Good Reads

I just finished listening to The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. It includes a great chapter about the television programs Sesame Street and Blues Clues. It had a lot to say about how children ages 2-5 years old learn. The whole book was fascinating. I learned about how trends are spread and what you need in order to get your message out to as many people as possible.

I also enjoyed Why We Buy by Paco Underhill. It gives you things to notice and think about next time you are out shopping.

Social Networking

I joined Facebook so I could see photos of family and friends. I love seeing photos my son took of Hawaii and photos my brother-in-law took of a trip he and my sister took to Europe. There are a lot of games and activities that I had no idea existed and have no interest in. I don't log on very often. I know more about the privacy settings after reading this Net Trek unit.

New Catalog

I enjoyed exploring our new catalog. I love being able to create a "For Later" list. This sure beats the little pieces of paper I have all over the place. I also like the ease of adding the books I've checked out to a list of books I've read. I've been keeping track in a notebook, but I have to remember to write the title down. (Yes, I actually put it on paper.) I joined Goodreads thinking I would keep a list on it of what I've read. I never use it. I don't think it will take me long to get in the habit of making lists on this new catalog.

RSS Feeds and Blogs

School Library Journal's November 2009 issue had an article on blogs and included a list of "Ten Blogs You Can't Live Without." I felt I could live without some of them but I do like

Reading Rants! http://www.readingrants.org/ ,

Read Roger (the Horn Book editor-in-chief) http://hbook.com/blog ,

and Educating Alice http://medinger.wordpress.com/.

While exploring these I also found

Fairrosa Cyber Library of Children's Literature: Articles, Discussions, and a Reader's Journal of Children's and YA Literature http://fairrosa.wordpress.com/ and

The Passionate Librarian--Babette Reeves: Change a Life; Read to a Child! Early Literacy Now for a Reader Later http://babetter.wordpress.com/.

They all had interesting things to say about books and reading for teens or children.

I also subscribed to The Unquiet Librarian http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/ and School Library Journal's Practically Paradise http://feeds2.feedburner.com/PracticallyParadise.

Needless to say, I did not limit myself to 3 RSS feeds or blogs. I may get overwhelmed--there is so much interesting stuff out there. And therein lies the problem. It seems really easy to get pulled into this wonderland of opinions and suggestions and lose track of time.

Of the Web 2.0 Awards I looked at the Food sites imcooked and ifoods.tv (which must have changed its name to Look and Taste). Both sites had video recipes and written recipes. Maybe I’ll try the recipe for Irish boxty which looks like a potato pancake-type dish. I also looked at Boo.com, a travel site. I plan to visit San Diego next month, so I searched for sightseeing recommendations. Does anyone know of places they think are essential to see in San Diego?

Favorite story characters

Ms. Frizzle and Fancy Nancy are two of my favorite characters. I love their fashion sense. Nancy loves to accessorize. Ms. Frizzle's clothing always lets you know her topic of the day. Those who see me on a regular basis know that my favorite accessory is a vest. I have over 30 different ones ranging in fabrics from gray pinstripe to multicolored butterflies, from nursery rhyme characters to dragons, from dinosaurs to Curious George. I even have a few themed jumpers. Looking for fabrics to create new vests is always fun.

71/2 Habits

The easiest habit for me is also the hardest habit for me. On a daily and weekly basis I begin with the end in mind. I determine goals for the day and week and cross them off my list as I accomplish them. Unfortunately I find setting goals for the farther future much harder. I have trouble thinking too far ahead. Fortunately my husband is good at planning for the future. He knows where he wants to be financially when he retires and he has a strategy to accomplish his goals. He helps me plan for the future. I guess you'd call him part of my "learning toolbox."