How to use this Page

by Janice Lovoos

{published 1966, by Golden Gate Junior Books}

I was in Seattle a few weeks ago. You remember the library, right?

I went to Pike Place Market, because of course, but also because flying fish and dudes in galoshes are a spectacle worth checking out. And I also wanted to get up close and personal with some bluefin tuna eyeballs.

There’s a real reason for that, trust me. But they didn’t have any tuna, so this happened: 

There’s not a real point to that story except that I adore that tweet (and those two Favoriters) and it’s what I did just before I wandered into Lamplight Books.

It’s like I stole something. Fifteen dollars? Sixty quarters? It still has that magical, musty smell of hidden secrets. And it was mine in a fraction of a split second. That fast.

Because…behold:

 I’m in love. From the texture of a porcupine, to the form of mountains and weeds, to the repetition inside a squash, design is everywhere.

Design is a Dandelion ends like this, with truth and a charge:

Design is everywhere. It is for everyone. All you have to do is to learn to see it. Open your eyes and take a big, long look.

By Patricia Prijatel

A little evergreen tree has died alongside our road and, as we walked by it yesterday, my husband wondered why. All the other trees around it are healthy and it did not look like it had been hit by lightning or damaged by wind or attacked by bugs. The tree is about six feet tall, so it lived several years. We are in the Rocky Mountains and this little guy took root on its own, growing precariously in that place by the road.

Oak Tree. Photo by Glyn Baker. Creative Commons License.

Could we have done something to save it? If we were in the city, would we have babied it and maybe kept it alive? Or would it have died sooner there?

These are the same questions we ponder about why some people get sick, why one disease affects one person more than others, why people who live healthy lives still can’t beat some illnesses, yet people with deplorable habits keep going and going.

It’s the old nature versus nurture argument. Bad genes or bad environment? Or both?

I am sort of over being angry at people who have dodged major illnesses — largely because there aren’t that many of them. Seems like most people I know have something to contend with — debilitating arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s somewhere in their network of family and friends. But when I first got cancer I did look around at people who obviously were not living as healthy as I was and wondered: why me and not them? And then I realized that I had no idea what they were dealing with and I should just stop being so angry and judgmental and get over myself. It was not their fault I got sick.

Still, you have to wonder about this poker game we all play with our health. Some seem to be dealt a good hand to begin with, some make the best of a poor hand, some try but can’t make a straight out of a pair of twos, and some look at their cards and just fold.

I have one friend who never exercises and has a diet full of fat, yet she is in her mid-80s, hale, hearty, and youthful-looking. Another smoked all his life, drank, and never exercised, yet he is pushing 80 and has nothing seriously wrong physically, although I do think he looks back at his life with serious regret. But the big C didn’t get him, nor did any major illness. I wouldn’t swap places with him, though, even if I knew my cancer would return.

I also know a wide variety of cancer patients who approach the disease like the individuals they are — fighters who refuse to let the disease get the upper hand; questioners who search for their own information rather than listening to the docs; accommodators who go along with whatever the doctor says; worriers who can’t get beyond the fact that they might die. Most of us are a mix of these traits, fighting one day, living in worry the next. But we are all built differently, both physically and mentally, so we all react to our disease differently. Nobody is right, nobody is wrong. We’re all just us, being our own little trees fighting our own little battles.

We cannot escape our genes — they make us prone to certain diseases, give us the strength to fight others, and offer a blueprint for either a long or a short life. Still, we can change some of that; the science of epigenetics demonstrates that lifestyle and environmental factors can influence our genetic makeup so that, by improving things such as diet and physical activity and by avoiding unhealthy environmental pollutants including stress, bad air, and chemicals, we can eventually build a healthier DNA.

I was born into a history of cancer. My grandmother and both of my parents had forms of cancer, although none of them had breast cancer. I was the pioneer there. But both parents lived into their 80s and remained in their home until they died, surrounded by their family. So, I might have a tendency toward cancer, but perhaps my genes also mean I will hang around for a couple more decades. And my particular mix of nature and nurture has given me an ability to love, to laugh, to process health information in a way that might make me proactive, and to keep going, assuming all will be well, at least at some level.

Maybe I won’t end up as one of the stronger trees in the forest; maybe I will be the gnarled, crooked one. Maybe disease might slow me, but I feel I am rooted deeply in decent soil — family, friends, community — so I am going to push on, grow how I can, and, in the process, help shade and nurture the other trees around me.

Patricia Prijatel is author of Surviving Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, published by Oxford University Press. She is the E.T. Meredith Distinguished Professor Emerita of Journalism at Drake University. She will do a webcast with the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation on 16 October 2012. Read her previous blog posts on the OUPblog or read her own blog“Positives About Negative.”

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Subscribe to only health and medicine articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.

The post Questioning the health of others and ourselves appeared first on OUPblog.

5 Stars Don’t Feed the Boy by Irene Latham Illustrated by Stephanie Graegin Pages:  288     Ages: 8 to 12 ……………………. Back Cover:  No kid knows more about zoo life than Whit. That’s because he sleeps, eats and even attends home-school at the Meadowbrook Zoo. It’s one of the perks of having a mother who’s the [...]

Stepping away from the news and business this evening, I poked around on YouTube for a nice Christmas video to share with you. For some reason I started wondering if Sitka, Alaska, where I’d spent 2-3 of my childhood years still celebrates Christmas. I remember a Christmas there that lit up the dark Alaskan winter. [...]

Author: Bhagavan “Doc” Antle
Publisher: Earth Aware Editions
Genre: Nature / Cats
ISBN: 978-1-60109-061-4
Pages: 246
Price: $50.00

Author’s website
T.I.G.E.R.S. website
Buy it at Amazon

The world’s big cat populations are dwindling at an alarming rate. Studies have determined that tigers may even be headed for extinction in the very near future. In an attempt to capture their images before they disappear forever, this beautiful book shows us these stunning creatures in all their majestic glory.

For the most part, Fierce Beauty is a photo album of some of the bigs cats currently residing at the TIGERS Institute. These impressive cats are protected from poachers, while also being bred for future posterity. Although many believe that big cats deserve to be wild, the author argues that there are no more wild places for these animals to roam safely, and their future may only be protected in captivity.

If you love big cats, you’ll enjoy these amazingly detailed, up-close photos taken against plain white or black backdrops. Fierce Beauty would make a wonderful gift for the cat lover in your life.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Monolith, a photo by 9567 on Flickr.

Like the island of cyclops. Taken yesterday during my morning walk.

Nicola Davies is a zoologist and, fortunately for kids and parents, a fantastic kid's book author. From poetry (Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature) to very funny non-fiction books about animals (Talk, Talk Squawk and four others in the series) to the wonderful Flip the Flap and Find Out series, to which she has just added two new books. Earlier this year the series,

4 Stars Animal Andy Kathy Sattem Rygg 144 Pages    Ages: 8 to 12 .................... .................. Back Cover:  Ten-year-old Andy Ohman is spending his summer working at the Aksarben City Zoo where his dad is the curator. There are rumors the city might close the zoo due to budget cuts. An anonymous donor has given the [...]

…………………… Today, Kid Lit Reviews would like to welcome Andy Ohman, from Animal Andy by Kathy Sattem Rygg.  Andy is the main character in this crazy zoological story about the Aksarben City Zoo. The Zoo is facing budget cuts and must quickly find a way to make up the difference. If they do not, the [...]

As we continue to feature wildlife rehabilitators this month on the Sylvan Dell blog, this week we meet Kim Johnson from The Drift Inn Wildlife Sanctuary. She shares with us the trials and tribulations of rescuing wild animals.

Texan Kim Johnson often works with her veterinarian husband and a tiny volunteer group at her Drift Inn Wildlife Sanctuary in Driftwood to care for a wide variety of mammals, including raccoons, squirrels, deer, fox, skunks, even bobcats. “Every year is different and I never know exactly what to expect” says Kim, one of a small handful of licensed rehabilitators in her state, “During Hurricane Ike, 200 squirrels were delivered to my front door.”

Despite her hectic schedule caring for wild animals, many of them babies, for 14-18 hours a day, seven days a week, Kim never seems to lose her sense of humor. “If it’s native and it lives in Texas, it’s been in my house, and maybe even if it’s not native,” she quips.

In many of the pictures that Kim submitted for possible use in Animal Helpers, she is wearing a big smile and very heavy welder’s gloves. The grin is, of course, because Kim loves her job. The gloves are because she is smart and seasoned. After 33 years as a rehabilitator, Kim is keenly aware that those gloves are mandatory equipment for handling fuzzy babies that have big paws, sharp teeth, and claws.  

Name: Kim Johnson

Name of organization/clinic: The Drift Inn Wildlife Sanctuary

State: Texas

Specialty/special areas of experience: Mammals, raptors

Years as rehabilitator/volunteer: 33 years

Busiest time of year: May-July

Number of hours you work per week during your busy season: 18+ hours a day 7 days a week

Number of volunteers in clinic: 4

Why did you become a rehabilitator/volunteer: For the love of nature and animals

Most rewarding aspect of rehabilitation: Release days and seeing an animal we thought would not pull through survive and be released!

As a rehabilitator, what is the most common question you are asked? If I touched it, will the mother come back?

Having cared for wildlife for so long, Kim cheerfully tells wonderful stories about the creatures that have come through her clinic, such as: A 7-week-old bobcat came to us on Christmas Day.  He was cute as a button, cute in the “I have claws and teeth and know how to use them” kind of way. For some reason, people still think that all little wild animals drink cow’s milk. (Unless they arecows, they do not do well on cow’s milk.) After getting his weight up, this bobcat soon started to fit right in with the rest of the crew.  He ate mice in nanoseconds, soon was jumping up on everything and getting more mischievous by the day!  Seven weeks later, it was time to move him to a larger facility.  This bobcat had grown four times the size he was when we got him. He was ready to mingle with his own kind.  We transferred him to a much larger facility outside of San Antonio where there are 12 other bobcats. He will be released onto a 1,000 plus acre refuge.  We will miss him; but, as with all of our animals, we feel blessed to have them and to be able to give them the care they need for the time we do. 

Favorite animal story:  We got a call that an adult raccoon had his head stuck for the entire night and half of the day in a bird feeder in a tree.  As I got there sure enough, he had wedged himself to where he could rest on the edge of the feeder as he contemplated his problems.  I told the lady that I could save the coon but not the feeder.  She suggested that they have a warning for purchasers of said bird feeder that it could also capture raccoons.  I got on a ladder and proceeded to unscrew the feeder and remove it from the tree.  So far so good.  I quickly realized that the coon was not coming out of the feeder without a chisel or saw and some serious drugs (for the coon of course).  I decided to put said coon and feeder in the back of the SUV and take him the eight miles down the road to the house where Dr. Johnson (Ray) could tranquilize him and we could then figure out how to release the raccoon from his feeder.  Halfway home, I have visions of the coon releasing himself from the feeder and kicking my tail in the car all the way home.  Luckily, for both of us he was quite stuck and we made it home.  Ray was almost laughing too hard to sedate the bugger but we got it done and although he never completely passed out, he was docile enough to unscrew the rest of the feeder and chisel the wood from around his neck without so much as a scratch on him!  He looked at us and groggily ran off without so much as a thank you.

What advice would you offer to children considering a career in wildlife rehabilitation?

Become a veterinarian who specializes in wildlife.  There are few out there and more are needed!

Remember Animal Helpers: Wildlife Rehabilitators is FREE for the month of October at www.sylvandellpublishing.com, or Read it on your iPad, by downloading the free app Fun eReader in iTunes and entering the code: 2WZ637 in the red box on the App Registration page.

My guest today, Dawn Colclasure, shares her thoughts on writing poetry and how the author can escape into his/her own special world.

Writing Apocalyptic Planet, I traveled to some of the most severe landscapes on earth. I relied on these places to tell the story of dramatic changes, revealing what this world is capable of. The first chapter was a multiweek foot trek across a sand-dune sea in Sonora, Mexico, in the heart of a seven-year drought. [...]

A Warm Winter Tail

By Carrie A. Pearson

Illustrated by Christina Wald

Finally, to wrap up the Sylvan Dell Launch Week we end With A Warm Winter Tail.

Sparked from walk in the woods Carrie Pearson wrote A Warm Winter Tail, a twist on staying warm in the long cold months of winter.

Do you ever wonder how animals stay warm in the winter? Well, they wonder how humans do too! In a twist of perspective, wild creatures question if humans use the same winter adaptation strategies that they do. Do they cuddle together in a tree or fly south to Mexico? Take a look through an animal’s eyes and discover the interesting ways animals cope with the cold in this rhythmic story.

Carrie A. Pearson is originally from Hillsdale, Michigan, and now lives in Marquette, Michigan on the sandy shore of Lake Superior. A former early elementary teacher, she is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and is the winner of the coveted SCBWI-Michigan Picture Book Mentorship Award. Her nonfiction work has appeared in Michigan History Magazine. Currently she is working on several picture book manuscripts as well as an historical novel for middle grade readers set in an abandoned orphanage. Along with her husband and their three daughters (and their two Labradoodles), she hikes, bikes, runs, and skis in the woods, windsurfs, kayaks, stand-up paddles, and swims in the chilly water and writes about what she experiences around her. The idea for A Warm Winter Tail, her debut picture book, came from an encounter with a whitetail deer on a wintry day. Stop by Carrie’s website www.carriepearsonbooks.com to learn about her school and library visits.

In addition to illustrating A Warm Winter Tail, Habitat Spy, Little Red Bat, andHenry the Impatient Heron for Sylvan Dell, Christina Wald has illustrated for a wide variety of toys, games, books, and magazines. From a book that featured hundreds of animals on each page (Look, Find, and Learn: Animals of the World) to games including the Star Wars role playing game series, every assignment covers something new and exciting. In recent years, she has illustrated tons of different animals for books and other publications. Christina enjoys the research aspect of such projects, saying that each new book is a fascinating new learning experience. She often integrates travel to research for her illustrations. She lives in Ohio with her husband and three cats. Visit Christina’s website.

And Then It's Spring. Julie Fogliano. Illustrated by Erin E. Stead. 2012. Roaring Brook Press. 32 pages.

First you have brown, all around you have brown 
then there are seeds 
and a wish for rain,
and then it rains
and it is still brown,
but a hopeful, very possible sort of brown,

A little boy is waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting for spring. He's waiting patiently--for the most part--for the seeds he planted to sprout. He's waiting for the world to change from brown to green...

This one is a nice read. I enjoyed the story, really enjoyed some of the writing. And the illustrations are nice. Some of the details are quite nice! For example, following the various animals from spread to spread--the dog, the rabbit, the turtle, etc. And I appreciated how spring came when he wasn't looking for it--looking for it so anxiously that is.

Read And It's Spring

• If you're looking for a picture books about spring, about the changing of the seasons
• If you're looking for picture books about gardening, planting seeds, nature, etc.
• If you're looking for books about patience

• If you're looking for picture books about spring, about changing of seasons,
• If you're looking for picture books that celebrate nature, beauty of creation/nature
• If you're looking for a concept book about colors
• If you're looking for picture books that celebrate curiosity and the asking of questions
• If you like books about bears

4 Comments | Previous | Top | Next

By: Tanya, on 7/20/2012
Blog: Children's Book Reviews and Then Some (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  aauthor: Kelly, Science, Reading Level 4, Nature, Real Life Girl Stories, Historical Fiction: 1900s America, Add a tag

18 Comments | Previous | Top | Next

By: Mary Lee, on 7/27/2012
Blog: A Year of Reading (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  original, nature, haiku, Poetry Friday, Add a tag

LOST AND FOUND

ACT 1

The hawks are whistling.
Every morning I listen,
wonder, imagine.

The nest, constructed
in a pignut hickory,
is hidden and safe.


ACT 2

Hawks in the city
remind us we are not far
from the wild. Ever.

Are they as aware
of me as I am of them?
I capture moments:

Whistling and screeing,
piercing dives through tree branches,
perching on our fence.


ACT 3

Every hope broken --
hickory falls in the storm.
Hawk home is destroyed.

Morning after. Sun.
Mournful hawks call tree to tree,
"Our babies...lost...gone."

I hear, on day two...
three hawks! Three means one survived!
Next day I see four!


ACT 4

Listen -- can you hear
hawks in your neighborhood trees?
Listen with your heart.

Wonder -- they survive:
paramount in the food chain,
tree top predators.

Imagine -- next year

another nest, another success...

perhaps in your oak.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012

The Coopers Hawks in this story have been a source of fascination and wonder since last spring, when they courted noisily in the sky above our neighborhood, and then began building their nest in our neighbor's tree. They broke twigs from our oak tree for that nest. 

Late last June, as we drove home through the lashing winds and torrential rains of a severe thunderstorm, my thoughts were focused on our oak. "Please spare our oak, please spare our oak," was my mantra.

At the end of our street, we saw flashing red lights. When we got closer, I breathed a sigh of relief -- it was not our oak -- then gasped. It was not our oak; it was our neighbor's huge hickory, torn out of the ground and split lengthwise. Two homes were destroyed -- our neighbor's house, and the hawks' nest.

I have pages of notes and several drafts of poems about the hawks, but I wanted to try to tell the whole story in one poem. I was inspired by Violet Nesdoly's extended haiku about the storm, and wanted to try that form. Violet explains, "I call this an extended haiku but perhaps it isn’t one by an official definition (which I couldn’t find). Anyway, what’s happening here is that each word in the original haiku becomes the beginning word in successive haiku. It’s a fun challenge."

At the Choice Literacy writer's retreat this week, we had a minilesson on using a B-C-B-A narrative structure in our article writing. (A = near future, B = present, C = past.) When I looked back at my first draft of this poem, I realized that I had intuitively used at least a version of this structure, shifting back and forth in time. I added the four Acts to help the reader transition between the different "chapters" of the story.

One of the hardest

18 Comments on Poetry Friday -- Hawku, last added: 7/30/2012

Display Comments

Julie Larios said, on 7/27/2012 3:49:00 AM

Oh, I love that "pignut hickory"!

laurasalas said, on 7/27/2012 3:58:00 AM

This is terrific, Mary Lee. Thank you for telling us the story behind it (I had seen part but not all of it on FB) and for sharing the mini-lesson and the idea of the extended haiku. What a fun challenge! I am going to want to try this one soon!

I esp love the detail of the pignut hickory and this:

Hawks in the city
remind us we are not far
from the wild. Ever.

Robyn Hood Black said, on 7/27/2012 4:49:00 AM

What a privilege to share in this creatively rendered story, Mary Lee. Amazing survival skills. We frequently have red-shouldered hawks and a red-tailed hawk or two on our (their?!) property, and lately I've seen and heard a broad-winged hawk too. Magnificent creatures.

(Continued thoughts for your neighbors in the loss of their home.)

Diane Mayr said, on 7/27/2012 4:51:00 AM

Whistling and screeing,
piercing dives through tree branches,
perching on our fence.

This is my favorite stanza--it is so noisy and filled with action! I enjoyed your explanations of the extended haiku form. Nice job!

violet said, on 7/27/2012 5:47:00 AM

Fabulous, Mary Lee! As a sometimes birder myself, I can so appreciate your involvement with that hawk. I loved the photos, alerting me to the reality of it all. Nice last stanza *grin.* I'm with Diane and her partiality to the "Whistling and screeing" lines. What a great word - 'screeing'! (And thanks for the kind mention :)

Violet

Katya said, on 7/27/2012 6:15:00 AM

In our neighborhood we get hawks, falcons, and once even a bald eagle at the bust stop. I love listening to their "[w]histling and screeing" and watching their "piercing dives through tree branches".
Your extended haiku is really beautiful.

Elaine Magliaro said, on 7/27/2012 7:52:00 AM

Mary Lee,

Well done, Mary Lee! I love your poem and your story about the hawks.

Author Amok said, on 7/27/2012 9:48:00 AM

Hi, Mary Lee. The pignut hickory got me, too. This is a wonderful way to tell a story in short scenes. I have a local friend, poet Kay Weeks, who uses senryu series to journal on her blog.

We have redtail hawks in our neighborhood. I'll have to send you my Hawk Ode -- written to a young hawk who visited us on a snowy day.

Tabatha said, on 7/27/2012 10:41:00 AM

I'm relieved the babies survived! I love "hawku" -- "haiku" lends itself so well to play. I can imagine this story in a picture book. What do you think?

Ed DeCaria said, on 7/27/2012 11:01:00 AM

This is really cool. Sort of an acrostic on steroids. Thanks for sharing! -Ed

Karin Fisher-Golton said, on 7/27/2012 11:17:00 AM

This is wonderful! The haikus, the picking up of words in the first poem, a hawk story, and the excellent name "Hawku." I love your ending--I like how you bring the story into the possibility of the reader's own reality.

Linda at teacherdance said, on 7/27/2012 5:35:00 PM

Wonderful, Mary Lee. I love Violet's form & you added much to it as well with the 'acts' and the title 'hawku'. I can imagine your grief & worry over the fallen nest. We have kestrels raise babies each year, & one year a baby seemed week & while we tried, could not save it. I have pictures of it nestled down by a shrub, & we knew it wouldn't last the night. Your beautiful words brought this all back. Thank you!

Martha Rose said, on 7/27/2012 6:00:00 PM

ABSOLUTELY AMAZINGLY AWESOME!!!

Betsy said, on 7/27/2012 6:35:00 PM

You have certainly captured some wonderful moments here. Fascinating to observe these hawks as you have and to wonder if they notice you as well. Thanks for some great reading.

Patrick A. Allen said, on 7/27/2012 8:56:00 PM

You amaze...

Douglas Florian said, on 7/29/2012 8:26:00 PM

Great title, great poem!

Heather Rader said, on 7/30/2012 10:12:00 AM

Thank you, Mary Lee. It is a gift every time I read it.

Karen said, on 7/30/2012 10:46:00 AM

It's as wonderful now as the first time I read it... the structure and word choice is amazing!

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

24. And Here They Are…

1 Comments | Previous | Top | Next

By: sylvandellpublishing, on 9/7/2012
Blog: Sylvan Dell Publishing's Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Sylvan Dell Posts, book launch, books, Education, nature, reading, science, Sylvan Dell, Add a tag

After many long weeks of waiting the Sylvan Dell fall releases are finally here! If you haven’t checked out our new releases online here is an overview. We are having an online launch party all next week, watch the blog for author posts, teaching activities and GIVEAWAYS!!

Desert Baths- All animals bathe to keep their bodies clean and healthy. Humans mi
ght use soap and water, but what do animals, especially those living in dry climates, do to keep clean? Darcy Pattison and Kathleen Rietz team up again to explore the desert to find out how snakes, spiders, and birds bathe. This surprising book teaches children about hygiene and how some exciting desert creatures manage to stay clean without the help of soap and water.

 

The Most Dangerous-Dangerous animals from all over the world gather for the Most Dangerous Animal of All Contest. Snakes, spiders, sharks…who will the winner be? Deadly poison, huge teeth, razor -sharp horns, and fearsome feet are just a few of the ways that animals kill. Predators mean to kill. Prey simply defend themselves. And yet, the unexpected most deadly animal doesn’t mean to harm at all!

 

Solar System Forecast-Freezing temperatures, scorching heat, and a storm bigger than planet Earth is just some of the wild weather you will encounter on your trip through our solar system! Get your fun facts along with your forecast for each major planet, as well as the weather on dwarf planet Pluto. Any child with an interest in space is sure to love Solar System Forecast, and parents will love the educational “For Creative Minds” section in the back of the book. Get ready for some out of this world fun with Solar System Forecast!

 

The Tree That Bear Climbed-Everyone knows about the house that Jack built, but this is The Tree That Bear Climbed. What makes this tree so fascinating to bear? Starting with the roots that anchor the tree, this chain of events story in cumulative verse explores many different things that help a tree stand tall. It also lends itself to further discussion with fun repetition and detailed picture clues, stimulating a child’s curiosity. Why does the bear climb the tree and what happens when he arrives at his goal?

 

A Warm Winter Tail- Do you ever wonder how animals stay warm in the winter? Well, they wonder how humans do too! In a twist of perspective, wild creatures question if humans use the same winter adaptation strategies that they do. Do they cuddle together in a tree or fly south to Mexico? Take a look through an animal’s eyes and discover the interesting ways animals cope with the cold in this rhythmic story.

1 Comments on And Here They Are…, last added: 9/8/2012

Display Comments

carrie a. pearson said, on 9/7/2012 9:43:00 AM

Loving all the fall titles. Nice job, Sylvan Dell Publishing!

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

25. OIK Tuesday: hand-ear coordination

8 Comments | Previous | Top |

By:  Heidi Mordhorst, on 9/11/2012
Blog: my juicy little universe (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  my own work, nature, 5-year-olds, Overheard in Kindergarten, educating the whole child, Add a tag

This afternoon the Mighty Minnows and I spent a lot of time considering our five senses, and there was a fantastic unexpected development when we closed our eyes and used our noses to smell the aromatic Mr. Sketch marker I grabbed.  It happened to be light green, which smells like mint.  Bertrand thought it was toothpaste, Karina thought it smelled like bubblegum, and Janie surprised me by naming it peppermint right away (or maybe not, since her family is Thai). 

As we discussed minty things, I realized that I could walk them right out into our lovelier-all-the-time school courtyard where parent volunteers have planted a Sensory Garden full of herbs.  We danced to High Five's "Five Senses" song and then we lined up and went--the real deal, only two minutes away! (Go Outdoor Education Committee.)

Cora had suggested basil when I asked if anyone knew what plant those minty smells and flavors came from, so first we all sniffed a leaf of basil.  I was happy to find a great clump of flowering mint, so that everyone (all 16--am I lucky, or what?) could have a sprig to crush and sniff and nibble and take home.  On the way back to the classroom we became the Minty Minnows instead of the Mighty Minnows. : )

Later, after the bus riders departed, the rest of us were singing requests--classics like "Twinkle Twinkle" and of course "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."  Tonya had already taught us the sign language version of The Itsy Bitsy Spider, so I wasn't too surprised when Suzee made this announcement:

"I can sing the Alphabet Song in silent language."

*******************

Listen with Your Eyes

Secret clutched in a closed fist:
If you wait one pinky moment
Letting sounds slide towards your thumb,
Eventually they perch like birds on a fence,
Nesting two together on a quiet egg
Till the egg cracks and a beak of song breaks through

8 Comments on OIK Tuesday: hand-ear coordination, last added: 9/24/2012

Display Comments

Diane Mayr said, on 9/14/2012 5:58:00 AM

a beak of song

That's it exactly. Very nice.

I'm Jet . . . said, on 9/14/2012 11:40:00 AM

What a great post! Say hi to the Minty Minnows from The Write Sisters!

-- Jet

Linda at teacherdance said, on 9/14/2012 7:00:00 PM

I didn't know you taught the little ones, Heidi. It sounds like a marvelous day, capped by the poem. I like that 'silent language'.

Tabatha said, on 9/15/2012 3:56:00 AM

Sounds like the Sensory Garden is doing well -- "Mint for everyone!" I have few herbs, but my parents have a serious herb garden. I "quizzed" my kids on the herbs in my parents' garden once...two of them knew quite a bit, and one of them had no idea, except possibly for mint. Sweet poem!

Mary Lee said, on 9/15/2012 4:05:00 AM

What an amazing post to follow Tabatha's!

LOVE the minty minnows!!

Oh, how I wish I had an Outdoor Education Committee...or even teachers who would bother to take their children to our Land Lab (maintained by this Committee of One) to taste the lemon mint and feel the soft of the lamb's ear or the pricks of the yucca...

Ruth said, on 9/15/2012 9:43:00 AM

Oh, can I come to your class? How wonderful this is.

Robyn Hood Black said, on 9/21/2012 7:02:00 AM

Once again, I want to be a Mighty Minnow. Or a Minty one. You all have all the fun!

Author Amok said, on 9/21/2012 11:59:00 AM

Hi, Heidi. I'm amazed at what you did with this little acrostic riddle. The last line -- wow, I hope your Mighty Minnows continue to sing throughout the year. Thinking of you, my friend!

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

View Next 25 Posts