Always Leave Them Wanting "Mo"!

The Pigeon has a lot of fans at Ashaway School!

My kindergarteners have been having a blast listening to the books of author/illustrator Mo Willems.  Every single title that I've shared with them has been a hit, and if you haven't gotten a chance to see them yourself I strongly suggest you visit the local public library as soon as you can! 

We finished this unit up with a bang by visiting part of Mo Willems' website, The Pigeon Presents.  Click on the yellow bubble in the top left corner and you'll find the games that we played (first on the SmartBoard as a class and then individually at the computers).  That's all we had time to do this week, so I encourage you to explore the rest of the site with your child.  There are funny descriptions of other Mo Willems characters, videos, and information about...buses.  (Why buses?  Because the Pigeon absolutely loves buses.  Just don't let him drive one!)  Plus there's even more fun to be found at Mo's own website, too.  Enjoy!

Dream It...Do It...READ!

Happy Reading Week!!!

It was a week full of fun here at Ashaway Elementary School!  On Monday Mrs. Bartkiewitz kicked off Reading Week by greeting the students at the front door with helium balloons!  Then at lunch, she and I read aloud and performed the book When I'm Big by Nila Aye and Tim Drury.  In the book, Mo and Joe imagine all the different things they might do when they grow up.  The students then went back to their classrooms and wrote about their own dreams of what they might be someday.  Then the teachers hung up their work in the hallway for all to enjoy!

Click any picture to enlarge!

On Tuesday our fabulous PTO once again sponsored our Pop and Swap.  All the students who "popped" in got to select some books from the many donations we received.  They also received a scratch-and-sniff bookmark (popcorn scented of course), a cup of popcorn and a Popsicle!

Selecting books at the Pop and Swap

On Wednesday we had our Family Read-In featuring a poetry share and singing performances.  Students from each grade recited poetry on the stage, and then grades 1-4 sang songs that they learned in music class with Mrs. Sherman.  I especially liked first grade's song, "Let's Go to the Library"!

On Thursday we were visited by author/illustrator Leslie Tryon. Her books featuring a duck named Albert were a big hit at Ashaway School!

Author/Illustrator Leslie Tryon

On Friday the PTO gave a brand new book to every child in the school.  Students also submitted their own acrostics for our poetry contest.  The winning entries were hung up in the school foyer!

Mrs. Bartkiewitz hands out brand-new books courtesy of our PTO!

Here is a sample acrostic poem written by fourth grader Matt Power:

          Read every page!
          Every book makes you smarter
          Artistic design for people wanting to read more!
          Dream about reading, read, read, read!
          I love Big Nate books
          Never put down a book
          Give a book to a friend, they will love it!

          Who wouldn't read?
          Extra reading makes you even smarter!
          Every book is awesome
          King Kong even reads!

 
It was a truly wonderful week of celebrating books and the joy of reading!  To see LOTS more pictures and examples of student work, please visit our school picture gallery at http://kmman.magix.net/album!

"My favorite book" - Part 2

I can't believe it's almost here...time is just flying by!  This coming Monday is the beginning of Reading Week!  A couple weeks ago I wrote about the display I was planning to make to celebrate our students' favorite books.  Well, here it is!

Each of the small popcorn pieces features the title of a student or staff member's favorite book in our library.  The theme of the bulletin board goes along with our PTO's Pop and Swap event, which will take place on Tuesday, April 10th from 4-6pm.  Kids and adults can "pop in" to swap books they no longer read for different ones!  (You don't have to bring in your own used books to trade, but you are welcome to do so!)  While you're there you can enjoy some popular refreshments and play some popular games!  Plus each student who attends will receive a popcorn-scented bookmark!

I really enjoyed reading what my students wrote about their favorite books.  Here are a few more:

"My favorite book in the library is Baby because it was so touching.  For example when the mother came back for Sophie I cried.  And it was also funny, like when Sophie said a very bad word!"

"My favorite book in the library is Knuffle Bunny because I thought it was funny when Trixie could not talk and her dad was not paying attention and Trixie was making up fake words.  Also, her dad actually finally noticed that Knuffle Bunny was in the wash.  I think Trixie's dad should have listened to Trixie because she was freaking out about Knuffle Bunny."

"My favorite book in this library is Lulu and the Brontosaurus because I think it's funny that the brontosaurus wants her to be his pet and got her to be nice, not throw herself on the floor kicking her heels and screeching until the light bulbs burst, and to say please.  Also, I find it interesting that the author had three endings instead of one."