Read In Week 2015

One of my classes I'm taking now is a combined undergraduate and graduate course. This means there are both undergrad students and master's candidates. A lot of these candidates are full-time teachers, part-time teachers, retired teachers, consultants, etc.! It's awesome as they have an immense amount of teaching knowledge that I look forward in learning and continue to make more professional connections! 

With that, one of my classmates invited me into her classroom to read to her grade 4's! Of course, I said YES. I love reading; I love picture books, and sometimes I forget how exciting it is to see these kiddo's faces when I read such interesting stories. Plus, I've read to billions of kids, so a class of 26, I have it down. It also makes me miss being in a classroom. 

I love the purpose of Read In Week and having guest readers come into school classrooms. I can't wait when it's my time asking favors for allllllllll my friends. *cough cough*

Who knows, maybe I'll do a Picture Book Friday on these stories! I'm for sure going to bring it back, but with school, volunteering and work, I'm struggling to find time to blog even. Sometimes I wish I have more hours in the day, seriously. Check out the stories that I brought down below!

    

Picture Book Friday: It's Okay to Make Mistakes

You're gonna love this post. It's all about Todd Parr -- a New York Times Bestselling Author. This book is called It's Okay to Make Mistakes.

I bet children (and possibly adults) are already thinking what are you thinking? I don't make mistakes. Ha. Ha. Ha. Biggest lie ever. Children make the most mistakes, especially elementary kids. (Though I'm not dismissing how many mistakes I have made or my friends!) Already skimming the book's illustrations, it's very cartoon-like and has very vibrant colors that pop right off the page. 

Each page starts with the phrase: "It's okay....." For example, this page says:

"It's okay to change your mind. Everyone is ready at a different time."

They're short, simple sentences reminding children (and possibly adults) about the importance of learning from our mistakes and our experiences. Everyone usually knows how they learn best -- either through listening someone speak, taking down notes, drawing pictures, whatever. For me, I know that if I do something, I pick it up 10 times better than watching a demonstration. Never Usually, I mess up or make a mistake that I know better for next time. 

I advocate tremendously how mistakes are learning opportunities. When we mess up, it doesn't mean we suck or that we should cry about it. Mistakes do happen, one way or another, and we just have to accept that. This is why I love this book. especially for a Kindergarten class! 

Also, I got this Todd Parr bookmark from work that illustrates all of his books he has written. It's pretty long and very dandy I must say! There's The Thankful Book, The I LOVE YOU Book, and much more. I love his "life lessons" he tells through his story writing. No wonder why he's such a big hit! This is his website and here is a list of his books via EPL! 

Picture Book Friday: One Hen

Remember when I mentioned that my Mentor Teacher suggested two books that are aimed for older elementary students? I hope you do, that means you've been reading my posts. ;) Well this is the second one, it's called One Hen. I read this again on my lunch break at work (librarians reading at work? it's like a dream for them!) and immediately fell in love with this story's plot and its theme. 

Its title One Hen is right above a phrase that says "how one small loan made a difference" --and it absolutely does in this story! Written by Katie Smith Milway and illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes, this book explores the lifestyle of Kojo, transitioning from child to young adult to adult to a senior. Set in Ghana, West Africa, Kojo is a man who does not give up, is smart with his money, all from a loan that is given to him so young. The plot ties well into school themes, such as giving, helping one another and community. Through hard work and dedication, your dreams will always come true. Change does happen, especially to those of good work and kindness. Kojo is a prime example of this. 

I can see why my MT passed along this book to me. First or second graders won't fully understand the meaning of it. The writing won't appeal to them. However, fifth and sixth graders will. I can already think of assignments or lesson plan extensions when using this book as an introduction. 

I would read this book in chunks, and focus on sections of it class by class. I would also point out the distinct visuals created by Fernandes. They add the story lots of life.

Last but not least, in the sleeve of this book it mentions how One Hen is based on a true story. Taken from the sleeve, it says:

"Kwabena Darko, who really did change his community and now is helping others do the same through a microedit lending progam."

What. An. Inspiration! Truly! This shows to my [future] students that nothing should stop you to do what you love and what you are inspiring to become. In Kojo's case, his passion was farming. 

Picture Book Friday: The Quiltmaker's Gift

The Quiltmaker's Gift written by Jeff Brumbeau and illustrated by Gail de Marcken.

Before I parted from my experienced mentor teacher in April, I told her how I'm a huge fan of children's picture books. With my background, I'm more familiar with picture books geared towards the younger audiences. She suggested two fantastic stories, that are still picture books, but is written in language aimed for older elementary children. The first is this one, The Quiltmaker's Gift.

I love it when others recommend me children's books, because when I read them, I want to see which part(s) of it they fell in love with. With The Quiltmaker's Gift, the story and writing perfectly matching the older students. 

A quick synopsis of this story follows the story of a selfish, greedy King who is always unhappy, despite his fortunes. The King will only be satisfied by receiving a quilt from the quiltmaker. She says that she only makes quilts for those who are poor. This book explores happiness through giving and can tie certain subject matters such as religion, health, and language arts. 

I read this book during my lunch at work, and I was pleasantly surprised in the journey that Brumbeau takes us on. The dynamics of the King and the quiltmaker characters teaches readers valuable life lessons. I can definitely see myself using this book as an introduction to a lesson of mine!

I checked this book out at EPL. Click here to check it out! Also, here is the official website for The Quiltmaker's Gift. 

Picture Book Friday: Can You Make A Scary Face?

Can You Make A Scary Face? by Jan Thomas

I can see this book being used in a variety of situations! First off, this book is best read aloud to a group of children, rather than one (you'll see why later on!). And second, it's an awesome quick read too --  takes minutes not hours! 

I see this book being read to preschoolers after their nap, a third grade class at the start of their morning, and even a sixth grade class for a body break/class transition!

After teaching for so long, body breaks or brain breaks are transitions I'm all gun-ho about. Can You Make A Scary Face? makes these transitions fun, engaging and of course interactive for all readers. I mean, this book tells, not asks, children to do the chicken dance. I love silly literature! 

You can "check out" this all time class book at SCL here and at EPL here! (See what I did there? Wow, I'm so funny.)

Week 3 Recap

Though this week was a short one because of the holiday, it still felt like it dragged! Nothing much to report on my end here, except that I finalized booking my trip to Vancouver!

I booked my flight and hotel about a week or two ago, but I didn't want to blog about it just yet. I'm doing a solo trip, without parents, planning on doing sight-seeing and experiencing their culture. (Also o escape Edmonton for a while!). I fly at the end of August, the day after my last day at the library!

I also watched Pitch Perfect 2 with a couple of volunteers from The Crookie Monsters. One word to sum up the movie? Best. I was dying at the most funniest parts and cracking up at the (in)appropriate jokes. Fat Amy, you're seriously my idol. Seriously, I want your humor. 

On a final note, I feel that I'll stop doing weekly recaps as I feel my life is too boring to share sometimes. Ha. I really like my highlighting of picture books so maybe instead of doing, Picture Book Fridays, I'll instead do Picture Book Publicity or PBPublicity. Hmm, just a thought! I'll see how I decide upon that later on. 

Picture Book Friday Presents: Little Blue Planet

I was roving at work until I saw the bold blue book that just struck right out of me. It's called Little Blue Planet by Jon Riggs. I read this quick read over my lunch hour, where I think preschoolers/Kinder's would enjoy this story the most!

I also think it's an awesome read-aloud for these young learners! The rhymes within this book are very articulate and imaginative -- much more than what I can do. I suck at rhyming and making poems. Gosh, no wonder why I'm still single. /sigh. Little Blue Planet is a quick short read about finding purpose in life and discovering what are you and why you are here. (Or maybe I'm just completely extrapolating this into a more philosophical interpretation!)

It's smart how Riggs uses the planets of the sun to relay this message. I don't want to give too much away, but here's a sample of a page inside!

With any picture book, they must be aesthetically pleasing to their readers. Little Blue Planet does this justice. The illustrations are very impressive and the facial expressions on the planets themselves are realistic as they can be! This book can also be a great introduction to space, planets and even what's beyond planet Earth. Any cross-curricular resource, not just books, I simply strive for! (I'm sure all teachers do!) 

You can find this book here at the SCL or order it on Amazon! 

Picture Book Friday: Grace For President

Grace For President is written by Kelly DiPucchio and pictures created by LeUyen Pham.

First off, look at the cover! It shows hope, joy, happiness and ready for change. I mean, look at those children's faces! 

I've chosen this book because regardless of sex, religion, age, or gender (just like in this story), there should be nothing that is stopping you in achieving your dreams. A brief synopsis of the story is Grace, the protagonist, is shocked that there were no female presidents of the US. She is appalled by it, thus decides to run for President herself. Her teacher runs a presidential class debate between Grace and another candidate. Throughout this story, the two candidates put up posters, talk to other students, ultimately getting their classmates to vote for them. 

Here is my favorite picture from the book! Look at how hard Grace is working for those votes! 

This is a great story to read to Division 1 students, however it can work with any elementary grade, of course. Also, of course this wouldn't work best with USA references, but it can be a good introduction in the social studies curriculum. The author says this book can teach students about "the value of hard work, courage, and independent thought -- and offers an inspiring example of how to choose our leaders."

I won't say I highly recommend you check out this book because all my selected books for Picture Book Fridays are ones I hope you guys will check it out.

To end off PBF, I'll always link it up for you in places you can check out this book. Click here for the Amazon link and here to check it out at SCL! 

PBF Posts Starting Tomorrow

What could PBF mean?! Well, I have this brilliant idea that starting tomorrow (Friday), for the rest of the summer I'll be posting Picture Book Fridays. What this entails is I'll showcase, an excellent book, in my opinion, to read to or with children, or even use in the classroom for whatever reason. I believe that reading and early literacy are essential skills to introduce to children at the early stages of life. Using picture books as a transition to love reading are the best tools out there -- especially at libraries (since they're free)!

I have booklists made via the EPL website, so you can check them out at the top of my page. However, there are beautiful and amazing picture books that not a lot of people are aware. With PBF Posts starting tomorrow (hopefully), I'll be able to shine some light on children's literature that isn't as widely recognized. Plus, this also gives me an opportunity to explore more books at my giant summer workplace. To end of, be on the look-out for that and a Weekly Recap 2!