Writer's Workshop - Before & After

Show us a before and after

For the last couple of years,

I've been growing my hair.

For over 10 years,

my hair has been shoulder length,

or shorter.

I loved my long hair.

There's so much you can do.

Keep it down,

put it up,

straighten it,

curl it,

so many choices!

My husband,

on the other hand,

likes it short.

When we met it was super short.

He's been bugging me to cut it.

I kept refusing.

Then,

this summer,

I bought 7 pairs of shoes.

And to make up

for the credit card bill,

I went and cut my hair.

It's taken some getting use to

and it will grow back,

right?

Dark Places - Gillian Flynn

I am probably one of the few people

who did not like

Gone Girl.

So when I saw

Dark Places

in the bookstore this summer,

I kept on walking.

Then, 

I stopped and picked it up.

Then, 

I read the back over.

And then, 

I bought it!

And I don't regret it!

When Libby Day was 7 years old,

her mother and two sisters were murdered.

She testified against her 15 year old brother,

Ben,

and he was sentenced to jail.

Now, 

25 years later,

Libby is approached by a group called

The Kill Club.

They believe that Ben is innocent

and want her to help prove it.

Unlike many mysteries,

where half way through I

think I know who did it,

here I really wasn't sure.

The story jumps from the day of the murders

to present day.

Flynn gives you glimpses 

into what was going on

on the day of the murder

with everyone in the family,

and allows you to make your own conclusions.

Writer's Workshop - Ordinary

Write a blog post inspired by the word:

ordinary

It was suppose to be 

an ordinary flight. 

One we've done

a million times before.

You board a plane,

take a flight.

Easy peasy.

But not so easy this time.

The flight took off,

on time.

It seemed to be going smoothly.

When suddenly,

the captain announced

we were going for an emergency landing.

Two hours later,

sitting on a grounded plane

we get ushered into a

"more comfortable room".

Another plane is on it's way,

we are all assured.

Four hours later,

a plane arrives.

Finally.

Everyone is re-issued a boarding pass

and is told transfers have also

been issued.

Thinking all is ok,

we re-board.

Happy that we are all safe.

But the connections were not made,

so the ordinary trip

is a little more confusing.

But in the end,

we made it home.

Safe and sound.

An ordinary flight it was not,

but it did inspire this week's

post.

High Five for Friday

It has been 

AGES

since I last participated.

It's high time I return.

I always loved this meme.

I wonder why I stopped?

Well it's Friday

and that means

High Five for Friday!

Here are some of this last week's highlights.

1) Salted Caramel Ice Cream

I love ice cream.

And salted caramel.

Woohoo!

2) School mates

I grew up in Ottawa

and had some great mates.

This trip home,

we were invited to dinner

with a bunch of them.

Was fantastic!

3) Mates from Dar

I met Cam in Dar.

Her oldest and Ethan are the same age.

They've moved back to Ottawa,

so this trip,

we got to hang out!

4) Girl's Night

Every summer,

I'm with Ethan,

it makes it difficult to enjoy a movie.

But, 

every year,

a few of my cousins'

arrange a girl's night.

We hit a movie, 

and Ethan gets a boys' night.

4) The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

Ethan and I read the book this summer.

I promised him

when we finished the book

we'd do a movie night.

Complete with pizza, popcorn 

and ice cream!

How has your week been?

Writer's Workshop - Cupcakes

Write a blog post inspired by the word: cupcakes

Cupcakes

Sweet and tasty

For all occasions

For all your desires.

Forget the cake!

Go for a cupcake!

Something for everyone.

What's your favourite?

Chocolate, vanilla,

red velvet?

Pumpkin, banana,

or carrot?

Coffee, caramel, 

or peanut butter?

With so many choice

how can you not get excited?

Icing, ganache

and sprinkles.

Top it off anyway you want.

Cupcakes!

Think I may need one now too. 

The Giver - Lois Lowry

I am not entirely sure,

how it is possible,

that I have never read

The Giver.

I'm serious.

Isn't this book on like

every middle school reading list?

And yet,

I never read it.

I don't believe I was ever interested

in reading it either.

But then the last couple weeks,

I keep seeing a preview

for the movie.

(Yeah, it's a movie now)

And it looks pretty good.

But since books are always better,

I had to read it.

And I'm glad!

I really enjoyed this. 

I'm even ok with the

what-happened-to-them

ending.

And now, 

I look forward to the movie.

Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop - Patrick Allen

A lot of what I've been reading recently

is about reading.

I've noticed the last few books 

I've read

talk about getting students to choose

their own reading materials. 

In Zambia,

I met a teacher 

that did not have reading groups

but instead conferred with her students.

Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop

follows this premise.

Allen shares his experiences

as he improved his ability to conference

one-on-one with his students.

He spends some time explaining his purpose

or philosophy for conferring. 

He provides examples and strategies. 

What I really loved,

was how he related a lot of his thinking

to developing students' metacognition. 

The strategies and routines he sets up

help students become better

readers, writers and thinkers.

Now, 

the challenge lies,

in getting schools and teachers to see the benefit

in conferences over the 

group sessions where students

are not reading for themselves.

The Theatre Calls

Anyone who knows Ethan,

knows he's not very athletic.

He has Development Coordination Disorder.

Basically, 

he has poor motor skills. 

He enjoys playing football (soccer)

but knows he's not very good

as he tends to skip

instead of run

and is starting to notice

this.

I often worry about his confidence.

This summer,

Ethan attended a theatre camp

at the Living Arts Centre

in Mississauga.

In the last two weeks,

I've seen my son grow

more than I have in the last 8 years.

He is confident and proud.

He sings, dances and acts. 

His lack of coordination doesn't seem to

matter here.

Everyone made him feel welcomed.
They complimented his dancing
and acting skills.
They loved his enthusiasm.
He would practice his songs
and lines each night.
And on the day of the show,
he was fantastic!

Thank you Living Arts Centre for a
fantastic summer camp!

Writer's Workshop - Summertime

List 6 things you are going to miss about summer.

Ethan and I head back home

next weekend.

I can't believe our vacation

is almost over.

We've had a great

summer vacation. 

Summers home are fabulous.

There's so much to see and do.

So here are some things

we will miss about this summer.

1) Going to baseball games

With Scott home this year

we were able to go to a 

couple of games.

And while we hoped to go to more

with us leaving, 

we're done for this summer.

2) Seeing this girl

She lives here.

We don't.

So summer coming to an end

means it will be another year

before we see her again.

3) BBQ with the family

Again,

since we don't live here,

we cherish the BBQ

with cousins.

4) Going to museums

We've gone to a few this summer

and had a great time

at each one.

5) The Nisbets

It's not often

we get the three generations

together.

6) Being a tourist in your hometown

We went for a boat ride.

Something I probably wouldn't normally do.

But being a tourist 

is a lot of fun.

We've had a fantastic vacation this year.

And while we're sad to go,

it that time of the year,

we need to head back home.

And start planning next year's

vacation!!

Kiss of Midnight - Lara Adrian

I've had this book

on my TBR list

for quite sometime.

But I never got around to reading it,

until now.

And once again,

I'm wondering why I waited.

So, the storyline here,

is eerily similar

to my beloved

Black Dagger Brotherhood series,

and for the most part,

I'm ok with that.

There are others out there

who call it a blatant rip off.

Lucan is a vampire.

A Breed vampire.

A Gen One vampire.

He is the leader and his quest is to destroy their enemies,

namely the Rogue vampires. 

Gabrielle is a photographer.

She's never felt like she belonged anywhere.

One night,

Gabrielle witnesses a grueling murder

and her life spins out of control.

She's introduced to the world of vampires

and meets Lucan.

Just like the Brotherhood,

the Breed protect one another.

They fight the evil us mere humans

cannot see.

And when they bond,

they are mated for life.

Despite the similarities,

this is one series I shall continue with.

And I won't wait as long to read the next one.

The Enchantress Returns - Chris Colfer

Last month,

I read and fell in love with 

The Wishing Spell.

Chris Colfer

did an amazing job

of bringing fairy tales to life.

So,

of course,

I had to get the second book in

The Land of Stories.

In The Enchantress Returns

the evil enchantress,

the one that cursed Sleeping Beauty

is back.

And she wants revenge!

Part of her plan

is to kidnap the granddaughter

of the Fairy Godmother. 

However,

she ends up kidnapping Charlotte,

Connor and Alex's mother instead. 

Now the twins must find their way back

into the Land of Stories

and find a way to save their mother.

Colfer brings up our favourite characters

from the first book.

Red Riding Hood is still as shallow as ever!

But he also introduces us to new ones,

and gives them their own stories.

Have you ever wondered why Cinderella's

stepmother was so mean?

Maybe she was just misunderstood?

Wonder why the name Beauty

is used twice?

I mean,

there's Beauty

from Beauty and the Beast

and then there's 

Sleeping Beauty.

Hmmmm.....

could they be related?

Once again,

I was transported into a land of stories

and loved Connor and Alex's adventures.