The blog is back! Summer is a tough time to stay focused on education, but there is still a lot to think (and blog) about.  We'll be following local, state and national issues in education in the next few weeks but would also like to talk about summer reading. What are you reading and why? What books, if any, are your children reading? If you want some guidance on books for your children to read this summer, try the following link to Education World reading lists by grade: http://www.education-world.com/summer_reading/
 
This is a thoughtful list for grades K-8, including both classics and contemporary works.  For instance, the 8th grade list includes Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, which I recommend highly. Johnny is a very real character to whom teens and pre-teens relate easily. He is caught up in the historical events of the American Revolution.  A great summer activity would be to read this book and then visit Boston to walk the Freedom Trail and see the Old North Church, the waterfront, Paul Revere's house and other sites that are part of the setting of Johnny Tremain. In addition, ambitious families could visit Concord and walk the Battle Road where the events of April 17, 1775 are recorded in great detail on markers which you can read as you stroll along the very road that saw the British retreat before the minutemen. We rode bikes along the trail, which can be narrow and crowded in places but was very pleasant.  There are many parking lots along route 2a, as well as public restrooms and a fine visitors' center on the Lexington end of the trail.