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Well, here we are, midway through August and time to get our heads ready for back to school. One item to check off your list might be that summer reading assignment you have been putting off.  Go on, dig in and read!  But,  parents/guardians and teachers have to get ready too, so here are a few of my favorite resource links with some great ideas:

• Back-to-School Transitions: Tips for Parents from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)–make sure your child is healthy.  Get your medical and dental appointments scheduled before school begins, and don’t forget the  pertussis (Tdap) vaccination requirement for Grade 7 – 12 students.
• Back to School: Tips for Parents of Children with Special Needs also need to organize.  LD Online shares eight helpful tips to ease the jitters.
• Scholastic Books has a special planning guide for teachers full of resources, tips, and free material. Don’t forget to update your classroom library too and level your books; get help at Teacher Book Wizard.

Enjoy your last few days.  Then, be ready to hit the books, reconnect with friends, meet new friends, and have a great school year.

Graphic from Flickr Creative Commons License by stevendepolo.

Fireworks are exciting, I’m the first to oohh and aahh, but in these economic times, lots of towns and cities are cutting down on the celebrations, the money isn’t there.  So we fire up the barbeque with family and friends,  perhaps attend a wedding or family reunion.  Maybe we’re lucky enough to have some down time for ourselves. What a great opportunity to show by example to our children the joy of reading.  I’m into the first of two books that have been patiently waiting for me on my bookshelf.  Here are a few gems I culled from Jon Scieszka’s  Guys Read a web-based literacy program for boys (but it’s not just for boys!) on a recent hunt for birthday gifts for nieces and nephews.

• The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, Tom Angleberger:  Very nerdy sixth grader Dwight is.  Comes to school one day with an origami Yoda puppet on finger he does.  Read book you should.  Enjoy and learn much you will (from Guys Read).
• Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire, Gordon Korman, JoAnn Adinolfi:  Zoe’s desire to be interesting leads her to tell tall tales that make her the opposite of popular. When something exciting really does happen to her — like an eagle nestling in her backyard — no one wants to believe her! Will she ever find a friend in third grade? (from Scholastic Book Wizard)
• Racecar Alphabet, Brian Floca: Exactly what you think it is.  And that’s good.  Something for the beginning race fan.  Fantastic illustrations  (from Guys Read).
• Monkey Truck, Michael H. Slack: Monkey Truck is a monkey.  Monkey Truck is a truck.  Monkey Truck is both a monkey and a truck.  “When there’s trouble in the jungle, Monkey Truck knows what to do.”  Great, fun, read aloud.  Lively illustrations.  And Monkey Truck also burns banana gas (from Guys Read).
• Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise, Kate DiCamillo: How can you go wrong with a pig in a pink tutu and tiara? (from SFGate)
• Saving Mister Nibbles (Elliot’s Park Series #1), Patrick Carman: Mister Nibbles has been captured and taken to the yellow house across the street from Elliot’s Park! Squirrels aren’t meant to live indoors (not even stuffed ones like Mister Nibbles), so Elliot and his friends come up with a plan to rescue their new friend. Can Elliot, Crash, Chip, and Twitch save Mister Nibbles before it’s too late? (from Patrick Carman website)