Teachingmommy: Fun Times at the Zoo

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Fun Times at the Zoo

We've been spending quality time at the zoo lately. Since Heather has been released from the hospital and is resting comfortably at my dad's house (and getting great care over there, by the way), Maelin and I have finally been able to enjoy a little bit of summertime.

Kat and Jeff gave us a zoo pass for Mae's birthday and we've been putting it to good use. Mae LOVES the zoo. She asks for the animals by name and she starts squealing the second we start getting close to parking. She starts yelling, "ZOO! ZOO!" and starts giggling. Then the minute we get inside, she's running off towards her favorites: the "Ippos" and "el-phants". We usually ride the train and she sits there and pats my knee and is just all smiles.

Here's a couple of pictures from the zoo. Honestly, I have tons more but I haven't had time to download them off of my camera lately, so I'll put a whole bunch of summer-fun pics up soon. Enjoy!

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Spanish Steps: Rome, Italy

Must Read Books & Great Authors

"A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" is a novel by Betty Smith first published in 1943. It relates the coming-of-age story of its main character, Francie Nolan, and her Irish-American family struggling against poverty in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. The novel is set in the first and second decades of the 20th century. The book was an immense success, a nationwide best-seller that was distributed to servicemen overseas.
"Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell. This is my all-time favorite book and you MUST read this at least once in your lifetime. It has won the Pulitzer Prize, it is available in 31 different countries and it has been hearlded as "The Great Amercian Novel"
"My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult is a heart-wrenching novel about what it means to be a good parent, a good person and a good sister. Kate has had cancer since childhood and her younger sister Anna was concevied to be a perfect-match bone marrow donor for her. As Anna grows up, she struggles with how she and world will see the rights of her own body. This novel is the first book in years that had me crying. It was very well written and very enjoyable if you're in the mood for a tear-jerker.
"The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls is a memoir about a nomadic, deprived childhood told with the wonderment of a child who always wants to believe that Daddy will be a hero in the end and that Momma really does know best. You are enrapt reading about Walls and her siblings rifling through trash cans at school looking for food, doing the skedaddle in the middle of the night, or waiting for Dad to come home after another bender. It's a riveting story and a testament to Walls' desire to rise above a life that could have easily turned her into just another tragic headline. I really appreciated this story because of the very real probability that some of my students are living this very life.
One of my favorite authors (I have everything she's ever written) is Marian Keyes whose stories are set in Britian or Ireland. She is the internationally bestselling author of Watermelon (which is my favorite), Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married, Rachel's Holiday, The Last Chance Saloon, Angels, Sushi for Beginners, Under the Duvet, and her latest, The Other Side of the Story. Her books have touched readers around the world, and they are now published in 35 countries and in many different languages.