Grant Winner

I am pleased to announce that I have been awarded the funding for both, yes that's 2, of my City School Foundation Grant applications! I am honored and excited to bring some really cool things to the students at my school.

The grants I won are named "We're Nook'ed on eBooks" and "Go Research Science".

In the next week I will share the basics of my two ideas.

Elephant & Piggie Series

2007 - Today I Will Fly!
           My Friend is Sad!
           There is a Bird on Your Head!
           I Am Invited to a Party!

2008 - I Love My New Toy!
           I Will Surprise My Friend!
           Are You Ready To Play Outside?

2009 - Watch Me Throw the Ball!
           Elephants Can Not Dance!
           Pigs Make Me Sneeze!

2010 - We Are In a Book!
           Can I Play, Too?
           I Am Going!
2011 - I Broke My Trunk!
           Should I Share My Ice Cream?
           Happy Pig Day!

These beginning reader books are great for ages 4-7. The good thing about a series of books is that if your child likes them you know more titles for them to read. They are a safe choice and children like the familiarity of the characters. If you are looking for some popular series for specific age groups check out this section at Barnes and Noble.com

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/Childrens-Book-Series/379001911/

On the left you will see a breakdown of four different age groups.

The Elephant & Piggie Party Kit – 28 page guide

http://www.pigeonpresents.com/teachersguides/EandP_eventkit11.pdf

There is really enough books and lesson plan ideas in this guide just to focus on Elephant & Piggie for the week.

Elephant & Piggie Dance Game

Goes well with Elephants Cannot Dance!

http://www.pigeonpresents.com/DanceGame/

Please remember that if you are finding the information on this blog useful and would like to make a donation to go towards paying off my student loan you can make a donation via PayPal to murphy1620@yahoo.com Make sure to click on the "Personal" tab so that I won't incur fees. Thank you!

Knuffle Bunny Books

2004 – Knuffle Bunny; A Cautionary Tale

2007 - Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity

2010 - Knuffle Bunny Free: an Unexpected Diversion

If you have a child and they have a favorite stuffed animal than you fear what happens to the little girl, Trixie, in these stories. She looses her Knuffle Bunny (pronounced with a hard k)! Since Trixie can’t talk her attempts to tell her dad go unnoticed but when mom figures out what sh is saying you can see the dread in the characters faces. The other stories in the series find Knuffle Bunny missing in action again.

I love the illustrations in this book. Mo Willems combines pictures that he took of his neighborhood with his ink drawing illustrations over the top. Rumor has it that the first book is based on a true story. As a parent you will enjoy this book as much as the kids do, just from a different perspective.

Classroom Activities

http://pigeonpresents.com/teachersguides/knuffle_teachguide.pdf

* Consider allowing your class to bring their favorite stuffed animal when you read the book.

Cat the Cat Series

OK, busted! I forget to post one the day before. I'm trying to be punctual, I promise. My hope is just to have 5 ideas for you. One of each day of the school week. So with that said, let's focus on the Cat the Cat series

This series of books is for the youngest reader and listener. Don’t forget it is never too early to read to your child. You should start when they are babies. They just love the sound of their parents’ voices.

2010 - Cat the Cat, Who is That?
Let’s Say Hi to Friends Who Fly!
What’s Your Sound, Hound the Hound?
Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep!

Classroom Activities
http://www.gomo.net/assets/catthecatactivites.pdf

Event Kit
http://www.gomo.net/assets/catthecateventkit.pdf
* Contains indoor and outdoor activities along with a bedtime activity.

Mo Willems talks about the Cat the Cat books.

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed

The name of this animal alone will get your kids attention. Oh my goodness you said, “Naked!”. One of my kindergarten teachers did a Mo Willems author study over the course of a week and she ended with the book Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed. As the librarian I offered her class a themed activity. Her class came in and I read the book. I then divided up the students so they could rotate around to four different stations. I go the ideas for the stations from this guide
http://pigeonpresents.com/teachersguides/molerat_event_kit.pdf

Don’t miss the “Dress Wilbur” computer game found here.
http://pigeonpresents.com/moleratgame/
Now that you have piqued the interest of your students or child with this book make sure you pair it with a non-fiction book about naked mole rats. A good book for the young children is Naked Mole Rat by Jody Sullivan Rake.

The Pigeon Series

Pigeon books and website http://www.pigeonpresents.com/
2003 – Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
2004 – The Pigeon Find a Hotdog!
2005 – The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too! and The Pigeon Loves Things That Go!
2006 – Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!
2008 – The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!

Young children love to respond “No!” every time the pigeon asks, or begs, to drive the bus. The pigeon books are rarely on our library shelves for long.

Pigeon Curriculum Guide
http://www.pigeonpresents.com/teachersguides/pigeon_teachguide.pdf
Illustrated by Mo Willems and written by Judy Freeman, whom I just love, this guide is FULL of ideas!

Here is a link to some cute Pigeon products.
http://mowillemsstuff.blogspot.com/search/label/Pigeon
Some of the products include bilingual books, DVD’s, puzzles, plush dolls, and a matching game. Some of these items would make for a fun center in your classroom.

Mo Willems Week

I am focusing on author and illustrator Mo Willems books this week. I hope to be punctual and give you an idea a day focusing on specific titles.The students at my school just LOVE his books and I have a hard time keeping them on the shelf.

If you decide to start a unit of study about an author it is always a good idea to introduce the author to your students/child. I love to create and share an author poster with my students. I make it on a half sheet of poster board and include a picture along with some basic facts about the author. Students like seeing what the author looks like and learning a little something about them. I always try to include a fun fact and information about their family.

Now on to Mo Willems, author and illustrator. His awards include

- Six Emmy’s

- Three time Caldecott Honor Medal winner

- Two Geisel Medals winner

- A Geisel Honor winner

- New York Times bestseller

Website: http://www.mowillems.com/

Barnes & Noble Interview of Mo Willems

Authors and Illustrators on the Web

A lot of authors now have their own websites and blogs. All you have to do is search for their name on your favorite search engine. You'll even find that some of the book characters “Tweet” and have fan pages on Facebook.

If an author doesn’t have a website than a great place to check is the publishing company’s website. There you will find information about their authors and teacher’s guides for specific book titles.

Author websites are great for teachers, children and parents. Many of them will have sections for each specific visitor. Always make sure to preview the website ahead of time so you can see what sections are best for your child.

Teachers

• Lesson Plan Ideas – Need I say more? Make a unit of study based on the books of a specific author.

Parents

• List of authors’ books and a link to purchase them.
• Parent section containing helpful tips
• Printables that you can work on with your child.

Children

• List of authors’ books. Discover what else this author writes that you might like to read.
• Fun & games sections