Print Comm: Thanks for Thanksgiving

Author:  Julie Markes

Illustrator:  Doris Barrette
Age:  2 - 5 year olds

[Print Communications]

Writing down the many reasons we have to be thankful is a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving and introduce young children the importance of communicating gratitude.

I found this book last year and wove it into our family Thanksgiving traditions.  Now that we had grandchildren, I wanted some way to catalog our blessings each year.   Before dinner we read Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes.  It is wonderfully illustrated and a quick read, simply listing things to be thankful for, from the turkey on the table to warm, cozy cuddles.  The best blessing of all?  Being together as a family.

The last two pages are designed as a place for each family member to write down blessings for which they are thankful.  From our youngest grandchild who said he was thankful for "moon" to Great Grandpa Corbett who wrote, "I am grateful for the peace God has given me during our recent health concerns." each of us journaled our thanks to God for His provision and blessings in 2011.   

I just unpacked this special book for Thanksgiving Dinner 2012 and already know what I'm going to write this year.  "Thank you heavenly Father for the two precious additions to our family this year, Ryder Joel and Caroline Elizabeth!  Thank you for undeserved favor."  

Why not consider adding Thanks for Thanksgiving to your home library and begin a new Thanksgiving tradition of written gratitude?

Thank you, Miss Librarian!

[Print Communications]

On Friday, Mary is reviewing a wonderful book entitled, The Boy who was Raised by Librarians by Carla Morris.  Since our theme this month is, "I Love Books", we thought this would be a wonderful time to say a big THANK YOU to your child's school and/or local librarian.  Everyone enjoys being appreciated, so why not say thank you to a librarian while teaching children the art of showing appreciation?

First, teach your children the motivation behind a "thank you".  Help them understand why writing a thank-you note is important and also make sure they know what you thank the person(s) for:  an action or a specific gift.   In this case, we are simply saying thank you for choosing great books for our library and/or story time etc.   As parents we need to seek out opportunities to say "thank you" and model an attitude of thanksgiving for our children.

Next, select a unique way to say thanks. Make sure the note is in their own words, no matter how limited. A thank-you card should include specifically why this person is appreciated.

Below is a link to creating a stapleless book from ReadWriteThink.org.  Perhaps a thank-you book would be the perfect way to show appreciation to your school and/or local librarian.

Don't miss our book review on Friday!

Create a stapleless book!

Print Comm: Play Ball!

Expository writing shares information and informs the reader.  It tells what happened, reports on a subject, explains how to do something and/or describes something.


Ask your child to explain HOW to place baseball.   Depending on the age of your child, have them either dictate their thoughts to you, or write them down themselves.   A favorite "writing" exercise for kindergaten and first grade teachers is to have their students describe how to cook a Thanksgiving turkey.  The results are extremely entertaining, as you can well imagine.  Take the same approach with this exercise.  Ask your child to describe the process of playing baseball and be prepared to ask questions that motivate and result in thoughtful responses.

A side note from my heart...  PLEASE journal if you have small children.   You may think you will remember everything that makes your son/daughter unique as a young child - you won't.   Even though there are many options to capture images and videos today; nothing compares to writing down quotes and documenting family life in a journal.    Why not tuck your child's "Play Ball" dictation in the journal as well - to be enjoyed later!

PEN IN HAND: Create a Color Poem

Begin by reading aloud a poem from the book Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O'Neill and illustrated by John Walner.  It is a collection of 13 poems, each about a different color.  It was first published in 1961 and then updated in 1989 with lovely new illustrations.  Each poem is titled, What is (color word)?  The following an excerpt from one of the poems:

What is Red?

  Red is a sunset

  Blazy and bright.

  Red is feeling brave

  With all your might.

  Red is a sunburn

  Spot on your nose.

  Sometimes red

  Is a red, red rose.

When introducing your child to this activity, remember that you are teaching them descriptive words, otherwise known as adjectives.  Depending on your child's experience with parts of speech, you may need to make a list of nouns and adjectives that describe your child's color word prior to creating a color poem.

(color) _________  is (adj. & noun) _________ and (adj. & noun) _________.

  

(color) _________ tastes like (adj. & noun) _________.

(color) _________ feels like (adj. & noun) _________.

   

It is (adj. & noun) _________, (adj. & noun) _________, and (adj. & noun) _________.

     

(color) _________ is (adjective) _________.

BLUE is...

Blue is a beautiful sky and a birthstone ring. 

Blue tastes like cotton candy.

Blue feels like the wet ocean.

It is soft breezes, scented flowers,
and bright stones.

Blue is refreshing.

____________________________________________

For a very young child, simply ask them to describe a color and display their sentence in the middle of a sheet of black construction paper.  They go through magazines to find examples of the color chosen and have your child glue torn pieces of the magazine pages around the descriptive sentence to create a color frame.

Print Communications: Jo MacDonald Had a Garden

[Print Communications:  Compose Lyrics]

Author:  Mary Quattlebaum
Illustrator:  Laura J. Bryant

Old MacDonald has a... granddaughter and a garden!  Read this book and see how Jo MacDonald grows healthy food for people and wild creatures too.  Your child will learn about garden ecosystems and stewardship through this cute variation of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."


Create your own unique version of "Old MacDonald" by filling in the blanks using your child's name and your own garden ingrediants.




Your child's first name     last name,      had a _______________.
E - I - E - I - O


And in that ________________ was some ___________.
E - I - E - I - O


With a __________    ____________ here.
And a  __________    ___________ there.


Here a __________ There a ___________
Everywhere a __________     ____________



Your child's first name     last name,      had a _______________.

E   -   I   -   E   -   I   -   O

Here is another book by Mary Quattlebaum - Jo MacDonald Saw a Pond
View the book trailer below.

PEN IN HAND: Kite - Creative Writing Prompts

[SOC Print Communications:  Creative Writing Prompts]

1. If you could make your kite out of anything in the world, what would it be made of? Describe your kite.   "My kite would be in the shape of a...."
2. If you could make your kite go anywhere, where would it go?
3. Pretend you could fly your kite to a far away place...what message would you tie to the end of your kite?
4. What kite would you make for your Mom, Dad, Sister and/or Brother?
5. Have you ever flown a kite before? If so, describe the experience.
6. Describe what a kite is and how to fly it, to someone who has never seen or flown a kite before.
7. Use our Cultural Binge art appreciation print, Kite in Tree, as a short story prompt. Encourage your child to come up with a story based on the message(s) depicted in the artwork.  Depending on your goal(s) for this project, have your child dictate their story to you so they can focus on the story and not handwriting/spelling skills.  Be sure to credit the project accordingly.
      Author: Child        Editor:  Mom or Dad    Artist:   John Clymer

Kite in Tree
March 10, 1956
Artist: John Clymer

"Be Mine"

[Print Communications]

Materials needed:  
    card stock
    colored paper for mat
    candy hearts 
    white crafting glue
    writing tool


Let's begin with "publishing" this print activity.  We have chosen to mat the finished project with a pink heart mat.   Either cut out a mat (see our final picture) or have your child write in the middle of the heart and paint/color the outside to create a mat-like finish. 

Let your child choose two or three hearts to incorporate into a sentence.  [I created my own words by taking over-sized candy hearts and writing my own words on the back of them.] When he/she gets to the place where the word on the candy heart goes, have them glue the heart on the paper in place of the written word.  

This can also be turned into a great verbal comm activity to experience with your child.  Place a bowl full of candy hearts on the table.  After dinner, ask each family member to draw three hearts and try to incorporate them into a (silly?) sentence.  [Again, I add my own words to the back of several hearts to lesson the frustration of creating a sentence.]  


Don't miss simple opportunities that allow your child to practice crafting an original message. 


Enjoy!


Please share finished "published" works with us!  We would love to post them on our gallery wall.

PEN IN HAND: Create a Cinquain Poem

[Print Communications] Cinquain is a form of a short poem.  It has only five lines that closely link to each other.  Cinquain is initially originated by Adelaide Crapsy (1878-1914).  She constructed this kind of poem based on Haiku.  (Haiku is a form of Japanese verse and is made up of five, seven, and five words in unrhymed lines of three.)     Have your child come up with the words to complete their own Cinquain poem.  If your child prints or you type the finished poem, be sure and highlight your child's first and last name in color, so the name stands out when you view the poem. Line 1     Your (child's) first name Line 2     Two words that describe you (your child) Line 3     A three word phrase that describes something they like to do Line 4     Four "feeling" words or adjectives Line 5     Your (child's) last name My grandson, Davis' first 3D experience Davis brother - grandson loves to ask questions smart - tender - silly - loved Corbett                                                          Remember that the presentation and the display is extremely important.   Consider creating a mat for your child's poem.  Perhaps you could add an image of your child to your poem and frame the completed project.     Please send us a .jpg of your child holding their print comm creation.   Email

PEN IN HAND...Winter Prompts

SOC: Print Communications

When encouraging students to create a print comm (creative writing) project, remember to focus on the message and the finished product.  Each print communications piece should ultimately be "published".  (Yes, posting on the refrigerator door is publishing!)  


For this project, create a "canvas" that is special.  Perhaps you have some left over winter stationary used for your Christmas newsletters, if not, simply decorate paper with snowflake stamps or stickers.  Let your child select images on received Christmas cards to cut out and place on their writing paper.  Show that you respect the effort your child puts forth by providing him/her with appropriately decorated stationary.   


Think about where the finished project will be displayed and/or shared.  You may be surprised at how motivated your  child will be to write for you when he/she knows there is a purpose to the writing - that someone will read what they have written.

Winter Writing Prompts            
Choose from the prompts below to write a story or poem.

• The snow is falling and there is a small dog shivering in the doorway of the church... 

• SNOW DAY!   There is no school tomorrow so I think I'll...

• I looked through the front window at the snowman in the front yard.  All of a sudden...

• My Mom and Dad said it is going to snow tomorrow.  I'm so excited because I've never seen snow before.  (Describe what you think snow is like and tell what you will do.)

• Splat! Splat! Another snowball came flying..... 

• One huge icicle hung dangerously from the corner of the old house... 

• Thank God for the beauty of winter beginning with...

• Sitting by the warm fire I looked up to see...

• It's getting dark and I'm running home but there is so much snow, my boot gets stuck... 

• I want to go sledding but I don't own a sled.  Suddenly I have a great idea...

• I was ice skating on the pond when I saw a reflection....

                                                Create your own prompts! 

------------------------------------ 

Remember that this should not feel like homework.  Perhaps instead of writing stories, your child would enjoy using these ideas as verbal comm prompts.  Write each prompt on a separate strip of paper.  Have your child select one and then complete the sentence or make up a complete story and/or poem using the prompt (depending on the age of your child).   You may want to set a time limit - depending on your child's age, ability and attention span.   Have them keep talking until the timer goes off.  Remember that mom and dad (grandma & grandpa) must take a turn too!   NOTE:  Please don't assume that your child is too young or too old for this activity.  You might be surprised.   

Send us your child's response to the writing prompts by posting them in the comment box below!   We love seeing your children's writings and hope that your responses will motivate and inspire other parents and their children.