The Poet Laureate recommends...

The Hound Dog's Haiku: And Other Poems for Dog Lovers 

by Michael J. Rosen. Illustrated by Mary Azarian

Great poems about dog breeds, such as Border Collie, Siberian Husky, Bloodhound, English Springer Spaniel and Dachshund are combined with Mary Azarian's incredible wood block prints.

Here a link to the Hound Dog's Haiku Google Books page.

You can follow Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis at:

Poetry Foundation

One Misty Moisty Morning...

When cloudy was the weather
I chanced to meet....

NOT an old man clothed all in leather, but a few of my students and a parent!  This nursery rhyme immediately popped into my head as we came upon each other.  We had a lovely walk the rest of the way, with our conversation ranging from the weather to the best chestnut trees to the fall foliage, which, after two days of heavy rain, was mainly on the ground! 

Fast forward eight hours, I am walking back home and the misty moisty morning has been replaced with a sunny blustery afternoon.  My unzipped  rain jacket was being whipped open and closed and my hair was on end.  I could only picture myself in Pat Hutchins' wonderful The Wind Blew.  This story was and is numbered among my children's favorite stories.  It is such a wonderful example of the connectedness of life; this blustery wind moves from person to person and place to place sewing an invisible thread and bringing everyone together.

I became a library teacher because I am a natural dot connector.  My brain is constantly looking for, seeing and finding connections.  Literature provides a beautiful meeting ground for all kinds of dot connectors, with our varying backgrounds, diverse learning styles and wonderful thoughts.

What a great way to begin and end my work day!

The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins

www.amazon.com

Everything has value.

Dot Thoughts

International Dot Day continues!  Students "Make their Mark!"

My 3rd grade students and I read the dot by Peter H. Reynolds. They discussed how they thought Vashti felt when she "opened her never-before-used set of watercolors and set to work."  As with the 1st and 2nd grade students, they readily identified with Vashti and easily made self to text connections.  It was once again heartening to witness their empathy and support for Vashti as well as their excitement at her self discovery.  With markers and paper, they set off to create Dot Thoughts, words to describe how Vashti was feeling.

The first movie is of students showing their Dot Thoughts. The second is of them making their Dot Thoughts.  Enjoy!


The Dot Thoughts
   


The Making of the Dot Thoughts

In celebration of glorious weekend weather

Circle

by Jane Yolen

Round as a ball,

Round as the sun,

A circle goes round

To where it's begun.

Where it's begun

Is where it will end,

And then it starts circling

Over again.

From Shape Me a Rhyme: Nature's Forms in Poetry

X marks the spot

As I looked at the sky I kept thinking, "If the x axis...."

Of Dots, Celebrations and Students Reminding Me....

...how fabulous they are.

This is one for the memory bank!

Two weeks ago, I celebrated International Dot Day with my first grade students (See the earlier post entitled, "International Dot Day!).  I wore my favorite "dotty" skirt.  We Skyped. We read. We discussed. We created. We shared.  Fast forward two weeks and one day, I am back in front of my first graders introducing a lesson.  Two hands shoot up. I gesture for child number one to share. "Mrs. Reed!  Your dress has dot mandalas on it!" I call in the art teacher, who was in the hallway, and we celebrate their knowledge and understanding of artistic forms.  The second child, who waited so patiently says, "Mrs. Reed, you should have worn that dress on International Dot Day!"  "Yes," I agreed and followed with, "I will wear it next year!" The same student raises his hand again and with a huge grin and sparkle in his eyes, shares (with a tinge of sadness), wait for it ... "But it won't fit you next year!" Indeed.  Nothing to do here but let out the laugh that built up inside me, give the student a reassuring smile and share with the whole class that I was likely past my growth spurt and would not be growing any taller. What a great reminder that we build our understanding on our experiences and his experience of six years has certainly been one of "out growing clothes."  I won't even consider the alternative method of outgrowing one's clothes. At six years of age he can't have been inferring that, right?"

So in celebration of the sagacity of six year old children, a little A.A. Milne!

From Now We Are Six
When I was One,

I had just begun.

When I was Two,

I was nearly new.

When I was Three

I was hardly me.

When I was Four,

I was not much more.

When I was Five, I was just alive.

But now I am Six, I'm as clever as clever,

So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

As for the other celebration, I attended a birthday party for a local children's book and toy shop, where it appears I was tempted to buy only books which matched said dress.

Here's to dots, celebrations, fabulous students (and a dotty dress which I hope fits next year)!