"No reading at the breakfast table"

I read this book in a day.  It is a disturbing book, but like a car crash, hard to look away.   Room  is told from the point of view of 5 year old Jack.  You soon discover that he lives in 'Room' and has lived there forever because he thinks this eleven by eleven room is the entire world.  He lives with his Ma and they fill their days with exercises and small chores.  His friends include Dora on TV who he talks to and he thinks is talking back to him.  But at night he has to hide in 'Wardrobe' because Old Nick comes into the room to sleep with his Ma (unlocking the electronic combination door lock to come in). It is all quite horrifying, but the relationship between Jack and his Ma is incredible, as is her determination to protect Jack.  I won't spoil the plot for you, but I'll just say that it doesn't all remain so depressing as the book goes on.  Beautifully and cleverly written.  Shortlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize and a worthy me...

Puppet Pals has been our latest find.  For free you can access a fairytale story where you choose from one of three backdrops and choose from eight characters to add to the story.  From here, all you do is start recording, move the characters around by dragging them on/off/around the backdrop, increasing/decreasing their size and use character voices to tell a story.  You then stop recording, the recording is saved and you can play it back. We have had a ball with this.  We have discovered that we are a family who likes to use silly voices.  We have laughed and laughed at each other's efforts. I think we'll spend the $2.99 to get the director's access - provides a lot of different backdrops and characters.  Apparently you can also add in your own photos and crop them to make them characters. Again - brilliant for developing story-telling skills, imaginations and most importantly, great laughs!

I've been enjoying having time to investigate fun apps on my iPad that I could potentially use with kids for creative writing purposes.  Today's fun came from Comic Book that is very simple to use (let's just say that if I can do it ...) and at $1.99 is worth the money for all the fun we've had. I play a main role in my son's quick attempt at one he did last night.  I'm apparently quite terrifying! And today's fun with lego.  Photos taken on the iPad and then uploaded to the template.

A sea of pink I hope you had a nice Christmas with your family.  I had a lovely and relaxing extended family lunch yesterday at my place.  I'm aware though that it isn't always that stress free for many families and Christmas can be a time of anxiety for lots of people as they juggle parents, complicated relationships and painful histories.  Sadness as well as we miss family members who can't be with us (my grandmother died earlier this year so this was our first Christmas without her insisting on a family photo). Some highlights of the day for me.  Seeing my kids enjoying the presents that I'd chosen for them.  There was genuine joy and surprise with the choices I had made.  Very satisfying - Christmas is a mammoth job for me.  I know that material possessions don't bring lasting happiness but in that brief moment it was fun to enjoy the blessings that God has given us.  My little girl played her new plastic tea set for hours and hours. Ser...

For the 13 yo Tintin fan For the 11 yo girl For the 11 yo girl For the 5 yo For the 7 yo boy For the 7 yo boy For the 13 year old boy For the 11 1/2 year old girl For the 9 yo girl (who loves fantasy)

So I'm just going to quietly get off my high horse and tell you that I've accepted a job as a teacher librarian working - wait for it - four days a week.   This was certainly not on my agenda when I wrote the earlier post.  I wasn't looking for a new job, but a friend told me about the job, I applied, got an interview and here I am. I'm excited and thrilled with the opportunity.  It is a lovely school, I'll be part of a team and the head librarian is a leader in the field.  Sad to be leaving the public library I currently work at and sad to leave my colleagues and the kids I work with.   Have we quite worked out how it is all going to work out with the kids?  Umm - well, sort of, kinda, ( not really ). But hey - aren't you glad you'll be able to share the journey with me?!

Last week I handed my last assignment in to finish my Master's degree.  Finally.  Only took four years!  But I'm now a proper librarian.  And, more importantly, I can happily read fiction guilt free.  My youngest starts school in a few weeks, I've finished studying and I turn 40 in a few months. What's next?  Well, my life is looking like it will move in a direction that I never anticipated myself but more on that later. * *NOT another baby!