Enough of the Cat Talk

Under Construction!

Darlena — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 23:41:41 GMT

I’m in the middle of revamping the site here. Please check back later in the summer! Via Wikipedia Read More......(read more)

Notes from the Field: Summer Training

Darlena — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 11:00:51 GMT

Via Wikipedia I’m sure every district requires its teachers to attend some sort of training over the summer. However, my district requires that training in July. July! Good thing I am broke and not spending my summer traveling through Iceland or wherever....(read more)

Books for Students: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Darlena — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 11:00:58 GMT

I’ve seen Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH lying around, and chalked it up to the usual rat/mouse adventure books/movies like The Tale of Desperaux, the Redwall series, Stuart Little, etc. Since this one won a Newbery, I thought I’d better pick it up...(read more)

Books for Teachers: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Darlena — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:00:21 GMT

This was another one I had on my to-read list for this summer, but I was worried I wouldn’t have enough time to read it, so instead, I ordered the audio book and listened to it as I drove across the country (through many places named in the book, so it...(read more)

Bullies and Praise

Darlena — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 11:00:22 GMT

Via toastforbrekkie I am interrupting my normally scheduled post on Books for Teachers because I don’t have internet. Expect some spottiness this week. Sorry! I read a really fascinating blog post a few weeks ago on Topical Teaching . Researchers in Australia...(read more)

Notes from the Field: End of School Year Blues

Darlena — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:00:19 GMT

Via Wikipedia Well technically, the end of the school year for us is next week, but since I am visiting my family, I said good-bye to the kids early. I was full of mixed emotions about sending them off. I’m sad to see them go. I’m excited to prepare for...(read more)

Writers’ Celebrations

Darlena — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 11:00:12 GMT

Via Wikipedia In my district, we use the Lucy Calkins writing program , which is a pretty neat writing program, I think. I never learned to teach writing in college, but my cooperating teacher is a FANTASTIC writing teacher, and luckily for me, she taught...(read more)

Books for Students: The House of the Scorpion

Darlena — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 11:00:06 GMT

I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into with Nancy Farmer’s Newbery Honor (2003) book, The House of the Scorpion . I don’t even remember reading the back cover when I bought it. Sometimes it’s fun to experience a book that way–as a complete...(read more)

Reading and Disadvantaged Students

Darlena — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 11:00:51 GMT

Via Wikipedia So I was reading some NPR news stories on my iPad yesterday when I came across this one about disadvantaged preschoolers and reading. It’s a well-known fact that children from disadvantaged environments tend to have lower levels of literacy...(read more)

Books for Teachers: The Great Expectations School

Darlena — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 11:00:10 GMT

I’ve been seeking out stories from first year teachers left and right, and stumbled across this one on a blog that I unfortunately cannot cite here because I’ve forgotten which one I was on. Sorry! Anyway, I’ve always been interested in how teachers manage...(read more)

Notes from the Field: How Much Information is TMI?

Darlena — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:00:20 GMT

I live in a very rural area, and everyone knows everything about everyone. Recently, a very private matter of one of the teachers became public knowledge quite quickly (through no fault of the teacher’s). I mean, within days of the issue, other staff...(read more)

Grand Conversations

Darlena — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:00:00 GMT

I decided that I wanted to have more meaningful discussions during my literature class, so I bought Grand Conversations: Literature Groups in Action. I didn’t really know what grand conversations were, but I suspected they involved discussing things like...(read more)

Books for Students: Call it Courage

Darlena — Wed, 30 May 2012 11:00:57 GMT

I happened to read the beginning of Call it Courage during the school day a few weeks ago. The beginning blew me away, so I ordered the book immediately after school that day. I’ve been looking for a book to start the school year with that is both meaningful...(read more)

Seeking Financial Security

Darlena — Tue, 29 May 2012 11:00:48 GMT

Via epSos.de (Flickr) I read an interesting blog article in the NY Times last week about how college students and recent college graduates are most interested in being financially secure–more so even than finding a partner or a job with impact on causes...(read more)

Books for Teachers: Lighting Their Fires

Darlena — Mon, 28 May 2012 11:00:58 GMT

I re-read Rafe Esquith’s third book this last weekend, so this will be the last part of my three-part series . As always, the book confirmed for me how fantastic a teacher Rafe is. Via Amazon In Lighting Their Fires: Raising Extraordinary Children in...(read more)