Finishers minus 2

The May Finishers' meeting was missing two important members, Isaiah and Bonnie! However we still had a fun, food-filled and productive meeting. The meeting was held at fan-favorite Fudruckers in Calumet City. Among the things discussed were: will Johnny quit the Finishers? (NO!) Will the Finishers read some graphic novels? (Yes, starting with the October book.)

The Watsons go to Birmingham was a run-away hit, with the highest ratings ever given to ANY book so far: *****!

At the next meeting, the boys will discuss The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

The meeting will be held Saturday, June 11, 2011 at a surprise location, where we will celebrate the end of our 2nd season! And yes, there will be a summer project this year!

Catching Up

The February meeting took place at the Black Creativity exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. At left, the boys had a serious discussion about this art exhibit's depiction of lynching.

Some of the work was also astoundingly beautiful. Befow right, W poses next to an amazing sculpture of a bass.

The Finishers fell apart last month! For some reason, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz just didn't work for the boys. They struggled to finish, couldn't remember what they read--it just didn't work! What caused the problems?

Well, they are writing 3 paragraphs to tell why they had such a hard time with such a small book. The paragraphs are due at the next meeting.

About the next meeting: it's April 2 at noon; an early start for a busy day. Finishers have to dress for the day: old clothes, old shoes and long sleeves. They are working (for pay) before they talk about books.

And because we didn't have time to vote this month, next month's book is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.



Next month's meeting will be another special event. Saturday, May 7 at 9:30 am. Once again, old clothes and long sleeves will be the uniform of the day. But the boys won't be working this time!

The January Meeting

The Finishers missed meeting in the busy month of December. but got back to business in January. There was one little problem--NONE OF THEM COULD REMEMBER MUCH ABOUT THE BOOK! In November, they read Frank L. Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Looks like they have to re-read it for the February meeting.

The boys were REALLY busy! They each got a new book about what they said they wanted to be when they grew up--paleontologist, president of the United States, and artist. Short book reports will be due at the February meeting.

Also at the January meeting, they worked on treasure maps--posters to help them set goals in the future. On the left are Walter and Johnny with their completed maps.



Isaiah had to rush to his basketball game and will complete his poster later.

Finally--HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Bonnie, January 26

and to Johnny, February 10!

The next meeting will be held at 1:30 pm, Saturday, February 26, 2011. Don't forget to vote for the next book!

The Finishers Welcome Their First Guest Reader!

The November meeting was held at Fuddrucker's in Calumet City. Desmond Smith, our first Guest Reader, made a good meeting great! We discussed Among the Hidden, a book that got 4.5 stars and was profoundly moving. It sparked a deep conversation, touching on topics like injustice, genocide, slavery and totalitarianism. All this brilliance from boys aged 9-12!

On a lighter note: the boys enjoyed learning about Desmond's Kindle and they created a Finisher's theme song!

We're delighted that Desmond will be joining us on occasion for other meetings!

The Finishers Earn Their Shirts!

The bad photo to the right shows the triumphant Finishers modeling their new shirts! They earned the shirts by completing the summer project. The bad photo is the result of Mari forgetting to bring her camera.

The October meeting was held at Leona's, where the Finishers ate--not pizza--but huge burgers and discussed Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz. The book got 4 stars from the guys!

We've read Among the Hidden for November's meeting and the book chosen for the December meeting is The Wizard of Oz.

Vote for the December Book!!

You've probably seen the movie, but do you really know the story of the Wizard of Oz? What about Alice in Wonderland or the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

This month's choices are all books from which movies were made. Let's learn the real story. How much did the movies leave out? Would the missing pieces have made a better movie or just a LONGER one?



The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Follow the adventures of young Dorothy Gale and her dog, Toto, as their Kansas house is swept away by a cyclone and they find themselves in a strange land called Oz. Here she meets the Munchkins and joins the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion on an unforgettable journey to the Emerald City, where lives the all-powerful Wizard of Oz.









Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
What happens when the five luckiest children in the entire world walk through the doors of Willy Wonka's famous, mysterious chocolate factory? What happens when, one by one, the children disobey Mr. Wonka's orders? In Dahl's most popular story, the nasty are punished and the good are deliciously, sumptuously rewarded.


Alice in Wonderland
The strange adventures of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world full of peculiar, yet engaging, creatures. Many of these characters, including the White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter and March Hare, are known to almost all of us. But, do you know the Jabberwocky?

Big Changes for the Finishers!

The Finishers Read!

The boys have an official club T-shirt and a new motto: F3P. F3P is pronounced "F cubed P" and means Finishers have Faith, Focus and Perseverance.

The shirts must be earned (the boys have to prove they are Finishers by completing the summer assignment).

New October Book

Mari is happy to report that the Finishers changed their minds! Instead of reading Twilight for the October meeting, we will be reading Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz.




The September Meeting

The Finishers' back-to-school adventure was a trip to Radke's Orchard in Michigan City Indiana, where they enjoyed a couple of exciting tractor rides and picked apples and pears (sorry, no photos--the photographer was picking apples and pears, too). The boys agreed that the trip should be an annual event.

Then it was on to Denny's in Michigan City for lunch and a discussion of Gifted Hands, the autobiography of Dr. Ben Carson. Mari's sporting the new shirt; she finished the summer assignment!

Last, but not least:
Congratulations to "I" for making the school basketball team!!!


The Book for November

The voting was close; at one point we had a two-way tie.
The winner and book to be read for November's meeting is....

Check next month to vote on the book for December!