Get Out the Vote

I have never been prouder of my mom.  Every day and when I say every day, I mean EVERY SINGLE DAY (what weekends?) she has been making calls all over the country for her party and candidates. And if you know my mom, she's not like me leaping all over the globe, and yet she feels so passionate about this election and her causes, that as much as talking to strangers every.single.day is out of her comfort zone, she is still doing it.

My daughter's 18th birthday is today. Boy is she glad to have made it to 18 in time. We recently got the text that her absentee ballot was mailed with two stamps on the envelope.#proudparents

The early voting lines have been crazy. Honestly though, when we waited last night I really didn't mind.  No civil unrest as people patiently waited over an hour to participate in their civil duty. I was the 2000th voter in our polling place.  Wouldn't it have been cool to be two people behind and get Tari's birth year?

I've been sprinkling some Election Day talk into my lessons with K/1.  One of my very favorite voting books is Vote for Me by Ben Clanton. A donkey and elephant are vying for your vote and it even gets a bit nasty. When I was in kindergarten I'm sure I couldn't tell you who was president. But these kids are in the know.  "We're voting for president and it's Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden," exclaimed one little girl.  "Vote for Joe Biden because he tells you to wear a mask," exclaimed another.  Ohhh-kay, I nodded and quickly moved the conversation back to being nonpartisan.

Today a first grader asked me who I voted for. "That's very private. You don't have to share that information with anyone." I said.  We read Vote for Our Future by Magaret McNamara and illustrated by Micah Player.  I had just enough time to hand out, fold and color these thank you cards.

But wait there's more: This summer the YA romcom, The Voting Booth, by Brandy Colbert was released.  I rushed listened to it in one day in preparation for a Crowdcast event she was in. Waiting in line to vote and hearing my mom's stories about how she asks people about their plans to vote, I can't help to think back to July when I read this book.  It's my kind of romance mixed up with advocacy.  Thinking about it now makes me realize I miss my YA character crushes.  Who you got for me, Alicia?

A blast into the past: Two years ago, the 4th grade Social Studies teacher and I worked for weeks on an Election Day/Voting  project.  We researched the Constitution, met elected officials, handed out postcards and made a short video encouraging our community to vote.  I found the video and still love it today:

Let your voice be heard. Vote on or before Tuesday.  Oh, and if you happen to get a call from a lovely woman asking you for your voting plan, please tell my mom I said hello and I love her. Thanks 😉

Global Read Aloud 2020: Swashby Edition

We've started to put our heat on.  They are predicting significant snow on Friday.  We "fall back" on Saturday night.  Covid numbers are rising.  I could really use a pick me up. And I got one.

Thank you Global Read Aloud 2020 and the uber amazing Pernille Ripp for showcasing my friend and talented, Caldecott Honor winning illustrator, Juana Martinez-Neal.  By doing so, this week I get to visit the sea twice a day by sharing Beth Ferry's Swashby and the Sea with the gorgeous illustrations by Juana. Ahhh...short of actually having the waves fiddle with my toes and hearing them crash, this is really the next best thing.

I love the story of Swashby, el recluso. As much as he wants to resist the energetic, fun, oatmeal cookie giving neighbor, with a little help from the sea, he just can't.  

Today, day one for this book, felt like the old days when I did a "Book of the Week" with the entire third grade.  One story. One crazy activity for 75 kids ( ie, author Skype, oreo moons, literally potato pants...) Except this time around, I planned it all on my own (well, not without running it by Mrs. Pryde to get the ok that it wasn't too wild an idea) and lead it on my own. I miss the collaboration but forgot about it for a second when I heard all the oohs and ahhhs. I was pleasantly surprised that it all worked. "This is really fun," exclaimed several kids. Yay! 

Rather than mimicking the sea altogether, we just "painted" kind words in the sand with glue and whole wheat flour.  Not too messy. Fortunately, with my second class we actually went outside so clean up was a breeze.  Ahhhh....all puns intended of course.

In a few weeks we hope to connect with friends in Manitoba as part of the GRA.  So far we have seen their names written out creatively, read about their favorite family foods and shared our "La Princesa and the Pea" mattresses piled high on a pea (lentil) through our joint padlet. We can't wait to meet them IRL, sort of.

I love the idea of the Global Read Aloud so much and even though this is its final year, I hope we can continue to connect with folks all over the world in our own ways next year and beyond.

Pre-quel

Just a few other photos from our projects with Fry Bread and La Princesa and the Pea.

Oscar's American Dream

Setting: Early 1900s, Bobrinets. 

My great great grandmother sent five of her nine children in the middle of the night to the US knowing full well, she would never see them again. She believed the gift of a better life for them was worth more than anything else.  

I cannot even imagine.  Sending my daughter to college in August was painful enough. I am barely surviving with frequent FaceTime calls and daily texts. Yet without my immigrant family working hard for their American dream, Croine's dream for them, we wouldn't all be here today. My admiration for her strength and forethought is overflowing.

Happy Book Birthday to Oscar's American Dream

By Barry Wittenstein and illustrated by Kristen and Kevin Howdeshell

Oscar's American Dream follows one storefront over a century of time. In 1899, Oscar sets foot o Ellis Island from Poland ready to make a dream come true.  I wonder, did his mother do the same thing my great great grandmother? He opens a barbershop on the corner of Front and Second and never looks back. Throughout the years, the story follows the property, not the family (with a twist and lemon drop at the end) as the barbershop becomes a clothing store, a soup kitchen, an army recruitment office, a bodega and more. Oh, what stories those walls could tell.

This book has a special place in my heart right at this moment. My mom just finished a wiki type website dedicated to our family history.  So cool! I love reading in print how I am connected to all of my cousins (who, yes, I know and love the dozens and dozens of my first, second, third cousins removed and all). Oscar's American Dream is a story of immigrants finding their way in a new land.  Like Oscar and the others, my family sought the American dream. They, too, worked hard in their own way as merchants, watchmakers, jewelers and more. (no barbers though).

This week we filmed Ruth Behar against an amazing challenger from Virginia on Ruth's book, Lucky Broken Girl for our Author Fan Face Off. It was great to see Ruth again (remember we have that PS 117/Briarwood, Queens connection).  Her latest book, Letters to Cuba, is another immigrant story, which could be paired well with Oscar's American Dream.

You will be inspired to pull out your history books, seek primary documents, explore maps, and dig out old family photos with this one.  Think about your own family, home or town. How it has changed over the years? How has it stayed the same?  What were your grandparents' or great grandparents' dreams? What are yours? Grab some lemon drops, read Oscar's American Dream and let it take you the next level, whatever that may be. And don't forget, "Immigrants. They get the job done." 🎵 My family, this book, and most likely your family, too, is proof.