Library Tea Party

We signed up at the local library for a teddy bear tea party for my preschoolers to enjoy.  I thought the big kids could come along too to support them.  Instead, it ended up being about water experiments.  We didn't mind though.  We made our own monsters on coffee filters and then destroyed them with water sprayers.  Support your local libraries!

My Mother's Day Gift

This was my gift from my son for Mother's Day.  He had created a world for me on minecraft called "Mom's World" which had a hot tub room, a huge library, a restaurant with all my favorite foods, a movie theater and so on.  He took me on a virtual tour.  My favorite gift of the year!

My New Blog Design!

I'm so pleased with the awesome job my graphic designer did to help this blog become so much more than I could imagine.  

We went through a few drafts but it is now done!

Before screenshot...

After Screenshot...

Thanks Lea!  Check out her site here and glance at her amazing portfolio!  

http://www.leachristinedesigns.com/

Kindergarten Zoo

Here is one of the best end of year shows I've seen for kindergarten.  The backdrop along was pretty impressive.  Each class had a time scheduled for parents to come.  My son's class (one of the alligators) entered to the song from Jungle Book marching with awesome costumes provided by the teacher.  The show included jungle dances, facts about animals and tons of songs.  There was even a section for dads to come up and dance like a monkey and then choose another dad to come up.  The kids laughed so hard!  I'm going to try and get a copy of this...Great job kindergarten teachers!

Metafiction in children's books

If you haven't heard of metafiction, here are some links to inform you. I think I've been a fan of it before it even "was."  Some say the complex nature of plots, and the blurring of fiction and reality is too hard for children to understand and that you never can get to a full comprehension.  I personally think this genre is pretty cool.  In the picture book world, it is influencing what is called the "postmodern picturebook." It brings the reader into a relationship with the characters, making it a more active and entertaining process. 

There's a link HERE for a few more examples. 

I think that's why The Monster at the End of this Book was always a favorite.  It broke the rules of convention having the narrator talk to the reader. 

There's a new book out by Jon Scieska called "Battle Bunny" that follows the rules (or nonrules) of metafiction. There is witing on the pages, things added to an old nice story by the same kid a few years after he got the book, and is older.  Really creative!

I'd love to hear what you think...  

Rainbows

A little hard to see but definitely worth stopping what you are doing and enjoying it with the kids.  

Superhero BB

Need an idea for decorating your classroom?  If you've got the superhero theme going, here's a cute idea.  I love bulletin boards (BB's) that are 3-D a bit.  The arms on this were adorable!

High School Reunion

My 20 year high school reunion was in Atlanta, Georgia and with me being in the Rocky Mountains, it was difficult to get there this year.  So I commemorated it by wearing my letterman jacket all day long.  They showed the reunion on live feed and so many of us could watch the goings-on, but boy was I homesick!