School-wide Poetry Month: Day Three (Allie)

I chose "Stupid Pencil Maker" because in my opinion it's one of Shel Silverstein's best poems and it's so funny. I think it's also one of Shel Silverstein's most creative poems. It's also a poem that I love to read again and again.

Stupid Pencil Maker
Some dummy built this pencil wrong.
The eraser's down here where the point belongs.
And the point's at the top- so it's no good to me.
It's amazing how stupid some people can be.

Poem ©Shel Silverstein. All rights reserved.

Plymouth Murals (by Allie, Bria and Ellis)

Introduction
Now in Social Studies, we're studying the Pilgrims. We're making murals from big events in the Pilgrim's lifetime. Before this, we were writing journals of different Pilgrims: Stephen Hopkins, Giles Hopkins, Francis Cooke, John Billington, etc. From this (the events of Plymouth) we are drawing murals that will become fully painted and creative. We have seen many murals that take place in a Pilgrim's lifetime, so now we have amazing ideas for our murals. We hope you enjoy reading about the making of our murals!

Day One: Drawing with a Grid:
On the first day, Marc (Zack's dad) came in so we could start drawing our murals. We split into the following groups:

• The Mayflower Compact: Jane, Ellis, Allie, Bria
• Wampanoag Village: Katya, Sabina, Adina, Sydney
• The First Thanksgiving: Zack, Jonathan, Dylan, Elliot
• The First Encounter (with the Wampanoag): Jack, Michael, Sam
• Life in Plymouth: Alec, Andrew, Eric, Jason
• Journey of the Mayflower: Mayu, Ava, Leela
• Landing in the New World: Ida, Chloe, Emma, Charlotte

First, we drew our sketches on small pieces of yellow paper and added a 1 inch by 1 inch grid. Then, we drew a grid on large brown paper that was 3 inches by 3 inches. We drew all the big shapes on the paper from the little drawing. After this, we did all the details. Marc showed us pictures of murals so we could have a good idea of what murals look like. On day two, we will paint! All of our murals were very successful! We appreciated all the parents who helped on Day One!

Day Two: Painting Day

Zack's dad Marc came back to help us with painting our murals, as well as several other parents. Parents helped the groups mix different colors. Zack's dad encouraged us to think about colors and what's realistic for Plymouth. The parents did a good job with alternating in the different stations. That day was important because we put color into our murals. We painted the big spaces first. At the end, every mural was perfect, and we couldn't have done such a good job with our murals if the parents didn't volunteer and help a lot. 

Day Three: Details

Details. Details. Details. That's what we did on the third day. We did drawings and paintings before, so today was focused on details. With the detail part you can still be creative. You can mostly add any details as long as it's OK with your group. You get to use colored pencils and crayons to add details. It might not sound fun, but with those tools it really helps improve the quality of the murals a lot. Details are fun and can help your paintings. We call this detail day! 

Check out our upcoming posts to see pictures of our finished murals!

Green Books: Our Earth: How Kids Are Saving the Planet

This review is part of the Green Books Campaign. Today 200 bloggers take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using eco-friendly paper, we hope to raise awareness of book buyers and encourage everyone to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.

The campaign is organized for the second time by Eco-Libris, a green company working to make reading more sustainable. We invite you to join the discussion on "green" books and support books printed in an eco-friendly manner! A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on the Eco-Libris website.

Sometimes kids think that adults control everything and that they are powerless to make a difference. But Our Earth: How Kids Are Saving the Planet teaches readers that kids are all powerful. In her book, Canadian author Janet Wilson profiles 10 young environmentalists from around the world who are each taking action to help specific environmental causes. Through these profiles, Wilson shows that kids can do a lot to help the environment and spread the message of conservation! For example, Sam Levine of the United States helped start an organic vegetable garden at a school to connect kids directly to their food.

The stories Wilson includes feel attainable. We hear the story of Janine Licare of Costa Rica who started small, selling painted rocks with a friend to raise money to build overhead monkey bridges. Eventually as the girls wanted to do more, they expanded their operation and opened a store to sell their products and the work of other artists. From their humble beginning, Janine and her friend Aislin have made a world of difference in the rainforest.

Now only does this book profile 10 children, it also contains a helpful reference section in the back. For example, in the "How You Can Help Save the Planet" section, Wilson details ways kids can help save the earth. These ideas include everything from unplugging the TV and going outside to play to writing letters to world leaders to advocate for climate change. And this is just one of the bonus sections in the back! You can also learn how "Kids Create" and how "Kids Take Action."

This book is excellent because it goes beyond just telling ways that kids are making a difference around the world. It also teaches kids a lot about the small steps they can take to make a big difference. For example, Wilson recommends that students become more aware of the products they use that are grown in the rainforest so they can make informed decisions about whether or not to use them. Our Earth: How Kids Are Saving the Planet is also significant because usually authors write books about adults saving the environment, but this one has kids saving the Earth, so it's more relevant to the readers. It shows you that you can save the earth too!

Our Earth: How Kids Are Saving the Planet is not just environmental in its theme. It's also environmental in its production! It is printed on Forest Stewardship Council Certified paper!

We recommend this book for people who care about the environment and want to save it. This is also a great book for people who don't yet care about the environment and need some serious inspiration. The book is particularly great for kids ages 7 to 13 who want to hear extraordinary stories about ordinary kids.

Kids--Janet Wilson is counting on you to save the Earth, and we are too! Go kids! Save the Earth!