A Celebration of Imagination!

PHEW!  Another wonderfully successful book fair week has come to an end.  A HUGE thank you to all the parents who worked so tirelessly to make these wonderful events come alive!!  I saw students' eyes light up when they found the perfect book, friends happily sharing with each other what they discovered, and loads of people enjoying the free ice cream and activities at the Ice Cream Social last night.  (I'll be going through pictures this weekend, so another blog entry all about these festivities will follow!)

Just a few of the students whose writing is displayed on our bulletin board.  You can read some of the contest entries below.  Great work, everyone!

Also exciting was the announcement yesterday morning of the "Reading Oasis" winner!  To promote the book fair and the joys of reading, I challenged our students to describe their own reading oasis.  If you could read anywhere, where would it be?  (Read all about the contest by clicking here.)  Students from all grades participated, and I'm happy to share some of their imaginative creations with you!

*Contest Winner!*  

My Reading Oasis by Halina, grade 4

      My Reading Oasis is in my woods on a floating chair that gently flies down a pretty trail.  You can hear the birds singing, crickets chirping and the wind blowing.  In the spring, you can see flowers blooming and plants sprouting.  You can smell the fresh air.  The trees and leaves shade you from the sun.  You go on in the chair for a while then you gently stop.  In the chair, you go up in a big sunny open spot with a little shade.  You are up as high as the top of the trees.  You can feel the wind blowing and feel the warmth of the sun.  You can still hear the birds singing, crickets chirping and the wind blowing.  You can see the ground underneath you and all the animals with their young ones.  It is a great spot to read.
    When you're ready to move on after reading you will push a button on the arm rest of the chair and the chair will start moving.  The chair will start heading straight toward a tree house at the top of the trees, next to a few bird nests.  The tree house has a few windows and three rooms.  A button on the wall of the tree house removes the roof so that you have sunlight and natural noises.  The first room has four chairs, a table and three book shelves.  In the second room there is a hammock.  The third room is a snack room with a refrigerator, a soda fountain, an ice cream machine and bins of candy on shelves.

My Reading Oasis by Nathan C., grade 4

My reading oasis would be

at the top of a tree

That would be the perfect place for me.

I would hear birds chirping

and hear bugs buzzing.

I would feel wind blowing,

and feel the feeling of that one comfortable branch.

I would smell tree sap

and smell pollen and nectar

dropping from flower to flower.

That would be my reading oasis.

My Reading Oasis by Sadie, grade K

My Reading Oasis by Erikah, grade 3

     My reading oasis is under the sea so it would be quiet and I would be a mermaid.  Also, I love fish so I would be a smart, happy and fun mermaid.  In addition, I would read many interesting fish books.  Next, I hope I'm not shark bait!  Furthermore, under the sea would be calm, peaceful and relaxing.  Lastly, under the sea would be my reading oasis!
     And my reading oasis would be a beautiful place.  Then I could do read-alouds with the little fishies.  I wonder what I will eat down in the ocean.  That is my reading oasis.

My Reading Oasis by Zoe, grade 1

     My reading oasis is Unicorn World.  Unicorn World has lots of rainbows, flowers and of course unicorns, lots of unicorns.  My favorite part of Unicorn World is that it never rains and is always sunny.  The sun shines so much that unicorn world sparkles.
     There are also lots of grand castles where happiness is all around and Unicorn World is very colorful, too.
     This is why I chose Unicorn World as my reading oasis.  

My Reading Oasis by Ella, grade 2

My reading oasis is in an undersea castle.  It would be made out of books.  I would read every day morning to night.  I turn into a mermaid every time I walk into my castle.  My castle is rainbow and there are rainbow whirlpools that spit out books.  I use the ink from my octopus for my writing pens.  My reading glasses are made out of sea glass.  All my fish friends can talk.  They live in my castle.  I would smell the fresh sea and hear the waves crashing.  Come visit me in my oasis!

My Reading Oasis by Rosalie, grade 1