Happy National Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Month. I had some pretty powerful poetic influences when I was a child. The first was my father, a high school English teacher. He loves poetry and sometimes would recite poems to me before I went to sleep at night. His deep voice would thrill me as he recited his favorites. I can't remember the names of his bedtime poems but I do remember that my favorite involved cannibals. Fifth and sixth grade were very poetic years. When I was in fifth grade I was fortunate to have a teacher that loved poetry. She encouraged us to write poems as a means of sorting out our pre-adolescent feelings. If we had a free moment we were instructed to either read a book or write a poem. We also had a poetry newspaper called The Purple Cow. My best friend and I were the editors. In the sixth grade everyone had to recite "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I loved the stirring images painted by the rhythmic words. Finally, my mother an elementary teacher, loved to teach writing and she introduced me to the love of children's poetry books. I am not a poet but those early years of exposure to poetry made me a lifelong lover of words.
Don't be frightened by poetry. Read it to your children during Laptime and in Story Circle. Linger together over the words enjoying the rhythms and rhymes and imagery.

Here are some Poetry books to introduce during National Poetry Month and to enjoy all year long:
Preschool

• Random House Book of Mother Goose retold and illustrated by Arnold Lobel (author of the Frog and Toad Books) - 1986. Random House
• Whiskers and Rhymes by Arnold Lobel - 1985. Greenwillow.
• Read A-loud Rhymes for the Very Young selected by Jack Prelutsky - 1986. Knopf.
• Dinosaur Dinner (With a Slice of Alligator Pie) by Dennis Lee - 1999. Random House
  

Kindergarten - Elementary

• Sing a Song of Popcorn, Every Child's Book of Poems a collection of poems by well known poets selected by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, Eva Moore, Mary Michaels White, Jan Carr and illustrated by nine Caldecott Medal artists - 1988 Scholastic
• A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein - 1981. HarperCollins
• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein - 1974. Harper and Row

Classic Poems in Picture Books

• Block City by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Ashley Wolf - 1988. Dutton
• My Shadow by Rober Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Ted Rand - 1990. Putman
• The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear, illustrated by Jan Brett - 1991. Putnam
• The Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Jan Breskin - 1986. Holt.
• Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Ted Rand - 1990. Dutton.

How do you like to teach poetry? Do you have a favorite poetry lesson? Please share it in the comments, we'd all love to hear from you.

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Let's Go Fly a Kite in Chinatown

Henry and the Kite Dragon
written by Bruce Edward Hall
illustrated by William Low
Laptime: kindergarten - elementary
Story Circle: kindergarten - elementary

Spring weather in the Pacific Northwest is often windy and a perfect time for flying kites. I love to go to the coast and watch the kites fly. Kites depicting butterflies, dragons, birds, fish and creatures created in the imagination of the kite maker color the sky. That is one of the reasons that I was so drawn to the book Henry and the Kite Dragon. The other reason is the beautiful conflict resolution depicted in the story. A good lesson that prejudices are often based on misunderstanding.

This 1920's story takes place in Chinatown in New York City. Mr. Chin, also called Grandfather, makes beautiful kites that he and the Chinese children fly from the rooftop of his building. Grandfather Chin can make the kites fly as if they were alive but one day the Italian boys from Little Italy started to throw rocks at the kites. Why would they do such a mean thing? Find out how the kids from Chinatown and the kids from Little Italy resolve their differences and bring peace to the sky over their neighborhoods.

This story is inspired by a man named Mr. Chin who lived in Chinatown when the author's father was a little boy. The book won the Jane Addams Children Book Award in 2005 given by the Jane Addams Peace Association for its depiction of peaceful resolution of conflict. Award winning artist, William Low gives us beautifully intricate and vibrant illustrations. I particularly enjoyed looking at the faces of the children; each face seemed familiar.

Laptime Activity
Go to the store and buy a kite to fly. I recently saw kites at a dollar type store. Don't forget to buy kite string, too. Keep the frustration level down when you fly your kites by going to a park or an open field where there are no power lines and very few trees to get tangled in. Once you get proficient you may want to invest in more expensive kites or make your own.

Here are some sites that give instructions for making your own kite:
eHow.com How to Make a Kite
Scratchpad.com - Make your own Kite
How to make a kite out of a plastic bag

Practice Conflict Resolution - Is there someone in the family or in your neighborhood with whom your children have had a misunderstanding? Take the lesson learned in the story and discuss what steps that you and your children can take to fix the broken relationship. Then do it.

Story Circle
Make kites (see sites above) and fly them on a windy day.
Learn about the history of Kites. Try these sites:
The History of Kites and Kite Flying
National Kite Month: A History of Kiting

Practice Conflict Resolution - Reread the confrontation between the children from Chinatown and Little Italy. Ask the children how they would feel if they were the Chinese children and their kites were being destroyed. Discuss how they would feel if they were the Italian children and their pet pigeons were being frightened away. Act out the confrontation in the park with half of the children being the kite flyers and the other half the pigeon owners. Switch roles.
After you are done role playing have the children think of other ways that the children in the story could have solved their differences. Write the ideas down and have the children add illustrations for a classroom book.

Henry and the Kite Dragon is published by Philomel Books a division of Penguin Young Readers Group. You can purchase the book from the Amazon Wondersome StoryTime Store.

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Feel a cold coming on? Read, Chicken Soup by Heart

Chicken Soup by Heart
written by Esther Hershenhorn
illustrated by Rosanne Litzinger
Laptime: preschool - early elementary
Story Circle: preschool - early elementary

We've all heard the medicinal wonders of chicken soup for colds and flu. In Chicken Soup by Heart we learn the secret of Chicken Soup's healing powers - stir in a loving story about the soup-eater.

Rudie Dinkins babysitter Mrs. Gittel is sick with the flu. Mrs. Gittel is the chicken soup queen who makes Rudie special soup whenever he is sick. Her secret ingredient is the story of a loving memory about her soup eater that she stirs into each pot of soup. Rudie is determined to help Mrs. Gittel get better by making her a pot of Rudie Dinkin's chicken soup. Of course, Rudie stirs in some stories about Mrs. Gittel and a few secret ingredients of his own.

Laptime Activity
Make Chicken Soup

• You can try Rudie and Mrs. Gittel's Chicken Soup recipes that are listed on the last page of the book or make your own favorite recipe. Kaboose.com has some delicious and easy soup recipes to try.
• Read the recipe together and gather all of the ingredients.
• Be sure to allow each child to add ingredients and stir the soup. Kids can peel the veggies but an adult should do the chopping.
• While the soup is simmering, sit around the table and allow each person, child and adult, to tell a nice story about someone else who will be eating the soup.
• Eat the soup together or take it to someone that is sick as a get well gift.
  

Story Circle Activity

• If you are allowed to cook in your classroom, Make some Chicken Soup. You can use the recipe at the back of Chicken Soup by Heart or use your own.
• Write the ingredients on the board or a large piece of paper or poster board so that everyone can see and read together what goes into the soup.
• Use a crock pot to simmer the soup. A crock pot wont get quite so hot as an electric stock pot but you will need to allow it to simmer linger.
  
• Be sure that you have your ingredients organized and ready to go.
• If you would like to have the class peel the vegetables, use child safe peelers.
• For Tips for Successful Classroom Cooking click here.

Make Your Own Recipe Book
You will need:
Drawing and writing paper for each child.
Pencils and crayons.

1. Give each child a piece of writing paper and have them write or dictate their version of a recipe for chicken soup.
2. Below the recipe have them write or dictate a nice story about the person that they would like to have eat their soup.
3. Give each child a piece of drawing paper and have them draw a picture to go with their story.
4. Combine all of the pages into one Chicken Soup Recipe book.
5. If you have readers allow each child to read their recipe and story to the class. If you have a class of early readers or young preschoolers the teacher may read the recipes and stories to the class.
6. Make copies of all of the pages and bind them together for a take home book that the children can read to/with their families.

Loveable Troublesome Goats - There's a Billy Goat in the Garden

There's a Billy Goat in the Garden
retold by laurel Dee Gugler
illustrated by Clare Beaton
based on a Puerto Rican folk tale
Laptime: toddler - Kindergarten
Story Circle: preschool - Kindergarten

We have two goats at my house, Sven and Ole. This is a picture of Sven.
Our goats are LaManchas so they have little tiny ears.
People laugh at them but I think that they are very handsome. Though it is
not true that goats will eat anything, they will eat almost anything
and are always looking for ways to get into trouble. I enjoy this book so much because often at our house, there is a billy goat in the garden!

There's a Billy Goat in the Garden is a retelling of a Puerto Rican folk tale. A stubborn billy goat is in the garden eating the clothes that are hanging out to dry. The children can't chase him away so they enlist the help of their barnyard friends. Each animal tries their best to get the goat to leave the garden but as the animals get bigger the goat gets more stubborn. Finally the least likely creature succeeds where the others failed showing sometimes it's the little unexpected things that get the job done.

Laurel Dee Gugler's charming retelling of this folktale is accompanied by beautiful fabric collage illustrations by Clare Beaton. The artwork gives each page a 3 dimensional feel that makes the reader want to linger on the page to take in every detail.
Laptime Activity
Learn to Love a Goat

• Check out this site, Breeds of Livestock, Goat breeds, to learn about different types of goats. Be sure to check out L for LaMancha and to learn about Sven and Ole.
• Goats and More Goats, from the Irvine Mesa Charros 4-H Club, also gives great goat info.
• Search the internet or go to the library for more information about goats.
• Visit a goat breeder for an up close and personal goat experience. Around kidding time there is always a need for an extra pair of hands to feed baby goats.

Laptime and Story Circle Activity
Fabric Collages
You will need:

• A variety of fabric scraps
• good scissors for each child
• White school or craft glue on bottles or in cups with popscicle sticks for applicators
• buttons, yarn, string, beads, etc. for interesting touches

1. Give each child a piece of heavy construction paper for their background.
2. Put the fabric scraps in the center of the work space so that the children have access to a variety of fabrics.
3. Using the illustrations in the book for inspiration, talk about the different fabrics, colors and patterns that are used and how to cut out different shapes and sizes.
4. Encourage the children to make simple designs: a tree, some flowers, a house, a hillside, a rainbow, clouds, etc.
5. Remind the children to use only small dots of glue on the fabric so that the glue doesn't soak through and make a soggy mess - No glue monsters.
6. If you have preschoolers that do not have the small motor skills to handle scissors, pre-cut different shapes out of the fabric so that they can put the shapes together to make a picture.

Story Circle Activity
Creative Drama - act out the story

• Start with a movement game - Have the children spread out around the room so that they have space to move. Move around the room like each of the animals in the story: You are a goat eating the clothes in the garden. How does a goat move? You are a rooster going to scare the goat out of the garden. How does a rooster move? - and so on with the other animals.
• Choose 10 children to be the characters in the story. The rest of the children will be the chorus.
• As the teacher reads the story have each character act out what is being read. After you read a page allow time for the actors to act out what you just read and encourage them to add their own dialogue - What would the rooster say to the goat? What would the goat say back to the rooster. Also encourage the children to move like the animal characters that they are playing.
• The children who are the chorus should repeat the phrase, "will NOT COME OUT!" every time that it comes up in the story. Each time the phrase comes up the chorus should say it with more and more dismay and frustration.
• Remember, this is not to be a performance piece but a fun activity to enhance the story that you just read. Have fun; be creative.
  

Another Snowy Day - Hooray for Katy the Snowplow!

Katy and the Big Snow
By Virginia Lee Burton
Laptime: preschool - early elementary
Story Circle: preschool - early elementary

Today is March 11. Spring begins in 9 days, but I'm sitting in my office looking out on a white and snowy world of subzero temperatures. In honor of our latest prespring snowstorm I decided to post about my favorite snow plow, Katy.
Katy and the Big Snow was written by Virginia Lee Burton in 1943. Katy is a strong and powerful red crawler tractor who is a bulldozer in the summer and a snow plow in the winter. Katy is so powerful that she can't plow the little snowstorms so she has to wait until a really big snowstorm comes. Finally a huge Blizzard comes and covers the town in 5 feet of snow, almost all the way up to the second story windows. The city is at a standstill and Katy plows to the rescue.
Hooray for Katy! I wish that we had Katy around my city this winter.

Laptime Activities

• If you are living in a snowy area, take some toy trucks and blocks and build a city in the snow. Attach a snowplow blade, made out of heavy cardboard, onto one of your trucks and plow out your city. Show your child which direction in your yard is North, South, East and West. Plow in different directions.
• The Author creates a little peek at life in the 1940's through her illustrations of cars, truck, plains and buildings. Go to Google images and explore the '40's by searching 1940 topics such as fashion, cars, planes, headlines, etc.

Story Circle Activities
Early elementary - Make a map
A fun part of this book is that the author includes a map of the city and then, in the text of the story, tells what direction Katy is headed to plow next.

• Turn your classroom into the city of Geoppolis.
• Look at the map included in the first few pages of the book. In the margin around the map there is an illustrated list of Geoppolis businesses. Assign each child a business and ask them to draw a picture of that business and write the name of the business across the top of the paper.
• Using a compass, find which part of the room is North. Hang a Big N on the North wall. Do the same for South, East and West and NW, NE, SW, SE.
• Now, using the map in the book as a reference, place the picture of each business in the proper place in the classroom. For example: the school is in the center of the city, the hospital is West Geoppolis, the Railway station is in East Geoppolis and the Water Department is in North Geoppolis.
• Once the sign for every business is placed in the proper place, give each child a large piece of paper and pencil and have them draw their own map of Geoppolis. First they should draw a compass on their map and then add each business in it's proper place in the city. If you have early readers/writers, the teacher can make the map on the board while the class tells her where to put each business and then the class can copy it on their own maps.
• Once the businesses are in place on the map, add roads and people and trees and anything else that makes your maps colorful and fun.

Preschool Activity - Plow around the town. Children will learn the directions North, South, East and West.

• This activity is best done in a large space like a gym.
• Using a compass, show the children how to find the North Wall of the classroom. Hang a big sign with the word North written on it on the North wall. Do the same with South, East and West.
• Gather the children in the center of the room, this is the Highway Department.
• Say, "Katy, plow the road East to the hospital." All the children should drive their pretend snowplows to the East wall.
• Then say, "Katy, plow the road North to the airport." The children should drive their pretend snowplows to the North wall.
• Once the children have driven to all four directions, spice up the game a little by adding directions: drive backwards, drive very quickly, the snow is very deep drive slowly, the road is very bumpy drive over the bumps, etc.
• Continue until your snowplows are tired out and ready to head back home to the Highway Department for a rest.