2 Linky Parties and Patricia Polacco Author Study

SO HERE'S THE FLASHBACK FOR THIS WEEK...

In my last post, I promised I'd have more pics for you from our author study on Patricia Polacco...so here they are!!!

My kiddos giggled and laughed through this book, Babushka's Doll, as the doll did to Natasha what Natasha had done to her Babushka...lesson learned.

Appelemando's Dreams was a great source for getting kids to use their imagination and create their own dreams.  The Keeping Quilt had lots of uses through the years...and students got a glimpse into the Russian culture and one Russian family's life as the quilt was passed along.  We learned about the quilt designs, and their meanings...as well as, life of the slaves that used those quilt patterns for finding safety.  Great math lessons can come out of a quilt study...patterns, measurement, symmetry...

The Bee Tree, with it's sweet lesson about chasing after what you want, gave students a chance to see what bees "can, have, and are".

Mrs. Mack...What a sweet story that teaches us not to judge others by their looks, as well as, never giving up..."get right back on that horse!" 

Learning the process and making pysanky eggs was a favorite activity!  What a sweet story Patricia Polacco has written in Rechenka's Eggs!  We saw pysanky eggs again in Chicken Sunday, as the kids sold their eggs to buy Miss Eula a hat.

In this story, we hear how the old Indian lady, Lillian Two Blossom, took the kids on a boat ride to explain how things in nature work...and becomes young again while doing so.  The kids loved making this flip page!

The little "plain" girls in this story, Just Plain Fancy, found out just how "fancy" some things can be in nature!

We made a little "Patricia Polacco book" and placed it in a front pocket of our P. P. booklets.  We found out some very interesting...and inspiring... things about this author....like...  Patricia Polacco had a learning disorder. She didn't learn to read until she was 14. She was bullied by other kids.   A meteor hit her family's farm... and the meteor is now the headstone for her Babushka's grave. She started writing children's books when she was 41. She has a very cool website!

Then, to wrap up this 2 week author study, we shared the book Thunder Cake...and learned about conquering our fears...doing things to get your mind off of worrying...about thunderstorms...and reading recipes!  We ate our own "thunder cake" on a very stormy day!

And we broke up into 5 groups, each taking a Patricia Polacco book, and creating/performing a skit for the class. Yup!  This author study of Patricia Polacco was a hit with everyone!
This is the first time I am joining Doodle Bugs Teaching for "Five For Friday".  So here goes...

We were SO excited to watch our very own GREYLAN JAMES, age 16,  on THE VOICE!!!  

No one turned around, but that's OK...He was in the top 64 out of 64,000 that got a blind audition!  We love you and are SO PROUD OF YOU, GREYLAN!!! You are going to make it BIG someday!!!

My kiddos LOVED our "Thunder Cake"!!!

Yum-O!!!

Enjoyed skyping with my sweet grangirl!  I love her to the moon and back!!!

I'm doing well on my "new healthy lifestyle".

I've been sticking to my Nutrisystem meals...with an occasional salad or something I fix on my own.  Biking has begun again!  YAY!

Spring has sprung here and things are beginning to bud... and bloom!

Be sure to click on each of the linky logos to visit the parties!!!
Many Blessings...and...  Waving from The Teacher's Chatterbox,