Saturday, December 26, 2015

Celebrating 10 Years of A Year of Reading: Our 3rd Birthday

It seems hard to believe, but we are coming to the end of our 10th year of blogging! To celebrate, we will look back on our blog birthday posts through the years.  Join us as we revisit our birthday posts. Today is Day 3 of our 10 Day Birthday Celebration!

Photo Credit: Puschinka 
(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schokoladentorte_Buttercreme_Tulpen_dritter_Geburtstag_001.JPG)

For our 3rd birthday:
THREE: The First Three
THREE: The Second of Three
THREE: The Third of Three

Friday, December 25, 2015

Celebrating 10 Years of A Year of Reading: Our 2nd Birthday

It seems hard to believe, but we are coming to the end of our 10th year of blogging! To celebrate, we will look back on our blog birthday posts through the years.   Join us as we revisit our birthday posts. Today is Day 2 of our 10 Day Birthday Celebration!

Photo by S. Briggs (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mozillanigeria/8288440865/sizes/m/)
For our 2nd birthday we had a 4 day Blog Birthday Gala!




Thursday, December 24, 2015

Poetry Friday -- Christmas Wishes




O what a glory doth this world put on
For him who, with a fervent heart, goes forth
Under the bright and glorious sky, and looks
On duties well performed, and days well spent!
For him the wind, ay, and the yellow leaves
Shall have a voice, and give him eloquent teachings.
He shall so hear the solemn hymn, that Death
Has lifted up for all, that he shall go
To his long resting-place without a tear.

from Autumn by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow



Wishing you the glory of the world, a fervent heart, days well spent, and a bright and glorious sky. Merry Christmas!

Irene has the roundup this week at Live Your Poem.


Celebrating 10 Years of A Year of Reading: Our 1st Birthday


It seems hard to believe, but we are coming to the end of our 10th year of blogging! To celebrate, we will look back on our blog birthday posts through the years.  Join us as we revisit our birthday posts over the next 10 Days of our Birthday Celebration!

Our very first blog post went live on January 2, 2006: Why We Are Doing This

In January 2007, we looked back on our first year and proclaimed:  What a Great Year to be a Blogger!

Photo from Theresa Thompson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/theresasthompson/2311764508/in/dateposted/)

Monday, December 21, 2015

A Family Field Trip to the Mazza Museum



I have always wanted to visit the Mazza Museum. It is not too far from here (Findlay, Ohio) but for some reason I haven't done it.  But on Sunday, we spent the day with our family in Toledo and decided to stop on the way for an hour.  And I am so glad we did--what an amazing place!


The whole family visited and it was so fun watching everyone (husband included) finding art of some of our favorite picture books.  Every time we discovered a new illustration of a book or character we loved, it was total joy.

And it was about more than seeing our favorite illustrators. We also saw exhibits that shared things we didn't know about the process of picture book making.  Here are some of our favorite finds!

We saw Patricia Polacco's quilt from The Keeping Quilt.


There was a section on development of picture books that showed the process and planning  that picture book makers go through.



All of the books as well as binders about the illustrators were included in the displays. So you can learn about the Madeline art and then go right to the page in the actual book.

There was an entire room of Paper Engineering with so many amazing pieces.

Mo Willems says he got his biggest inspiration from Dr. Seuss so this is a tribute to him.

My older daughter was thrilled that a Laura Ingalls Wilder display was one of the first things she saw when she walked in. She was a huge Little House fan for most of her elementary years.
And I was so surprised to see art from Roller Girl in the graphic novels display.  I loved the combination of classics and brand new titles in the museum.

 I am hoping to make it to some of their institutes this summer or next year. They always look incredible but the timing doesn't usually work out. 
I am so glad that we stopped by. I am sure it won't be my last visit to this amazing place!



Friday, December 18, 2015

Poetry Friday: Haiku Tag


TUESDAY:
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Flood G.

thick slice of dark bread
minutes like sugar in tea
pencil scratching page


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015



WEDNESDAY:

pencil scratching page
fish tank burbling endlessly
clock strikes seven


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015


THURSDAY:


Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Jo Christian Oterhals

clock strikes seven
sleeper doesn't stir
earth keeps rotating


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015



FRIDAY:
Wikipedia

earth rotates daily
as it floats around the sun
my head is spinning

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015





On Tuesday, I was running a little behind, but I managed to write a haiku about writing a haiku while eating a quick breakfast.  I decided to use the last line of this haiku as the first line on Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning, I was running a lot behind. It was 7:00am and I hadn't started writing yet, hadn't showered, hadn't packed my lunch. I need to be out the door by 7:45 to be on time for work, so it's a good thing I had the first line of my haiku ready to go.

Thursday morning I was exhausted. I had rolled-cut-baked cookies the night before for hours and hours after an already long day at work. All I could think of was the first morning of break when I wouldn't have to set my alarm. Even though I was tired, I was pretty thrilled to find an image of a clock that really goes with my haiku!

Today, I was able to weave our current studies in science into a haiku that describes both what it's like to be a fifth grader learning about the movements of the earth around the sun (rotation/revolution; day, night, seasons) AND what this week's been like for me. Our heads are all spinning for some reason or another!



Diane has the Poetry Friday roundup at Random Noodling this week.


Thursday, December 17, 2015

Informational Writing


For all those classrooms where students are working hard on their informational writing: may your students' work blow you out of the water!


Wednesday, December 16, 2015

I am in awe.



I have a new student. His family has been in the country since November. On his second day in our class, he started teaching me Arabic.

A little with our alphabet, then a little with his.

On the way to the bus at dismissal, we traded words: bus, car, the numbers on the buses.

That was day two.

Yesterday, he taught me manners -- how to say please and thank you.

This morning, he heard us sing happy birthday in six languages to a classmate. He was able to play the multiplication game with me and Google Translate by his side. He practices listening to sounds and spelling simple words with an app on the iPad, followed by a break to play a video game online. I say "10 minutes iPad, 10 minutes video game." He says, with a mischievous smile, "15 minutes video game." I say "15 minutes iPad," and he says, "20 minutes video game!"

This afternoon, he told me, "You America (hand over heart). Me Iraq..." and then he sang me the Iraqi national anthem all the way to the bus. Before he boarded, he told me, "YouTube -- Matahni (spelling is mine) -- you go." So I did, and there it was (Mwtini).

This is a kid with spunk. This is a kid with grit and perseverance. This is a kid who is not going to let school be done to him -- we will work together and there will be learning on both sides. He will see to that. I'm sure he won't let a day go by for the rest of the year that he doesn't teach me something. He already knows that education isn't a one-way street, from the teacher to the student. He knows he has power. His native language gives him power, his ability to learn gives him power, his willingness to collaborate gives him power.

I am in awe of this young man, and thankful that his boat washed up on my shore.



Monday, December 14, 2015

Slow



The Slowest Book Ever
by April Pulley Sayre
illustrated by Kelly Murphy
review copy provided by the publisher
Boyds Mills Press, April 2016

This book is the perfect antidote for the hurry-scurry of the modern world. In order to enjoy it, you must sit on the couch and meander through the chapters in no particular order, spending an entire afternoon learning about and thinking about slow plants, slow animals, slow geological processes, slow art, slow music and imaginary slow motion movies, to name a few topics in this fun book!

At the end of the book are two pages where you can lay your head down while you "mull over the mysteries of inner ears or dark matter."

After that, for the reader who loves to keep going even after "The End," there is an excellent glossary of "Chewy Words," the funnest acknowledgements ever, and entertaining endnotes for "snailish sorts."

And even after you have come to the end of the last page, you won't be finished with your foray into SLOW if you follow April's advice -- you'll be picking up a field guide and heading out into the world for a leisurely walk, ready to stop frequently and gawk appreciatively at the world around you.


Friday, December 11, 2015

Poetry Friday -- Rare


RARE from Joel Sartore on Vimeo.

I ran across this video on The Kid Should See This. It filled my heart with love (and concern) for this ball of rock and water upon which we float through space.




beautiful world 
everything we do matters
every single thing

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015




And this behind the scenes bit made me laugh out loud:


RARE: Behind the Scenes from Joel Sartore on Vimeo.


Tara has the Poetry Friday roundup this week at A Teaching Life.