Author life, Mouse's Christmas Gift

Getting Ready For Book Events

In my book, Mouse’s Christmas Gift, the villagers decorate a tree near the church with hair ribbons and quilt squares.

My dear friend Tonia made a tree that we can decorate together at book events. It turned out so cute!  I can’t wait to use it!

Hope you can join me at an event!  Check out all of my events by clicking on the link on the home page of this blog. 
Coming up:
October 7th LAUNCH PARTY at The Well Coffeehouse in Fishers, IN
And on October 11, Story Time at Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, MI.
Hope to see you there!
Author life

5 minute Friday – VACATION

I traveled a few miles this June.  School let out for the summer, and I left for Spain and Italy with a group of students and co-teachers.  We had a blast!  Here are a few of my favorite pics:

Parque Guëll in Barcelona

Las tres profesoras en Toledo

Roma

Roma
Island of Capri

Next, I hit the road to celebrate my parents’ golden 50th anniversary!  Kudos to them for staying together for the long haul.  I am proud to be their daughter.  We celebrated at my brother’s new home/farm in Springfield, MO.

Next stop, Ohio!  Another anniversary–my husband’s parents celebrated a 60 year milestone which Google tells me is the “diamond” anniversary.  Amazing. We spent the weekend swimming, barbecuing, and eating homemade ice cream. A lot of it.

Finally, my family and I went to Michigan–to Macinac, Island and the Upper Peninsula. This was our first time in the area (except for me when I was six years old so it still felt new).  We enjoyed ourselves!  I can’t even begin to tell you how relaxing the bike ride around the island was. I loved it!!
I highly recommend it for your next get-away.

Our bike ride on Macinac Island

Upper Peninsula

I have more photos of my experiences on Instagram at @mindybakerbooks.  It is such a treat to travel and see new sights and places with the ones I love.  I treasure each moment! Where have you been lately and what have you been up to?  I would love to hear about it!

Author life, My Faith

Five Minute Friday – ROUTINE

Is ROUTINE a positive or a negative?

I love my MORNING ROUTINE
  • 5:30 alarm goes off–
  • I “rest” a bit more, then shuffle down to make my coffee.
  • That Keurig I was sure I didn’t need is probably the item I use most in my kitchen. (Thanks, Doug!)
  • Cup of coffee under the covers while I “think/pray” then off to wake up the kids, take a shower, and rush off to work. 

That’s what I do. Monday through Friday.
Day after day after day.
Then there is WORK ROUTINE
Classroom routines are a must.  You know, the “ways” that you do things so students know that you are organized and what to expect. 
  • I have a “greeting”
  • I have the “sonrisa de hoy”  (a daily meme)
  • I have the “daily conversation questions” (most days)
  • I have a way I stamp homework, and a system of points for completion and partial credit.  
  • Homework always “counts.”
  • I have an agenda I keep on the Canvas Calendar.

The list goes on…
But in the classroom, I don’t want to get so “routine” that my students dread coming to class.
So I work hard to be creative, trying to keep it fresh–doing different things, in different ways, appealing to different learning styles. I incorporate technology and student choice.  I connect content with culture. I give comprehensible input…. You get the picture…
So enough about teaching!

Can a ROUTINE be negative? 
I think it can. If my life is in such a pattern or box that I never glance around to see what others are going through, then that is a problem or at the very least a red flag.  I never want my routine to keep me from seeing people the way Jesus sees them. And I especially do not want to miss opportunities to be light and life to those who are hurting and in need of someone who cares.
The bottom line–
I want to say yes to routine to prevent chaos, 
but I want to be willing to
drop my routine when God places a person or task along my path for a reason.

What about you?