This book is set to the tune of an 1884 song titled "Oh My Darling, Clementine." A young man writes a ballad chronicling his attempts to let a young woman named Valentine know he's interested in her. The story flows well, especially due to the meter and rhyme.
There are many opportunities to discuss different ways of communication before technology overtook the ones the young man tried:
mailed letters via post office
sent a note through trained homing pigeon
used smoke signals from a bonfire
tapped a message with Morse code
rented a mail car
paid a rider on a pony
wrote a message by airplane
tied a message to a boulder
Activities to do with the book could include:
determining cause and effect
researching the history of the U.S. Post Office, homing pigeons, Morse code, The Pony Express, etc.
adding other ways the man could have communicated with Valentine, such as sign language, email, phone call, text message, etc.
differentiate which forms of communication were used in the past vs more modern ones
I recommend this book as a fun Valentine's Day activity for grades 3-5. Click the image above or this link to download the Google Doc.
The International Day of Peace (or World Peace Day) is celebrated annually on September 21. It is devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.
The book Can You Say Peace? by Karen Katz teaches kids a few ways to say the word "peace" in a few different languages. Because it's pretty basic, we took it up a notch and created a Google Earth project to show the countries mentioned in the book.
Click here for the Google Earth project. Get exploring! Want a challenge for your students? Have them add other countries as well as the languages and recordings of their pronunciations.
Today's post is all about colors, and more specifically books with bears and colors! Hope you don't mind my post title sounding like a Wheel of Fortune Before and After puzzle, haha.
Being able to read color words really helps kids with following directions in school and reading many early readers, as well as spelling and writing the words to add description to their stories.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle is an all-time favorite of many kids and parents. It teaches colors and animals and it's a quick, easy read. A quick Google search reveals tons of free activities and printables to do. Click "view web version" at the bottom of this post or here to view the read aloud video!
Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman is another must-read. We love the recipe this author has for books. The same group of friends, some rhyming and repetition, cute pictures, and a nice theme (message) that kids can relate to. Click "view web version" at the bottom of this post or here to view the read aloud video!
We are all about play and experience-based hands-on learning here, but sometimes my son does worksheets when I'm putting the girls down for naps. These free fall color words worksheets were so fun for him to do with his Do-a-Dot markers. I did have to trace the outline a couple of times for him to figure out what the picture was, but he loved them and wanted to do more than one at a time.
When my son was younger, he learned his colors very early. "The Colors Song" from Cocomelon not only helped him learn them, but it also helped him associate foods with their colors. Click "view web version" at the bottom of this post or here to view the video!
Snag a free printable here. Kids can trace and color!
Learning about Frog Life Cycles with A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson
We are big Karma Wilson book fans over here. We love the repetition and rhyme as well as the pictures. This one was great because we were able to tie in learning about biomes and life cycles in science while reading as well as practice our number words.
My son and I were perusing the library shelves after story time and we came across a book titled Blue Ridge Babies 1, 2, 3. It had a cute cover and we have been working on addition, subtracting, and counting as well as reading number words, so I decided to look it over. Seeing the cute pictures and words were written in word form meant it went into our large check out pile. When I got it home, it was so much more than a book to read with my preschooler!
For those of you homeschooling, or teaching PreK-3, this book has so much to offer, including a song! I made a printable activity that I did with my son, and here is what we covered.
If I was using this with my fourth grade class, we would locate the Blue Ridge on Google Earth. I'd ask, "Where else might a biome like this be found in America? Where might it be found in the rest of the world?" Then we would make our own books for other biomes.
Snag a free book template by clicking the image below or here. It's editable, so you can share a copy on Google Classroom, via email, or even adapt and print a copy for students to write and draw on.
Learn more about the writing, illustrating, and publishing process this book went through here:
My son loves Halloween and all things fall! We have spent a lot of time decorating and reading library books on the topic. I've chosen some of our favorites to share with you. These stories are great for reading at home or in the classroom.
I chose this book for my husband to read to our son at bedtime, and I know it would be a favorite if I read it to my class. If you know the 12 Days of Christmas song and story, this one follows the same pattern. There's one caveat, though - there are 13 days and the last one is a cliffhanger. It's the perfect way to get children involved in writing the ending!
This is a short book that is good for subtraction and reading of number words. It's a nice easy read for younger kids and a fast read aloud. Check out a video of it here.
This one is a favorite of my fourth graders every year, and obviously others love it too, because it was turned into a film in 2012. The rhyming and repetition make it easy to follow along, and it always has them rolling on the floor laughing. This is also why it's great for younger kids, who will want to read it again and again. Here it is in play version. Check out the DVD trailer, too!
The possibilities for participation in this read aloud are endless. Kids love the repetition and acting out clomp, wiggle, shake, clap, and nod as well as running, jumping, hiding, peeking, and laughing! It's fun to point out the onomatopeia and collect the verbs. View a read aloud here.
We love this series! We own many books from it, catching monsters and leprechauns and tooth fairies. My son's interest wasn't kept the entire time and I think part of it was that he's still afraid of the idea of monsters. Associating ninjas with monsters wasn't really making sense to him, but he seems less scared of monsters now. Watch the read aloud here.
At first glance, this book's pictures are pretty cool. If you have anything like The Great Jack-o'lantern Blaze near you, your kids will love this! And if not, it's a nice substitute. The tone can be a bit negative in terms of how the pumpkins talk (it included the dreaded "s" word, stupid) and spoiler alert - the kids aren't afraid of scary pumpkins. Still, the book has some redeeming qualities. It includes some figurative language including similes and has some science related vocabulary related to animals and vegetables. Children are introduced to foods they may not have ever had before, such as radishes, rutabagas, parsnips, and leeks. The message at the end is that kids are afraid of them, but I would have like to have seen the kids try to eat them!
After a recent trip to Liberty Science Center, we left the gift shop with a NASA shirt that says "I Need My Space" for my son and two books - one called This Little Scientist and another called Crinkle, Crinkle, Little Star. He is super into science and my daughters are loving touch and feel books, so they were big hits.
The latter is a rhyming book that extends the well-known song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" by adding information about some constellations and their stories. We also have this one, which is somewhat satisfying for the girls when they fight over the crinkle one.
Lastly, we came across a StoryBots video about Outer Space.
I cannot wait to see my son's reaction when he gets The Moon in My Room for his birthday. He, like most kids, has been fascinated by the moon since he could look outside. Before he was even two years old, he could point out the moon during the day and tell you when he saw a full moon or crescent.
Now you may not have a child or student in preschool or even lower elementary, but there are tons of great resources out there to get kids interested in astronomy. Here are a few:
My kids and I have been spending a lot of time at one of our favorite places, the library. My son became very interested in the colorful cover of Diane Alber's A Little Scribble Spot after seeing it prominently displayed on the new book shelf. The next day we grabbed the rest of the first set and he insisted on having them in his room so he could sleep next to them!
As a teacher with a bachelor's degree in psychology, I've always found it very important to work on social and emotional development in schools. The current generation of school age kids has been through a lot with the coronavirus pandemic and they are growing up with the pressures of social media and challenges of technology use. We couldn't be happier with the series, which has helped him talk about his emotions and how to work through them. Once you read one, you'll want to read others. There are 3 box sets of 21 books and then some single books that can be bought on her website or on Amazon.
Diane created this memorable rhyme to help children with anxiety, and my son has responded well to it. It's a little wordy for a 3 year old to remember, but he can finish the end of the line and follow along with the actions described in A Little Spot of Anxiety.
From the tip of my finger to the middle of my palm,
The world is a scary place right now, and always for many kids. I have compiled some of my son's favorite books, songs, and videos that are helping him through a variety of situations and topics, from potty training, to sleeping or being in the dark, getting a haircut, going to the dentist, and to trying new things. I have also included some of the resources I've used in my elementary school classroom.
"Logan is a stay-at-home bunny - but he's about to discover how brave he really is. It's time for his first adventure, and he doesn't want to go. But there's an amazing world outside, if he can just pluck up courage to look."
"Wemberly worried about spilling her juice, about shrinking in the bathtub, even about snakes in the radiator. She worried morning, noon, and night. "Worry, worry, worry," her family said. "Too much worry." And Wemberly worried about one thing most of all: her first day of school. But when she meets a fellow worrywart in her class, Wemberly realizes that school is too much fun to waste time worrying!"
"I Am Brave follows a little girl as she navigates her own family vacation, complete with her first airplane ride, a giant water slide at the hotel, a spooky cave—with bats!—and the main role in a disappearing trick. Thankfully, with her brother, parents, and even a magician as a guide, she learns to overcome hesitation and embrace her family’s new adventures. Repeating the affirmation that “I am brave” allows courage to take over and helps her have a very happy vacation."
"Meet Ruby--a happy, curious, imaginative girl. But one day, she finds something unexpected: a Worry. It's not such a big Worry, at first. But every day, it grows a little bigger . . . And a little bigger . . . Until eventually, the Worry is ENORMOUS and is all she can think about. But when Ruby befriends a young boy, she discovers that everyone has worries, and not only that, there's a great way to get rid of them too . . ."
"Being brave isn't the same as not feeling scared. Being brave is about what you do, even when you do feel scared." -Gator
"Thomas and his friends face their fears in their boldest adventure yet! After a monstrous storm on the Island of Sodor, a landslide unearths some very unusual footprints. Thomas and Percy are eager to find out what could have made these marks but obstacles and danger seem to appear around every bend in the track. With the help of new friends, a little digging, and a heap of courage, they discover the surprising answer and, along the way, uncover the true meaning of bravery. Join Thomas & Friends in this exciting and inspiring movie adventure."
Thomas & Friends The Brave Song - "Such a Brave Little Engine" video
"Buffers and Bumpers! There are times to be brave and times to be strong, Thomas knows what must be done! He knows and what is more... He's the leader! Number one! Such a brave little engine for sure!"
Is your child going to get his or her first haircut or are they returning to the barber's chair for the first time after a long quarantine? This video may help.
"Baby John's getting his very first haircut, and he's very nervous! There's nothing to be afraid of baby, especially when the hairdresser has you dancing to baby shark! Enjoy this fun song about getting your first haircut."
"Belly Breathe" video by Common, Colbie Callait, and Elmo
"Esperanza thought she'd always live a privileged life on her family's ranch in Mexico. She'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home filled with servants, and Mama, Papa, and Abuelita to care for her. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard work, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When Mama gets sick and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances-because Mama's life, and her own, depend on it."
―The number four ―The tip of a newly sharpened No. 2 pencil ―A crisp white pad of paper ―Her neatly aligned glass animal figurines
What’s not perfect is Molly’s mother leaving the family to take a faraway job with the promise to return in one year. Molly knows that promises are sometimes broken, so she hatches a plan to bring her mother home: Win the Lakeville Middle School Poetry Slam Contest. The winner is honored at a fancy banquet with white tablecloths. Molly is sure her mother would never miss that. Right…? But as time passes, writing and reciting slam poetry become harder. Actually, everything becomes harder as new habits appear, and counting, cleaning, and organizing are not enough to keep Molly's world from spinning out of control. In this fresh-voiced debut novel, one girl learns there is no such thing as perfect."
Sara Bareilles - "Brave"
Kelly Clarkson "Breakaway" is a great song to help empower kids to face fear of the unknown. Lyrics are clean and the song is calm enough to be played at school.
