Character Building Books

Two weeks in and I'm doing a little silent scream - aaaack! 
It seems like all I'm doing is treading water.
Part of it is that I didn't get excited about school early enough.
Part of it is that College Girl was home - and I was trying to spend every minutes possible {or what she'd let me} with her.
Part of it (an enjoyable part) is I'm mentoring a newbie teacher - and I love helping her, but it does take time.
A BIG part of it is we are using Engage NY for math - and it is taking me a lot of time each day to figure out what I'm supposed to do there. 

So -- Deep Breath!

Here's a little of what we've been doing -

I was trying to read some character building books and these are two I used:

In Pigsty -a boy's mother tells him his room looks like a pigsty, and he decided he's OK with that... until, it really does become a pigsty. This book was recommended by Cooking Up a Great Year Together {a tasty back to school activity}By Fourth and Ten for responsibility.

In Lacey Walker - you guessed it, Lacey Walker is a nonstop talker. But then she loses her voice! I was using this book to show being a good friend.

I haven't done a very good job of tying the themes of the books into character traits. So my idea is - tomorrow and Friday - we will be discussing what makes a good friend and somebody we like to be around. 

And the worst possible thing happened today. I confiscated a little toy car from somebody who couldn't keep it out of sight - and now I can't find it! I even stayed after school and looked for it. Yikes!