April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day. I used to work as a personal care assistant for young adults with autism, and that impacted my creation of Clover, the main character in Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten. She shares some characteristics with some kids on the spectrum—most notably her sensitivity
A full moon’s coming up on March 28 (the Worm Moon). Here’s a great STEM activity (math model) for your students if you’re teaching in person. It’s from the teaching guide to If You Were the Moon. This is one of loads of activities (across many content areas) in the
April Fool’s is coming up, and it’s a day I have to be on my toes. I’ve had cream cheese deodorant (yep) and other “fun” tricks over the years. With both kids grown, I just now have to be on the lookout for whatever Randy is up to! But remembering
All around, you can find signs of animals getting ready for a new year. They’re building nests or repairing damage to last year’s dams. Most homes could use a good spring cleaning after a long winter! Here’s a cool STEM activity from the teaching guide for Meet My Family: Build
I so love it when kids (or grown-ups) do their own writing inspired by something I wrote! A virtual book club of 2nd graders at Spradley Elementary in Frisco, TX, read Lion of the Sky and wrote their own zoo-ku in response. Aren’t those fabulous? Can you guess the animals?
Read Across America Day is coming up soon, which immediately makes me think of Dr. Seuss! It’s March 2, and you can find out more here. Meanwhile, if you don’t have any guest readers for your classroom, share a readaloud! I’ve got tons (okay, maybe not tons, but lots) right
A leaf is a leaf. It bursts out each spring when sunny days linger and orioles sing. –Laura Purdie Salas, from A Leaf Can Be… Up here in Minnesota, it’ll be a while yet before spring comes. But those of you in other areas might already be seeing buds
Valentine’s Day is a great time to talk about how we love our families, even though our families might be different from our friends’ families. My book Meet My Family, a rhyming nonfiction picture book celebrating all kinds of families in the animal world, is a wonderful lead-in to this
Wow! Art teacher Leah Newton emailed me recently to share this very cool art project related to Snowman – Cold = Puddle. She’s got a great lesson plan where kids learn about color theory and the states of matter AND make lovely art at the same time! Don’t miss it.
The National Geographic Society was founded on this date in 1888. I love their books for kids, I subscribe to their magazine, and Randy and I have attended a number of their traveling lectures. I’m super proud to have poems in two different National Geographic anthologies (both edited by the
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Go to my Poetry page for:
National Poetry Month projects through the years
Small Reads Roundups (poems
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