Friends–I’m doing a virtual library storytime on Monday, Jan 10, at 6pm Central Time. Family and friends with kids in the 4–9 range, hope to see you there! I’ll be sharing picture books about water, winter, and getting yarn from sheep. Learn about states of matter, animal adaptations and behaviors, and the miracle of sheep shearing–and friendship :>D You can register at https://dakotacountylibrary.libcal.com/event/8414177 Spread the word, and we’ll celebrate books on a chilly winter evening. 
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I was so excited to get to be part of The Write Time, a podcast/video program of the National Writing Project! First, teacher Lisa Lapina’s Philadelphia first graders read If You Want to Knit Some Mittens. Then they brainstormed questions for me. I could tell they had really thought about the book from the way they answered some of my own questions.
As usual when a party is going well, it ended too soon. I wanted to chat some more about creativity, beginner mindset, playing the kalimba, facing writing challenges, and more! But I hope you enjoy this production of everything we did talk about :>) (And make sure to check out their other episodes, too!)
A giant thank you to The National Writing Project, Tanya Baker, Bryan Crandall, Lisa, and all the students! And to everyone who worked behind the scenes to make this happen.
[My Classroom Connections posts share a way to connect one of my books or poems to a classroom topic–often something timely that you might be covering in the next month or so. Please share this post if you have educator friends who might be interested–thanks!]