March is filled with all kinds of excitement. Geese are flying back from their winter migragtion, the chipmunks are once again romping around the yard, and the sun is shinning down with bright warm rays that evoke a sense of spring cleaning among us folks.  There is so much to do and my personal calendar holds no exception to the business of the season.

This week my friend Lisa Buske and I will once again be traveling to our writer's critique group. It is always such a nice night out with a wonderful group of friends. This month I am bringing a special piece of work and I am very excited to be having it looked over by some great writers. Their input will help me in my final copy which is due in two weeks.

On Wednesday I will be coaching my team in the Battle of the Books. Since December the kids have been reading books, memorizing the title and author of each, and practicing the study questions and participating in mock battles. They have been working very hard. After our building battle medals will be awarded and the first place team will proceed to the district battle on March 28th. The Rockin' Readers are ready for the challenge !!

My focus will then be turning to my speaking engagement for the HOPE Network on March 28th. A spa day is being held in honor of mothers who are raising children with disabilities. (Yes, I get to speak and enjoy spa treatments...the best of both worlds!) I have been asked to talk about my experiences as a mother so I prepared my speech accordingly. Now I just need to do a run through to ensure that it fits into the time constraints. There will be approxiamtely 65 participants at the event, and each one will be going home with a copy of Sometimes The Wind Blows Sideways: Our Lives with a Special Needs Child.

At school the kids have been working on the character trait Fairness. I have been working with the Oswego Arise office to bring in a speaker to our assembly to talk to the entire student body on exactly what fairness is.  It does not always mean treating everyone the same, it means to give everyone gets what they need. Our goal is to show the school examples of this so that they will come away with an understanding of why some people get certain things while others do not.

My calendar is also filled in with various appointments and two birthday parties before the months' end, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel because as March goes out like a lamb it will bring me into spring break and allow for some much needed time to relax.

As we prepare for our March 1st Battle of the Books competition, our team was faced with our biggest delima.  No, it wasn't who was going to be the spokesperson, or even who was going to be the official recorder.  Our biggest decision was the one that allowed us to use our creative side and show the world just how edgy we are...the team name!  My 4th grade girls wanted something cool, yet cleaver and they came up with just that.  THE ROCKIN' READERS. 

With the excitment of ordering our team T-shirts underway, I managed to settle the giggly group down enough to concentrate on studying the title and author of each book on their grade level reading list. Their homework for this week is to have each memorized before our next meeting.  Then it is on to the study questions!!

Alot of hard work, two months worth of reading and a group of ten year old girls ...yikes !! I just may have to plan a surprise party for the group after the battle to get myself through to the finish line. Win or loose, the kids need to celebrate their love of reading and should be rewarded for all of their hard work.

Think you can keep up with the kids?  Challenge yourself and a friend to finish each of the books below by the end of February.  Test one another to see how many details you can give to each book, citing the title & author. Leave me a comment below to keep me posted on your progress and I will let you know how you rate compared to the students.  Get rockin' those books people !!!

3rd & 4rd grade reading list:

Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights- Debbie Miller

 Dial-a-ghost- Eva Ibbotson

 Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity- Mac Barnett

 Chameleon wore Chartreuse- Bruce  Hale

 Dying to Meet You- Katie Klise

Ellie McDoodle: Have pen, will travel- Ruth Barshaw

 Flight of the Phoenix- R.L. La Fevers

 King's Equal- KatherinePaterson

 Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane- Kate DiCamillo

 Piper Reed: Navy Brat- Kimberly Holt

 Puppy Power- JodyCox

 Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls- Elise Primavera

 Skinnybones- Barbara Park

 Year of Miss Agnes- Kirkpatrick Hill

With the new year comes a new challenge for not only myself but for many of the kids that I work with.  We will be competing in the 2012 battle of the books!

I have taken on the task to become coach for a dedicated group of students who have challenged themselves to know every tiny detail of the books that are on the required reading list. Once they are familiar with the stories, we begin studying the assigned questions.  The kids started their reading list prior to Christmas break, and will continue for nearly 3 months studying the title, author, and plot of each story until known by heart, and answers about them can be given within seconds.  With 15 books on the read list, plus 2 alternates, this a huge undertaking.

From February 29th - March 1st (depending on the grade level) the
kids will battle with others in their persepctive school buildings.  The winners from this battle will then move on to the district battle.  From there, those who take home first place will compete in the county battle.  It is no small feat for the kids who will walk away with that coveted blue ribbon. 

As my first year of coaching, this experience is both exciting and overwhelming.  I will meet with my kids on a regular basis and prep them for the upcoming contest.  We will create a team name, get matching t-shirts, and will focus on the fun of reading while enjoying a competition.  So bring on the books....we're ready to

For more information on Battle of the Books and to view the reading list, you can visit www.akla.org.