Got CRAYONS?

I am pushing physical education every day with my family.  Mr. Biehler's daily posts on Twitter help with ideas.  Yesterday we simulated a stick run. Walks with friends are a regular part of my routine.  This morning, I even woke up early to take an online yoga class.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Today we might need an umbrella for our walk. Time to put some extra art in the schedule. With that in mind, today's theme is crayons and coloring. To begin, let's read this nonfiction book about the man who invented crayons.




With a few clicks, I was able to find many resources for the book that you can use at home.

HERE is a 27 page lesson guide that goes with the book! It's crazy how many curriculum connections can be made to this one book! Math, Science, ELA, History, Technology, Social Emotional Learning and of course, Art!  Here is a LINK for a couple of coloring pages, as well. Because the weather isn't great today, this could the perfect book to use as a baseboard for home learning.

I found a couple of different videos about how crayons are made.  One from Mr. Rogers and one from the UK:






And once things get back to normal, maybe your family could even plan a trip to the Crayola Factory. They are all over the country.

Speaking of drawing...We were, right?

Shout out to my buddy, Jarrett Lerner for his drawing tips of robots:




Check out his WEBSITE for blank comics or ones to finish. This is a great use of creativity with your pencils and/or crayons:

And a reminder for Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems at 1PM.




And LIVE with Jarrett Krosoczka at 2PM.




Have fun creating today!

Stay happy, healthy and positive! xo Ms. Rattner 💗

DOUGHNUTS and ILLUSTRATORS and DRAWING oh my!

Greetings from the CES Library and TOP of the morning to you on this St. Patrick's Day!
Don your green clothes, play in the "green" grass (although, it's not quite green yet here in upstate New York) and eat some green food (How many green things can you eat today?).

I bet somewhere someone is baking GREEN doughnuts today.  I cannot resist doughnuts and Laurie Keller, creator of ARNIE the DOUGHNUT among many other fabulous books (i.e., Scrambled States of America, Do Unto Otters), is a fave of mine. Could it be the doughnut connection? In 2018, she and I sat next to each other at the Caldecott-Newbery banquet and have been buds ever since.  I am determined to get her to Castleton one day 🤞.

There's a great coloring sheet on Laurie's website here.

Can you imagine what it felt to find out you were demoted from planet status? Find out in Adam Rex and Laurie Keller's book, Pluto Gets the Call.  Put it on hold through Sora/Overdrive.

Here is a read aloud of ARNIE for you to enjoy today:




Baking is a great activity we can all do together and think of the curriculum connections!  Math, ELA, Science! The Doughnut Fix by Jessie Janowitz is one of my favorite doughnut chapter books.  On her website she has a recipe for "Life-Changing Chocolate Cream Doughnuts." OOOH!  Please share pictures if you do leap into this activity!

I found this DOUGHNUT Tic-Tac-Toe game on our database, Kids InfoBits.

Kids InfoBits - Document - Tic-Tac-Doughnut: A Game for 2 Players

SPEAKING of ILLUSTRATORS (We were, right?)

Maybe you heard, maybe you didn't, but some authors and illustrators are posting daily live (or to watch later) videos.  This is so wonderful and generous of them.

Who doesn't LOVE Mo Willems?  He is hosting a Lunch Doodle hangout every day at 1PM.  You can also find things to do on Mo's website.  Here is his introduction video:




ALSO, you can watch Jarrett Krosoczka, author and illustrator of one of our favorite graphic novel series, The Lunch Lady (and other books!).  Subscribe to his channel and you can get a reminder to watch him live EVERY DAY at 2PM.  You can even set a reminder to yourself.  Here is the first episode from yesterday:



Did you know that Jarrett visited CES about seven years ago?  I think it's time for him to return, don't you? 😍

Stay healthy, happy and positive! xo Ms. Rattner