Day 2: Ideas for Bored Kids and Overwhelmed Adults - I'm Bored Read Aloud & a STEAM challenge

Give yourselves a pat on the back for making it through another day! My goals for each day are:

• be active -- I've been enjoying Yoga with Adriene onYouTube and long walks with my dog
• be creative -- I write everyday, and draw something most days
• learn something new --  I read about new learning activities and writing techniques
• do something relaxing -- read a good book, play a game, watch a funny show

In case you're wondering why I'm posting about this, check out my blog post here.

Today's Learning Link:  A funny read aloud from Michael Ian Black and Debbie Ridpath Ohi 

Area of Development: literacy

Extra STEAM activity:  The main character in the story created a pirate ship. Create your own vehicle to help a bored potato travel! Or build an imaginative, indoor playground where a bored potato could play.

Area of Development: problem-solving

How are you coping? Do you set any goals for yourself?

THE MAGIC BOAT: A lovely story about imagination and friendship by Kit Pearson, Katherine Farris & Gabrielle Grimard

Reading this book made me long for the beach! This book has been nominated for the Blue Spruce Award in the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading program in 2020. I read a hard copy from my local library.

Summary from the publisher:

Every summer morning, Ellie and her Nonna go to the beach. They swim and build sandcastles, and while Nonna reads, Ellie watches the other children play. One day Ellie builds up the courage to approach an older girl playing on her own in a beached rowboat. Piper has a gift, an imagination so great that she whisks Ellie off on grand adventures, going high in the air, deep below the ocean and everywhere in between in their little blue boat, their magic boat. When Piper has to leave, Ellie discovers she has her own vivid imagination.

The Magic Boat, written by Kit Pearson and Katherine Farris and illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard, was published in 2019 by Orca Book Publishers. 

Opening:   

  

Every summer morning, Ellie and Nonna went to the beach.

Ellie built castles and decorated them with pebbles.

My Thoughts as a Writer:

What a lovely example of a "quiet" book! This book transported me to the beach with vivid details. The story wonderfully captures the transient connection between two children at the beach—and how different imaginations can lead to different play experiences. The soft pencil and watercolour illustrations are perfect for this sweet story.

My Thoughts as an Educator:

There are many possibilities for discussion with this story. It would be a good one to read before encouraging children to draw and write about their own experiences in writing workshop, for instance, meeting a new friend, going on a vacation, or doing something with a grandparent.   

Ages: 4-8

Grades: K – 2

Themes: friendship, imagination, beach vacations

Activities:

Discuss: Was the boat magic? Why or why not?

Find and List: Look and listen for all the different birds and animals in the story. Make a list and count how many different animals there were.

Imagine and Write: Provide a “magic boat” (e.g., big box, large plastic tub, large mat) to sit in. As children sit in the “magic boat,” encourage them to imagine a story. On a clipboard, they can draw and write about what they imagine as they spend time in the “magic boat.”

STEM Challenge: Provide boxes, wood, bubble wrap, etc. Prompt: Create your own “magic” boat. Will it float?

SAM & EVA by Debbie Ridpath Ohi - A picture book to inspire creativity and collaboration

I am super excited to be featuring this book today! Debbie’s stories and illustrations are so much fun and I’m so grateful to have her as one of my writing buddies. For me, starting a new year always jump starts my creativity and this book definitely inspires creative thinking! It also reminds me of an art-related game my mom used to play with me and my daughters to pass the time, where we took turns adding onto the same drawing.

Summary from the publisher:

Harold and the Purple Crayon meets Tom and Jerry in this sweet and funny picture book about a boy and girl who must balance their creativity and figure out how to cooperate after their drawings come to life.

When Sam starts drawing a super cool velociraptor, Eva decides to join in. But Sam isn’t too happy about the collaboration. Soon Eva and Sam are locked in an epic creative clash, bringing to life everything from superhero marmots to exploding confetti. But when their masterpieces turn to mayhem will Sam stay stubbornly solo or will he realize that sometimes the best work comes from teamwork?

Sam & Eva was written and illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi. It was published by Simon & Schuster in 2017.

Opening:     

Sam had just begun to draw when Eva arrived.

My Thoughts as a Writer:

Specific word choices help to bring out the character’s personalities in this story.  You can really see how 'every word counts.' As a mentor text, this is a great example of how to create an engaging story with minimal words. I especially love the page where the characters’ ideas really start to flourish: Marmot was actually a superhero in disguise.

My Thoughts as an Educator:

I love to read this story to my kindergarten students to encourage them to tell stories using their drawings (except we can’t draw on the walls, as one boy in my class pointed out).  Although I haven't suggested this, it would also be a fun story to practice retelling and I think I might try that the next time I read it with my students. They love retelling stories! 

The expressions on the character’s faces are great for talking about emotions. This book is also perfect for starting a discussion about what it means to cooperate.

Ages: 4 - 8

Grades: PreK – 3

Themes: creativity, collaboration, imagination

Activities:

Draw: Play a drawing game with a friend. Take turns adding new parts to a drawing. What did you end up with?

Build a story: Make four small drawings of different items on small pieces of paper or index cards. Have a friend do the same. Swap your drawings with a friend and then write or dictate a story to link the four drawings together.

Create Art: Work with two different kinds of drawing tools the way Sam and Eva do in the story. Try paints and crayon, paint and chalk or paints and pastels. What happens? What effects can you create?

Think: At the end of the story, Eva has drawn a triceratops and Sam thinks it’s a unicorn. What happens next? Draw a picture to show your idea.

THE BRANCH by Mireille Messier & Pierre Pratt

A nice book for talking about reusing or salvaging materials! This book is nominated for the 2018 Blue Spruce Award from the Ontario Library Association. I read a copy from my local library. 

 

Summary from the publisher:

When an ice storm snaps a small girl's favorite branch from the tree in her yard, she's crestfallen. The girl's mom says it's just a branch. But not to her! "That was the branch I sat on, jumped from, played under. It was my castle, my spy base, my ship . . ." Luckily, her neighbor Mr. Frank understands. He says the branch has "potential."  "What's potential?" she asks. "It means it's worth keeping." And so, with imagination and spirit, and Mr. Frank's guidance and tools, the girl transforms the broken branch into something whole and new, giving it another purpose, and her another place to treasure.

The Branch was written by Mireille Messier and illustrated by Pierre Pratt. It was published by Kids Can Press in 2016.

Opening:

It’s past my bedtime, but I can’t sleep.

My Thoughts as a Writer:

I really liked how the effects of the ice storm in this story were made so personal for the main character. There were also lots of sensory details: the sound of icy rain hitting my window and the splintery part on the trunk. The ending was a lovely surprise and very fitting. Unlike many recent picture books, this one is on the longer side at 774 words.

My Thoughts as an Educator:

This book offers many possibilities for discussion – weather and storms, losing something you care about, fear, imagination, reusing materials and community.

Ages: 4 and up

Grades: K and up

Themes: ice storms, reusing materials, community

Activities:

Imagine: If you climbed into a tree with a perfect branch, what would you imagine? Draw a picture.

Create: Go on a hunt outside and find your own branch. Use paint, glue, yarn or whatever you can find to turn your branch into something special.

A teaching guide with more resources is available on the Kids Can Press website.

WALK WITH ME by Jairo Buitrago & Rafael Yockteng

A sad, disturbing but important book to read for adults as well as children.

Summary from the publisher:

A simple, imaginative story depicting the complex emotional reality of a girl whose father no longer lives at home.

The girl conjures up an imaginary companion — a lion — who will join her on the long walk home from school. He will help her to pick up her baby brother from daycare and shop at the store (which has cut off the family’s credit), and he’ll keep her company all along the way until she is safely home. He will always come back when she needs him, unlike her father whom she sees only in a photograph — a photograph in which he clearly resembles a lion.

Walk With Me was written by Jairo Buitrago and illustrated by Rafael Yockteng. It was published in 2017 by Groundwood Books.

Opening:

Keep me company on the way home,

then I can have someone to talk to so I don’t fall asleep

on the long walk out of the city.

My Thoughts as a Writer:

A nice example of a simple text that provides a glimpse of a child who imagines as lion as her companion to help her feel safe. A lovely way to show a difficult life that may resonate with many young children.

My Thoughts as a Teacher:

This story shows the reality of life for some children and a way to cope through imagination. There is a disturbing scene that depicts a man lying on the ground and a woman screaming, which may require a preview by the teacher and some thinking about how to respond to student discussion. Students may need guidance to make a connection between the picture with her father at the end and the lion that keeps her safe. A important book for a teacher's collection.

Ages: 5 - 12

Grades: K – Grade 5

Themes: emotions, hardship, family

Activities:

If you were to have an imaginary animal to help you through your daily life, which animal would you choose? Paint a picture of your animal.

Learning from Picture Books: Here Comes the Easter Cat

I love the way this book sparks imagination with the unexpected! It's a good one for writers to read if they are worried their work is too predictable.

Here's the summary from Amazon:

Why should the Easter Bunny get all the love? That's what Cat would like to know. So he decides to take over: He dons his sparkly suit, jumps on his Harley, and roars off into the night. But it turns out delivering Easter eggs is hard work. And it doesn't leave much time for naps (of which Cat has taken five--no, seven). So when a pooped-out Easter Bunny shows up, and with a treat for Cat, what will Cat do? His surprise solution will be stylish, smart, and even--yes--kind.

An homage to classic comic strips from the author of The Quiet Book and The Loud Book, this Easter treat has a bit of bite, a sweet center, and a satisfying finish—sure to inspire second helpings.

Here Comes the Easter Cat by Deborah Underwood and Claudia Rueda was published in 2014 by Dial Books for Young Readers, New York.

This book is a finalist for a Cybils Award.

My thoughts as a writer:

It was so much fun the way the main character interacts with the narrator through the use of signs. It's really a conversation between the narrator and the book character, This is a perfect example of how illustrations and text work together to tell a story. I admired the lovely illustrations --  they are simple yet show so much emotion.

This book shows how you could write an imaginative story by taking a twist on a familiar concept, like the Easter Bunny, and taking it on a different path by asking yourself questions about what happened next (or in this case, what the main character needs to solve problems).

My thoughts as a teacher:

This is a fun story to read with preschool and kindergarten students. There are lots of opportunities to make predictions about what might happen in the story. The character expressions show so many different feelings to discuss with children! It’s also very interesting that the cat communicates by using signs, an idea that children could incorporate into their play.

Some possible activities:

- encourage children to make signs and retell the story

- talk about what other jobs the cat might do (e.g., Tooth Fairy) and what might happen

- discuss being helpful and say or write one way to help a friend (e.g., this could even be done by writing a message on a paper cutout of an egg for a "Helpful" Easter basket display)

If you're looking for more great picture books to read to your class or to investigate as a writer, author Susanna Leonard Hill has a wonderful list of Perfect Picture Books.

Cool Blog Quote: Toys for the Imagination

Today's cool blog quote is about Lego bricks:

"...if we only have bricks one shape, size, and color, what we build with them remains limited; but if we build with pieces of various shapes, sizes, and colors, our creations will be infinitely more interesting."

Maria Popova, The Role of Intuition and Imagination in Scientific Discovery and Creativity: A 1957 Guide, Brain Pickings, June 1, 2012

I couldn't resist this one, because Lego has been pretty important in our family. When I first became a mom, I always said that if I could only buy my kids one toy, it would be Lego. As a toddler, we got my daughter Lego Primo, which was basically Lego for babies. I was a stay-at-home mom then, so we spent a lot of time building towers and castles.

 Later we moved on to Duplo, and my second daughter got really enthralled with "Bob the Builder".

Finally, my kids graduated to regular Lego. How exciting to find that Lego brought out sets based on Harry Potter, the perfect combination of a favourite book and a favourite toy!

I also love the sentiment of this quote. It's so easy to get wrapped up in your writing and figuring out how to get the time to write. But it's all those other fun (and sometimes not so fun) things in life that give you material to enrich your writing. It's important to feed your imagination with a variety of experiences!

Do you have a favourite childhood toy? Do you include toys when you write for children?