Sobering Statistic: 61% of low-income families own no age appropriate books

Read about the sobering reality of “America’s Early Childhood Literacy Gap,” and how librarians worry about the gap widening.

Animal Cam Site

I'm not totally sure how I feel about this--in other words, I hope these animal cams were set up humanely, and with the welfare of the animals in mind. It strikes me that this kind of video would be a great resource for students doing reports on these animals. The videos could also be used as springboards for writing. The animal cams that are *on* the animals could give kids the chance to write in first person in the animal's POV, which could be fun too.

Incredible cat-attracting cologne!

From my friend Robin at the Black and Orange Cat Foundation, the rescue group I've fostered for (then adopted from) posted a link about this crazy fact. Researchers in Guatemala are using Calvin Klein's cologne Obsession for Men to help lure and study jaguars. Oddly enough, this was discovered at the Bronx Zoo, in an experiment with Cheetahs. Now I'll have to get to the mall, spritz a little on, and come home to see if my domestic cats react to it!

Home Again, Home Again

I have been terribly absent from this blog. Among other things, I have been helping my best buddy Ken move from his place, two and a half hours away, to a new place, three minutes away. Much of his stuff is at his new place, waiting to be set up and unpacked, and some of it is at my house, including his kayak, which is sitting, upside down, in my living room. My cats have discovered that an upside down kayak can be a lot of fun! They run across the room, leap onto it, and slide along the length of it. Remember being a kid and running then sliding across packed down snow or ice? Yeah...it's something like that!

Bookmarks to Aid Reading Comprehension

I've been offline waaaay too long. A couple weeks ago I headed out for a series of school visits (which I love!) and promptly became ill. On Tuesday, when I was sick enough I couldn't remember what had happened the day before, I saw a doctor and was put on an antibiotic. Miracle drugs! I'm so much better already.

While surfing the net, I found an interesting blog post by teacher/author Patti Gill that I want to share. While she doesn't give quite enough information for me to fully understand her system (though you apparently can learn more from her book) I love her idea of using BOOKMARKS to help kids keep track of what they have read. She asks kids how many pages they can read before they start to forget what they've read. Once they determine what that page count is, she has them use a bookmark every time they reach that many pages. On the bookmark they jot the pages in that section, then put notes onto the bookmark to help them remember that section of the book. I love this idea, and think it could be tweeked for the needs of individual teachers and students.

New Polar Bear Exhibit

The Columbus Zoo has just opened a new polar bear exhibit. Check out this video from the Columbus Dispatch. How much do you think I want to write a polar bear book now?!

Chicago Sports News in Haiku

Hey teachers, here's a poetry site with great boy-appeal! Chicago Sports in Haiku. Founder Ed Nickow says

Chicago Sports In Haiku began in May, 2008 as The Cubs In Haiku. I combined my passion for the Cubs with a somewhat less passionate interest in haiku to create a simple blog. Instead of detailed analysis or fan rants, I'd post a game summary or highlight in the style of the Japanese haiku - 17 syllables for each Cubs game.

What began as a Cubs-only site has now been expanded to cover two baseball teams, football, hockey and basketball. I love it!