I love listing my top 10 books every six months for two reasons. First, it gives me an opportunity to reflect more deeply on how God might be speaking to me through what I have been reading. And secondly, I believe good books can serve as midwives to new ideas, fresh perspectives, and even the voice of God to us. So here are my top 10 books from the last six months that you may want to consider adding to your reading list this summer: 1. The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classic Guide to World Literature, Revised and Expanded – Clifton Fadiman and John S. Major This book, now in its fourth edition, sits on a table in our living room. I love picking it up and reading sections on different authors and their books. From Aleksander Solzhenitsyn, to George Orwell, to Dostoyevsky, to William Blake, to Pascal, to Augustine, to Plato, to. Read more.
“Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.” ~Winston S. Churchill In a recent episode involving a field trip my daughter is taking, I found myself at a crossroads, grappling with the fear of expressing concerns early in a conversation. As a parent, I highly value my children’s growth but struggle with the balance of asserting my needs without risking relationships. The plans felt, on first reading, overly ambitious, so I wanted more information and I wanted to be able to express myself and feel heard. I highly value situations where my kids have opportunities to overcome challenges and build some confidence and resilience, but I also want to make sure they are actually capable of the challenges. I know that all sounds perfectly reasonable, and it is, except one thing: I’ve never really been good at presenting my needs early in a conversation. Usually I wait in fear of damaging the relationship and only come in confidently once there is really something to complain about. I’ve read books and taken courses that have taught me practical skills for having hard conversations, but the truth is, in the absence of something that has made me really angry, they have always terrified me. Now that I have done a lot of inner personal work, I can quite easily see and share that I was hesitant to express myself because I didn’t want to create a rift in the relationship. That person is quite an important figure in my child’s life. I was also hesitant because there was no anger present to fuel my courage. Yet, as a parent, I know my involvement and advocacy can contribute positively to my children’s development, but I’ve learned it needs a thoughtful approach. That is often much easier when there is space and time for building trust in those relationships with people, where tone, body language, and repeated successful interactions can go a long way. In this case, the person organizing the itinerary is generally not available for casual conversation because they are incredibly busy. Therefore, any questions are automatically more formal, as they have to be expressed in writing. The other dynamic going on for me, which is now much easier to see after years of personal work, is that this person has a tendency to be quite bossy and, with being so busy, I fear that any kind of concern raised will be deemed criticism and set off an angry or defensive response and rupture the relationship. This isn’t because I’ve experienced this with this particular person. It has far more to do with childhood patterning that has been reinforced through other experiences in adulthood. The fear I feel is an old one, trying to keep me safe. It’s my nervous system and neurobiology saying, “We know these warning signs. The bossy lady will broker no criticism and there will be trouble, and that isn’t good because her relationship is critical to your/your children’s survival.” Of course that isn’t true, and as an adult, when I look at it through this lens, I can see it’s not a mature response. But I can assure you, even with the knowledge that the inner nervous system responses and chemicals released that once kept me safe are now outdated, and the knowledge that then is not now, the panic still rises. I spent some time crafting what I wanted to say. I spent even more time revising it so it was balanced, concise, and rational (and thank goodness I now have ChatGPT to help me with this). I then sense-checked it with trusted friends to make sure it expressed my concerns in a balanced, respectful way. Despite all that, as I went to press the send button, I paused as panic rose. If I could put words to that panic, it would say, “Wait! This could break the relationship, and then you’ll be in trouble.” The implied meaning of “trouble” is unclear, but my nervous system clearly thinks it’s life or death. This journey to assertiveness then took an unexpected turn when an upsetting incident unfolded right outside my home just as my finger was hovering over the send key. A father and his two young kids stopped. The kids were maybe three or four years old, and the little girl was crying and protesting at going any further, clearly just wrung out. It was teatime, and the kids were on their little bikes. The dad, perhaps in his early thirties, was walking. He looked average height—though certainly, to his kids looking up at him from their bikes, he would look like a giant—and looked quite athletic in his build with his T-shirt and cap on. After a few minutes, the dad lost his temper. Rather than console and provide encouragement to his daughter, he yelled, “Shut up!” at her quite cruelly. He went on to rant and threaten never to bring them out again if this was the way the way they were going to behave. Then he turned to the little girl from his lofty position and pointed at her yelling, “You’re acting like a baby! Stop it!” several times. I froze, and then I thought, “Do I intervene here?” I knew I was witnessing a dad in his own trauma state, doing to his kids what had likely been done to him. As Dr. Gabor Maté says, “It is often not our children’s behavior but our inability to tolerate their negative responses that creates difficulties. The only thing the parent needs to gain control over is our own anxiety and lack of self-control.” If I were to intervene, the first thing I would have to do is help the dad regulate his nervous system, to feeler calmer and disarm him. For that, I would need to call upon my inner Christian Conte, author of Walking Through Anger: A New Design for Confronting Conflict in an Emotionally Charged World. Not at that advanced stage of my communicating journey, I decided to opt for physical presence and a friendly smile to reassure the kids as they continued on their journey around the corner. But when I stepped outside, they’d gone. I sat and reflected on what had just happened, my own nervous system in a state of flux from overhearing the interaction. I felt deeply upset and realized, as I sat down, I was a bit shaky. I listened as my heartbeat eventually slowed and hearing returned to my ears. I once again felt present and calm in my environment. Then I called a friend to talk it over. Eventually, as my thoughts turned back to what I’d been doing before that upsetting interruption, I turned back to my email. Knowing I’m not the helpless child listening to a misdirected outburst from an adult anymore, I did what I knew I had to do to assuage my own inner child and advocate for my daughter. I had to put my big girl pants on for real and be the rational adult. I knew I hadn’t written anything I’d regret. I knew I’d been balanced and clear. I pressed send. It’s worked out well. My concerns have been addressed, and I feel heard and more confident about the itinerary. In my fifties, I’m finally learning how to present my needs much earlier in the conversation. My life has been prompting me to learn that lesson over and over in every interaction that went sideward. I see it in my own children’s experiences in adolescence, the way they are drawn to certain people who are challenging them to learn how to assert themselves respectfully. It’s taken a while, and it’s taken me stepping back to understand my reactions more and to learn the skills I need to hear myself, calm myself, and be compassionate with myself. How do you navigate conversations that require assertiveness? What fears or patterns might be holding you back? Learning to speak up early in the conversation is not just a personal journey but a valuable skill that fosters healthy relationships and gives you the ability to advocate for yourself and your loved ones. And if not now, when? See more posts About Shona Keachie
Are you looking for an easy way to make your guided reading run more smoothly? This resource may be just what you are looking for. This Ready-Made A-Z Guided Reading Lesson Plan Set A has the A-Z reading book Levels aa-M lesson plans with a guided reading group recording sheet . This one sheet lesson plan for each story lets you easily guide your reading group and allows you to collect data on students' progress through the lesson. Make your guided reading groups run efficiently with this resource! Make Your Guided Reading Groups Run Smoothly & Efficiently With These Ready-Made A-Z Guided Reading Lesson Plans! Resource Prep: Make a copy of as many plans you feel needed. I personally made 5 copies of each plan and put them in a clear sleeve. (I would make less of the plans for L-M, most of my 1st grade students would only get to K). Make a copy of each A-Z book you are using and placed it in the sleeve with the coordinating plan. For easy use and access, I would put all my plans and booklets into one binder. Make a copy of the book for each student, the books can be found on the Reading A-Z Leveled Books site, https://www.readinga-z.com/books/leveled-books/ A parent helper is a great resource to make a book for each student and then just house them where you can in your classroom for easy access. Resource Includes the Following: ✎ A-Z Leveled Book List ✎ Leveled Readers A-Z and DRA Grade Equivalent Charts: 2 styles: 1 colored & 1 black & white ✎ Editable Guided Reading Plan ✎ A-Z Guided Reading Plans: Levels aa - M (4 books per level) 56 lessons total ✎ Guided Reading Teaching Group Record Sheet with Observation Space Resource Directions: A-Z Leveled Book List: List of books and their levels included in this resource. Leveled Readers A-Z and DRA Grade Equivalent Charts: Easy readable chart that compares leveled readers with DRA books and Grade Equivalence. Editable Guided Reading Plan: Editable Guided Plan for you can type in your own plans for other books you may have. Just start typing in fields where text should be. A-Z Guided Reading Plans: Levels aa-M (4 books per level): Guided reading plans for the Reading A-Z Leveled Books make guided reading sessions run smoothly and efficiently. Each plan states the lesson objectives and lists what you should do before, during and after reading the book.. It also provided extension activities to be used for the book. When doing plans each week take the guided reading plans needed from the binder for your guided reading groups and fill out the Teaching Group Record. During your guided reading sessions follow the plans and writing down the observations made about students during our guided reading session. Students would keep their individual books in their reading tubs for the week to practice and then they were sent home to practice with their parents. Students received two books per week to practice. Guided Reading Teaching Group Record Sheet with Observation Space: Included in on the charted plan is a place to write down students names in that particular group and an observation space for each child. You can refer to these notes during individual reading conferences with students and work on individual skills or strategies the student may need at that time. This is also a great resource for parent/teacher conferences to let parents know what their child’s strengths and weaknesses are as a reader. Note: When my school went to the Reading Street Reading Program I still used these books and plans., I would use one book instead of two during the week. I thought it was important that students were able to take books home at their reading level to practice with their parents. Secondly, I found that Reading Street did not meet the needs of all my students, especially my lower and higher groups of students. I found this resource helped both these groups be successful readers at their ability level. Make your guided reading groups run smoothly with these easy ready-made plans! ✤ Please check out the preview for this product. ✤ Be sure to follow my store to be alerted of new products. CLICK HERE! ✤ Don’t forget to leave feedback. You will receive TPT credits that can be used on your future purchases! Related Products: ✎ A-Z Leveled Books Support: Guided Reading Lesson Plans Set B ✎ 1st Grade Literature Lessons for Reading Street, Cafe & Writing ✎ First Grade Assessment Data Forms ✎ Kindergarten Assessment Forms and Sight Word Book ✎ Kindergarten Literacy Bundle ✎ 1st Grade Literacy Bundle
These Bible reading plans are a great way to get into God's Word everyday. Each reading plan focuses on a specific topic.
A somewhat recent and interesting approach to studying and writing about cultural and social history is the “microhistory.” We noticed a theme among microhistories: many have single word titles followed by a descriptive subtitle. Check out our list of microhistories and their microtitles.
Do you have books on your to-read list that already released? Do you struggle to get to those backlist books with all the new releases each year? Do you enjoy relaxed reading challenges you can do at your own pace? Then it’s time to beat your backlist! Started in 2017, Beat the Backlist is here […]
Hey book friends! 2023 is rapidly coming to a close and you know what that means! It's time to announce our 2024 Booknerd Backlist Reading Challenge!! I am very excited to be sharing this because it's our first year hosting this challenge!
Is making more time for reading among your goals for the new year? Then check out this fun, easy-to-implement 2023 reading plan template!
With Jesus all things are possible. Even joy in the midst of trial and heartache. June’s Bible reading plan will be an encouraging read through the trials and
Bible Reading Plans Each month, I share new Bible reading plans based around a theme in the Bible. The Bible reading plans have daily scripture focused on that month's theme. I encourage you to
Struggling to focus on the joy of daily life? Join this month's With Thanks Bible Reading Plan and Journal Challenge to cultivate gratitude!
Read a book per week in 2024! The reading challenge is designed to help you read more books and discover new books. authors, and genres that you will love.
John Kennedy Toole, December 17, 1937 – March 26, 1969. Cover for the 2011 release of Confederacy of Dunces (1980) by Gary Taxali.
The months fly around the Wojo house and I'm guessing it might be the same for you. Here we are at the end of May, staring at June and SUMMER right in the face! I
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The 2013 Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to Canadian short-story master Alice Munro. Here's a breakdown of all the winners since 2000.
When you love you wish to do things for. You wish to sacrifice for. You wish to serve. | Ernest Hemingway Quote
I was overly ambitious for Puppet Camp last week. My plan was to have the children experience a wide variety of puppet making. I quickly realized after day one, that I would have to tone it down a bit. After-all,...
Your life choices aren’t just about what you want to do, Joshua Rothman writes—they’re about who you want to be.
Gregory Peck in “Moby Dick”
Following the submission and formatting guidelines is the first step to successfully publishing a book, including line spacing. But are novels single or double-spaced? Novels are published with single-spaced lines, but the industry standard for unpublished manuscripts is double-spaced lines. It’s vital to send a manuscript to a publisher with the correct formatting, even if
“One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain’t nothing can beat teamwork.” — Edward Abbey, The Monkey Wrench Gang
Minds, however, are conquered not by arms, but by love and nobility. | Baruch Spinoza Quote
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, by Anita Loos, Popular Library, 1925. Illustrated by Earle Bergey. Blogged on A Damn Fine Product From the private collection of Paula K. Wirth
Herman Melville quote about ability from Moby-Dick: “I try all things; I achieve what I can.”
