My Summer of Books – Part 1

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Jennie

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My summer has been filled with reading children’s books, from new picture books to books for older children, and classics.  Every one has been satisfying and thrilling, yet in different ways.  Some books are funny, some are filled with history, some teach important lessons in a subtle way.  On and on.  I will tell you about these terrific books.

Part 1: picture books.

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Together We Grow by Susan Vaught

The gorgeous illustrations by Kelly Murphy bring to life the story of a barn full of animals during a thunderstorm.  A fox and her kits look for shelter, but they are predators to the animals in the barn.  Can the animals welcome a fox for the night?  The rhyming text is sparse yet rich in language.  The opening words are, “Lightning gash!  Windy lash!”  I love this book!

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Be Quiet! and We Will Rock Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins

For lovers of the Mother Bruce books, these two new Ryan Higgins books do not disappoint. The humor is engaging and never lets up in Be Quiet!  The storyline in We Will Rock Our Classmates is a classic for children; worry and self doubt combined with bravery.

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Billions of Bricks, a Counting Book About Building by Kurt Cyrus

Where, oh where was this book when I was a child?  This is math, a counting book about building with bricks.  It brings counting and numbers to life.  “Two four six.  Ten twenty thirty.  Mix mix mix.  Arches pillars walls and cellars.  Twenty forty sixty eighty.”  These are some of the words in the story that combines rhyming, counting, bricklaying and architecture.  A must read book for children.

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One Little Bag, An Amazing Journey by Henry Cole

The delightful pencil drawings, with the brown bag as the only color, are perfect illustrations for the story of a brown bag, over generations.  The wordless book begins with illustrations of a forest and the cutting of trees and a paper mill before the story even begins.  What a build-up.  No words are needed in this story.  It begins with a boy and his brown lunch bag.  It stays with him from family adventures to college, to meeting his love, and so much more,  It circles life and death, love and new beginnings.  This book is proof that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Stay tuned for Part 2, more picture books.

Jennie

Posted in Book Review, books, children's books, Early Education, picture books, reading | Tagged , , , , , | 78 Comments

Little Sundrop

Posted on August 21, 2020 by Jennie

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Little sundrop, where were you when you family bloomed in June?
They grew, as a big happy family.
They were in full glory on the Fourth of July.

The days of August have put them to rest,
yet here you are like a beautiful new baby.
I will care for you.
Your family must be very proud.
You will all meet under the soil this winter
and bloom again in the spring.

Jennie

Posted in Expressing words and feelings, Inspiration, Nature, wonder | Tagged , , , | 51 Comments

“Inspiration is not the exclusive privilege of poets or artists. There is, there has been, there will always be a certain group of people whom inspiration visits…”

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Jennie

moorezart's avatarArt of Quotation

Inspiration is not the exclusive privilege of poets or artists. There is, there has been, there will always be a certain group of people whom inspiration visits. It’s made up of all those who’ve consciously chosen their calling and do their job with love and imagination.

Difficulties and setbacks never quell their curiosity. A swarm of new questions emerges from every problem that they solve. Whatever inspiration is, it’s born from a continuous ‘I don’t know.’

Wislawa Szymborska. “The Poet and the World”. Nobel Lecture, http://www.nobelprize.org. December 07, 1996.

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Today’s Quote

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Jennie
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Ahead of His Time

Posted on August 18, 2020 by Jennie

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“Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero.”
~Fred Rogers~

Jennie

Posted in Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Inspiration, Quotes, self esteem, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , , , | 56 Comments

The Green Mountain State – Vermont, Part 2

Posted on August 16, 2020 by Jennie

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This sight brought on a huge smile.
A big American flag against the backdrop of the Green Mountains.
Life is good.

Our destination was the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont.  There’s a back story here, which many of my longtime bloggers know.  Milly the quilter ‘happened’ because of my first visit to this museum.  I went there to see the Grandma Moses collection, was thunderstruck at their Haitian quilt exhibit, and… the rest is history.  My classroom designed quilts that now hang in National museums.  Milly hand-sewed those quilts.  The children loved Milly.  She dearly loved them, too.

Fast forward to now.  I was headed, once again, to see the Grandma Moses collection.  The museum hosted a series of webinars on Grandma Moses, which I ‘gobbled up‘, and was determined to create a unit of study at school.  Fortunately a museum director loves the idea as well, and gave me a tour of the collection.  We brainstormed about the many possibilities at school, using the paintings to learn about seasons, animals, farm life, and more.  Did you know Grandma Moses used glitter in her winter paintings?

D98C772E-0E76-48FC-84AA-CA80EF3698FCThank you Bennington Museum for this lovely gift!

There is a plethora of artifacts and art in the museum.  It houses a diverse collection of history from soup to nuts.  There is something for everyone.  Let’s take a tour.

09E4F305-D536-4136-8C2C-8E3E23C92CADA magnificent entrance.  The building was originally a church.

17AB5AA3-3CE0-4FE8-9B2D-4621688407E8This eagle is huge and graces the lobby.

CD2D2D4A-4FDD-4E0E-B7A8-6C811CDEFB29A storm coming across the Green Mountains.  One of my favorite paintings.

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This is what I saw traveling across Vermont.

B1AA078F-00E6-4B6C-8B21-9C4F7BFEF2704FC75991-FA4F-4600-AB1F-4920D3AC1B09Bennington is famous for its pottery, still being made today.

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Those clever Yankees used everything, including turning tree fungus into art.

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Headstones in the old New England cemeteries were beautifully carved and decorated.  Many were made of slate which retains its markings.
This one is made of marble- quite rare.

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Native hardwood trees make for beautiful furniture.

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This is a Memory Ware Tower.  It was popular in the late nineteenth century
to collect special personal items and attach them to pottery.
Won’t my children at school have fun making one of these?

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Modern art is exciting.  I can’t wait to recreate this with the children.

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I got lost in this room in the best of ways.  Silver, tools, hardware…

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Vermonters didn’t throw away anything.
An old fence post can become a work of art.
Maybe this one scared away crows.

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Outside the museum was a StoryWalk.
Follow the trail, read the page of the story, and build with items in the woods.
Tell your own story using words on wood chips,
hanging them on a big tree stump.

There was more driving and Vermont discovery.  Our last stop was the famous Bennington Monument.  Grandma Moses added this monument to some of her popular paintings.

E3AB83AD-74DE-4C9B-9E4A-F73194F2F4E3C4611B89-6464-4AB1-A19E-84E9B1D9A8B5The Bennington Monument is a famous tribute to
The Battle of Bennington,
a 1777 battle of the American Revolutionary War.

Thank you for coming along on my trip to Vermont.  Happy trails to you.

Jennie

Posted in America, art, geography, Inspiration, museums, Nature, The Arts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 61 Comments

Morning at the Market

Posted on August 14, 2020 by Jennie

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A giant field of gorgeous sunflowers and zinnias
greeting customers as they arrive to shop for local produce.
A delightful way to start the morning.

Jennie

Posted in Expressing words and feelings, Inspiration, Nature, wonder | Tagged , , , , , | 55 Comments

The Green Mountain State – Vermont, Part 1

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Jennie

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Yes, I know.  You want to be there, too.

Hubby and I put the top down on the old sports car and drove to Vermont.  Winding back roads all the way.  The weather was glorious, big puffy clouds and a bright blue sky.  We’re fans of real maps that show you more than ‘how to get there’.  No GPS for this trip, just finding the least traveled roads on our old fold-out map.

We were kids again, not caring if the wind blew our hair or if we we were lost.  We had a map, we were good to go.  Time was unimportant- a rare thing these days.  I was writing poetry in my head.  I was singing, everything from Frank Sinatra to the Beatles.  I was thinking of my children at school and what I could bring to the table.

We both love history.  As we drove over mountain after mountain (no wonder it’s called the green mountain state), we talked about the pioneers who traveled west.  Surely, when they crossed one mountain they thought “this is it”, only to see more mountains to cross.

Cool rock fact: Everything to the west of the Green Mountains is marble.  Everything to the east is granite.  I learned that at the Vermont Marble Museum some years ago.

Vermont is beautiful.  Period.  Cities are charming, towns are friendly, and you can find everything from agriculture to art.  It was a perfect drive, our summer getaway.

We actually had an ulterior motive, visiting the Bennington Museum in Bennington (Part 2).  Grandma Moses was the driving force in the best of ways.  Oh, yes!  Stay tuned.

Jennie

Posted in America, geography, history, Inspiration, Nature, wonder | Tagged , , , , | 84 Comments

A Belated Graduation

Posted on August 9, 2020 by Jennie

Pete Springer is an outstanding teacher who cares as much for his students as he does for education. He is retired, yet he still reaches out to ‘his kids’. This year with Covid-19, he felt a big loss for his former third grade students. Read just what he did!

petespringer's avatarPete Springer

Schools in our area shut down in March, and the students finished their school year online. The high school decided to postpone graduation with the hope that they would be able to hold a formal public graduation ceremony on July 31st. Sadly, health conditions have worsened in our area. I don’t know all the specifics, but today the school district is doing the responsible thing and holding a virtual graduation.

One of the little-known secrets about education is that many teachers get emotionally invested in their students’ lives. In other words, the kids become our students for life. The relationship doesn’t suddenly end when they leave our classrooms. It does not conclude for many of the students, either. Some occasionally drop by or reach out online to say hello. It’s always great to catch up and hear about the latest news in their lives.

Over the years, I’ve…

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Becoming Inspired to Write

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Jennie

The days have been hot and humid, not the best for writing.  Today I had a huge dose of inspiration.  I played with E.B. White’s Underwood typewriter.  Really.

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I was so very careful.  Of course I didn’t hit a key.  What I did was even better; the keys on the typewriter are slightly indented and round, perfect for a finger.  I fingered the keys, running the tips of my fingers in circles on each key.  I was soaking in all the words E.B. White had typed.

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This typewriter typed “some pig”, “terrific”, and many more wonderful words.  Did I find those letter keys?  T-E-R-R-I-F-I-C?  Of course I did.  Can you imagine the feeling of touching the words E.B. White wrote?

There’s more.

E.B. White read aloud Charlotte’s Web.  His original recording, chapter by chapter, was made on record albums in a boxed set.  I had no idea.

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I opened the box and read the labels on the albums.  Each record side has two or more chapters.  This boxed set was a gift from E.B. White to his grand niece.  He is Uncle Andy to her.

“Jennie, you’re crying.”

“I guess I am.”

“He wrote me a letter when he sent the recording.”

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“Do you see where he started to sign it E.B. and then crossed it out, remembering it was for his grand niece?  Will you read the letter aloud to me?”

I noticed the signature.  Very cool!  And, I read the letter aloud.  Gifted writers use few words to convey many thoughts.  This letter is a case in point.  And, when was the last time you used the word ‘dispirited’?  What a lovely letter to Lindsay from her Uncle Andy.

When a new school year begins, I start chapter reading on ‘day one’.  Every year the first book I read is Charlotte’s Web.  It is always the favorite.  I have written many blog posts on Charlotte’s Web and on reading aloud.  This is the most important thing I do in teaching.  Having the opportunity to touch E.B. White today inspires me to write. Oh, does it ever!  It also gets me excited for the new school year and reading aloud Charlotte’s Web.

Jennie

Posted in books, chapter reading, children's books, E.B. White, Early Education, Inspiration, reading aloud, reading aloud, Teaching young children, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 77 Comments