Little Treasures

I've had this bulletin board up for several months (FREE from Digital Divide and Conquer). As the students exhibit one of these friendship qualities, they can fill out a form to add to our bulletin board. As I was taking things down today, I noticed these gems:

I think this is my favorite :)

Miss Rumphius

While the children eat their morning snack, I read a picture book aloud. Lately, I've been on a nostalgia kick and have been selecting books from my early years of teaching. Today's choice was Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney.

Cooney wrote and illustrate this lovely story about a girl who chooses her own path and relishes all of the joy and all of the difficulties. Her illustrations, done in acrylics and Primacolor pencils, are reminiscent of American folk art and give the reader a feeling of walking through history. The double-page spreads of her island speak to me, perhaps because I, too, live on an island that I love. The cool colors, the fog, the friendly feel of the village give the reader the unmistakable urge to visit.

Miss Rumphius, the Lupine Lady, began life as Alice and her life story is told by her great-niece. She listens to her grandfather's stories of far away places and vows to follow in his footsteps - travel the world and then settle by the sea. He challenges her to also do something to make the world more beautiful.

Alice becomes a librarian (one of my favorite illustrations in the book!) and then goes off to see the world - and she does, with great flair and gusto. When she injures her back, she settles in a cottage by the sea to recuperate and begins to contemplate what she can do to make the world a more beautiful place. I'll leave the rest for you to discover, but I want to make one more observation about the illustrations - as she begins her journey to make the world a more beautiful place, she bears a striking resemblance to Katherine Hepburn.

Alice Rumphius models the excitement, adventure, independence, and even loneliness in the life of a woman who has chosen her own destiny and moves forward with faith and joy.

Though Barbara Cooney has been gone for 18 years, her books will resonate with young readers, and their parents, for decades to come. She believed in writing TO children rather than AT them, and that is one of many reasons that children love her stories.

The two-time Caldecott Medal winner wrote and/or illustrated 110 books during her lengthy career.  According to The Washington Post, Tim Moses of Viking Children's Books, states that she was Miss Rumphius.

"Of all the books I have done," she once told Moses, " 'Miss Rumphius,' 'Island Boy' and 'Hattie and the Wild Waves' are the closest to my heart. These three are as near as I ever will come to an autobiography." 

This is an excellent article in The Atlantic about Cooney and her work, a more verbose article in The Horn Book, and another, shorter, more personal article in The Washington Post, from which the above quote was taken, written shortly after her death.

The Wolf's Chicken Stew

I headed down Memory Lane with this one. During my 1st year of teaching (1996-97, yikes!) our 1st grade team used this charming picture book as one of our 100th Day of School reads. It was a stretch, but we made it work ;)

This is an adorable story of a hungry wolf who is determined to fatten up a chicken before popping her into his stew pot. So, over the course of 3 nights, he makes and delivers 100 pancakes, 100 doughnuts, and a 100 pound cake to her doorstep (see how we made it work?)

In a surprising twist, the hen kills him with kindness and I'll let you find out how.

This is the first book written and illustrated by Keiko Kasza. She has since published 21 more and been honored with more than a dozen literary awards.

Her bright, friendly pictures make the wolf in seem like a loveable neighbor even as he calls out, "Eat well, my pretty chicken. Get nice and fat for my stew!"

Classroom Library - Helping Them Expand Their Horizons

When we find something we like, we tend to stick with it - that's true of food, clothing, technology, people, and books.

My students will connect with a genre, series, or author, and it's like pulling teeth to get them to read anything else.

I have a large classroom library, so they have plenty to choose from, but right now the sections that are in demand and completely picked over are: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Heidi Hecklebeck (since I introduced it to my non-Outdoor Ed group right before Spring Break), and graphic novels.

So...I decided to try something new to encourage them to change it up and dare to read something outside their comfort zone. Each month (March was the first month I tried it), I select 4 books for my What's New in Room 302 shelf. I write up a little blurb (green tags) and place the books and their blurbs on the shelf and wait to see what happens.

Last month, 3 of the 4 books became popular and I'm hoping that by the end of this week, all four of these titles will be checked out and voraciously read.

Cross your fingers!

Happy Birthday to Margaret Petersen Haddix!

I've started having my "Social Media Team" create videos for author birthdays and we post them to Instagram. Here'e the one they created for Margaret Petersen Haddix.

Happy Birthday

They were so excited to do it because we just finished reading one of her older books, Running Out of Time. If you scroll down on the post, you'll see that she replied - they were over the moon!

I've been reading this treasure to my 4th graders for years and, as time goes by, I have to explain more and more about the 1990's to my students, but it's always worth it.

Haddix is well-known for both her Missing series and her Shadow Children series, all of which I recommend for young adult and middle grade readers. 

Be sure to visit her website. Her bio is interesting and kid-friendly, there's great interview in which she talks about herself as both a reader and a writer, and much more. 

Our class is in the middle of Dear Mr. Henshaw right now, so I was delighted to see a link on her site that says "Writing a Report? Here's some quick information about me." I laughed out loud.

Happy Birthday, Doreen Cronin!

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!

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!

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.

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

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

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...

Author Visit: Lynn Brunelle

Our school Science and Maker Fair is coming next week! Our PTO sponsors it and runs it, so as teachers we just get to enjoy it :) They wanted to get the students excited about it, so they invited local author, Lynn Brunelle, to visit and share some of her love for science with our students today.

We had so much fun with her! She shared her books with us, including her soon-to-be-released Turn This Book Into a Beehive. I found out that she used to write for the Bill Nye show (fangirl alert)!

She did some simple, interesting experiments with the students, which reminded me how much they enjoy simple things. We often feel the pressure to provide rigor and push them beyond their current grade level requirements, but she didn't use a single piece of expensive equipment, she just brought:

• eggs
• Ziploc bags
• hairdryer
• rubbing alcohol
• candle
• match
• food coloring
• vegetable oil
• corn syrup
• roll of toilet paper
• pencil
• ping pong ball
• water
• narrow-necked glass jar

With this relatively short list of have-at-home materials, she helped the children complete 8 experiments.

My class says they particularly liked these two experiments best:

Egg Sucking Bottle

Density Tower - she only did 4 layers with the water, rubbing alcohol, corn syrup and vegetable oil, but you'll get the idea.

Follow this link to see all of Lynn's books, and be sure to look for her on YouTube!