After we read stories from Canada last week, we realized that all of us were very curious about what life might be like so far north. As luck would have it, the PBS Kids’ show “Postcards from Buster” had an episode all about children who live in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada! It was so much fun to watch actual footage from a snow-covered place where igloo making and sledding are part of every day life.
Click on the picture of Buster below to watch the same episode online!
This week Kindergarten came back to cold climates with a visit to Canada!
Jan Brett’s The Three Snow Bears is a wonderful version of the classic “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” story set in chilly northern Canada. Aloo-ki, an Inuit girl, is in for adventure when she sneaks into the igloo home of a polar bear family!
Last week in Kindergarten we traveled to Mexico!
Cuckoo by Lois Ehlert is a wonderful tale about a vain cuckoo bird who learns the beauty of helping others. Through unique paper collage illustratations and bilingual text, Ms. Ehlert illuminates the age-old moral: you can’t judge a bird by its feathers.
Our imaginations stayed right here in the U.S. for this week’s trip so we could prepare for a very American holiday: Thanksgiving! We learned all about what it means to have “eyes bigger than your stomach” as we read One is a Feast for a Mouse: A Thanksgiving Tale by Judy Cox. Hopefully all of us will not be as greedy as this little mouse on Turkey Day.
The first stop on our book trip around the world was a local one: Cinder-Elly by Frances Minters is a rhyming version of the classic Cinderella story set in New York City. Instead of a ball? A basketball game! Instead of glass slippers? Glass sneakers! It’s always fun to imagine what a fairy tale would be like in a different setting.
Kindergarteners had lots of fun sharing stories from their favorite road trips after we read Dave Horowitz’s Duck, Duck, Moose – a silly tale about forest animals driving south for the winter.
Our conversation was a great introduction to our plans for the rest of the year: traveling the world through books! Each week until the end of the year, we’ll read a story from a different part of the world. By Arch Day, our imaginary passports will be filled with adventures! Follow the blog to keep up with where in the world we are.
All throughout the start of the school year, every grade level has been sharing Patricia Reilly Giff books during our time together in order to prepare for her visit on Wednesday, November 3rd. We can’t wait to meet her!
Visit the “Ode to Books” section of the blog to see a video that 1st Grade students put together in her honor.
For the last few weeks of school, Grades K and 1 are having fairy tale fun! First we talked about why Mr. Dewey put fairy tales in the 300s section with books about culture: because there are many different versions of each fairy tale, and they vary slightly based on the culture where they’re being told.
We examined Cinderella and all the different versions that exist (Caribbean, Jewish, Persian, Egyptian, Irish, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Cajun, Native American, etc.) – it’s amazing how one story can be told in so many different ways!
Then all classes had the treat of watching different fairy tale videos: Peter and the Wolf, Hansel and Gretel, or Jack and the Beanstalk.
Hooray for fairy tale fun!
In honor of Grandparents and Special Friends Day this week, Kindergarten students enjoyed a lovely story about family: Big Sister, Little Sister by Leuyen Pham.
This book is a sweet reminder that we all have a special place in our own families and groups of friends. It was a great way to start our discussion about all the books about holiday and culture that can be found in the 300s (Society and Culture) section. But the big question: why in the world did Mr. Dewey put fairy tales in the 300s with books about culture? The answer will be revealed next week!
This week Kindergarten and First Grade students are celebrating the fact that we’ve learned about the various sections in the Dewey Decimal System. With games like Duck, Duck, Dewey and Dewey Dare, it’s a trivia extravaganza with prizes galore!
Visit our Online Catalog: e-Library
