Two Bobbies

Image courtesy of: http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780802797544-0

Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship and Survival By Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery is one of my favorite of this year's Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award nominees. A non-fiction story that captures the hearts of children (and adults) like this one is a treat. Because the students are so interested in these 2 precious survivors, it leads us to a natural desire to learn more. I've been using this book as a springboard to help our students see what a useful tool the Internet can be for researching about things that you may want to know more about. We've visited www.twobobbies.com and learned more about Bobbie and Bob Cat's life after the book and also more about hurricanes.

I am not allowed to vote for the WCCPBA's but if I were I think this one might be the one I'd pick!

Kindergarten Castles and More

Below are a few of the work samples from our Kindergarteners. They were asked to illustrate the setting and main character from Bruce Hale's Snoring Beauty, one of this year's Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award nominees. The were instructed to use shapes that they knew, and therefore reinforcing shapes studied in math, to create the setting and the characters. They could, of course, add more using their imaginations. If you are looking for the main character, fair Princess Marge, she can be in either princess or dragon form! This was a fun book and I think it could be a contender for the title!

1st and 2nd are busy exploring WCCPBA nominees as well. 3rd- 5th are busy, busy, busy doing research. It is amazing to watch their skills grow and I cannot wait to show you the final products! :)

Happy New Year!

Here is a shot of one of the Fairy Tale Genre Elements Crowns our 1st graders made to culminate our study of fairy tales. This little guy liked Goldilocks and the Three Bears the best out of the ones we studied.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a restful break. It is great to be back and the kids are really working hard. Research projects are proceeding nicely in 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. The younger grades are working on Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award nominees, studying different literary concepts such as settings, character traits (both physical and personality) and the like.

I also found out that a grant I wrote on behalf of 2nd grade to take a field trip to the Cashmere Pioneer Museum was a winner, so the whole grade level will get to go, thanks to Target's Field Trip Grant. We will be connecting to the study of pioneers in the library and were awarded funds to buy accompanying books. Fantastic! We love Target!