Small Reads for Brighters Days
This piece first appeared in my January 2023 Small Reads e-letter for educators. Subscribe here. On March 7, my first 2023 book will come out: Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons. Because it’s nonfiction, the publisher (Lerner Books) will probably emphasize the science aspect when it markets the book. That makes total sense! And […]
I’ve got three books coming out in March, and I can’t wait to share them with you! Here’s the first one, coming out March 7 with Millbrook/Lerner. It’s a STEM book, but so much more, too! (More on that next week.) The book trailer goes live today! Lerner’s sharing the video (conceptualized by me and […]
The holidays may be over, but there are still kids who need mittens to warm their hands. There’s a fun feature in the Statesboro Herald from December that encouraged families to take a field trip to buy some mittens to donate. Give them to a homeless shelter or a school teacher to pass along to […]
January 23-27 is the Great Kindness Challenge, and I hope you’ll read this beautiful article from Bookology about the kind of change this can inspire at your school. You don’t have to go all hard core, of course. Start small if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Maybe a simple bingo card or checklist of things students could […]
Classroom teachers, librarians, media specialists, volunteers, home schoolers, tutors, and educators of all kinds, I hope you are finding some well-deserved rest and joy during this busy time. As the old year spins into the new, please know that your work is so important, and I’m grateful for you. Classroom Connections will return in January! […]
December is a rough time of year for anybody who’s feeling sad or left out. That makes it the perfect time to share We Belong, with its message of belonging and inclusivity. You could also print out this lovely mini-poster and display it, using it to jump start a discussion on belonging. [My Classroom Connections […]
It’s a full moon tonight—the Cold Moon, in fact. That’s definitely true here in Minnesota! Brrr! Invite students to look at the full moon tonight and think about how far away it might be. Then tomorrow, gather a basketball, a tennis ball, and a tape measure. Download the teaching guide for If You Were the […]
Well, I had planned to share this book because I saw that National Family Week is coming up next month, but as I read more, I realized that that’s just a conservative political campaign of intolerance. Forget that! I hope in your own unit on family, you focus on diversity and love and support, not […]
Brrr! Winter is well on its way, and the animals have figured out how best to survive it. If you read Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle with your students, you can follow it up with this memory game to help reinforce the ideas of migration, hibernation, and adaptation. Find more resources to go with this book […]
Teachers, I’ve got two things for you today. First, here’s a terrific YourClassical Storytime called “Lurkey Is Lost.” It’s a fun take on the “draw a turkey using an outline of your hand” activity. Make sure to have plenty of crayons ready and paper for everyone! Second, it’s the perfect time of year to share […]
