"The Day the Crayons Quit" Extension Idea

"The Day the Crayons Quit" by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers is making quite the impact on teachers and children this summer!  I've seen a lot of posts on how teachers plan on using this book in their classrooms this year.  

Click here for my original post.

It's such a fun read aloud!  I read it to my Story Time group a few weeks ago and they loved it!  I'm sure they'll think twice before tearing off the paper on their crayons now that they know that crayons don't like to be naked.  Yep.  Naked crayons...who would have thought!

In my original post about this book, I said I was going to whip up some letters written by other supplies in my classroom.  Here's what I've come up with so far...

Maybe I'll do a few more once I get in my classroom and see how things look.  Our custodians are waxing our floors this week so we've been grounded from working in our classroom this week.  I think I  might let my kiddos help me write some letters too.  What better way to model letter writing and point of view at the same time during the beginning of the year?

Oh...by the way...The Lion King was awesome!  My nieces were glued to it the entire time...every child should experience the theatre and The Lion King is a great one for the whole family!  If it's showing in your area, you should try to get tickets (an aisle seat would be my recommendation) and take someone little with you...so fun!

Hope all is well!

A New Tune for Your Classroom and Helping Friends Celebrate!

Hello Friends,

If you've been following me for awhile, you know I have a mild obsession with music for my classroom.  We listen to just about everything!  Here's a new one for you to check out:

Home of Song by Paul Spring

My nieces and I are loving "Peter Pan" and "Mermaid" right now...we're trying to learn the words to the rest of his songs.  All of his songs have an acoustic feel to them...it's like listening to a live concert.  You can sample his album by searching for it on iTunes or view a cute video by clicking on the "Family Music" tab on his website.  This is Paul Spring's first album for children and you can read more about him on his website:

Click here to view his website.

I think this album will make a great addition to any classroom!  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

I'm helping a few friends celebrate 200 followers on their blog!  I met Maria and Em from Curious Firsties at an Ohio Blogger Meet-up last fall and they were super kind and fun too!  I've loved reading their blog posts!  Hopefully you're following them...but if you're not, you really must!  Click on their button below to visit their blog and give them a follow!

Click here to get the information about their giveaway!

We're heading to Cleveland to see The Lion King tomorrow!  Can't wait! 

Take care!

I Found a New Book for Us!

Hello Friends!

So we haven't had sunshine for a full day in practically a week now!  I actually lost track of the time...it is seriously gloomy outside.  The sun will pop out for like a minute or two and then it's cloudy and raining again!  What gives!?!?!  I think my flowers are actually drowning!

Needless to say, I've been busy organizing things for next year at home and am starting to get the itch to get into my classroom.  It's still a little too early for that though, right?  My classroom is being used next week for Safety Town (a pre-k "safety school" taught by our local police and firemen) and since I don't need everyone seeing my mess, I'm going to avoid the temptation to get in there and start setting things up.

I went to the book store in our mall (which is not my favorite book store...the books are shelved so poorly and I always cringe when I see poor displays of amazing books for kids).  Anyway...surprisingly, I found a new book for us!

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

The story begins...

"One Day in class, Duncan went to take out his crayons and found a stack of letters with his name on them."

Each crayon has written a letter to Duncan explaining why they have "quit".  The red crayon feels overworked because he's used all of the time...even on holidays (Christmas and Valentine's Day). The purple crayon is on the verge of a nervous breakdown because Duncan will sometimes color outside the lines and purple feels that he is just too gorgeous to be put outside the lines.  Beige is sad because he's always a second thought to brown.  The white crayon feels empty because althoughDuncan uses him, without a black outline no one even knows he exists...and the black crayon is tired of being used just for outlines.  

 Each color has a complaint which is written with tone and humor.  The illustrations are great...each letter is written in a handwritten font and has "kid-like" drawings as the illustrations.  

Sorry this isn't bigger for you to see...it got blurrier and blurrier!

I think I'm going to use this book at the beginning of the year when teaching my kiddos that first graders use a lot of details and colors in their work.  I love the letter idea so I'm thinking about having letters posted around the room with other supplies...like maybe the pencils will write a letter like this...

Dear First Graders,

I am very fragile.  I love to be sharpened with your teacher's favorite pencil sharpener, not chewed by humans.  Please don't eat me this year.  I'm not good for human teeth or stomachs.

Sincerely,

Pencil

Or...

Dear First Graders,

I know you love to use me to create things, but please don't use me as lip gloss or a lollipop.  I do my best work with paper and can't wait to help you create some fun art projects this year.

Your friend,

Glue

I paid full price for the book but just found it on Amazon for $11.30...check it out!  I really think it's a winner!  I linked the picture above to Amazon to make it easy for you to add it to your cart!

I'm going to start brainstorming some letters for other supplies and areas of my room...oooh!  I could even do the drinking fountain...

Dear First Grader,

Please don't lick or kiss me, I'll bring the water to you...

(Ha! Ha!  School drinking fountains seriously gross me out!)

I'll be sure to post what I create!

Hope the sun is shining in your neck of the woods!  

If it is, send some of it to Northern Ohio!