Stuff We Like :: 10.5.18

The beginning of October always seems like it should be fall — but it never actually feels like fall in Atlanta. We may have to run away to the mountains for a little while this weekend.

What’s happening at home/school/life

• It’s that time of year when we’re up to our ears in getting the fall issue done!

• Rebecca loved Michael Clay Thompson grammar — it’s one of those programs that can really inspire a kid who loves words and language. 

• I’m filling in for Suzanne in Library Chicken, and while I lack her BookNerd style, I am hoping this will inspire me to make some happier reading choices. (More misses than hits for me this week!)

• There have been some awesome Kindle deals lately. (My son was thrilled to snag a copy of Nick and Tesla’s High-Voltage Danger Lab for his Kindle—now we can do dangerous experiments on the go.)

• one year ago: Halloween always makes me want to reread The Dollhouse Murders. Plus: Shelli’s totally simple strategy to homeschool preschool

• two years ago: Great books for developing an everyday writing habit. Plus: Why you should start a family walking habit

• three years ago: Rebecca reviewed History Odyssey.

The Links I Liked

• You’re registered to vote, right? It’s almost totally painless — and so important.

• TL;DR , hangry, and bingeable are among the new words headed to a Merriam-Webster near you. (My spellcheck is definitely not ready.)

• The Phoenix Award recognizes great books that missed out on awards when they were first published, which is such a brilliant idea. And this year’s winner — The Birchbark House — totally deserves the belated honor. Am I the only one who thinks it’s interesting this book is being recognized so soon after the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award was renamed? I’m happy to have The Birchbark House shelved right beside Little House in the Big Woods in our homeschool room. For me, this is what feels right — not letting go of problematic books I loved but acknowledging their problems, identifying their context, and finding the voices that they leave out.

• So many good ideas for your high school reading list. (Yes, please to Octavia Butler!)

• Relevant to my interests: William Faulkner was a terrible postman.

What’s making me happy

• This nerdy math dress

• My happy new yellow spoon rest

• The way my dog comes and sits on my lap while I am typing

• The awesome Locke and Hobbes essays students using our curriculum have written this fall

• Tofu bowls with kimchi fried rice from the restaurant on my way home

• The Cat Returns, which is just the kind of weird animated movie we always love

• Vertigo, which I get to nerd out over with my students this week

(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)

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