Mom’s Day Present Making

Happy Earth Day Songs……yep….written and sung by someone named Puglisi

Here are some songs I am sneaking here an Earth day gift to you:

Flutterby’s

Our class really enjoyed several types of butterfly art making.

We’ve been waiting the annual order of butterfly caterpillars that we order so that we can grow our butterflies.

Isn’t this beautiful? I wish I could share why this one is especially touching.

Last year it was a success, so we’ll see this year. Our theme in Avenues (the language support program we are mandated to use in ELD every mandated morning) is “Wings and Things.”

Reminding me of last year and “wing it” when I was told to move rooms, the lasting effect is a severely herniated disk and an expansion apparently of the syrinx for straining with the weight, wing it becomes a life shift of pretty serious proportion….ah well, no one really looks at that.

Get what you need to grow butterflies here.

And here are some various Butterfly lesson plans.

We’ve looked at the life cycle and read the wonderful book I Wish I were a Butterfly along with

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Giant hardcover edition by Eric Carle

I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe and Ed Young

Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison and Kevin Hawkes

Fly Like A Butterfly: Yoga for Children by Shakta Kaur Khalsa

Butterflies in My Stomach and Other School Hazards by Serge Bloch

Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons

Butterfly, Butterfly by Petr Horacek

Butterfly Kisses and Wishes on Wings: When someone you love has cancer…a hopeful, helpful book for kids by Ellen McVicker and Nanci Hersh

The Butterfly Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta’s Alphabet Books) by Brian Cassie, Jerry Pallotta, and Mark Astrella

How to Hide a Butterfly and Other Insects (Reading Railroad) by Ruth Heller

The Butterfly Alphabet by Kjell B Sandved

Eyewitness: Butterfly & Moth (Eyewitness Books) by Paul Whalley

Butterfly Tattoos (Temporary Tattoos) by Jan Sovak

A Blue Butterfly by Bijou Le Tord

Where Does the Butterfly Go When It Rains? by May Garelick and Nicholas Wilton

The Life Cycle of a Butterfly by Bobbie Kalman and Margaret Amy Reiach

The Butterfly Jar by Jeff Moss

Little Butterflies Stained Glass Coloring Book (Dover Little Activity Books)

The Magic School Bus: Butterfly And The Bog Beast, The

I asked my kids…..no that’s wrong…I told my kids that butterflies are used often symbolically to represent various feelings, states, to create connections to change, growth concepts. Then I asked a simple question, “What do you think about when you see a butterfly?” This is what they answered, written here on an old tattered envelope I used.

“A butterfly is free to go.”

“A butterfly seems like the flowering coming over to say high.”

“I get afraid of them sometimes because I am afraid of bugs and they come to you.”

“When I see a butterfly I think it’s my grandmom.”

“A butterfly has patterns that are the same on two sides so I think about how we are repeating.”

” A butterfly, a butterfly can go and it flies around and it is pretty.”

” A butterfly could be a way to show you that change happens.”

” If I see a butterfly I think I have a lucky day.”

“Some people don’t know but you can wish on butterflies.”

” I like to think that a butterfly will come and touch down on my nose.”

“One time my mom had a butterfly land on her shirt. It was so cool.”

“Butterflies are for peace.”

‘The butterfly is a beautiful sign.”

Pretty cool I thought.

As I reach toward poetry.

Hats For Sale

One of the things the 1st graders in room 5 at Hathaway in Oxnard have been doing is reading, writing and drawing hats.

Inspired by Caps for Sale

and the Cat In The Hat ,

as well as using a fantastic Reading Rainbow that introduces a shop called “Hats To Where” then watching LeVar put on a cap and be transported ( racetrack as a jockey, miniature train station,to a hockey rink)  they made several different kinds of works.

The first was a terrific bunch of stacked hats:

Ironically I was asked during this time to teach teachers in a presentation on arts integration. And further prompted to do “self portraits” with the teachers so thinking that was too much decided to opt for a portrait “in hat.” There are ways we modify in the arts and in our work with children to gain skill, support learning. I was attempting to support success.

So there are the teacher’s works, following the kids,( unfortunately in the clunky word press just posting pictures now is a major pain,  wish I had built this in blogger.)

Kid’s tried hat pictures too, but so far I’m not sure these are ones that I like well enough, may try again before we do some writing.

There is a world of language in hats for 1st graders to think about, especially in their second language work.

If you want the basic lesson plan go here....Hats !

I have a friend that once wrote about a lucky cap. Or hinted at the story he actually never shared.  I have a lucky hat as well. And my students are all on St. Patty’s Day, or during the week, writing about a hat that was lucky. We’ve been brainstorming.

Local Treasure

In our area, about 15 miles from my school is a museum, a research center called the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology.It houses a major collection of a collector that donated it to them.

Yesterday I got to visit. One day  I hope to take my class or a group from my school. This week the director is visiting my husband’s district where he’s a Superintendent trying to set up a bird study, or at least understand better what is involved in a goal like that.

I was present for a talk on raptors. It was fascinating given by Peter H. Bloom.

I took a lot of pictures I want to share with my students so I’m setting them up here for sharing.

It’s very hard to load this on our equipment, but I always hope that something changes and they get us something newer, or that I’m given that opportunity. (as some others were given by our technology czar, in the inequity replication)

Boy what a place this is, interesting.

Catching Up (EST)

It’s been a long while since I posted.

My bad.

Let’s try to catch up………..with a post or four about the things we have been doing in 1st grade.

How about our Shadows and project on following the movement of our EARTH!

That’s pretty cool stuff.

We are in a project carried over from last year called Exploring Space and Time. Wat we did to initiate this project was go outside on a lovely February day, Groundhog Day to be precise and use shadows in a little different way than anyone might expect.

We drew ourselves in chalk, outlining each other, and when stepping back into places a bit later a magnificent thing happened, the shadows had moved! this totally and completely astounded the children. What had happened. They thought and thought. The continued to think perhaps they had made an error, they sat and watched it move further until one said, “We are moving, the earth is moving!” I loved that as the teacher, watching them pose questions , observe and then work to figure it out.

So here is the day talking in pictures. It’s here for families and children to access and to be seen on our projector at school. But it’s a marvelous way of recording the day. An observation of the learning.

Hearts From Home, 100 days of school

Is it really time for Valentines and the 100th Day of School?
Both, as always.

For the troops we all made Love Bugs and sent these Valentines to them via the Hearts From Home project. Ms. Wolfson and my class often team up so we teamed to construct something for those we hope are kept safe as they keep us safe. Her great idea to send them seemed perfectly expressed in Luv Bugs.
I no longer can easily insert things in this blog, this newest version awful with Flickr so here is the link out to see the Valentines. See them here

The 100 bug directions

A Hearts from Home Valentine.

A class prepares the project

Our cupboard mailboxes ready for our notes.

Our President Obama Portraits (and Writing)

These are the Portraits of President Obama drawn by children trying very hard to learn not only about the new President but how to make a portrait. It is not easy at all!

After they finished the kids wrote what they thought about what a President does, we have been reading and writing this week on the subject, watching the Inaugural. Our school was especially set up to get to see it via TV’s.

The Question I asked was “What Do You Think A President Does?”

ET-” A President has to write well.”

EJ – ” A President is about learning and leading.”

AD- “He makes a country able to make more money.”

LP-“Cares about the children, their family and help us all.”

AD-“To lead people, to unite us, not allowing hitting or fighting.”

KM-“A President does (not) want to fight.”

EV-” A president does things in charge.”

JA-” A President works hard to lead us and follow laws.”

KG-“He works really hard, on writing, on listening, thinking, and showing the world who we are. He is smart.”

GA-“He works a lot.”

MP- “Works hard, organizes America and makes a living by signing laws and he lives a good life. We try to. He has a nice……He promises to not quit on us.”

AM- ” He does nice things, talks, gives speeches, teaches American ways to be and stops us from mistakes.”

OV-“Works hard in his job, helps people, stops fighting.”

TG-” “He does hard work, they think up important stuff. They say what we are going to think over.”

SH-“He is helping but he can make war so he tries to find peace.”

EZ-using a poetic device-
“He works.
He prays.
He helps.
He smiles.
He cares.
That’s it.”

I thought that was a cute job description.

We are reading various books on the new President. Two stood out really.

A great one by Nikki Grimes and…

These books are good.

One of the things that surprised me was a child in my room recalled we made Obama portraits the day after the election. Very cool for them as they sort out exactly what a country, President, what a nation is.

It is Soooooooo hard now on Word Press I once could add slide shows and things now I’m forced into one by one hours. Improvements to me seem to have made this a real nightmare to function using.
I cannot load a flickr slideshow only link over. That’s ridiculous.

Ah well. Lots of things going on. we are starting a President Portrait Gallery.
One a week as we learn those Presidents.

And now we sart the week drawing the White House.

Obama Portraits

We made some nice portraits watching the Presidential Inauguration. Our school made it really great by being sure all the TV’s were hooked up.

Just a fantastic way to learn history.
Also a great way to get inspired to draw.

From My Son…at four…we learn what a child sees

“Martin Luther King, Junior” by my son at 4, in Answer to “What Can Kids Understand”

When my son was very young he fell in love with watching two videos, The Snowman and Our Friend Martin. Both were daily repertoire pieces for him. I thought the Martin Luther King Jr. video was wayyyyyy over his head.

Luca, my son, spoke very, very late. At four. So I called him over one day and asked him to “talk” to me about Martin, his friend writing it down as I heard it. This is one of my favorite Martin Luther King Jr. poems in the world.
So subtle.

For years, years in our family the phrase “love it by all” means something very special. When said, we just laugh and feel closer. I’m sorry, I know it is my son, but the poem, is our classic. The video is one where with young kids you need to explain flashbacks and be ready to explain and talk as you go. A bit much for 1st, but with that adult support, it is good. In fact a nice work in elementary to help understand hard concepts. First the video,

Our Friend Martin (1998)

Now the poem by Luca Puglisi….(at 4)

Martin Memories
by Luca Vernon Puglisi

When he was young we called him RAINBOW.

He lived in the world a junior.

Don’t let, no bottles, no wood
No everything that’s bad for love.

I saw him on TV talking to these mans.

He was at a boycott meeting where grandma went last week.

His family, his daughter, his man

This man got in jail. Not.

The kids, the dad, and the mother was playing piano.

I don’t want to be in jail.
I miss my mom and cry
Then everybody calls me a crybaby.

The boys had dark, the ladies have dark.
I have light.
He said love it by all.

I’m gonna hate her back, he said.
Me too, I’m gonna hate her black.
The man said her skin is darker than ours,
I don’t know what. Not right.

It was bad to have punching and hitting.

I’m not going to be in jail for that.

Martin Luther King is not a fighting guy.
________________________________

(written circa 1998 at age 4)