A Visit from David Gordon

"Little rig, little rig, let me come in!"
"Not by the chrome on my chinny chin chin."
"Then I'll crash and I'll bash and I'll smash your house in."

Just before the holiday hub-bub set in, our first grade class was lucky enough to score a last minute invitation to visiting children's book author and illustrator David Gordon's presentation at our school.

I didn't know his books before this but my students did.  They were excited to meet the man behind The Three Little Rigs, a book several of them really love.  And I was excited because, well, he is a children's book author!

We entered the library eager to hear his stories but I felt a little unprepared. I hadn't read his books.  I didn't discuss his visit with the children beforehand.  We hadn't created a list of questions.  We went in cold.

So it was a delight for me when he introduced himself and started to read from his charming "lint free love story" Smitten.  It is a love story between a sock and a mitten...Smitten.  I was hooked.

Next, he read The Three Little Rigs. It is his motorized take on one of my favorite fairy tales.  The illustrations in this book are vibrant and happy but my favorite is the pig-faced wrecking ball.

It is always a treat to meet the author.  David happily answered our questions and even drew a few pictures before we bade him farewell.  Of course I had to get autographed copies of both books and ask him to pose for a picture with me.

Thanks to our inimitable librarian Sara for arranging another stellar author visit.  It is an embarrassment of riches at PS347!

11 in '11

It is time to usher out 2011 and welcome in baby new year 2012!

Ahhh...

In the spirit of reflection I am joining the 11 in '11 Linky Party I encountered at Ms. M's blog.  Here are 11 things I enjoyed in 2011.

FAVORITE MOVIE

This would have to be the last one I watched which was My Week With Marilyn.  I'm not really sure if it was indeed my favorite but I liked it.  I really liked it.

FAVORITE TV SERIES

Doctor Who

FAVORITE RESTAURANT

Anton's at the Swan

FAVORITE NEW THING YOU TRIED

um...

Pass

FAVORITE GIFT YOU GOT

A Kindle! All the free Dickens downloads you want.  Tons of free books.  In fact, I was able to download almost the entire reading list from Joseph Campbell's comparative mythology course!

FAVORITE THING YOU PINNED

...What now?

FAVORITE BLOG POST

My own?  It would be the one that was published by Teaching Tolerance. Hopefully the first of many now that I have been accepted into their corps.

BEST ACCOMPLISHMENT

Becoming a Doctoral Candidate!

FAVORITE PICTURE

There have been some wonderful pictures taken in 2011 but the first one that comes to mind is of my dog Nellie out in the snow.

This was taken a few months before she died of bone cancer and broke my heart. She loved the snow.  Although she was limping at this point and struggling with pain she seemed happy out there.

I miss her terribly.

FAVORITE MEMORY

Spending time with the people (and animals) I love.

It is more than one memory but wow, I am blessed!


GOAL FOR 2012

My goal for 2012 is the same as my goal for every other year.

To be happy.

That covers a lot of ground.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Real or Fake?

I am walking to class with my students on Friday morning when this conversation takes place...

Child: Is Medusa real?

Me: No.

Child: Is the Cyclops real?

Me: No, the Cyclops is not real.  These are all myths, stories that people made up a long time ago. None of it is real.

Child: Are reindeer real?

Me: No.

Child: WHAT?!

Me: What did you just ask?

Child: There are no reindeer?... So, is Santa Claus real?

Me: Oh, I'm sorry.  I wasn't paying attention.  Yes, reindeer are real.

Child: (visibly relieved) Okay.  Is Santa real?

Me: What do you think?

Child: I think he is real.

Me: Well, okay then.  Go hang up your backpack.

That was a close one.  The subject did not come up again - Thank goodness!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

With little tin horns and little toy drums,

Rooty toot toots and Rummy tum tums;

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Coordinated Mythology

The Fall of Icarus

The brilliant Joseph Campbell taught Comparative Mythology at Sarah Lawrence College for nearly 40 years.

I have created my own kiddie version of this which plays out more like coordinated mythology. Whereas Joe discovered the underlying themes in religion and mythology across cultures and time, I am discovering ways to support my students learning experience with the Greek myths across the curriculum.

While I could never come close to Joe's genius, I do share his passion.

It helps to surround yourself with folks willing to share your vision.  I have that.

I coordinated my study of Perseus and Medusa with Donna, our artist in residence, who planned an art project (currently underway) built around making gruesome Medusa masks.  Donna borrowed some of our favorite books on the subject to help plan these little bits of fright and I can't wait to see how they turn out.

I am also working with Sara, our librarian, to plan which stories she will tell and which ones I get to unleash.  I am currently deep into The Odyssey with my first grade students.  Everyday they arrive in class and ask me if I am going to tell them another part of the story.  So far we have discussed - and acted out - the story of Odysseus, King Menelaus, Paris, Helen, Penelope, Telemachus, The Trojan War, Circe, Calypso, the Cyclops Polyphemus, Scylla and Charybdis and Tiresias and the Underworld. They don't yet know how the story ends and I am milking every last drop from this enthralling tale.

Sara shared the story of Persephone, Demeter and Hades two weeks ago.

Today she told them about Icarus and Daedalus.  I love when she sits in her rocking chair and mesmerises the children with these stories. Sara's stories are always interactive (for example, bringing in pomegranate seeds for the students to taste as they listened to the story of Persephone) and she encourages them to visualize.

After telling a story she invites the children to draw some part of the it that jumped out at them and caught their imagination. Today she brought in feathers and wax to attach to their artwork.  The kids loved it!

Next up...Theseus and the Minotaur!