Lion Lamb Poem & A Giveaway!

Hi Everyone,

Thought I'd share this super cute poem we're using next week. 

The very sweet graphics are courtesy of Sarah at EduClips.

Click the image to grab. You'll get two different versions, one of which is in colour.

You can also find more Lion/Lamb freebies here.

I'm having a little giveaway at Ruby Slippers Blog Designs.  I'm giving away two full Panda kits I just made.  Here's a peak:

The kit includes lots of frames, papers and pandas.

Click HERE to pop on over. It's an easy entry. You just need to follow me by email and/or like me facebook.

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Lion Lamb March FREEBIES

Hi Everyone,

This is a real quick post 'cause I HAVE to go to bed!

But it's almost the end of the month so I really wanted to share this with you before it's too late.

I have a free package of "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb" prediction activities.

In this mini package you'll find a cool Lion/Lamb craft (idea from Scholastic.com).

Here's how ours turned out:

There's a copy of a story that would be fun to dramatize with the kids (this is a Scholastic freebie).

We did it today and it was SO much fun. The kids really loved it!

And the two prediction papers below.

(click and grab the mini unit)

As I was roaming around I came across this very cute FREE graphing activity from Halle at "Across the Hall in 2nd Grade".  If you click on her image it will take you to her TpT store where you can grab it. Be sure to leave her some positive feedback!

Wait! There's more. I just found this in my google drive files. We're going to do this on Friday. It's an oldie but a goodie from an old Mailbox issue.

Sweet dreams!

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Good-Bye, Sochi!

In honour of the Winter Olympics 2014 I thought I'd share this beautiful bulletin board. It was created by an intermediate class at my school. I'm not sure which class made it, but I was struck by its beauty!

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Somebody Loves You ...

Today we read this truly fabulous book called Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli and Paul Yalowitz.

This has to be one of the best books out there and is easily my favourite Valentine book.

It's a charming tale about an older man who leads a lack-lustre existence. But then! Somebody sends him a Valentine. Mr. Hatch is smitten, he's rejuvenated, he's in love with life and it shows. He now smiles, talks and laughs with all his new friends.

But wait! The postman later tells Mr. Hatch there was a mistake; the valentine was meant for someone else. 

Poor Mr. Hatch. He spirals into despair and falls back to his old ways. But happily not for long -- all his new friends are generous and vocal in their love for Mr. Hatch.

You can view the entire book at StoryLine.

After we read the book the kids made Valentines for the person (people) of their choice. Of course, being 6 years old, most of their cards were for mom and dad. 

On the front of the card they printed "Somebody loves you ....".

Inside the card they were instructed to write "I love you because..." with three reasons.

Did you notice those beautiful little fan hearts on the front of the cards? I used some scrapbooking paper and some coloured photocopy paper to cut out a bunch of little hearts (I used this 2 3/4 inch hole puncher from Michaels). Next year I'll splurge and buy more scrapbooking paper cause I think that way they'll look even prettier than they already do.

Everyone picked 5 hearts. They were carefully folded in half and then glued together, one side at a time. Once the fan was made they were glued onto the front of the card.

Many thanks to Art Projects for Kids for the fabulous idea!

If you'd like a copy of the writing paper we used, just click HERE.

You can find StoryLine's activity guide HERE.

Want this little guy?  Clip on the image and you can grab him for free.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine Poetry Freebies

On Friday we got together with our Big Buddies and made animal hearts.

The kids had a blast! All we did was give them some paper, googly eyes and a little inspiration from Pinterest and they were off and running.

Here's last week's poem.

We practiced it every single day. Then on Friday the kids cut up a mixed-up version and pasted it onto pink paper so it could go into their poetry journals.

If you'd like a copy of that poem, plus three more, complete with the mixed-up copy, just click on the image below. If you grab it, be sure to follow me.

Happy Family Day to all my fellow BC bloggers!

Our Alligator Pie Poems

Last week we wrote some class poems, using the Alligator Pie (by Dennis Lee) pattern.

Here's what the class came up with!

Chocolate bar

Chocolate bar

If I don't get one

I think I'll break my car.

Give away my ice-cream cake

Give away my star,

But don't give away

My chocolate bar!

Apple sauce

Apple sauce

If I don't get some

I think I'll be cross.

Give away my Christmas tree

Give away my moss,

But don't give away 

My apple sauce!

Pink pig pie

Pink pig pie

If I don't get some

I think I'm going to cry!

Give away my fairy cake

Give away my tie

But don't give away

My pink pig pie!

Purple cake

Purple cake

If I don't get some

I think I'm going to break.

Give away my big fat cat

Give away my steak

But don't give away my purple cake!

After spending a few days writing poems together, I had the kids write their own. They're a little hard to read, but I think the kids did a super job!

Chinese New Year Book Reviews

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

I have two fabulous books for Chinese New Year to share with you.

Title: Sam and the Lucky Money
Author: Karen Chinn
Illustrators: Cornelius Van Wright & Ying-Hwa Hu
Publisher: Lee and Low Books, 1997
Ages: 4 and up
Theme: Chinese New Year, Helping Others

Opening Lines: Sam could hardly wait to get going. He zipped up his jacket and patted his pockets. It was time to go to Chinatown for New Year's Day!

Synopsis (from Amazon): It's Chinese New Year in Chinatown, and young Sam has four dollars of New Year money burning a hole in his pocket. As he and his mother are milling through the crowded streets--alive with firecrackers, lion dances, and shoppers--Sam accidentally steps on the foot of a homeless man who is buried in a pile of red paper. Flustered, Sam hurries back to his mother, and is soon distracted by the char siu bao and other sweets he might buy with his gift money. When he sees fish-tail cookies that remind him of toes, he remembers the old man again, and Sam starts to think of his "lucky money" in a new light.

Why I Like It:  This book is an old favourite of mine. The water colours are gorgeous and portray a realistic view of New Year's Day in Chinatown. I love the ending when Sam learns to appreciate his good fortune and generously shares some of it with the homeless man.

Resources:

1. A video of the entire book!

2. A fabulous classroom guide full of TONS of resources from Lee & Low Books.

*********************************************************************

Title: The Runaway Wok
Author: Ying Chang Compestine
Illustrator: Sebastia Serra
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, 2011
Ages: 6 to 8
Theme: Chinese New Year

Opening Lines: One Chinese New Year's Eve, a poor couple sent their son, Ming, to the market.

Synopsis: This story is a bit of a cross between Jack and the Beanstalk and Robin Hood. The young boy,  Ming,  who comes from a poor family, trades the family's last few eggs for a rusty old wok. But the wok is magical and takes food, toys and money from a rich and greedy man and gives it to the poor family. This family is kind and generous and they share their good fortune with all the other poor people.

Why I Like This Book:  I have to admit, the first time I read it I was rather appalled that the wok was stealing from other people. Obviously that's wrong. But I decided to read the book to my class anyway, because I thought it would lead to some great discussion. And it did!

After we read the story we all sat in a big circle and talked about whether or not we thought it was okay for the wok to take from the rich and give to the poor.

I was very impressed with everyone's thoughts. It was interesting to see who felt very strongly one way or the other, and who was able to see both sides of the argument. Most children felt it was okay for the wok to do this because the man it stole from was very selfish. But a few children thought it wasn't right for the wok to take everything away from the rich man, that even though he was mean, he didn't deserve to lose everything.

Resources:

1. Book Discussion (see above). I personally wouldn't skip this step because it's important for the children to realize that this is a folk tale with a message.

2. Write about whether or not you think it's okay for the wok to take food, money and toys from the rich family.

You can grab a copy of the sheet HERE.

3. There are some great ideas for exploring Chinese New Year at Library Sparks.

I'm linking up with Susanna's Perfect Picture Book Friday!  Be sure to visit her blog. You'll find lots more great reviews.

You can also find lots more of my book reviews right HERE.

Enjoy the weekend!