On My Nightstand.. Books I’m Reading

I have a rare moment of quiet.  My 4 year old is out to lunch with her cousins and my 4 month old is taking a nap.  You know you’re a teacher when the first thing you think is.. “ooh!  I can make some signs for my classroom.”  Then, the second thing you think is  “I could write a blog post!”  Maybe I will have time to do both.  It’s really amazing how much you can get done in a short time when you know you won’t have time later.  It’s like when you have company coming over and you manage to clean your whole house in 20 minutes.

We have 2 weeks until we go back to school.  My room is coming together!  I’ve been in quite a few times sorting and organizing.  I will give you a “room tour” later.  I’ve really enjoyed seeing lots of other art rooms in the blogs and Facebook groups.  It has given me some good ideas for organization.

I wanted to show you what books I’ve been reading lately in case you are looking for something to read.

I really recommend this book for those of you who work with preschool & early childhood (Kinders/1st grade).  I really like how the author references living artists and I like how the art projects are process oriented, rather than cute little projects.  I’ve read this whole book and I took notes on ideas for this coming year!

Here are four books that you might enjoy as an art teacher.

1. Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World: Seven Building Blocks for Developing Capable Young People I have started reading this book and I’m a few chapters in. So far, it gives an insight about raising children in our current society.

2. God’s Pencils (Christian Parenting & Teaching in the 21st Century) While I don’t teach at a Christian school, it is always interesting to read about teaching from a Christian worldview (and I mean, teaching kids kindness/respect/responsibility, not the religious principles.. as that wouldn’t fly in a non-Christian school.) Also, I like reading these kinds of books as a reminder for my own attitudes while teaching.. ie., each child/adult in the school is a child of God. I have not read this whole book but I’m looking forward to it!

3. Classroom Management for Art, Music, and PE Teachers
This book is amazing! Highly recommend it! It’s a quick read and lots of good stuff about approaching classroom management.

4. Are you looking for some fresh watercolor ideas for your classroom? This book has some good inspiration. One Watercolor a Day: A 6-Week Course Exploring Creativity Using Watercolor, Pattern, and Design (One A Day)

My mom gave me the book on the left and we read the book on the right for my book club.  Both books were quick and easy reads.  Both books are motherhood memoirs.  Between both of them, I would recommend Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year.  It was funny and relate-able.  The other book, Planting Dandelions: Field Notes From a Semi-Domesticated Life had it’s good parts, but there wasn’t a lot of substance. At the end of reading it, I kind of thought, “what actually happened in this book?” The books has short chapters of essays on things that she experienced as a new mom. We all agreed that that the author was way too flippant about cheating on her husband and that kind of turned us off at the beginning.

Everyone who is a parent should read this book: Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (And Parents Sane). It also could be eye-opening for teachers who are not parents.

I struggle with how to talk to my daughter about keeping safe and interacting with strangers. I don’t want to scare her so much she’s afraid of everyone, but I do want her to be aware that dangers are out there. If you are a parent, read this!  I’m about half way through and it’s so good.  It’s a quick and engaging read and gives you lots of practical advice on how to talk to your kids about safety and trust your own intuition.

Are you reading anything good?  I’m still waiting for the copy of Teach Like a Pirate to be ready for me at the library!  I’m on a mission to get “clutter-free”  or as clutter free as possible, so I’m trying to get most books from the library instead of purchasing them.  After I finish books, I try to pass them on or sell them in our garage sale, otherwise it just adds to the clutter.

Disclosure:  If you do decide to buy these books, the links in this post are Amazon affiliate links.