Bears, Picture Book Month Day 12

Picture Book Month Day 12 theme: Bears

Find out more about Picture Book Month here

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I have adore bear themed books. I am not sure why but I do. Maybe it is because when I was a kid and my family would go camping in New Mexico. we would go to the garage dump and watch the bears come out to root around for food. I had a couple of face-to-face run ins with a bear ambling through the camp site too. I was scared senseless and thought I would get eaten alive! I just can't get enough of bear books. 

Author Karma Wilson has some wonderful bear books and illustrator Jane Chapman gives Bear such a comforting friendly feel that you just can't help falling in love with him. 

Bear Snores On is great for discussing the changing seasons and why bears hibernate. Click here for more

Mouse creeps into hibernating Bear's cozy lair, looking for relief from the cold night, and soon is joined by Hare, Badger, Mole, Wren and Raven. Bear snores on as the high-spirited party gets going. The critters pop corn, make tea, twitter and chatter, until Bear wakes up with a giant sneeze! (publisher description)

Bear Feels Scared 

Bear is out scrounging around for a snack to eat when the sun suddenly sets and the woods become dark and scary. Bear  searches and searches for his way home and begins to feel scared. Bear's friends are concerned and they form a search party to find their dear friend. Click here for more

My favorite: Bear Feels Sick
Oh dear! Bear has the sniffles and feels sick! It's up to his friends to tuck in him and take good care of him. 

This book is a great choice when helping children to understand how to stay healthy. I have used Karma's suggestion for introducing glitter germs to kids by shaking each child's hand as they enter the library. I keep coating my hand with glitter and they squeal with laughter when they realize what I have done. We then sit down and pass around baby wipes to clean the "glitter germs" off our hands. I then demonstrate the correct way to wash hands and make a big show of lathering up and rinsing away the germs while singing the ABC song which takes the right amount of time to sing and do a good job washing hands. Click here for more

More Bear books from Karma Wilson

Book Fair Prep and Brinner #IMWAYR 9/30/2013

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme began by Sheila at Book Journeys as a way to share what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and what is in store for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading. I first learned about it at Teach Mentor Texts. 

This week, I am breaking out the old Scholastic "What are you Reading? button as I prepare for book fair kick off this week. I have been viewing the book fair videos with kids and reading a few of the books that might be included in the fair. I haven't had a chance to open a single box from the shipment yet because of my hectic work schedule. 

Charlie the Ranch Dog by Ree Drummond

Our old friend, Charlie the Ranch Dog is back with "Where's the Bacon"

We all love Charlie and the kids recognized Ree Drummond as a person their moms liked to watch on TV. Me too. Remind me to order some of her Pioneer Woman cookbooks for the book fair. They are hot sellers!

Another old friend is Bear from the series by Karma Wilson.
I could teach a whole year of lessons just using her Bear books. They are so useful in teaching many different topics. Seasons, friendship lessons, hygiene, good health, and so much more.







Anyone want a new Wimpy Kid book? YESSSS!




We will be taking pre-orders for the newest Wimpy Kid book # 8 during book fair. Such excitement rolls through the school when these books arrive. Maybe I should plan a special Wimpy Kid Read In on the day they arrive.
I have one of those uber cool Greg Heffley stand up cardboard thingies in my library.





Cartoonists Team Up to help rebuild libraries!

Jeff Kinney (Wimpy Kid), Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants), Lincoln Peirce (Big Nate) 

and Stephan Pastis (Timothy Failure)

Drawn Together: Cartoonist Benefit Moore Oklahoma School Libraries is a fundraising event where four author/cartoonists come together for the first time ever to raise funds for the Moore, OK school libraries. All of the funds raised during this 2-day fundraiser will be used to help rebuild the school libraries that were hit by the tornadoes on May 20th, 2013.

The special event is over but you can still purchase a T-shirt for Drawn Together. HERE
They have set their goal at 250 shirts, so far 58 have been sold.

MY Professional Development Reading:

On the advice of a my librarian friend who is working on her doctorate, I have started reading Readicide by Kelly Gallagher. Based on what I have read so far, I agree. Last year I witnessed exactly how the death of reading can happen very easily in a classroom. Students were not allowed to check out certain books from the library that were of high interest to them-graphic novels, I Spy, joke books, military history, world records and trivia books. These books were not deemed to be true "reading". I say "Baloney!" I love to read the same types of books and I do think deeply about what I am reading, learning, and sharing with others as I read. Most of these books involve social reading experiences. You don't read a joke book alone. You go out and share the jokes you have read with your friends. I Spy books are more fun when you can read them together searching for hidden items with a friend.

My favorite experience in my library last week was when a student begged me to let him read a book from my "to be cataloged" shelf. It was DK's Arms & Armor. Within minutes six boys were huddled around it reading and excitedly talking about what they were reading. This is the best type of reading-learning and sharing together. I understand it doesn't fit the definition of deep reading but this type of reading does have a deep impact on young readers and leads them into new topics for exploring and learning.

Readicide from Stenhouse Publishing

Read-i-cide n: The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools.

Reading is dying in our schools. Educators are familiar with many of the factors that have contributed to the decline — poverty, second-language issues, and the ever-expanding choices of electronic entertainment. In this provocative new book, Kelly Gallagher suggests, however, that it is time to recognize a new and significant contributor to the death of reading: our schools. - See more at: http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewprd.asp?idProduct=9158#sthash.xcNBGMjR.dpuf

VIsit Kelly Gallagher's website to learn more about Readicide.

There goes the timer!

I am writing this the night before so I have to stop and go cook dinner, or in this case BRINNER! (Breakfast for Dinner) We love it. Brinner brings back great family memories spent watching The Wonderful World of Disney and eating waffles for dinner. Good times. Good Times.

...and because I am a librarian, I am compelled to provide Brinner resources:


The Kitchn: (yes, that's how they spelled kitchen) 10 Ways to Eat Brinner

Best Ever Pecan Waffles with Bacon

Image and recipe from: Small Kitchen Chronicles

Happy Reading Ya'll

Spiders, Flies, and Bears Oh My! IMWAYR August 12, 2013

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme began by Sheila at Book Journeys as a way to share what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and what is in store for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading. I first learned about it at Teach Mentor Texts. 

The School bell is about to ring. Just a couple of more weeks to tweak lesson plans and prepare for the approaching horde.

What did I read this week?
My focus this week was on reading science topic books and deciding on meaningful activities to go with them. These are great read alouds for Kinder-2nd and can be paired with dozens of great learning activities.

New succulents just added my library's Green Thumbs Science Center.
In the white pots are colored succulents.  behind them are cactus fingers. Kids are allowed to break off sections and take home to transplant. I have even had moms come in requesting these amazing little thorn-less cacti. I am training a few to make a crown shape. 
Great link: NASA's Climate Kids

Learning about Libraries
Here are two good choices for introducing libraries to children. Lola at the Library is a good pick for preschoolers explaining what happens in a library. Tomas and the Library Lady is a classic for older students. It is a particularly useful book for English language learners. My copy is in a bi-lingual format.

I love Bear lessons. They tie in so easily with many lesson objectives and there are hundreds of bear books available. Some of my favorites are the Bear books of Karma Wilson. Here is a blog post on The Beauty of Bears.

Paired Shares:  Bear Feels Sick by Karma Wilson and Germs by Ross Collins

When my students walk through the library doors I shake each student's hand. They begin to giggle when they realize I have given them glitter germs! I overreact with a lot of coughing and sneezing until I get everyone settled in on the story-time carpet and launch into a lesson on How to Wash Your Hands. This includes students singing the Happy Birthday song or the ABC song which allows me enough time to properly model washing my hands. Each student is then given a baby wipe to wipe their hands free of glitter.

Bear Feels Sick Glitter Germs teaching activity

Bear Lesson Resources: 

Bear in a cave Coloring Page from Coloring-Pictures.net

Pictures of bacteria (yuckie)

 Bear Activities from Karma Wilson website



Bear Finger-play (author unknown)

Here Is a Cave

Here is a cave.
(Bend fingers on one hand.)
Inside is a bear.
(Put thumb inside fingers.)
Now he comes out
To get some fresh air.
(Pop out thumb.)

He stays out all summer
In sunshine and heat.
He hunts in the forest
For berries to eat.
(Move thumb in a circle.)

When snow starts to fall,
He hurries inside
His warm little cave
And there he will hide.
(Put thumb inside fingers.)

Snow covers the cave
Like a fluffy white rug.
Inside the bear sleeps
All cozy and snug.
(Place one hand over the other.)

I can "bearly"wait to use these wonderful books this year. 

Now, I would love to know what you are reading and using in your classrooms and libraries.

The Beauty of Bears

 

The Beauty of Bears

November is Picture Book Month

Day 7 theme: Bears

Picture Book Month Author of the day Karma Wilson

Visit Karma Wilson's author website

Features for Teachers book resources

I love using Karma Wilson books in my library. Not only are the illustrations attractive and filled with lovable forest friends but they are also the answer to most lesson plan needs I might have. If I need a book about:

• feelings or emotions? Bear Feels Scared
• hygiene or good health? Bear Feels Sick
• dental health or lost teeth? Bear's Loose Tooth
• hibernation? Bear Snores On
• Christmas? Bear Stays Up for Christmas
• character development? Bear Wants More
• thankfulness: Bear says Thanks
• Friendship, helping, or working together? Bear's New Friend or ANY Bear book.
•  the change of seasons? ANY Bear book. Bear moves through each season with some new adventure each time.

The Bear books are great paired up with  non-fiction topics and science related themes. But the real reason I love Karma Wilson's Bear books are because the children who listen to me reading them LOVE them just as much. They love the rhythm, rhyme, and flow of the words and like to join in saying "and the bear feels scared..." or "and he still feels sick..." Last night, I read Bear Feels Scared to my four-year-old grandson. He informed me that he wanted to read the special part. He pointed to each word reading aloud "and the bear feels scared" then he paused to look at me with bright eyes shining with pride. And my heart just melted....