The Rent Collector

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright is a novel I finished reading over the weekend.  I do not remember where I first heard about it, but it was definitely worth reading.  Sang Ly lives in a garbage dump in Cambodia with her husband and young son.  Her family is just trying to survive...her husband picks through trash every day in hopes of finding enough of value to sell.  Sang Ly also picks through the trash and one day  finds something  that helps her make an unexpected friend.  The author did a good job of portraying the characters and showing the challenges of people who live at the dump.  This book reminded me that people are not always what they seem on the surface.  It would be a good story to discuss with a friend or a book group. 

salsa

Last Saturday my sister and I made salsa from some of the tomatoes from the garden.  With my fondness for salsa, it is about time I learned to make my own.  Hopefully there are plenty of tomatoes and enough time each year to make salsa.  

The Junkyard Wonders

One fun thing about being back at school is being around people who really like children's books.  My colleague lent me The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco to read.  Like many other of Polacco's books, this story is based on an experience from her own life.  Trisha has moved to a new school and is put in a class called the Junkyard.  The class is filled with children who have a difficult time learning.  At first, Trisha is disappointed because the other children in school are not kind to her or her classmates.  Mrs. Peterson works at making a difference in the lives of her students, and they learn and grow together.  This book would be best for older elementary classes.  It would also make a great read for anyone who works at a school.   

moving on up

It has been a busy week.  I moved to an upstairs apartment in the same building on Wednesday morning before school.  Now I will be able completely unpack and get more settled into my place.  It is also time to look for a couch.
I am moving up at school, too.  This year I am not in a new classroom, but I will be teaching a group of sixth grade language learners.  That will be different from so many years of second and third grade, and even the kindergarten and first grade students who were in my groups two years ago.  Variety in my schedule helps keep things from getting boring and I am looking forward to it.