Hello Book Bums families!
This week in the newsletter we're making connections. Read on for an author connected to Cincinnati, connected book recs, book to movie adaptations, and most importantly, ways to connect with Book Bums to make learning meaningful and fun.
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Word of the Week
engrossed (en-grohst) adjective/describing word -completely involved in something
Ellie was so engrossed in her book that she didn't hear her mom calling her.
Literary Calendar
• August 23 is the birthday of author Curtis Sittenfeld.
• She was born in Cincinnati and went to school at Seven Hills.
• Her novel Eligible is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in Cincinnati.
• Her most recent novel is titled Romantic Comedy and is perfect for fans of Saturday Night Live.
Click on the picture to find the books on Amazon!
From our Bookshelves
I finally read State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. It’s one of her top-rated books, but as I began reading, I grew skeptical. Let’s just say that if you are an “I need to be hooked right away or I’m moving on to the next book” kind of reader, I’m not sure this one is for you. But if you’re a stick-with-it kind of reader, you won’t be sorry you did.
State of Wonder was a nominee for favorite book and for best fiction back in 2011, and it would make a great book for book club—if your book club really talks about the books you read. There are so many interesting topics to explore (fertility in older women, pharmaceutical companies pressing medical advances for money, lifestyles of people groups in the Amazon, passionate scientific researchers, love in the workplace, etc.) to discuss with your fellow readers. You could also pair it with Joseph Conrad's 1899 novel, Heart of Darkness, about colonialism and a trip down a river in the heart of Africa. If you really want to go on a journey, you can watch Apocalypse Now as well, featuring a significant river trip in Vietnam. All three texts are connected.
Patchett is the queen of character crafting, and though the main character, Marina, is not one I adored, my feelings about her changed and it was an enjoyable journey.
Tips for Families
Healthychildren.org shared five healthy lifestyle habits that support positive affect for our children, and I thought it might be good to have a reminder as we build new routines for the school year.
1. Get active. Be sure your child is active for at least an hour every day.
2. Eat healthy. Include fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and protein foods in breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
3. Get plenty of sleep. Kids in school need 9-12 hours of sleep.
4. Create a family media plan. Set healthy guidelines around entertainment screen time. (Tip: The more you use screen time as a reward the more it will be revered. Make the time YOU spend with your kids the greatest reward.)
5. Set up family routines. Have a regular schedule for play, meals, and bedtimes. Routines create as sense of safety and security for kids.
Tips for Readers and Writers
IIn the Tips for Families section, note that the word affect (a noun pronounced /a/ as in apple–/fekt/ with the first syllable accented), as in positive affect, is an emotion or desire especially influencing behavior. We want kids with positive affect. It’s the extent to which our children experience positive moods such as joy, interest, and alertness. Children who are enthusiastic, energetic, confident, active and alert have positive affectivity.
The noun affect /a-fekt/ (with the first syllable accented) is different from the verb affect /uh-fekt/ (with the second syllable accented) in both sound and meaning.
The verb affect /uh-fekt/ means to impact or influence. (The humid weather affects my hairstyling decisions.)
Now, the word effect adds to the confusion, so let’s get that right too.
Effect is a noun, and it is a change that is a result of an action. (What effect has the new law regarding texting while driving had regarding accidents in Ohio?)
Practical Grammar
When creating a document to add to one of our Book Bums Little Letter Learners lessons, I was sharing with our teachers that “something has proved helpful with students.” In my mind, though, I felt that since there’s a helping verb has I should have used the word proven not proved.
Afterall, we say “She has given . . .”, “He has driven . . .”
I was confident that I’d used the word correctly because I’ve seen and heard it so often, but since I’d wondered about, it I decided to look it up.
It turns out that both proven and proved are correct, but most grammar guides for academic writing prefer proved.
TIP:
When using it as an adjective, always use proven.
I use a proven recipe for oatmeal cookies.
News from Book Bums
We recently learned that many local schools are doing their MAP testing the first full week of school, and that usually means a lot of families are referred to Book Bums. If you’re concerned about your child’s MAP scores, know that we can help your child improve in class AND on those nationally normed assessments.
Look at the growth from one of our Book Bums students!
Grade: 02 Age: 7 Building: Liberty Early Childhood School
Subtest Scores – Reading
Fall -Student RIT Score: 158
Percentile: 14
Winter -Student RIT Score: 165
Percentile: 10
Spring -Student RIT Score: 202
Percentile: 81
Fall to Spring – Typical Growth: 17
Fall to Spring – Actual Growth: 44
Now those are great gains made in less than one school year!
Don’t wait. If you’re concerned, remember that early intervention is always the best intervention for reading and writing skills.
Pause for Poetry
Remember
by Joy Harjo
Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star’s stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time. Remember sundown
and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother’s, and hers.
Remember your father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the
origin of this universe.
Remember you are all people and all people
are you.
Remember you are this universe and this
universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language comes from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.
Just for Fun
I hadn’t read the book It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover, but someone I know made a case for how good the movie was on social media; so my husband and I went to see it. (The poor guy was the only male in the packed theater—where many women openly sobbed at one point. He’s a trooper.) It was a good movie, albeit predictable, but I can’t imagine a world where anyone would ever say the movie was better. Can you?
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