What Am I?

The third graders are working on making inferences. What do YOU think this riddle poem is about? Leave your guess in the comments!

Fitting In

I fit inside your door just right
wherever you reside.
But put me in your neighbor's door
and you'll still be outside.

There's just one hole that I fit in
made specially for me.
There's just one door, one safe,
one skate and one locked diary,

which makes me feel real special.
like I am one of a kind.
Of course, sometimes folks copy me
in case I'm hard to find.

I share a ring with others
of my type; I'm rarely single.
But that's okay 'cause when we
touch each other, then we jingle.

WHAT AM I?
(C) 1998, Arden Davidson

Kindergarten (Dancing) Snowmen

offtheshelf.typepad.com

Now that it's wintry out, we read Snowballs by Lois Ehlert; the kids took turns figuring out what materials she had used to create her collage artwork.

L.S. in the AM group is our beverage expert; she identified coffebeans and a cinnamon stick (used in hot cider). Other items included a button nose ("Just like Frosty!" - N.C.), pine branch hair, and a baby sock hat (see photo)

Then the students decorated their own snowmen:

Finally, we watched this video ... see below for pictures of the kids dancing along. A lot of the photos are blurry, but I kind of like them that way ... action shots!

AM K First Checkout!

After learning about how to take care of books, the kindergartners had their first checkout this month. They'll be keeping their books in the classroom, so nobody should have to make any frantic searches around the house for missing library materials until they're in first grade. 

Here is the AM group with their selections and their pictures of the Pigeon (who probably shouldn't be taking out any books any time soon): 

Mock Caldecott Voting is Open!

We've narrowed down our list of potential Mock Caldecott winners ... which of the five finalists is YOUR favorite?

You can vote via Google form.

Mock Caldecott Finalists - Batch 2

Each January, the American Library Association awards the Caldecott Medal to the artist of "the most distinguished American picture book for children." The 2016 winners were announced last week, but first- and second-graders are still making it through our Mock Caldecott list. After reading another six books, these two titles will be moving on to the final vote in a couple of weeks:

michaelhallstudio.com

Red: A Crayon's Story
Michael Hall

Red's label says he is red. But all of his coloring turns out blue. His parents, teacher, and art supply friends all try to help him be red, but he just can't do it. Finally, a new friend sees him for who he is.

As the author's web site notes,"This funny, heartwarming, colorful picture book [is] about finding the courage to be true to your inner self."

giannamarino.com

Night Animals
Gianna Mariano

A possum, a skunk, a wolf, and a bear are TERRIFIED; it's late at night, and they hear NIGHT ANIMALS. Told completely in dialogue, this story about nocturnal creatures freaking out made the kids laugh. Especially when poor possum keeps fainting.

OK, PM K Will Let the Pigeon Touch the Books Now

In kindergarten, we discussed book care in preparation for the students' first checkout; they taught THE PIGEON some rules after watching this video, where he clearly has no idea how to take care of books.

The students compiled a list of rules that the Pigeon should know. For example:

DO	DON'T
read your book	color in your book
keep it away from drinks	drop the book
turn the pages gently	rip the pages
bring your book back	throw your book outside

Next, we drew our own Pigeons; Mo Willems has step-by-step instructions for drawing the Pigeon on his site. Then each student chose a rule to teach him. Here is some of their work: