My "Social Media Team" posed for this birthday wish for one of our favorite authors - Doreen Cronin.
Edit: Boy, were they excited to see her reply!
A blog about children and teen literature by a mother, grandmother, teacher and lover of books.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
The Wonderful Things You Will Be
I just got this lovely picture book to celebrate my granddaughter's 1st birthday. The illustrations are so sweet (just like my grandgirl :). Every single page is beautiful - pastel, light, and cheerful, even the inside front and back covers are filled with illustrations of adorable babies, and culminates in a 4-page foldout.
Emily Winfield Martin captures the wonder and dreams of every parent as they watch their beloved child grow. We all hope our children will see themselves as we see them - with unlimited potential. We want them to be kind, hard-working, clever, and loving.
This passage made my heart remember those first moments of meeting my sweet Betty:
"When you were too small
To tell me hello,
I knew you were someone
I wanted to know.
For all of your tininess
Couldn't disguise
A heart so enormous,,,
And wild...
and wise."
She is all of those things and I can't wait to see her this weekend!
Friday, March 16, 2018
Happy Birthday, Sid Fleischman!
When I taught 4th grade in California, we read this book every year in conjunction with our Gold Rush unit. Now that I teach in Washington, I can't break the habit and guess what? My students love the book just as much as my California kids, and I love having the opportunity to share the history of my hometown with them.
Thank you, Sid Fleischman, for a well-told tale that stands the test of time and...geographical location.
Thank you, Sid Fleischman, for a well-told tale that stands the test of time and...geographical location.
Monday, March 12, 2018
Tomie dePaola St. Patrick's Day Trio
Tomie dePaola is known for sharing tales from both his Irish heritage and his Italian heritage. I admire his love for his roots and have enjoyed many of his books over the years. (I'm a Strega Nona fangirl!)
In class, I've been reading St. Patrick's Day books during snack time since the beginning of the month. We've had the opportunity to read not one, not two, but THREE of his St. Patrick's Day books.
First, we read Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato. Jamie O'Rourke is known far and wide as the laziest man in Ireland. His long-suffering wife, Eileen, does everything that is necessary for them to survive. When Eileen's back goes out, Jamie is faced with the reality of having to provide for them. Let's just say he doesn't handle it in the conventional way :)
Later, we read Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka. Jamie is back and still the laziest man in Ireland. Eileen goes on a trip and leaves Jamie to contend with the daily chores, and he responds by deciding to stay in bed the entire time she is gone. As we all know, the best laid plans... and his pals show up to whoop it up in Eileen's absence. When Jamie wakes the next morning, the whole house is clean and he decides to try his luck again and discovers a pooka has been doing his chores. Hmmmm, how will Jamie respond to this good news?
These girls 😍 Both of these books are illustrated in dePaola's trademark style, using a St. Paddy's palette.
To top off our week, we read Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland, dePaola's retelling of the life of St. Patrick. We learned about his life from the time he was captured to be a slave until his death. Be prepared to explain religious vocabulary - most of my students didn't have a frame of reference for missionary, bishop, patron saint, etc...
We had a great follow-up discussion the next morning during our Morning Meeting about how brave he was and what it means to be brave. I showed them this video and asked them to look at what people were writing on the signs. We talked about how bravery is not just about risking your life for something you believe in, but we are brave whenever we do something we know is right even though it frightens us or makes us uncomfortable.
I'll bet your local library has these on the shelves!
If you're looking for a fun, easy prep St. Paddy's math activity, head on over to my TPT store! I've got Lucky Charms math packs for bother upper and lower elementary classes.
Looking for more St. Patrick's Day book suggestions? Click here.
And here
And here
And one more
In class, I've been reading St. Patrick's Day books during snack time since the beginning of the month. We've had the opportunity to read not one, not two, but THREE of his St. Patrick's Day books.
First, we read Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato. Jamie O'Rourke is known far and wide as the laziest man in Ireland. His long-suffering wife, Eileen, does everything that is necessary for them to survive. When Eileen's back goes out, Jamie is faced with the reality of having to provide for them. Let's just say he doesn't handle it in the conventional way :)
Later, we read Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka. Jamie is back and still the laziest man in Ireland. Eileen goes on a trip and leaves Jamie to contend with the daily chores, and he responds by deciding to stay in bed the entire time she is gone. As we all know, the best laid plans... and his pals show up to whoop it up in Eileen's absence. When Jamie wakes the next morning, the whole house is clean and he decides to try his luck again and discovers a pooka has been doing his chores. Hmmmm, how will Jamie respond to this good news?
These girls 😍 Both of these books are illustrated in dePaola's trademark style, using a St. Paddy's palette.
To top off our week, we read Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland, dePaola's retelling of the life of St. Patrick. We learned about his life from the time he was captured to be a slave until his death. Be prepared to explain religious vocabulary - most of my students didn't have a frame of reference for missionary, bishop, patron saint, etc...
We had a great follow-up discussion the next morning during our Morning Meeting about how brave he was and what it means to be brave. I showed them this video and asked them to look at what people were writing on the signs. We talked about how bravery is not just about risking your life for something you believe in, but we are brave whenever we do something we know is right even though it frightens us or makes us uncomfortable.
I'll bet your local library has these on the shelves!
If you're looking for a fun, easy prep St. Paddy's math activity, head on over to my TPT store! I've got Lucky Charms math packs for bother upper and lower elementary classes.
Looking for more St. Patrick's Day book suggestions? Click here.
And here
And here
And one more
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
The Littlest Leprechaun
We've started reading a St. Patrick's Day book a day to get in the spirit of the Emerald Isle. I use my "legendary" Irish accent for the dialog, which amuses my 4th graders ;)
Most of my books aren't new to me, so it was nice to find this one. The Littlest Leprechaun by Brandi Dougherty. As teachers, we often read aloud the same books year after year, and it's always nice to read something new to freshen it up for our own sakes.
This St. Patrick's Day tale is different from all the others I own because it doesn't focus on humans trying to catch leprechauns and how tricky leprechauns can be. Instead, we get the fun of having a window into a delightful little leprechaun village.
It is a story about Liam, the youngest leprechaun in a family of busy, hard-working leprechauns. All he wants to do is find a way to be helpful in his village, but very time he tries to help someone, it turns out that he is too small to do the work they are doing.
Of course, Liam's size eventually proves to be a blessing when Clover the unicorn gets into a jam. The whole village, with the exception of "the grumpy leprechaun," learns that even the littlest leprechaun is valuable to their village.
Michelle Lisa Todd's illustrations are darling! Filled with all the St. Paddy's colors, they make the reader wish to be right there on the page with leprechauns.
If you're looking for a fun, easy prep St. Paddy's math activity, head on over to my TPT store! I've got Lucky Charms math packs for bother upper and lower elementary classes.
Looking for more St. Patrick's Day book suggestions? Click here.
And here
And here
And one more
Most of my books aren't new to me, so it was nice to find this one. The Littlest Leprechaun by Brandi Dougherty. As teachers, we often read aloud the same books year after year, and it's always nice to read something new to freshen it up for our own sakes.
This St. Patrick's Day tale is different from all the others I own because it doesn't focus on humans trying to catch leprechauns and how tricky leprechauns can be. Instead, we get the fun of having a window into a delightful little leprechaun village.
It is a story about Liam, the youngest leprechaun in a family of busy, hard-working leprechauns. All he wants to do is find a way to be helpful in his village, but very time he tries to help someone, it turns out that he is too small to do the work they are doing.
Of course, Liam's size eventually proves to be a blessing when Clover the unicorn gets into a jam. The whole village, with the exception of "the grumpy leprechaun," learns that even the littlest leprechaun is valuable to their village.
Michelle Lisa Todd's illustrations are darling! Filled with all the St. Paddy's colors, they make the reader wish to be right there on the page with leprechauns.
If you're looking for a fun, easy prep St. Paddy's math activity, head on over to my TPT store! I've got Lucky Charms math packs for bother upper and lower elementary classes.
Looking for more St. Patrick's Day book suggestions? Click here.
And here
And here
And one more
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Come With Me
Another day, another lock-down. At least that's how it's starting to feel. Yesterday, we had a lock-down drill, something we do periodically during the school year. My class was in the gym for PE and I was sorely tempted to just keep working in my room, but I was obedient and followed all of the protocols.
Thank goodness, because about 5 minutes after the all clear was given, we had a real lock-down. I sat in the corner of my room, in the dark, behind a rocking chair, texting my adult children to let them know that we were locked down and that I love them. (Sorry, folks, but if I'm going to die today, my last words are going to be words of love to my children.) Then I started to think about my students down in the gym - were they frightened, was anyone crying, what adults were with them, would they really be safe if there was an intruder? I never thought I would wish to be with 24 nine year-olds in the middle of a lock-down, but that's exactly how I felt.
Half an hour later, the all clear was called and I hurried to the gym to help the PE teacher get them to the bus. They were mostly in good spirits and there were lots of hugs.
Today, we spent our Morning Meeting talking about their thoughts and feelings about the lock-down. Then we read this terrific book by Holly McGhee. The illustrations made it so readable. Often a tough subject is accompanied by photos or very realistic illustrations, but Pascal Limaitre creates an unintimidating canvas for children who are reading about a sensitive topic.
A young girl is troubled by the things she sees and hears happening in the world around her and asks her parents what she can do to make the world a better place. Each parent takes a turn with her by replying, "Come with me," and taking her to do an everyday activity, being friendly and kind to everyone along the way. I prefaced the reading by telling my students that I would cry as I read (they are used to this), and I did.
As the little girl goes about her daily activities with her parents McGhee uses these indescribably comforting and inspiring phrases:
"...that day they won a tiny battle over fear for themselves and for the people of the world,"
"..because one person doesn't represent a family or a race or the people of a land,"
and possibly my favorite, "They let her go, and sent a message to the world. They would not live in fear."
We talked about the fact that her parents weren't taking her to do unusual things, just the same old things they do day after day so that she would see that she could go on.
After we finished the reading, I had each of them write down one thing they can do to make the world a better place and put it on our Class Chat chart.
It made my heart happy to see them stopping by throughout the day to read the notes. A few of them even added another.
We were feeling pretty good about our morning. And then, we had another lock-down at lunch.
To be continued...
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