It has been a terribly exciting week. On Monday, the SpaceX CRS-12 Dragon spacecraft was launched from Kennedy Space Center. In its 6,400 lbs of cargo was a very important book - Notable Notebooks! I wasn't able to travel to Florida for the launch, so I watched the launch from my classroom with a few colleagues and friends. If I couldn't be there in person, at least I had good company! Here's a video of the launch and subsequent landing of the first stage of the spacecraft. I hadn't watched a SpaceX launch before and marveled at the precision with which the first stage landed back at the launch site. On Wednesday, Dragon successfully docked with the International Space Station via the statio
Last year, I discovered a community on Google+ called Picture Book 10 for 10. It's a site where, twice a year, members share 10 favorite picture books on a theme of their choosing. #pb10for10 happens in August, and #nf10for10 (focused on nonfiction) happens in February. Naturally, I had to join and participate! Yesterday was the day, and I wasn't sure what theme I wanted to use for my books. This morning, I had the idea to select 10 picture book biographies for STEM classes. Yes, these are nonfiction, but that's where my expertise and passion lies -- and I use them in my own teaching! Last year, my 4th and 5th grade students had the option to participate in a project that required them to re
Notable Notebooks: Scientists and Their Writings made the front page of the Life & Entertainment section of the Columbus Dispatch today! The article profiles both my book and another NSTA Kids book, Next Time You See a Sunset by Emily Morgan. Both books have been selected for the Story Time from Space program and will be sent to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX-12 resupply mission. The books will be read aloud by a crew member and recorded for use in classrooms. While the article says that the launch is scheduled for Sunday, August 13, it has been rescheduled for Monday, August 14. Launches often change and can be scrubbed and rescheduled up until one second prior to liftoff
Head on over to the wonderful blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, for a guest post I wrote on Notable Notebooks and how my students use their science notebooks in our class daily. You can also enter to win a copy of Notable Notebooks: Scientists and Their Writings by posting a comment by September 1, 2017! And while you're there, take some time to check out the other wonderful guest posts, as well as Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's (the blog's creator) poetry books - both published and forthcoming.
I've been thinking about creating out a little home on the internet for myself for some time now. It's most certainly a work in progress. The foundation has been poured; the walls, windows, and doors are in place. Things aren't quite finished, but I'm rolling out the welcome mat anyway. I hope you'll return to visit and marvel at the progress along with me. I plan to use this space for many things - news about my own books, favorite new titles, and musings about science education and writing. I'm sure new topics will bubble up as I begin to write. Ultimately, though, posts will reflect my professional passions: science, education, and writing. Thanks for joining me, and I look forward to man
