Friday, May 22, 2026

Prepping for Summer Literacy Labs - 2026 Theme: "When Life Gives Us Lemons." I'm Curious What Kids Will Do with that Concept in Their Writing

Truth is, we're reading Sea of Lemons: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez by Maria Dolores Aguila which is based on the 1931 Lemon Grove lawsuit and incident. I always love to find books that challenge my understanding of history and what is actually taught in our schools. Max Limric's translanguaging work, too, has me thinking about books with more than one language to get all of us thinking differently about communication and storytelling. Of course, I've also gone whimsical with the idea of making lemonade out of lemons and did a 10 book purchase of lemon children's books for the littler kids. 

Will try to put the older ones to work, too, with their novels and college essays. We choose books, though, knowing that they will be a good focus for Ubuntu Academy.

Last night, I got the lawn mowed in-between all the rain predictions. I also got gifts for next week's conference, had the last piece of mercury filling taken out of my mouth (there is currently no silver sightings - my current dentist is new-age healthy and she has slowly rid the poison of mercury as my teeth have needed additional work. We celebrated yesterday that her several-year plan is complete. This is somewhat amazing because when I taught in a woman's prison for a year in Kentucky, the inmates were always quick to point out the silver in my mouth. "You like sweets, don't ya?" they'd ask. Nope. I just am genetically drawn to cavities...have been since I was a kid. My mouth will always be worth more than I'll ever be. 

It's sort of a strange weekend going into unseasonable cold, rain, and no events. There are things I want to do and accomplish, but they're all outside (we'll see how much of this rain actually comes). I'm also fantasizing about building bookshelves from floor to ceiling in the weird room between the side door and living room. It'd like that to be a cozy nook for the books (which it is now, but I'm using book shelves that have gone with me to three states....of course, I should also be downsizing and getting rid of things...not making more room for them). 

I just might lie on my couch for three days reading books I've had on my list (as I caught up with the audio ones...which is my preferred method these days). I also hope to get grill space, as it makes a big difference on eating when I have time to prepare meals on the grill.

Happy Friday. We got this. 

Channeling Summers in the Outskirts of London and Time Spent in Roskilde on Lars Farm as We Head Towards June (My Favorite Month)

I remember the first time I was fortunate to spend time in an English garden. Amy Parton, leader singer of King Kong  and an extraordinary h...