Hello Book Bums families!
This week in the newsletter we're reflecting on lessons we've learned from books recently. We'll share the titles and how they affected us. Has a line or passage from a book caught your attention? Respond to this email and share it with us!
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Word of the Week
adept (ah-dept) adjective/describing word - very skilled or expert at something
My friend is adept in the kitchen; she can make delicious meals and desserts.
Literacy Calendar
- On September 1, 1773, Phillis Wheatley's book of poetry became the first published book of poetry by an African-American author.
- Wheatley was kidnapped from West Africa and purchased by a merchant in Boston, Massachusetts. She was named after the ship she arrived on.
- Taught to read and write, she was adept at languages and went on to write poetry in favor of American Independence.
- You can learn more about her and her work in this article from the Smithsonian.
- The statue shown here is part of the Boston Women's Memorial.
Pause for Poetry
A Hymn to the Evening
by Phillis Wheatley
Soon as the sun forsook the eastern main
The pealing thunder shook the heav'nly plain;
Majestic grandeur! From the zephyr's wing,
Exhales the incense of the blooming spring.
Soft purl the streams, the birds renew their notes,
And through the air their mingled music floats.
Through all the heav'ns what beauteous dies are spread!
But the west glories in the deepest red:
So may our breasts with ev'ry virtue glow,
The living temples of our God below!
Fill'd with the praise of him who gives the light,
And draws the sable curtains of the night,
Let placid slumbers sooth each weary mind,
At morn to wake more heav'nly, more refin'd;
So shall the labours of the day begin
More pure, more guarded from the snares of sin.
Night's leaden sceptre seals my drowsy eyes,
Then cease, my song, till fair Aurora rise.
From our Bookshelves
The Things We Never Say was written by Elizabeth Strout. Strout also wrote the Olive Kitteridge series (2008) for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Both books are about schoolteachers and address loneliness and the complex lives of ordinary people. I thoroughly enjoyed both.
If you’re a reader who can read and appreciate books dealing with the inner workings of people and can navigate despair with eyes to see the nuggets of gold within, I recommend this book.
There are some folks who point to the bits of discussion about Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) saying that Strout was being too political, but I feel an author should be able to acknowledge present day issues through the lives of his or her characters. Readers who “cancel” others because they represent a different way of thinking from their own are missing out on opportunities to see another’s perspective, to have empathy, and even to effect the social change they’re hoping for.
As a reader, I don’t need everyone to agree with my perspective, and I don’t read books that only represent my perspective. As an avid proponent for lifelong learning, I long to stretch myself—whether I agree with what I’m reading or not.
I’m richer for having read The Things We Never Say.
Tips for Families
One of my book-loving teacher friends wrote in a post, “I was reading Violet Shrink to my 1st grade students today, and we got to the part where the dad puts on his “listening for real face.” One of my kids blurted, ‘I wish my dad had one of those!’”
(I’d never read it before, but now I have. Violet Shrink is about a young girl who’s trying to navigate social anxiety and sensory issues. Even if you don’t have a child with those issues, reading this book could help your kids understand what happens inside kids who do.)
The tip for us is to do our very best to always have a “listening for real” face ready for when the kids we adore need it. Let’s make space for “listening for real” even when our kids don’t ask for it. Some good times for this include car rides, bedtime, mealtime, and when we’re working together on a task.
We all need to have people in our lives who really listen to us. Don’t miss the opportunity to listen and to acknowledge and (maybe?) pour into the stuff that’s happening in your kids’ hearts and minds.
Tips for Raising Readers and Writers
I wish I could recall where I first heard about it, but a recent study indicated lower brain activity in those who used artificial intelligence (AI) to write essays than those who used their own minds or even a basic search engine. The offloading of critical thinking engagement reduced students’ internal thoughts and their personal ownership of the content. The students using AI in this study could not sufficiently recall the content they used in their own essays a short while later. This cognitive debt reduced independent reasoning, memory retention, and critical thinking skills.
What can we do to ensure our kids are fully engaging with academic content?
- Invite your kids to talk through their plans for completing tasks—maybe even create plans or outlines together.
- Have kids write tech-free first drafts, but invite older students to use AI to help find gaps in their work.
- When a task is complete, talk with your children about how they approached the assignment and the steps they took to complete it.
- Remind your kids of the risks of using AI. Share that it’s not without flaws and that passive reliance upon these fallible tools is not advisable.
Note with them that there are tools teachers and professors can use to watch a full replay of their students’ work as it was written, from start to finish, in a video-like manner.
Practical Grammar
~from Grammar Monsters
There are many instances when we should use quotation marks. Here’s one many do not know: We use quotation marks when words are used sarcastically, ironically, or skeptically to indicate doubt about something or to indicate a word has been incorrectly used by someone else. When used in these ways, quotation marks can be referred to as scare quotes or sneer quotes or even shudder quotes. They are performed like air quotes. These quotation marks show that the word is not being used in its usual way.
News from Book Bums
It’s almost the time of year when we at Book Bums share sweet treats with educators serving in school buildings located near our Book Bums Tutoring locations. In this way, we invite these invaluable folks to think of us as they’re talking with parents about students’ reading and spelling needs during their conference appointments. We’re planning to visit Monroe Primary School, Monroe Elementary School, Stewart Elementary School, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, and Wyandott Early Childhood Schools. Do you have other suggestions for us? And if you know anyone serving kids in these schools, would you please share with them that we’re reputable and are really good at helping kids move from struggling to soaring? Thank you for helping us to get the word out about what we do for beginning and struggling readers between the ages of four and twelve (+/-).
Tips for Teachers
While reading The Things We Never Say, I came across the following passage:
Teachers, let’s strive to be like Mr. Stepinac. We have so much to accomplish and so little time to do it, but let’s always remember to look at our students, to really look at them, and share with them that they have gifts—that they are gifts.
When we do that, we too can be gifts.
Just for Fun
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