My 50th Birthday: Not just another milestone, I’ve summited a mountain

Recently, I was scrolling through my Instagram and came across a meme of a paraphrased Vincent Lombardi quote. And it hit me -- these past 10 years, these milestones I’ve reached, have been a mountain I’ve been climbing. And I have reached the summit! The past decade of my life has been a bittersweet journey of climbing out of that crevasse of a cancer diagnosis and rising to the biggest accomplishment of my life - 10 years cancer free.

Empowering Picture Books for Children (and Grown-ups!)

Giving children the opportunity to feel courageous, secure, and confident through picture books is empowering. Ten years ago this October, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer and my sons were 3- and 6-years old at the time. Uplifting stories became a priority in our household.

Engage All Readers: Fill Your Library With A Variety Of Book Formats To Meet The Diverse Needs Of All Students

Fostering a love of reading is one of our goals as educators. All students benefit from having a variety of different types of texts available, especially reluctant readers. When building your collection, be sure to include a wide variety of titles in different formats to meet the diverse needs of all students.

Talk About It: Three Important Steps in Creating Interesting Book Talks

[originally published on MackinCommunity.com] Having students engaged and motivated in reading is one of our goals as educators. Therefore, it is important to develop a positive and supportive reading culture throughout your school. In addition to the librarian being excited about reading, it is essential to have the commitment of the principal and staff to … Continue reading Talk About It: Three Important Steps in Creating Interesting Book Talks →

Summer Reading : New Nonfiction Series Books

It’s the dog days of summer and it’s getting more difficult to get my kids interested in reading. Thankfully, three Minnesota-based publishers are releasing books my teenagers are interested in. These three nonfiction series books are filled with colorful pictures, intriguing sidebars with fun-facts, as well as lists of sources for further learning and discovery.

Mothering while Battling Breast Cancer

Motherhood is challenging. It comes with much responsibility, immense joy as well as guilt. It can be difficult to have confidence in raising these little humans to be well-adjusted, productive adults. For my first six years of motherhood, I was feeling pretty sure of myself, but then my world got turned upside down. I was 39 and was faced with a breast cancer diagnosis. I felt like I had fallen down a deep dark hole with no ladder to climb out. My confidence in motherhood was gone. How do you explain cancer to your young children while you’re fighting the hardest physical battle of your life?

Finishing my fight with children who stayed optimistic gave me the confidence to self-publish my family’s story to help others get through the awful battle of fighting cancer. My book is called OUR MAMA IS A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN and it is written in the voice of my two young sons. I hope having Louis and Maxwell tell our family story will give other families the strength and courage they need during an awful time that can feel quite hopeless.

Children’s Books that Inspire Making

I agree with Mark Hatch, author of Maker Movement Manifesto who said “Making is fundamental to what it means to be human. We must make, create, and express ourselves to feel whole.” Maker education brings the essentials of how humans learn back into everyday education. Being a mom of two boys who love to tinker, I often pair our making activity with a book. It is a great way to keep the conversation going and remind them that failure is an important part of the process of creating. Books with characters who identify problems and find a solution through trial-and-error can be very inspiring for children. There have been more and more books published that inspire making. Here are some of my favorites.

Stories in Verse

[originally published on MackinCommunity.com] In a PBS NewsHour interview, Jason Reynolds, the award winning young adult literature author, shares his ideas on how poetry can get more young people interested in reading. And I couldn’t agree with him more. This year, several publishers are launching new stories in verse. These are some of my favorites: … Continue reading Stories in Verse →