Did you ever think about how to get a student interested in poetry? Sometimes, it's a tough sell. This book of poetry is a great starter for students in 
grades 2-5. The poems are about every day things and help expose a child to figurative language and the different rhythms of poetry. Dear Hot Dog: Poems about Everyday Stuff is fun and easy to read.
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Summer reading again
Getting ready for summer reading?
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is a great choice for readers in grades 5-9. It takes place during the civil rights era of the mid to late 1960s. The narrator is an eleven year old girl who is responsible for escorting two younger sisters on an airplane ride across the country. Read a full report on James Patterson's website for young readers call Read Kiddo Read.
Happy Birthday Girl Scouts of America!!!
Girl Scouts of America is 101 years old today! I have so many wonderful memories from my years as a Girl Scout. I learned so many skills and life lessons.
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NASA Tragedies
This coming Friday, February 1, is the official Day of Remembrance for all fallen United States Astronauts. The date was chosen because it is the anniversary of the day the space shuttle Columbia had a malfunction upon reentry into the earth's atmosphere. Alarms were going off and there was an instant loss of cabin pressure. The astronauts that weren't restrained in their seats were bounced around the shuttle. They either died instantly when the cabin lost pressure or of injuries obtained from flying around the cabin and hitting into things. Either way, they were unconscious instantly.
The week of remembrance started on Sunday, January 27. This was the 46th anniversary of the Apollo 1 launchpad fire. Three astronauts died in that fire including: Gus Grissom, who had been a Mercury 7 pioneer; Ed White, who was the first American to walk in space and Roger Chaffee, who was a rookie space flyer.
This is followed by the 27th anniversary of the Challenger explosion which occurred on January 28,1986. There were 7 astronauts lost in this tragedy; the most famous being Christe McAuliffe, who was to be the first teacher in space.
As it turns out though, the last week of January through February 1 has been a disastrous week for NASA. In all 17 astronauts lost their lives during this 6 day period. This is a week to celebrate their lives and not just mourn their loss.
To read more about the week of remembrance go to the NASA story on the NBC news website..
Winnie-the-Pooh
Alan Alexander Milne (A.A. Milne) was a dedicated father. He spent many wonderful hours with his son Christopher. Like most dads, he loved telling his son bedtime stories. He used his son's stuffed animals as characters in his stories. In 1924 Milne published a poem called "Teddy Bear" in the British magazine called "PUNCH". For Christmas 1925, he published a story called "The Wrong Sort of Bees," in which he changed the name of the bear, and Winnie-the-Pooh was born. The books about this "silly old bear" include Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, published in 1926 and 1928 respectively.
The original stuffed bear, that belonged to Christopher Robin, is on display at the New York Public Library. Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga and Roo as as happy there as they were in the 100 Acre Wood.
