delirium (a great book....and how I feel right now)

It is Sunday, before the Packer game, and I am sitting in the Sunroom on this cool, sunny fall day.  The radio is on playing a Train song, I have a pumpkin spiced hot coffee (tastes and smells wonderfully like Halloween), the sun is shining through the window on my feet, making them toasty warm, A piece of leftover chocolate candy from trick-or-treat, and I am kicking back reading a good book. Can it get any better than this?  It is delirium.

Dictionary definition:
de-lir-i-um (noun)
1. An acutely disturbed state of mind that occurs in fever, intoxication, and other disorders.
2. Wild excitement or ecstasy.

Let's go with the "wild excitement" part of the definition....no intoxication this early in the day and no disorders that I know of!

I am about half way through Lauren Oliver's "delirium" and I am hooked.  If you liked Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" series or enjoyed the heart-pounding action and suspense of Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games," you need to pick up this dystopian series!  The first half of the book sets up the plot and setting of this restrictive world where at 18 years old you receive "the cure" for the disease 'amor deliria nervosa' or more commonly known as LOVE.  Lena's mother walked off a cliff rather than submit to another operation (the first several did not cure her).  Will Lena follow in her mother's footsteps (literally)?

Off to read the rest of this intriguing novel......need to find out what happens to Lena and her BFF Hana.

- delirium
- pandemonium
- requiem (Spring 2013)
- hana (novella, available as an ebook)

Check this series out and let me know what you think.  Kick back in the sun with a great cup of coffee and enjoy.   I hope you experience the delirium too!!

Weebly

We have chosen Weebly to use for the school-wide "Chanukah Around the World" project.  Helpful links and tools are being collected on the WIKI.  Each grade is researching their own country and will present their findings in traditional and technological ways.  Students will explore:

• Geography
• Literature (both secular and Judaic)
• History (secular, but with a focus on Judaic)
• Culture & Chanukah Customs 
• Integration of technology and information resources

A culminating event will be held on for parents, family members and the community, so that they will be able to experience "Chanukah Around the World."

Weebly is easy to use and its free!  Take a look and sign-up today!

URL:  www.weebly.com

FlipSnack is Deliciously Easy & Fun

FlipSnack is a great tool for use in the classroom.  Remember those great class books that you create with your students in kindergarten and first grade?  Well you can now make them into a flipping book (no profanity intended) to share with students, parents and grandparents on your school website!

It is so easy.  I like the idea of still having the kids draw, color and write their own page.  You can still compile the printed copy for use in the classroom and then you can also create a digital copy to share on your website.  All you have to do is scan each child's page and save as a single PDF document or as individual PDF documents.  Then load the PDF document(s) to www.FlipSnack.com and publish!

Who doesn't like to see their own art work published on the web?!?!?  Give it a try and wait for all the great feedback from your students and families!

Here is the start of a quick one that I started.
Step 1:  I used MS-Word to create each individual page.
Step 2:  Saved each page as a PDF
Step 3:  Logged into my FlipSnack account
Step 4:  Loaded the PDFs
Step 5:  Published & Shared -->  http://snack.to/fzh52utv

Slidestaxx

Perusing the web today (trying to meet my SMART goals :) and ran across this fun tool called Slidestaxx.  Simple to use and great way to organize your images, videos and websites into a slideshow.  All you have to do is create an account, login and begin creating.  You can even embed your Slidestaxx onto your blog or classroom webpage.

Here I created a very short Slidestaxx to present our school's new WIKI for Chanukah.