Happy Summer Holidays!

Look at the beautiful cupcake Lauren T. gave me last week!  Thank goodness I snapped a photo before
Mr. C. thoughtlessly ate a petal.  (No appreciation for the hours of work that go into projects like this.)

I hope you all have a wonderful, fun-filled summer holiday and return rested and rejuvenated in the fall!  
Enjoy your summer reading - I just finished The Reckoning by Kelley Arnstrong (Book 3) in the Darkest Powers trilogy and loved it!  An amazing series,  if you enjoy a bit of the spooky stuff, which I have since I learned to read.  Her adult novels are excellent also, but definitely content for grades eleven and up.  Those you would have to get from the public library.  They don't have the same characters as her young adult trilogy, but there is a bit of overlap.
Today, saying goodbye to Pauline and Sayaka, and having said my farewells to Ayumi earlier I've been thinking what an amazing time you girls are growing up in  - when you will be able to keep in touch with these new friends, no matter how far away, on facebook or other social networking sites in ways I couldn't have imagined when I was in high school back in the late '70s and early 80's.  SO COOL!!  There is so much out there for you, and I, for one am so excited and hopeful for your futures.
But first, let's all have a wickedly awesome summer:)
And remember your sunscreen - melanoma is not cool.

Keep bringing in those books...and some mushy stuff

Yes, I will be nagging all of you about returning your books from now until I see the back of your backpacks leaving through the hedges for the last time this year.  PLEASE bring my babies back to me.  They want to come home to their cosy shelves for the summer and they will be waiting for you again in the fall.  I promise.  That's how libraries work if we all co-operate.  To the young reprobate who made off with the B volume of the World Book Encyclopedia last fall:  now would be an awesome time to discreetly return it to the shelf, or even just leave it lying around your classroom where it can be found and turned in.

Now, on to the kind of mushy stuff.  I came across one of those books published by Blue Mountain Arts, called Required Reading for All Teenagers it's written by Douglas Pagels and full of  kind of inspirational blurbs.  So one of them in particular seemed appropriate for this time of year as we approach Grad, goodbyes for some friends and new beginnings.  Here is what the author wrote (and what I as a Mom and your librarian totally agree with):

Words to Help You Be Strong Along the Path of Life:

I  can barely begin to tell you of all my wishes for you.  There are so many of them, and I want them all to come true.  I want you to use your heart as a compass as you grow and find your way in the world, but I want you to always have an appreciation for the direction of home.  I want you to have self-esteem and self-confidence and to be self-sufficient, but also to be safe and smart and cautious.  I want you to be wise beyond your years.  I don't want you to grow up too fast.  I want you to come to me with your fears.  I want the people who share your days to realize that they are in the presence of a very special someone.  You are a wonderful, rare person with no comparison.  I want you to know that opportunities will come, and you'll have many goals to achieve.  The more that obstacles get in the way of your dreams, the more you'll need to believe.  Get your feet wet with new experiences, but be sure you never get in over your head.  I want you to realize how capable you are and that your possibilites are unlimited.  I hope you never lose your childlike wonder, your delight and appreciation in interesting things.  I know you'll keep responding in a positive way to the challenges life always brings.  I want you to set the stage for living in a way that reflects good choices and a great attitude.  I want you to honor.. the wonder of you.

Keep looking for all those library books please!

Another rainy day today made me think, why God, why? Which made me think of that really great book we have, "God's Blogs," so I thought I'd check out the author's website (not actually God) and he had posted this really cool stop-motion video.

Which kind of cheered me up, so I thought I'd post a more cheerful rainy day quotation:
"I'll walk down the lane with a happy refrain
And singin', just singin' in the rain." Arthur Freed
Of course, I haven't been outside at track all day ;)

I can see summer from here!

Can you believe it's June 1?  The year always seems to drag a little right after Christmas and then, boom: here we are looking at the end of another school season.  So, once again, time to start looking under beds, car seats, in lockers, desks and backpacks for all of those books (signed out and "borrowed") you've been enjoying this year.  June 10 is the date I'd like them all  back and after that I will be after you like an old-school librarian.
Now, some fun stuff for my girls who love play-doh time in the library: a few new ideas for you to think about next time you're in a creative mood.

No, I'm not making you all of those colors.
Here's an easier one on how to make a nice play-doh rose: