well. Apart from the usual first-...

School starts tomorrow. I am more or less ready, though my schedule changed three times today and I picked up a new class. I keep telling ...

Book #47 was a potential read-aloud for seventh grade, Tangerine , by Edward Bloor. I chose it because it had a soccer theme, and I got th...

This morning we drove across town to attend church. We're meeting with the same group as in January, but due to damage from the earthqu...

O Love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, That in thine ocean depths its flow May riche...

A LATE NIGHT TRANSPORT/WE WILL DO BETTER!!! by Beth McHoul It's near to 11:00 PM and most people are home in bed. In my exaggerated thi...