Little Owl Lost

Little Owl Lost
by
Chris Haughton




I have been wondering what this book is such a hot item for Christmas. Even the publisher is out of this book!

The Gingerbread Theme

The Gingerbread Man
by
Catherine McCafferty


We have many traditions for Christmas, but one of my favorites is making giant gingerbread cookies for my children's classroom. We began this tradition in first grade and I have seen the progression of my children's creativity.

I was fortunate enough to find a fabulous - and easy- gingerbread cookie. Our first grade teacher admitted she hated gingerbread, but loved these. I can't get enough of them, so I save the broken ones and chomp on them with tea.

Here is the recipe:
Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

Bag of sugar cookie mix
2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 c. dark molasses
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground nutmeg



Follow package directions - omit water. Mix all ingredients together and chill for about 1 hour. Roll dough out on floured board about 1/8 inch thick. Cut desired shapes with cookie cutters. Bake 8 minutes at 350 degrees.


I wish I give credit to the creator, but it was passed onto me without a name.

I know that Betty Crocker has a gingerbread cookie package available, but I love these so much that I am unwilling to try any others. Maybe some day when I have more time. :)

There are so many activities parents and teachers can do with the gingerbread theme.
I have listed them below for convenience.

1. Draw an outline of a gingerbread boy or girl. Using this outline as a pattern, cut twenty using brown paper. Divide them into sets of two. Decorate each set exactly the same. Children match the two like gingerbread children. It may be fun to make a set of boys and then a "sister" set that matches the boys.

2. Of course, make gingerbread cookies and then have the children decorate them. I prefer the very large cookie cutters because they give the children more room to add goodies. We decorate with the squeeze bottle icings and candies.

3. This gingerbread poem is such fun to use with a flannel board and also to act out the story. I am not sure where I got it so I apologize to the author.

Once there was a gingerbread man,
Baking in a gingerbread pan.
Raisin eyes and a cherry nose,
Trimmed right down to his fingers and toes.
A gingerbread man in a gingerbread pan!

Here's the old woman who made him so sweet,
A treat for her and her husband to eat,
She made him with flour and sugar and eggs,
She gave him a face and two arms and two legs.
A gingerbread man in a gingerbread pan!


Now open the oven to see if he's done,
This gingerbread man, he know how to run.
Out of the oven and onto the floor,
Now run away out the kitchen door.
The gingerbread man, he's out of the pan!

Now chase him old woman, now chase him old man
Chase him, yes chase him as fast as you can!
Through the garden and out the gate,
Catch him right now, before it's too late.
The gingerbread man, he's out of the pan!

Along came a cow who wanted a treat
And the gingerbread man, he looked good to eat
Run, run, as fast as you can
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man
I'm the gingerbread man and I'm out of the pan!

Along came a horse who wanted a snack
But the gingerbread man, he never looked back
Run, run, as fast as you can
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man
I'm the gingerbread man and I'm out of the pan!

Along came a farmer who wanted a treat
And the gingerbread man, he looked good to eat
Run, run, as fast as you can
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man
I'm the gingerbread man and I'm out of the pan!

Along came a dog who wanted a snack
But the gingerbread man, he never looked back
Run, run, as fast as you can
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man
I'm the gingerbread man and I'm out of the pan!

Along came a hog who wanted a treat
And the gingerbread man, he looked good to eat
Run, run, as fast as you can
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man
I'm the gingerbread man and I'm out of the pan!

Along came a fox who wanted a treat,
And this gingerbread man, he looked good to eat.
Jump on my back, my gingerbread pet,
And we'll cross the river, so you won't get wet
Mr. Gingerbread man, who's out of the pan!

There was no place to go, there was no place to run
And a ride on the river could be lots of fun!
So off with the fox did Gingerbread go
And what happened next, you already know
To the gingerbread man, who's out of the pan

That sly old fox had a de-lic-ious treat
And the old man and woman had nothing to eat
Not a bite was left for the cow or the dog,
The horse or the farmer or hungry old hog
There's no gingerbread man in or out of the pan!

So let us go home and get out the pan
And we'll make ourselves a new gingerbread man!
And when he is eaten, we'll make us some more
But this time we'll be certain to lock the back door!
A new gingerbread man, in a gingerbread pan!

4. Gingerbread is a compound word and if the students are read to study compound words, using "gingerbread is a great springboard.

5. One year, I photographed the sequence of making the gingerbread cookies. I glued them on heavier paper and laminated them. Now I use them for sequence cards. The kids love them.

6. It is always fun to have the fragrance of gingerbread in the classroom. The children love it, but burning candles is not permitted so I simply warm the candles with a warmer. Your classroom will be the talk of the school if you have this scent coming from it.

7. I put the ingredients we need to make gingerbread in jars (plastic) and show the children. The children examine the jars and talk about the taste they have. I allow them to taste each one after discussing them.

Listed below are some things that might help you with your needs when you teach this unit.



My gift buying is about finished. I found a book I am getting for my husband- to go along with his ipad.



I am thinking about getting one of these watches for the kids: Let me know what you thhink.



And, finally, I am asking for one thing!

Book Making with Children

I happened to be "cleaning" yesterday and came across some of my children's writings. The books brought a great deal of nostalgia about years gone by. You and I have heard it millions of times, "They grow up so quickly." It's true.

Well, anyway, I found the books they wrote one summer. They were so charming and some comments were hysterical. I cherish those childish words and will keep the books forever.

Children love writing books and my children are at the age now where they like to put the razzle-dazzle of pop-ups, varying fonts and color.

Lately, I have been researching paper folding to add to books.I suppose you can say that I am adding origami to our books. For example, one of my children decided to write a story about a frog. She added an origami frog to her book and it was a scream! She painted it, added drops of paint to make his spots and made the most charming face.

The topics to write about are virtually endless. Several include:
1. My Family
2. Animals
3. The Sport I play
4. How to...
5. My Favorite Place
6. The Alphabet
7. My family heritage
8. A Book About Me
9. My Vacation
10. Original Stories
11. My Crazy Day
12. Somebody Special
13. The Birthday Party
14. Friends are Important

If you have a classroom, make sure you have a section of books children have written. They love to read other children's writings. Be sure to include poetry books!

There are plenty of different types of books to make. Instead of explaining how to make the books, I thought you might like to visit these fabulous sites:
1. Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord is incredible. She provides wonderful step by step directions as well as free activities.
http://www.makingbooks.com/step.shtml
http://makingbookswithchildren.blogspot.com/
2. Vicki Blackwell also has some wonderful ideas on making books. She must be an amazing teacher. Check her site at:
http://www.vickiblackwell.com/makingbooks.html
3. Joan Irvin is the "Pop-Up Lady." She not only has some interesting pop-ups on her
website, she has also authored books on the subject. Be sure to visit "The Pop-up Lady!
http://joanirvine.com/HowTo.aspx
4. I wish I could give more credit to this creative lady, but she has only signed her name as Cathy. Her site is excellent with colored photos.
http://www.bookmakingwithkids.com/index.php
5. Jeanne Hunt has downloads that are easy to follow and ones you will want to save.
http://www.oneheartarts.com/bookmakingprojects.htm

You may want to view some of Susan's outstanding videos:






Another charming video is:



If you want to have a book professionally bound, you might consider reviewing the site: http://www.bookemon.com/create-book/Writings

If you are interested in viewing some recommended pop-up books, you might try these:


My favorite book about paper folding is: The Encyclopedia of Paper Folding.


Other books on origami include:

Phonics They Use

Phonics They Use
Patricia Cunningham

I am always looking for great books to teach reading. I believe in using lots of different techniques including phonics. This is a book I highly recommend. It has plenty of games and new activities and strategies for teaching reading and is a great resource for beginning as well as veteran teachers. The book provides step by step, easy to follow explanations of practical phonetic activities that can be used in the classroom. This is an excellent resource book that will always remain on my shelf.




Ideas that you might consider:
1. Room Reading: Print words that the children should know around the room. Give them charming glasses and interesting pointers to read and point. They love the reading aids.
2. Big Books: I like to make my big books using photos of the children. For example, the song Dem Bones take photos of your students. You might use a photo of Christopher's toes, Alexandria's leg and so on. I like to have them also make a picture of a bone and have their face photos on the page as well. They love this type of an activity!
Dem Bones
Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh mercy how they scare!

With the toe bone connected
to the foot bone,
and the foot bone connected
to the ankle bone,
and the ankle bone connected
to the leg bone.
Oh mercy how they scare!

Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh mercy how they scare!

With the leg bone connected
to the knee bone,
and the knee bone connected
to the thigh bone,
and the thigh bone connected
to the hip bone.
Oh mercy how they scare!

Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh mercy how they scare!

With the hip bone connected
to the back bone,
and the back bone connected
to the neck bone,
and the neck bone connected
to the head bone,
Oh mercy how they scare!

Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh mercy how they scare!

With the finger bone connected
to the hand bone,
and the hand bone connected
to the arm bone,
and the arm bone connected
to the shoulder bone,
Oh mercy how they scare!

Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh mercy how they scare!

With the shoulder bone connected
to the back bone,
and the back bone connected
to the neck bone,
and the neck bone connected
to the head bone.
Oh mercy how they scare!
Original Version:
E-ze-kiel cried, "Dem dry bones!"
E-ze-kiel cried, "Dem dry bones!"
E-ze-kiel cried, "Dem dry bones!"
Oh hear the word of the Lord.

The foot bone con-nected to the (pause) leg-bone,
The leg bone connected to the (') knee bone,
The knee bone connected to the (') thigh bone,
The thigh bone connected to the (') back bone,
The back bone connected to the (') neck bone
The neck bone connected to the (') head bone
Oh hear the word of the Lord!

Dem bones, dem bones gon-na walk a-roun'
Dem bones, dem bones gon-na walk a-roun'
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk aroun'
Oh hear the word of the Lord

The head-bone connected to the neck-bone,
the neck-bone connected to the back-bone
The backbone connected to the thigh-bone
the thighbone connected to the kee-bone
the kneebone connected to the leg bone
the leg bone connected to the foot bone
Oh hear the word of the Lord

Consider these books as a great resource:

3. Listening Center: Always have books on CD's so the children can follow along.
4. Wall Writing: Have a specific place in your classroom on a chalkboard, white board or on the refrigerator at home for writing words. If the children find an interesting word, have them print it on paper and place it on the wall.
5. Word Sorts Children can classify long or short vowels, initial consonants, prefixes, or nouns and verbs, from a collection of words or pictures. You can do lots of activities using word sorts.
6.Overhead Projector: Kids love to illustrate their writings using overhead pens. They can create their own graphic organizers pictures for books they are reading.
7. Magnetic letters: I love having a ton of magnetic letters in the classroom. I have cookie sheets for the work boards. The magnetic sheets you can purchase will go through your printer. Kids can match letters in words by placing the plastic dimensional letters over top of the ones you have printed on magnetic sheets.
The magnetic sheets are found here:
8. Stamp A Story: I have collected millions of rubber stamps. By using different fonts and stamps, children can create a variety of stories. They can be changed according to holidays or even events.
9. Living Books: There are plenty of websites that offer books for children to read. They offer a different type of technology for our upcoming geeks.
10. Kids Books: I always have a collection of books that children (in my class as well as upper grades) have created. I have them laminated and kid illustrated. The students love them.


Other books by Patricia Cunningham include:

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop

I must admit that I am not a computer expert. In fact, you might call me a novice, but I have been wanting to make classroom materials for so long that it is getting ridiculous. Having investigated through a variety of sources, I have decided to purchase Adobe Photoshop for my Mac. I understand it has all of the elements that I need. I will keep you abreast of my successes/failures.

It is nicely priced and has a rebate!

If you have had any experiences in creating learning materials, please let me know!



I am also going to need some tutoring, so I am considering one (or more) of the following:

Max's Words

Max's Words
Kate Banks - author
Boris Kulikov - illustrator


Max's brothers are collectors of coins and stamps, but Max doesn't collect anything. He decides to collect something, anything. He finally decides to collect words. He carefully selects them from all sorts of print materials and then sorts them by category: colors, foods, small ones, big ones. He then gets very creative with the collection in this charming story that is must for pre and early readers.

Activities for this book might include:
1. Children can be given magazines and newspapers to find words that are of interest to them.
3. Construct a paper tree using strips of construction paper or paper bag. Glue the tree on a sheet of construction paper. Have the children cut out leaves and glue words from magazines on the leaves. They can decorate the remaining portion of the sheet of paper.
3. In a classroom, create a large tree on a bulletin board. Children can find their favorite words in magazines and affix them on the tree. Students can also glue the definitions to the words on an adjoining leaf on the tree.
4. Provide the students with construction paper and library pockets. Children can draw a picture using the pocket as a shirt pouch, jeans or any appropriate wearing apparel. Children can periodically add words to the pocket and then use them in their writings or simply use them to write sentences
5. Each child can add words to a journal or a little home-made book. They might be specific designations of words such as descriptive, synonyms, sensory, etc.
6. Select some words from the book and list them on chart paper. Children can think of synonyms to use for the words.
7. Allow children to select a passage in the book to illustrate.
8. Research other books the author has written and read them.

Other books using a similar concept include:


Kate Banks has also written teh following books:
The Eraserheads

Patricia Polacco - Studying an Author

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of attending a book conference. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to meet Patricia Polacco. She was inspiring, personable and simply charming. Her stories are a reflection of childhood memories that inspire children.

I found it interesting to learn that she suffered from dyslexia. Her dyslexia lead her to cultivating her talent in art - thus leading her to a successful career. Her life story can be found on her home page. www.patriciapolacco.com/.

When providing children with a picture book, I love to tell interesting aspects about the author. These points make the writer of the book more REAL! So, always look for the author's home page or search the internet for a biography.

When beginning an author study follow some simple points:
•Show a photograph of the author. These are generally found on the book's cover flaps. If they are not found here, then search for pictures on the internet. It may be possible to find a poster of the author.
• Have other books by the author readily available for the children.
• Design an author bulletin board or table. It might be possible to display the books, newspaper clippings and some "artifacts" that may relate to the author. For example, if studying Dr. Seuss, place a cat and a hat on teh table along with the book.
• Celebrate the author's birthday by having a week of festivities highlighting teh author.
•Compare and contrast the author's books. Determine how the author changes her stories or if there is a thread of a theme. Patricia Polacco generally takes her stories from her childhood.
•Make a list of the books read and graph the children's favorites.
• Have a favorite book festival with foods that may relate to the book or the time time the book took place.
• Evaluate (on the child's level) the author's style, themes and characters.
• Try to make connections between the author's life and writings.
• Make personal connections with the theme and characters of the book.

Some books written by Patricia include:

The Morning Meeting

Teachers across the country are getting ready for their first day of school. There’s generally lots to do and the excitement is building. It’s time to begin thinking about the preparation of the classroom, schedules and even techniques.

One of the most important parts of the schedule is the Morning Meeting. I love the concept. It’s a great way of gathering children together and an excellent way to begin the day.

Some teachers simply gather the students by announcing, “Time for Morning Meeting, while others have a child play on the xylophone. The students know where to gather and the teacher sits before the group announcing, “Our Morning Meeting is about to begin.” Students generally sit on the rug in front of the teacher.

The meeting provides generally the same information each day, but can be varied as desired. Certainly the early grades will want to practice reading, punctuation or even some “misspelled” words by the teacher. Higher grade teachers will probably ask questions about assignments of have the students plan activities or research studies. The beauty of the Morning Meeting is up to the teacher, but always have the date and something that will be informative about the day to come. I giggle when I think of the Morning Meeting comparing it to my husband reading his morning newspaper. He cannot start the day without him knowing what is going on in the world. Rightly so, he is politically active and an attorney.

The Morning Meeting is as flexible as the teacher wants to make it. It always fun to reflect the upcoming month’s holiday, field trip someone’s new puppy or any topic that will interest the students.

The Morning Meeting plays many vital roles in a classroom, but they can also be an important tool for the family unit. I use one for our family. We get organized for the day and give and take assignments and plan for events. It is a way to gather together. When I taught kindergarten, I called it “Circle Time,” so my teacher training now comes in handy for managing my home life.

By having a Morning Meeting, students are learning to listen to one another take direction and share information. It is an excellent beginning for learning socialization skills and manners – not to mention the cognitive skills. Teachers must always establish the rules for the meetings and make sure they are explained on the first day that the Morning Meeting takes place. Set the tone and establish rules of respect.

I absolutely love my children’s First Grade teacher, Mrs. P. While observing her classroom, I learned just as much as the children. Her techniques for Morning Meeting were phenomenal. She always dated her Meeting pad (written on a large pad with lines so everyone could see and follow.) The children would first read the date in proper order, noting the commas and capitalization. Then she would write several sentences. As the year progressed, she would teach a concept in the Message. She would misspell words, give definitions, write news leaving out important words, leave punctuation out and even talk about an important event or happening with one of the children.

Be sure to begin your teaching or parent day with a Morning Meeting. It gets everyone off to the right start.

If you are interested in learning more about The Morning Meeting, consider these books:

What's The Big Idea, Molly?

What's the Big Idea, Molly?
by Valeri Gorbachev


I have always loved Valeri Gorbachev! Her stories are fun and always have a wonderful, yet simple ending. She write the type of books that make me wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?"

What's the Big Idea, Molly? is no exception! Molly Mouse wants to write the perfect poem, but she has difficulty finding the perfect idea. She sees her friends, Rabbit, Goose, Pig and Frog who are also looking for the perfect idea to give Turtle for his birthday. Unfortunately, they all come up with the same idea, but they quickly solve the problem to everyone's delight.

This is a must book for your library. It is perfect for using flannel board figures.

Some activities you might consider:
1. Find a tree branch (or buy a small evergreen) that looks like a miniature tree. Anchor it in a pot with plaster of Paris in the bottom surrounded with some moss. Children can decorate the tree throughout the seasons with seasonal art. They might tie originally made leaves, snowflakes, beds, etc on the tree.
2. Each child can write about the seasons throughout the year by making a booklet.
3. Make a seasonal nature table and label the items found outside that are indicative to that season.
4. Divide the room into 4 sections - one for each season. Draw trees that coincide with that season.Use the tree as a springboard for activities such as noting each child's birthday on the appropriate tree. Use the tree for a word wall placing words that relate to the season on the tree, etc.
5.Make tree bark imprints by holding a small square of paper against a tree trunk and rubbing a crayon against the trunk. Then do the same for other trees and compare the trunks through their rubbings.Research the type of trees found and discuss the differences in their tree trunks.
6. Find a tree that the children can "adopt." Name the tree and throughout the season, take pictures of the tree. Print the photos and place it where the children can see- on a bulletin board or in a book. Note the similarities and differences throughout the season. Children can write their comments about the tree by tacking them to a bulletin board or in the notebook.
7. Ask the children to print the vocabulary word's on a piece of ribbon. Tie them to the tree outside and watch them blow in the wind. Go outdoors and study the words as they blow in the wind.
8. Have the children measure the circumference of a tree. Discuss the circumference and show them the rings of a tree which has been cut.
9. Play circle games around the tree.
10. Ask the children to write letters to teh tree. Go outside and sit under the tree and read the letters.

Valeri's other books are:
One of my favorites is:

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

by
Bill Martin, Jr and John Archambault
illustrations by
Lois Ehlert



Everyone loves Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and I am no exception. The 26 lower case letters in this alphabetic, rhythmic book are just plain fun. When "A told b, and b told c, 'I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree'" the other letters feel that they can meet as well. The block illustrations show a dignified, straight, green palm tree on the first page. It soon begins to groan and bend. First the coconuts fall off, then the letters also end up in a big pile underneath the tree. This is a very popular book with adults as well as children. It is a must for every child's library.

There are plenty of activities that can be done to highlight this book.

1. The rhythm of this books is so catchy that I like to supplement the book by filling
empty water bottles with beads or buttons (to make noise) and lots of plastic letters.I generally like to put only one letter in the bottle, but plenty of them. The children go around the room in a circle chanting the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom chant. When they get to a part where the letter speaks, the letter stops and says something. Such as: When the part A told B, "Meet me at the top of the coconut tree." The child holding the letter A turns to the child holding the B and says, "Meet me at the top of the coconut tree." Then they begin the chant again.
2. This is an excellent book to discuss phonemic awareness. Talk about the similarities and differences of the words in the book. Chicka, chicka and boom boom are the same. Have the children listen to two different words from the story and tell if they are the same or different.
3. Ask the children to draw a large coconut tree on a sheet of paper. Then give them letters cut out from cardboard where they slip them under the paper with the coconut tree on it. They are to do rubbings to see the letters under the tree. I like to have them work in groups where one child hides the cardboard letters under another child's paper. They do the rubbings to discover the hidden letter.
4. Be sure to discuss the rhyming words on the pages after reading the book. You might even have the rhyming words printed on cardboard and when the children here a rhyme they chant quietly, "rhyme, rhyme, rhyme..." until a designated child gets the two rhyming words and places them in a location where the children can see.
5. A stalk of celery with the leaves on it looks like a coconut tree. If you smear cream cheese on the stalk and then add alphabet cereal, you have a great snack!
6. Use the letters made in step 1 to make a bowling game. Simple get some coconuts and have the children place the bottles in an area. Use the coconut to roll and hit the bottles of letters. The children should name the letters that have fallen.
7. Make or purchase a magnetic book where children can place the letters under the tree as they read the story.
8. Children love to watch the video.
9. Make a coconut tree with empty paper towel tubes. Ask the children to cut out leaves and glue them at the top of the tree. Then give them stickers to stick on teh bottom of the tree.
10. Make an art project. Paint the child's forearm with brown paint, then press teh arm on paper to make the trunk of the tree. Then wash the arm. Paint teh children's hands green and press onto the top of the tree trunk. Now you have a coconut tree.
11. Put the plastic letters in a sandbox under the coconut tree (inside or outside.)See the palm tree at the bottom of the page.
12. Give each child a large cardboard letter. The children stand wnd when thir letter is read, they move in any way they wish. Then they sit.
13. Take pictures of the children holding a letter while in the position of climbing. Make a large tree on the bulletin board and afix the children climbing the tree.
Watch the video on Utube!

Written Anything Good Lately?

Written Anything Good Lately?
by
Susan Allen





This fascinating book highlights( in very simple terms) the many types of written communication. It begins autobiography and ends with “Z for zig zags and zeros until the next idea comes along” (Z is always a bugger when writing an alphabet book.) Each letter, in upper and lower case, appears in a box at the top of the page, along with the suggestion of a word that begins with it. Each page has a full page of illustrations showing a form of writing in a notebook type of insert. This is a perfect way to introduce the children to written forms of communication. Children love to create so this book will give you plenty of ideas to get them creating and writing. Use it throughout the year.

Activities:

1. Create a simple autobiographical book for even the youngest children. Give the children a folded sheet of paper to resemble a book. Have them glue a rectangle on the cover. They can either glue their picture on the rectangle or draw their image. They must print their name. They can print the interesting information about them - names of parents, siblings, date of birth, favorite color, favorite game, etc. The book can be very simple for the youngest children or complex - adding a number of pages for older children.

2. Always create cards for special events. Everyone make Mother's Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving cards, and other holiday cards but what about a card for a pet or an invitation to a concert or a card to come over and play. Find unusual ways to have children write.

3. Create a book surrounding a special event. Document a field trip by taking lots of pictures and allow the children to sift through the photos. Each child can print a sentence or a paragraph about the photo. Then combine it into a class book. It is not always possible to inform parents about the benefits of field trips, but if you actually send the book home, they can see the learning that occurred on the trip. I have parents sign the book and return it and then pass it on to another child until every home has had a chance to see the book.

4. I always wonder what my children are doing in school. But I don't really have a good inner time clock to tell me when they are in social studies, science, language or any other class. It may be fun to have children make time cards showing activities they do. Take pictures or draw illustrations of their activities along with the times they participate in the activities. If I have something in my hands, I am likely to know better what they are doing and when. It makes me feel like I am more in touch with my children.

5. If there are a few minutes left in the day, children can write about their day. I love to read about their daily activities. They can also write about something interesting that happened that day.

6. Our second grade teacher was f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s. She had the children work on a time line project. They had to use 5 different pictures and put them in a time line using an accordion fold. On each picture they had to write a caption with what they might have been saying. I loved the idea so much, that I still have the booklets.

7. I am getting ready to have some friends over for lunch. I a taking the easy way out of sending invitations.I have asked my children to draw the hand connected to their arm. I intend to have each hand glued to a sheet of paper so one is on top of the other. The invitee will lift each hand reading the message, Let's (on one hand) get (on another hand) together! (on the third hand). Under the third hand is the invitation stating the time and place of the luncheon. (I love children's art work, so I use my children's drawings and their imaginations to create fun things!

8. It is very easy to make a collection of Mother Goose rhymes. These can be compiled in a book with teh children's illustrations. Or, you can simply keep them unbound and use them when you are teaching a particular rhyme. Do the same thing for poetry.

Be sure to utilize the ability to "peek inside" when looking at Amazon. ;)