Small Reads for Brighters Days
We humans, just like other animals, get ready for winter in lots of ways. Here are a few things you can do in your classroom: Ask your students to brainstorm some ways they’re getting ready for winter. Read Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle to learn about the three categories of winter survival techniques. Call a naturalist at […]
For Classroom Connections Wednesday, I’ve got a sticky note poem inspired by one of my books, Water Can Be… (boatloads of activities on my book page). I used the same phrase construction, called a kenning, that I use a lot in the book. Thanks for reading, and happy National Poetry Month! And if […]
Y’all might know that I love thunderstorms and rain. Today for National Poetry Month, I’m sharing one more rain sticky note poem (I shared two earlier this week here and here) AND a cover reveal! I have a picture book coming out in spring of 2023, and Elly MacKay is creating the absolutely stunning art […]
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 discussion. Sing and move to […]
I can’t believe Thanksgiving is next week! And while our human celebrations might look very different this year, it’s comforting to me to know that nature and animals are following thier normal routines. My book Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle shows animals’ fall routines. Wouldn’t it be cool to do a Venn diagram comparing what your students […]
National Family Week is coming up later this month (Nov. 21-27). Talking about families with your students? Check out these two activities from the teaching guide that goes with my book Meet My Family. This first one’s a song–no materials needed! And this one lets your students share and celebrate their own family and […]
It’s that time of year! Animals are growing thicker coats or gathering seeds and nuts Or they’re hunting for places to hibernate or perhaps they’re traveling to a winter home where they can find food and raise young. If you’re studying winter adaptations, here’s an activity sheet that goes with my book Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle. […]
November 10 marks the anniversary of the 1975 sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a Great Lakes freighter that went down in a storm in Lake Superior. (You guys know how much I’m fascinated by Great Lakes freighters, right? Some good publishing news on that coming up soon!) I’m grateful for water in so many ways, […]
The days are getting brisker, here in Minnesota anyway, and the creatures are all preparing for the cold. If you’re studying topics like hibernation, migration, and adaptation, make sure to add Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle: How Animals Get Ready for Winter (Millbrook, illus by Claudine Gevry) to your list of resources. So far this fall, I’ve […]
Fall is my favorite favorite time of year, and fall color is one of the reasons for that. A couple of weeks ago, Randy and I tried out our inflatable kayak. We were on a small lake in St. Paul, and we got to admire a bit of fall color while a bald eagle hunted […]
