Summer is on the wane

I can't believe I only have 3 weeks before school starts. The summer has flown by and although I have gotten a lot accomplished, I haven't had much time for reading. My piles of books are not getting any smaller and the new fall titles are arriving. So, I'm trying to get through the picture books at least. I'm preparing my new BER seminar and want to add some new picture books.

Next Sunday starts vacation baby. Traveling the highways and byways with my son. Looking forward to it.

I didn't blog about yesterday's podcast so today I'll post Sunday and Monday entries. Yesterday was spent doing errands (buying Jordan a big boy bed) and I ended up at US Cellular for almost 2 hours. No, I wasn't waiting all that time. I was being waited on for the time -- much to the chagrin of others in the store. I finally upgraded to a smart phone. I had thought of switching carriers and getting an iPhone but there is not much coverage in my area so I decided to stick with US Cellular. I got a lime green Motorola Q. It is not top of the line but we all need to start somewhere. I feel like one of the big kids now. I was checking my email and surfing the web from the phone. And I finally got unlimited texting (the kids are delighted) so I played with that a bit. Gee, there is even spell check on text!!! So today we go back and the kids can get new phones. I told them any phone they get, they pay for so I don't think they will get anything too fancy. I'm kind of glad we can only get new phones every two years. Saves me the angst of what to get.

Grimes, Nikki. OH, BROTHER!

Boy, it's hard enough dealing with a new stepfather, but Xavier also has to deal with a new stepbrother. A younger, perfect stepbrother. Chris does everything right. He clears the table, does the dishes and even does all his homework. Xavier isn't fooled though. He knows Chris is just playing up to the adults. He wants to be the favorite child. Xavier is certainly not going to let that happen.



http://www.nancykeane.com/booktalks/mp3/grimes_oh.mp3



Guzman, Lila. CESAR CHAVEZ : FIGHTING FOR FAIRNESS

How many of you like to eat grapes? They are delicious, aren't they? Have you ever thought about how they get to the supermarket for you to buy? Who grows them? Who picks them? A man named Cesar Chavez changed the way the grapes -- and other crops -- are harvested. Years ago, immigrant workers were used to pick the crops. These were poor, uneducated workers who moved from place to place to follow the crops and get jobs where they could. They were worked hard and paid very little. When Cesar was growing up, his family were migrant workers so he knew what a hard life they had. When he grew up, he did something about the bad conditions. How could one man change so much?

http://www.nancykeane.com/booktalks/mp3/guzman_cesar.mp3