This Children's Book Will Change Your Life

What can I say about What Do You Do With An Idea by Kobi Yamada. There's not much too say but this book is beautifully moving and has the potential to change your life.


"How so?" You may ask and I'm glad you did.  Yamada takes the hidden life of an idea and puts it into words and pictures that young and old can understand.

I love that the small boy wonders if he should go forward with his idea. He tries to hide it and continue on without but an idea is a powerful thing and it will follow you. Our small hero soon finds that out.

The book is musical in a way; the boy is always moving forward- doing things, having new experiences- and his idea is never far behind, moving, having new experiences with him and therefore constantly growing.

I will probably read this book to my kids until the pages fall out. I want them to be thinkers- not to be afraid to tell the world "Listen to me, I have something to share."

That's what I love about this book, it empowers kids, helps them realize that their ideas could change the world around them.

That was hint for the end of the book. Wait to you get to the end, you're in for a treat. No doubt you'll think about your ideas long after you have flipped the last page.

Have youngsters paint with you using long brush strokes to show movement. Older kids should develop ideas and write about them as a follow-up activity to this book.

Hey, let me know what you thought about What Do You Do With An Idea and if you had any exciting ideas of your own when reading this to your kiddos.

Happy Reading,
Elle

Officer Buckle and Gloria

The month of September in our elementary schools is a wonky month. There are several holidays - at least there are in my state- and the result is only 16-18 school days. This can make it hard to establish routines.

A great way to help with making routines in your classroom is through picture books.

Enter stage right - Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann. This book can start your students with rules that lead to routine and structure.

Officer Buckle loves rules. He's a little bit on the quirky side- but I like quirky people. Therefore, I love Officer Buckle!

The kids at the local school find his safety lessons a tad bit... how shall I say this... SNOR-ing.

<<<<<

But miraculously, our friendly officer gets some help from his canine companion, Gloria the dog. Gloria steps onto the stage and razzle- dazzles the sleepy students with flips, stunts and theatrical tricks that have the room spellbound.

Soon Officer Buckle and Gloria have everyone buzzing about the blessings of safety. Who knew rules could be so much fun.

Do you see it now?

This book is a favorite among teachers for the simple fact that it tells such a silly tale about safety and rules.
Use this book to spark a conversation with your kids about the class rules and establish a few routines. Have your kids answer the following questions:

1. How can we make sure that everyone in our class feels safe? (This questions will open a beautiful can of gummy worms. You'll be able to talk about this for days)
2. What kind of rules do we need in place to make sure everyone feels safe so that they can be successful this year?
3. What part do you play to make sure everyone can feel safe and be successful?
4. What part do you I (the teacher) play to make sure everyone can feel safe  and be successful?

Allow your kids to make their own safety tips (rules), make it into a class agreement have a discussion about it and be sure to have every kid sign that they agree to the rules. At the end of this activity, which may take two or three days- and that's normal- you may have a class rule list that looks like this:

Our Classroom is a place where everyone is safe so they can be successful. We pledge to-

1. Treat Everyone and Classroom Things with Respect (Go over what respect looks like)
2. Give Our Best Effort
3. Listen When Others are Speaking
4. Raise Our Hand to Lift Our Voice (in other words- raise your hand to talk)
5 Follow Directions Quickly
6. Make Good Choices

TA-DAH!!!!
 
 
Pick up this book and comment below.

How have you used it in your classroom?

And here's one extra resource just because I care!

Happy Reading,
Elle

How Extraordinary! A Review of An Extraordinary Egg

Could this book get any cuter?

An Extraordinary Egg, written and illustrated by Leo Lionni, tells the tale of friendly frogs who find an egg. What happens when the egg hatches... It must be a chicken of course.

Your little ones will squeal with delight as the baby alligator follows his new froggie friends around and as the frogs keep referring to it as a chicken.

A really good conversation about making mistakes is a perfect complement to this tale. Kids need to know that it's okay to make mistakes. Stop and ask your kiddos a question that they can not answer with a simple yes or no.

1. Why do you think the frogs believe the baby alligator is a chicken?
2. What kinds of animals are born from eggs?

Here's an egg-celent link tha'll take you to activities and facts about animals that are born from eggs!

Happy Reading,
Ellen

Jump for Joy for First Day Jitters

*Spoiler Alert

Anyone who has read First Day Jitters will get a kick out of the suspense it so masterfully builds. You will also get a kick watching your young children have no idea where the story is going.
 Oh, the kids can so relate. They totally get being nervous the first day of school.  They have no idea that the story is talking about ... the TEACHER! Join in with the kiddos as the chuckling and knee slapping that will ensue when you read the last page and the punchline is given.

Written by Julie Danneberg and cleverly illustrated by Judy Love, you'll notice the perfect comedy of each page as our main character's, "Sarah's" face is covered in some way. It kind of reminds me of "Wilson"the character Earl Hindman played on the sitcom Home Improvement in the 90's.

I'm dating myself here.

Anyway, back to the book.

There are a plethora of activities on the web to do using this book.
But you're a busy parent or a busy teacher who could use a shortcut to them.  That's why you came to this blog. I have the luxury of working in a position where part of it is to give teachers resources for kids using books. Lucky ME!

Here's a direct link to a freebie First Day Jitters PDF.  Also, another printable full of discussion questions and activities for your kiddos.

Hey,  if you get a chance to try these activities, let me know how it goes by commenting below.

Happy Reading,
Elle

The Start of a New School Year

If you have a child the start of a new school year means that your child's teacher will be sharing with the class a ton of new children's picture books. And why wouldn't they? Picture books are great! They teach moral lessons, they're entertaining and funny, and they are often accompanied with art gallery worthy illustrations. Yes... picture books are where it's at! The fun that is... Now I know what you're thinking: "But Elle, there are so many picture books. How do I know which ones to read with my child?

Never fear! I'm here to help you navigate through some of the best kids lit out there. You and your child (or class) are sure to get discussion ideas and activities. So read on!

In this blog, I am going to shed light on some wonderful children's literature ( or kids lit as I like to call it). I should be posting a review once a week.  Sometimes I will focus on picture books and other times chapter books for young readers (2nd -5th grade). Just to start this off right here are  the 2015-2016 Kindergarten and First Grade Picture Books that you can begin reading with your children. This list is perfectly aligned with the school year. Also, Barnes and Nobles ISBN is on the second document, in case you would like to make a few purchases.

Happy Reading
Elle