Tomorrow's Forecast for Florida...Snow!

Tomorrow is Read for the Record, a national event that tries to break world records for the most people reading the same book at the same time every year. This program is lead by Jumpstart, an organization devoted to tackling the literacy crisis affecting our nation. This year's book is Ezra Jack Keat's The Snowy Day. This beloved children's classic shows the fun of enjoying a winter's day of snow and ice. The main character is

Anyway, I'm SO excited about tomorrows lesson...I'm leading it! I've got SOOOO many ideas. But I realize that I have to remember time constraints. Still, I have to overplan rather than not have enough planned for the kids. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they experience snow, some of them for the very first time!

Here's a quick list of some of the activities I've got in store for the day:

Reading - The book of the hour, The Snowy Day

Life and Social Skills - Dressing for the Weather (PDF file)

Math - Temperature; Snowflake patterns

Critical Thinking - ... I've got something for this, but I've forgotten exactly what it is!

Science - Snow Experience (PDF File)

Social Studies - Where does it snow?

Music and Creative Expression - Snowy Scene Collage (PDF File); Snowflake Picture

Wellness - Snow snack

I've got some more about the experience on my site.

Anyway, I'm off to dream of snowflakes and ice to rest up and prepare early for the day's activities. How fun!?!

How to Be Strong

Childhood can be tough. When a debilitating disease is added to everyday childhood woes, the result can seem like an uphill battle. But most of the children affected by these diseases don't let it stop them from enjoying all that life has to offer.

Tanner is like most other 11 year-old boys: he likes to play sports, tell jokes, and have fun. But unlike most other 11 year-olds, Tanner has muscular dystrophy. The disease causes his muscles to be extremely weak, and he needs help with most things. He enjoys life from a wheelchair. But he does enjoy it.

Enter Tanner's world and find out about the strength, courage, and power that kids like Tanner possess. Read this book for free.

A Book for Tanner: Because We All Have Dreams!

A book for Tanner - Because W...

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I found this accidentally and thought I'd share it. Perhaps, just like much of the rest of my life, it's no accident at all.

A Birthday of Brilliance

Fifty years ago today, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird was published. It has been noted as one of the most important books of the 20th century, and has long been a source of inspiration for those interested in diversity. Because of the usage of racial slurs and focus on such topics as discrimination, the book was actually banned at one time. However, it is now used as an object of enlightenment.

But, despite its greatness, I still have yet to read this phenomenal classic. I have seen parts of the motion picture. But I haven't even laid eyes on a single one of its pages. This is definitely going on my list of books to read before I die. May God bless the length of my life to include the conceptual space of this book.

Zillions

Since classes begin next week, I decided to check out the syllabus for each course in which the instructor had provided it online. I found that the requirement in one of my classes is to read 32 children's books. This took my mind back to the days when this kind of information would have made me ... a bit delirious. After submerging myself in Caldecott winners and Newberry Medalists, the thought of the great volume of literature I need to read causes me to envision a child with super wide eyes, protesting such a requirement. "That's like...like a zillion words!"

When I opened my drawer and took out the mirror, I was pleasantly surprised to see Sir Coolman's classic face staring back at me, so I shared with him the latest news on my schooling. I finally got to the part about the bunches of books, and shared with him the picture I saw in my mind. He smiled. "Yes. That's all too realistic. You know, the perhaps the most comical part is the fact that your thoughts are based upon yourself."

I smirked. "I love reading. Have for most of my life."

"Most of your life, yes. But by no means all." And instantly, his features transformed into a scene of a small girl sitting on the floor beside her bed, holding a book and staring off into space.

I instantly remembered the book, the outfit, the room as it once had been. From the look on my face, my mind was so far away that my mother's voice startled me as it called from downstairs. "Retinna!"

"Yes," I growled.

"Are you still reading your book?"

I remembered the thing sitting limp in my hands and looked down at the words before answering truthfully, "yes!" I tried reading a few sentences before thumbing through the book, watching the words come together into one big, gray fog. "Stupid book," I told myself. "Thing must have nearly a whole half a zillion words."

As Sir Coolman came back into view, the first thing he saw was my open mouth, laughing.

40 Years of Hungry Happiness!!!

With all of my research into children's literature and juvenile stories, I was absolutely delighted today when I turned my browser to Google's main page. In honor of the 40th anniversary of Eric Carle's children's classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Google transformed the usual appearance of its logo into a stylized reference of the story, complete with a caterpillar trailing its Os, which were transformed into an apple and an orange.

Truly, this shows the power children's books. Containing fewer pages than days in a month, this little board book has only enough room and time to offer a very brief story. But what it captures within those few pages has managed to fascinate children for many years. Now, some of these same children, once captivated by the journey of a single caterpillar, have been moved from this story of their childhood so much that they are paying homage to it with their multi-billion dollar entity on what must be the most frequently visited pages on the Internet.

Even the author has wondered at the book's success. But such timeless themes and metamorphosis, hope, youthful innocence, and even hunger are accessible to most of the book's readers; and the impact of the themes are reinforced by the book's visual and tactile appeal. This appeal transcends age and experience. I never read the book until I was an adult...and I am NOT 40...as I was browsing through the children's are of a bookstore after a cafe-style Bible study. It was so cute and warming, and I understood why there were so many Caterpillar paraphernalia within arm's reach of the attention-grabbing cover. I could connect with the story because I understand change and physical transformation.

The books we read to our kids, the stories we tell them, and the images we show them are all very powerful. It is with this in mind that I am going to write my own children's book. I love telling stories that excite me. I love it when the energy I feel is transferred to the reader. I am delighted when a student enjoys reading something I have written or designed. It's such a rewarding experience. I want to do it more often and add to the already long list of great children's books that help inspire kids along their own personal journeys.