Gingerbread Girl!

Another happy hair clip!

Community

Community is a big focus in elementary school.  We ask, "What is a community?",  "How do people in a community support one another?",  "How have communities changed over time?",  "Why are communities important?"

There are many ways to link communities with our basic human desire to have our needs and wants met.  Communities exist and develop to make life easier, more efficient and therefore, more enjoyable.

We all belong to more than one community and new communities are springing up all the time.  The blogging community is a relatively new development but the questions above can certainly be applied to it.

So it was nice to have received a show of support from the blogging community, specifically Xpressive Handz and Eh? What? Huh?, with the Liebster Award. Liebster is a German word that means dearest, beloved or favorite.  This award is bestowed on blogs that have less than 200 followers but deserve a bit more attention. It is a way to get the word out I suppose.

This award comes with some rules.

• Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.
• Link back to the blogger who awarded you.
• Give your top 5 picks for the award.
• Inform your top 5 by leaving a comment on their blog.
• Post the award on your blog.

And the Liebster Award goes to...

1. Barbara at Looking2Live
2. Pauline at Writing Down the Words
3. Angella at 37 Paddington
4. Joy at I've Got a Crush on...ME!
5. Steve at Shadows and Light

Happy Holidays!

Who Would Win?

In the spirit of the Who Would Win? books that have my first graders entranced as of late, I decided to apply this question to a mythological battle between the unfortunate snake-coiffed Medusa and the one-eyed man-child Polyphemus (a.k.a. Odysseus' impetuous Cyclops).

The children wrote their responses to include a brief supporting statement as to why one or the other would prove victorious.

As I put this question to them I thought, "First grade rocks!"  Discussions can go deeper, students actually say things like "I want to add-on to what she just said" and we can tackle the Greek myths!

The outcome in our Who Would Win battle?

Drum roll...

According to my students Medusa would take Polyphemus down with one look! Although one clever girl based her answer on the fact that if Odysseus had already blinded the Cyclops (see The Odyssey) then Medusa's "turning to stone" thing wouldn't work and he could simply step on her.

Take a look at some of their responses below.

Medusa would win because she will turn him to stone.

I think the Cyclops will win because when Medusa is slithering the Cyclops will maybe get poked and go a little crazy and step on her. 

Medusa will win because Medusa will look at the Cyclops and turn him into stone.  Then the Cyclops will break.

If the Cyclops was blinded then Medusa can not turn the Cyclops to stone because he is blind and he could step on Medusa.

Fly Sweet Birdy

This week we bid a bittersweet farewell to a very pregnant Lauren who, after 9 years as my "work wife", is venturing off into a blissful world of her own in anticipation of the birth of her son.

Everyone is asking me, "How are you doing?" And I reply that I feel as though I have gone through a break-up that I saw coming and therefore have prepared myself.

The sadness and drama have passed and I have met the reality of the situation with a clear head.  Of course, there is a bit of avoidance in really thinking too deeply about what this means.  I am sure that on Monday morning I will feel the lack of her presence immensely and my heart will ache a bit.

But knowing that she is embarking on a brilliant stage in her life trumps the sadness and brings me joy.

Tell your baby hello.

Our first graders made her cards to say goodbye and wish her family well. Their drawings of a pregnant Lauren with the "baby inside" are too precious.

I will finish the school year alone.  I am sure I will be fine but I will certainly miss being part of a fabulous team.  And with that, I will end this post.  Emotions are springing up to the surface and I'd prefer to heed the advice of Scarlett O'Hara and think about it tomorrow.

Lauren, I love you!  You will be missed.  xo

The Art of Todd Parr

Children's book author Todd Parr is an incredible artist. He is also incredibly humble.

Todd often tells children that they too can create art that is just as good as his, all they have to do is try.

So, when it came time to collaborate with our artist in residence (Margaret Phelan from The Children's Museum of the Arts) on an upcoming art project, I suggested we do something based on the art of Todd Parr.

I shared a few of Todd's children's books with Margaret, who was immediately smitten, and before our meeting was over she had decided that it would be fun to make masks with the children based on Todd's book It's Okay to be Different.

How cool is that?

Margaret began by having the students examine his art with a focus on color, shape and detail.  Todd uses bright, happy colors and he uses a thick black outline in his work.  Children asked, "Where are the noses?" and commented on the "funny hair".

And then as Todd suggests, they gave it a try!

Some children created a mask to represent themselves or a family member, while others wanted to design an alien or a cat like Todd's Cool Kitty.  I even gave it a go and created a baby version of myself (not what I intended but I went with it - art is not my forte).

After several weeks we completed our project and mounted a bright, happy and gorgeous display.

Thanks Todd for being an inspiration to our students!

Below is a brief slide show of our process.  Enjoy...

"Be imaginative! Be kind! Feel good about yourself!" - Todd Parr