Yard Sale Smiles

On a beautiful Saturday morning when my daughter (it always seems to be about my daughter, doesn't it?) was really little (1? 2?), I was shopping at garage sales searching for good finds. I wanted that stoked-on-caffeine find.  An absolute treasure.  And I found it!  AND...it wasn't someone else's junk that was now becoming mine--it was actually a box of brand new books. I cannot remember how the woman got the books, but I bought them all.  A few of them became those books that got read over and over again.

A Well Loved Book

Giselle Potter's,  The Year I Didn't Go to School, was one of them.  The cover is gone now and some pages are ripped. It was well loved and I easily found it on our bookshelf.

I've been thinking about this book because (1) I'm hanging out in our guest room that has a lot of our picture books and (2) this is becoming the year we didn't go-to-school-IN-the-building.  Giselle's book is the story of when she was seven and she and her family packed up to go to Italy and perform as "The Mystic Paper Beasts."  It's a great book to talk about travel, art, theatre and family.

If you have any interest in art or where artists work, check out this link that gives you a peek into Giselle's studio and home.  I'm inspired to bring more art into my work space.

Speaking of hanging up art, I received THE.BEST.MAIL.EVER yesterday from one of my fifth graders. Task for today? Find a frame and hang.it.up. Looks like me, doesn't it?! 😍 I love this so much.

Art Supplies

And while we are on the topic of art, studios and supplies, another shout out to my friend, Elisha and his pencils, brushes, and paper (and his adorable co-workers).  Of course, most of us won't have any of those fancy tools at home so colored pencils (like Chase used!), Dixon Ticonderogas, Sharpies, chalk or even coffee will do! As far as paper goes, we all have that laying around the house.  But big paper? Have you thought about rolling out some wrapping paper and making a mural on the back side?  Try it!

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Day 12: Pencil, paint, paper! #operationstorytime #homeschool #teachersofinstagram #teachersresources #watercolor

A post shared by Elisha Cooper (@elisha__cooper) on Apr 4, 2020 at 12:53pm PDT

Lauren Castillo

Thinking of garage sales, reminded me of the beautiful, sad (it's hard to get rid of your stuff) but hopeful book, Yard Sale by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Lauren Castillo.  Maybe this is a good time for us to cull our stuff for a future garage sale. (Remember my Marie Kondo comments from a previous post?). Get the littles involved--What are they ready to get rid of? Add some prices. Make it a math lesson. 

The first time I met Lauren Castillo was at ALA in San Francisco.  We were both at a pre-conference ALSC event.  I was just looking around in my seat and spotted her name tag.  I screamed, REALLY startled and scared her and we have been friends since. Yeah, that could have gone the other way lol.  Anyway, I love her Caldecott honor, Nana in the City because, you know, I love the city. 

This blogpost has some good ideas of activities you can do with the book. I love all the ideas.  Design a city using shapes, make your own cape (the nana makes a red cape for the boy so he feels safe in the city), or bake pretzels.

These leaping pictures with Lauren at the Princeton Book Festival make me crave sunny days (thankfully, we have another one today), hugs and not being physically distant.

Finally, Lauren was a guest on Emily Arrow's show a couple of weeks ago to talk about Nana in the City.  Two fabulous talented women together. Does it get much better than that? Lauren has a new book, Our Friend Hedgehog, coming out next month. She gives a little preview of it in the video! Stay tuned for a book birthday celebration! 🎂 AND--she said she is working on another book, Nana in the Country. YAAASSSS!

xoxo

I Got Rhythm

When my friend, Alicia, told me I inspired her to write a blog post every day in April, I texted back, "EVERY day?! I only do Monday - Friday." And I planned to keep it that way.

But (1) not to be out done (two important things about me--I leave things to the last minute, AND I am very competitive so...) and (2) I read some great weekend ideas in the New York Times this morning that I just HAD to share.  Seriously, though, I really was going to let Alicia outdo me. At this point, she can have Sunday 😉

Joanie Leeds

When my kids were little I loved listening to "cool" kids' music.  Honestly, I still do.

Joanie Leeds and other women artists had a Facebook Live concert yesterday.  Sorry I missed it.  But, check out her website.  Her Soundcloud albums are there, videos from past events and even information on how to commission her to write a song for you!  I'll be listening to her Soundcloud all day...

The new album is called "All the Ladies."  What I have listened to already, I love.  Be sure and listen to the RBG song.

For now, check out this 💜 video about my favorite city (that could use a lot of lovin' right now:

Lunch Money

We're not talking cafeteria food here, just one of my favorite indie kids bands from when both my career and kids were young.  This song, in particular.

I used it year after year for awhile along with lessons to search and find books in the library.  Maybe I'll revive it and get a whole new generation leaping around to this South Carolina band.

Dog on Fleas

Another band I loved with my kids was "Dog on Fleas."  Can you believe I still have the CDs from the early 2000s? Cranberry Sauce Flotilla was my favorite back then. Hmmm...Maybe cleaning out the CD cabinet should be on my Marie Kondo quarantine to-do-list. Evidently, these guys are still around.  Check them out here.  Their new album came out at the end of last year with a song that could remind us all of how to be right now:

Brady Rymer and the Little Band that Could

Back in the day, we saw Brady Rymer and his band in a free outdoor concert in Brooklyn with my cousins and I was rockin' so much, I bought the CD.  I have it in front of me (Marie, help!)  and it's from 2009. Brady appears to be still going strong with lots of activities and downloads on his website.



Ok...so this is probably best suited for our pre-K and Ks but still a catchy and appropriate tune.  I could be singing "Do the Five, Five, Five" all day now.

Uncle Rock (aka Robert Burke Warren)

When my son was in preschool, he got invited to a birthday party where Uncle Rock was the guest. OMG.  I was a huge fan already and quite starstruck. 🤣 He even gave me a free CD (yeah, by now you know where that is going...).  This was one of my favorite songs.

From Brooklyn, With Love

From that same NYT article, there was a link to the Brooklyn Museum.  They are doing a First Saturday in Brooklyn starting today at 5pm on Zoom or Facebook.  The first two events are appropriate for kids and teens.

There you go.  A "quick" Saturday post. I'm heading outside now to dance around my yard to new and old indie kids music. Thanks to Spotify, no CD player needed.  Enjoy your weekend. xo

Women + Music

A long, long time ago a friend of mine gave me a card that said, "If you leave it to the last minute, it only takes a minute to do."  That is forever my motto.  In fact, I got a call yesterday from NYSUT asking for a book review due in 2 weeks.  I was completely honest with her and said I would probably work on it in 13 days.

Today I had our usual "Pastries and Prose" meeting at 8:30.  When we have school IN the building, we begin at 7:25 before school starts.  This week and last I had it 8:30, thinking 4th graders would surely be up by then.  Well, I had four kids show up.  But it's not about the numbers, it's about the quality. And this was a good group.

Where does the procrastination come in?  I wanted to share a book but didn't know which one. I had one downloaded but wanted to keep looking for ideas.  This was at 8:18.  I go into SORA and Women's History Month is being promoted.  One of the first books available was Margarita Engle and Rafael Lopez's book, Drum Dream Girl.

I found today's book.  Not only is it still "Women's History Month" (longest March ever, huh?) but it is also "Music in Our Schools" month.  So this was a perfect match.

Drum Dream Girl

It's hard to believe that it has been almost a year now since Rafael Lopez took leaps with me in Castleton (and in the snow in April!).  I am the luckiest person ever because I get to see his inspired artwork every day outside my library.  

Multi award winning author and poet, Margarita Engle's lyrical text paired with Rafael's artwork (which won him the Pura Belpre medal) makes one perfect book.  I just texted Mrs. Gibney, our music teacher and she simply said, "Love that book."  Is there anyone who doesn't?

This book trailer will get you moving and wanting more, for sure:

There are many activities you can do with Drum Dream Girl.  To start off,  here is a discussion guide.

This article has SO many ideas and further links.  These are a few I particularly like:

• Write a story or poem about your own dreams. 
• Check out drums on Garage Band, if you have a Mac, or another program out there if you have a PC. Play around with it and make a song.
• Make your own instrument out of toilet paper or paper towel rolls, paper plates and beans or anything else you can think of!
• Listen to Cuban music. Maybe have some art supplies available and see if you are inspired to create something while you are listening.
• Create a mural of dreams with your family.  
• Read other books by Margarita Engle, Rafael Lopez or on the same subject or idea. For middle grade readers, I suggest Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson which is her Newbery Honor biography in verse or Ruth Behar's Pura Belpre winning Lucky Broken Girl, based on her own life in fifth grade (in Briarwood, Queens, where I also grew up!) with her Cuban American family. Note: Ruth has a new book, Letters from Cuba, coming out in August that I love, love, love.
• Of course, check out more of Margarita and Rafael's books. There are more books they have done together (Bravo! Poems about Amazing Hispanics and Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreo Played the Piano for President Lincoln) More love.

I found this short video from Ms. Carmina Reads about Millo Castro Zaldarriaga from the book, Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls.

Be sure and check out Rafael's blog every day for a different coloring page.  You could print them out and have a whole book when this is over.

Hope these photos get you leaping:

April 5, 2019 

(Check out the blank wall behind us!)

The finished mural taken end of June 2019.

I miss that artwork so much now.💜

Haha Elisha Cooper :-)

By The Way

Speaking of Women's History Month, today is the birthday of Sandra Day O'Connor, born in 1930 in El Paso, Texas (yes, plug for my favorite state where I was hoping to be right now for the Texas Library Association conference) and Nancy Pelosi, born in 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland.  You can find more information about both of these leaders in our databases: FactCite, PebbleGo (only Justice O'Connor) and of course, WorldBook and Britannica.  

Happy Birthday Researching! Happy Women's History Month! Happy Music in Our Schools Month! xo

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 💗

On the RIVER with Elisha Cooper

photo credit: Jason McCord

The first time I remember suffering from post-party sadness was pickup day (and the days that followed) at sleep away camp.  The ups and downs of eight weeks at Camp Ramah had ended and adjusting to being home was not easy.

That was when I was 13.  I continued to leave home every summer after that. As hard as it was to come home, it was always worth it.

At 24 I threw myself a huge multi-day party. The last person who left was my best friend from camp. We recapped it all and I cried. How could it already be over?

My wedding. Daughter's Bat Mitzvah.
Son's Bar Mitzvah was this Labor Day weekend. My severe case of post-Bar Mitzvah blues began the first day of school.  Not easy.

I don't do well with endings and goodbyes.  

June 2018: I meet an illustrator at an event in NOLA. He tells me he is working on a book about a woman who canoes down the Hudson River.  I tell him I live and work in Castleton-on-Hudson.  Then and there I decide that he will celebrate that book with us ON the Hudson.  Sixteen months later, Elisha Cooper is reading RIVER aloud with the banks of the Hudson behind him.

That was Thursday.
You can only imagine the fog I was in yesterday walking the halls now with only the memories of his visit alive.

Elisha sat in a canoe in the middle of the gymnasium while first graders sang and fifth graders book talked all of his books. Reading teacher, Mrs. Reed hired a banjo player and our tuba-playing-band-teacher to accompany our fifth graders while they sang a Pete Seeger song about the river. Elisha rowed his boat ashore. The rain poured down outside.

We pulled out the red carpet for him when he spoke at a special K-2 assembly.

Then we donned our raincoats, boarded the buses and headed to the river. Elisha insisted we squeeze into the smaller pavilion on the river and I am glad we did. The kids complained. They were cranky. It was cold. Some were not dressed properly. The rain was steady. A boat sailed by. It was amazing. We will always remember.

 

The day was half way over and I was already beginning to feel sad. I don't do well with even thinking about endings and goodbyes.

We returned to our warm school and sketched with Elisha in the art room and wrote poems in the library.

The finale was sitting in the common area observing Elisha paint.  Mrs. Reed returned with her guitar and we sang. For some that was their favorite part of the day.  For others it was the park.  And some loved being taught tips from an award winning illustrator. For me? The whole package.

How did the woman canoeist feel when she began her journey? During? When her adventure was over? Sixteen months ago our journey was imagined. Thursday it happened. Now it is an incredible, unforgettable memory.  "Don't be sad." Elisha comforted me as I walked him to his car. I'm trying not to but I just don't do well with endings and goodbyes.

Daniel Miyares Part II

The Prologue

Funny how today is also a "rainy day in upstate NY."  The perfect day to share about our day with Daniel last week.  But that right there is the very first email I ever sent to Daniel (including the typos and not the best grammar--proof that it's authentic).  There you have it.  Almost exactly 1 1/2 years later, Daniel walked the halls of Castleton. Wow.

The Day

Author-Illustrator visits with me are extreme.  Breakfast, Announcements, Assemblies, Classroom Visits, Lunch, Book Signings and, if you're lucky, a gala in your honor.  That was Daniel's day in a nutshell.  Exhausting for him. Exhausting for me and anyone else involved but so worth it!

Breakfast with Reading Ambassadors

We had a luau/Surf's Up themed breakfast with the fifth grade Reading Ambassadors.  Pineapple, pineapple turnover cake, coconut maccaroons, etc.

Assemblies

I love to celebrate book birthdays with authors and illustrators so this day was no exception.  Not only did Daniel share That Neighbor Kid and grinned as we sang Happy Book Birthday but he also gave us a little insight on how pictures help tell a story.  How can you give two thumbs up to a story with  these three sentences? 

It was a nice day.  Lou went for a walk. Lou made some new friends.

Daniel could tell you!

Class Visits

Not every author or illustrator will agree to visit classrooms (it's a lot!) but I'm so glad Daniel did!  It made his time with us even more special.  Knowing they only had 5-10 minutes of their time, the classes were prepared with questions and welcome signs before we even walked in the door!

 

Lunch with Dewey Duty

Happy Book Birthday, That Neighbor Kid!

We tried to serve "friendship" food: mac AND cheese, Reeses PB cups (peanut butter AND chocolate), pretzels, juice boxes (that's in the book), cheese AND crackers, oreos (chocolate cookies AND cream filling), etc. No one went hungry!

Fifth Grade

A few months ago, Daniel made a short introductory video for our fifth graders about his process of book making and especially how he illustrates someone else's work.  It was hard to believe that this day was here and he was about to view all of their artwork and poetry matched together.  We all squeezed together in the art room for a unique experience lead by Daniel.

The Gala

People are still talking about the Gala.  The artwork. Daniel. The poetry.  Daniel. The food.  The music.  Daniel. How lovely and sweet Daniel was. What a sport he was for taking pictures with everyone.  How the library was packed with 200 people.  It was a night to remember.  

I just figured out how to make a movie using Google Photos.  I don't like how it limits you to 50 photos so I tried to choose ones that give the best flavor of the evening.  Note that some were shot by my Dewey Duty helpers using iPads.

Student Reflections

Mr. Reischer had the fifth graders write their thoughts on the Gala and the project as a whole.  Some of them were quite insightful and intuitive.  They all loved the food (especially the meatballs and cupcakes) and Daniel cutting the ribbon with the big scissors. They were very appreciative of the event and loved the opportunity to be fancy. They noticed the fourth grade servers and the MS jazz band and thought those were nice touches to the evening.

"It was fun to dress up and see my artwork and poem on the boards...It was exciting to see what other people turned my poem into and to see how the poets reacted to my drawing."

"I can't stop thinking that I, took a photo with famous Daniel Miyares...My all time favorite though was the big scissors.  I felt as if I was in a movie."

"It was great because we spent so long on this project and so many people came just for us.  I also loved how seriously everyone took this and how many people dressed up."

"I liked how I could express my feeling on the paper! I loved to mix the tempera paints to make this pretty color! I liked to see what the poem turned into! I loved meeting Daniel and seeing him cut the ribbon with huge scissors!"

"When I saw the artwork of the person who got my poem, it wasn't how I would have done it. But, I still liked it.  It showed that you can draw things more than one way."

"I liked seeing everyone's art work and how they explained your poem.  I also liked how hard everyone worked to get this far!"

"Overall, I thought that the event, and the process of the project were awesome and an amazing idea!"

"Since our minds work differently, I loved to see how the person that illustrated my poem illustrated it in a unique way.  I think that people have unique ways of thinking and it was fun to see what other people do with your poem."

And finally..."You guys need a vacation for all you did!"  

Daniel with fifth grade boys

Daniel with Mr. Chevrier (future Superintendent) and his son, Brody

Daniel with two of my 4th grade Dewey Duty helpers who "worked" the gala hence the black and white attire

Daniel with Principal Derby

And Principal Derby's son

Leaping with Mrs. Champigny, decorator extraordinaire, and her daughters

A final leap with Daniel.  From all the students, faculty and families in Castleton...

Thank you!