It’s the night before the first day of school. You’re a bit nervous, but also excited. Tomorrow you get to see friends you haven’t seen in months. You will meet your new teachers and get an idea if this year will rock or not. You’ve …
I have been a reading machine through the pandemic. ‘Cause what else was there to do?? We’re talking 2-4 books a week. A week. I’ve basically read an entire subject in my library’s ebooks. Even though the worst is over (fingers crossed) and I’m vaccinated, …
Even though I live in Colorado, I am not the most outdoorsy of people. Most of my summers growing up were spent in my air-conditioned house, reading. Each year, I managed to work my way through the library’s summer reading list. I’m no longer a teen …
I ❤️ high school juniors. I’ve taught 8-12 grade, but 11th grade is my jam. Juniors are close enough to the end that they are serious about school, but far enough from finishing that they stay focused. But junior year can be stressful. For many …
The strangest spring is about to become the oddest summer in memory. While most of us are no longer under quarantine orders, many of the places we spend our summers – camp, amusement parks, the beach – are still closed or will look very different …
Every summer break I had great plans. I was going to work out every day, paint my condo, read all those teaching books I meant to read, travel to new places, plan the first month of the school year. Oh yeah, and sleep. When summer …
I recently had a question pop into my head about my great-grandmother’s confectionary (a sweets and food store) that she ran a century ago in rural Idaho. Did the store have a name?? I’ve never heard anyone in the family refer to it by a …
A few years ago, I visited Niagara Falls with friends. On the Canadian side, I spotted a small history museum and convinced my friends to go in with me. It blew our minds – even my friends who aren’t into history – and made me …
Is there anything better than summer vacation? Long days, warm nights, and nothing to do. I always loved summer break . . . for the first 6 weeks or so. And then boredom started to kick in. I had already read all my books, tried …
My one-year-old daughter is nicknamed the “Destroyer of Books.” She puts everything, including books, in her mouth. And proceeds to gum them to death. As a life-long book worm, this is incredibly painful to me. I wouldn’t even highlight my own college textbooks because I …