The Cupcake Queen

The Cupcake Queen

by: Heather Hepler

I really enjoyed this book! It kept me entertained with all the characters, especially with all the adults having food names.  It was a very easy read.  This book is for 10-14 year olds, and I think this would be a good one for them to add to their list of must-reads.  Penny is going through what a lot of teenagers are going through, like divorce, bullying and making new friends, but Mrs. Hepler puts a unique twist on the story.  She keeps it fun and enjoyable.

¢Penny is used to living in Manhattan, population 8.2 million, but when her parents separate, her mom takes her to Hog’s Hollow, population 5,134.  Her mom opens a bakery in Hog’s Hollow, where Penny helps, along with her grandmother.  Getting used to the small town life is hard…especially when the popular crowd has decided they don’t like the new girl.  But, there starts to be perks in this small town.  She makes a couple of new friends, finds an art studio and even a boy she keeps running into on the beach.  She begins to think that maybe she had the wrong impression of Hog’s Hollow after all. 

      Just when Penny starts to get settled into the small town life with her new friends, her parents turn her world upside down, yet again.  They are getting a divorce, and now she has to make a choice…where does she want to live?

       Will she move back with her father to The City, to the big city life she’s always    known? Or will she stay in Hog’s Hollow with her mother and live the small town life?

One 9-weeks down...

Wow, I have officially survived my first 9 weeks of teaching! YAY! I can't believe it...It has gone by so fast! Overall, it has been great...busy, but great! I hope my students have learned as much from me as I have learned this semester... 

Sigh...Calculators...

A calculator is a wonderful thing...unless you are a Math teacher who is trying to get your students to use their brains!!  Sigh...It has not taken me long to take note of my students' dependence on their calculators.  Yes, technology is wonderful, blah, blah, blah...but being able to think for yourself and actually UNDERSTAND the concepts of Math is even better!  I am reviewing for the Target Test we have coming up next week, and today we were working on fractions, decimals and percents.  Do we really need a "Simplify" button on our calculator? Can we really not simplify 3/9 by ourselves?! I am having to go back to the basics of things my kids have been doing since forever because they haven't forgotten how to do it.  They have forgotten how to put it in the calculator! They don't understand WHAT the calculator is doing.  So, when I ask them how much a sweater that costs $30 is that's on sale for 10% off, they don't know what to do.  They want to know where the % sign is on the calculator and what to do with it! Again, I am not saying I never use a calculator nor that I don't think they are useful.  I am questioning, though, why the importance of learning what button to push has superseded the importance of learning how to think! Yes, calculators are accessible as well as a lot of technology now days, but is having Mental Math skills not important? If you answer yes, I don't want to ever hear you complain when the carhop at Sonic can't give you correct change because you gave them anything other than what is on the bottom of their receipt, telling them what to give back.  Critical thinking is a big issue in schools, and we wonder why...Basic understanding comes before critical thinking.  Can calculators really replace the building blocks of Math I'm supposed to be teaching in order to then get my students to think deeper? Yes, Dr. Zimmerly, I am having cognitive conflict. 

Oh my!!

Soooo, my kiddos just bombed their quiz...well, most of them.  I have been so excited, because they have been doing so well...Then, this happened.  So, I guess this is where I learn to go back, review, find out the problems and still keep up with my lesson plans as scheduled! While I was grading the quizzes, I wanted to scream, "WWWHHHHHHYYYYYYY????" It feels like I went over this stuff over and over, but I guess a different approach is needed...I know it is partly their fault for not doing well on the OPEN NOTE quiz, especially when I see some not taking notes! (Grr....) But, I can't help but keep thinking, what did I do wrong?