Snowmen Pocket Chart Rhymes

Dateline South Daytona Elementary. Kindergarten.

Documentation from my 'Author-in-the-Schools' visit last week.

LUV sharing with you the sights that I get to see on my travels out + about.

CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You've just got to LUV the weather chart here in Florida.

Let me tell you how much I don't really miss the snow of my midWest upbringing.

Bring on the sunshine!!!!

9 to 4

That's a sweet sunshine to clouds ratio!

Looking for other snow + winter activities + projects?

Look back to these earlier posts.

              Snowmen LOVE!!!!!

                                  Snowman + Writing

                                   Penguins + link to Penguin Freebies


Thanks for stopping through today, come back again soon or see me over on Pinterest!!!! 

Did you see Cathy James' amazing pin yesterday? She created a TOP 10 list of Pinterest Boards for parents and 'my' Children's Art board received mention! As a result of her brilliant 'pin' my pin board gained a quick 1000 new followers in 24 hours. Welcome aboard! I have opened the board to collaboration and have a couple dozen others adding great pins.

Does it boggle anyone else's mind that a blogger in the UK can include me on a list, pin it and suddenly as though by magic people end up here? WOWZERS! Here's the direct link to Cathy's Top Ten list.

Source: nurturestore.co.uk via Missy on Pinterest

                                                                       -- Debbie --

Writing Prompts from Photos, Part 2

MORE PHOTO WRITING PROMPTS!!!!!!!!!
As promised here's a second set of photo-writing prompts.
I'm creating these from my bountiful photo memory cards in an effort to link up with my cyber-blogging friends and their linky on all things 'writing.'

Let's start in the Swiss Alps for the more mature authors in the crew. This first image is from my fairy-book European tour last spring to four of our US Army Bases, where I sang with the children of our troops and gave staff development workshops.

I took this photo on our very last day of the adventure. We were returning from the final two weeks in Italy (which followed time in Germany) and were heading back to Zurich's airport by way of a GLORIOUS day in the Alps.

From the mountains to the islands. Grand Bahama to be exact. Last month.

This license is from our summer-haven romp.

It always makes me smile -- when I consider the very same questions!

This next one is also from our summer-haven.

This is the marina a block from our front door.

I walk down every evening to help the tourists clap for the splendor.

The sailboats are all tucked into their slips for the night.

And a parallel slide to match yesterday's, this time for my kindergarten girls....

artwork from my Author's school visit just last week.

And one more -- to conclude today's set.

This one for the teachers benefit.

This place really does exist on earth -- it's not just reality TV shows.

Educators can splash in these infitine waters!!

This has been so much fun!!!

I will continue to use this format for the future photos with no home.

These are linked up and added to the photo-prompt collaborative Pinboard.

They will be released in a FREEEEEE ebook version when the linky's complete!

Click back here to see yesterday's initial set in the series!

                                                                -- Debbie --

Writing Prompts from Photos!

I'm learning!! I'm learning!!!!
I'm growing!!! I'm growing!!!!
I have cyber blogging friends!!! Here's the latest cyber link-up being co-hosted by Selina of 'Classroom Magic' and Kathie of 'Diary of a NOT so Wimpy Teacher' for their students who benefit from 'writing prompts' to get their number one imaginations and their number 2 pencils moving together!

This is PERFECT for me -- because I have sooooooooooooooo many photos and can never quite figure out how to share them here. WELCOME to glimpses from behind my camera lens. Let's get started with this image from Daytona Beach just yesterday. By the way, the questions posed are the very ones that I had while taking the picture!

Here's one I took during our air-boat ride in the Everglades a couple weeks ago. By the way, I would guess-ti-mate that it was about four feet long at the minimum!!! I had NO idea they could get this big and beautiful. It was like he was posing for me!!!

At the end of every Everglades air-boat ride there is the proverbial 'gator-show.' This trip was no exception. Only about 15 years ago the girls participated in just such a show! Where are those pictures? No I was encouraging them!

This one is indeed from Planet Earth. Beach-side Florida.

Looked like it could have been from another galaxy to me.

I thought that I'd work extra-hard today to create prompts that would be 'boy-friendly.'

That means tomorrow I will have flowers + castles and images on the other side of the stereo-typical spectrum: girlie things.

It's my experience that the boys are the ones who need some extra motivation to get the pencil moving, especially when they are younger.

I had a recent couple of posts on all things Fine Motor so its exciting to get beyond the basics + mechanics now and venture to the creativity inherent in the writing process.

[Fine Motor Support + Insight: Part one. Part two.] 

These 'self-portraits' were captured last week during my Author-in-the-Schools visit.

I wanted to have a variety of prompts in this post..... so here's the way kindergarten boys view their world.  

This one is from our 7.5 hours on the Caribbean island to launch the New Year -- just after our snorkel adventure! I put this image together on behalf of teachers everywhere, who may need a February pick-me-up and just to breathe over it again myself.

                    ENJOY!!! ENJOY!!! ENJOY!!!

I'll start working on the next installment right away!
As promised. Here's the link to the second set of prompts.

-- Debbie --

P.S. It dawned on me this morning that these images will be brought together with all of the other photos from the linky to create a free eBook!

In any case, I realize that it will be easier on the editors of the eBook, if I get all of my pictures going the same way. So here's the photo edit of the banana-bike up above.

I didn't want to straight-up replace the image, since I'd already pinned it.

100 Day Celebration Concludes

Third of three. Conclusion.
Wrap up of my reporting mini-series for 100th Day party ideas.
PIZZA!! Everybody LUVS PIZZA!!!!

These are all ideas I was able to document from my "Artist/Author-in-the-Schools" visit earlier this week in South Daytona, Florida. The teachers are thrilled to have Pinterest ideas to motivate them -- this is what some of their ideas look like brought to life in their rooms.

This pizza-project has 20 pieces of each of 5 toppings applied:

• 20 Onions
• 20 Cheese
• 20 Mushrooms
• 20 Peppers       
• 20 Pepperoni

    100

The first photo up above shows three different examples of the hundred-day projects which were displayed on the classroom windows -- over the mini-blinds to be exact. Of course you can see the pizza featured. If you look below the pizza you see the beginnings of the caterpillar with 100 circular elements in his crawling length. Up in the right hand corner of the photo are the beginnings of the children's self-portraits that I shared yesterday.

Here's what the caterpillar looks like as it crawls across the entire window area of the classroom.
Can you see some of the 100 year old portraits on display above the caterpillar?

Time is always the critical portion of the equation on my school visits. Time only allowed me to document the projects in the first two classroom in the K-pod and the public hallway bulletin board. Hopefully you've gotten some fun ideas for your next counting up to the 100th! They had 10 K classrooms. These last 3 days are ideas from only 20% of the rooms. Sigh.

After getting lots of photos of the children's work, then its time for me to get to 'work' and share my projects with my mature kinder-kiddos. Turn about is fair play!

Here's just a little glimmer into the fun we had together in their multi-purpose room. I'm getting them warmed up with a quick game of follow-the-leader to get them into 'crossing the mid-line' which will figure significantly into our morning's choreography!

Here's the link to the first part in this 100 Day mini-series.

Here's the link to the second part in this 100 Day mini-series.

Here's the link to last year's 100 Day party homework assignments.

By the way, YES!!!!!

I have indeed written and recorded a song for the 100th day.

Sounds like Elvis Presley counting by 5's, big ending counts by 10's.

My 100 Day song is on my 5th album, "Debbie Ditties 5: Jump, Jam, Jive!" 

Therefore I have a Pinterest board for all things 100. Click right here, as of this moment there are 145 ideas stored over there for your further motivation!

If we start planning now, maybe I can be at your school for your 100th day next year!

-- Debbie --

Co-operation, Collaboration: 100 Ways to be Grateful

Today's another NEW--NEW day!!!!
Such exciting promise each new day! I'm on a brand new adventure!

First. I promised additional ideas from my observations yesterday at my Author-in-the-School visit with kindergarteners having just celebrated their 100th Day party.
So let's get those ideas out there into cyber-space and then the new adventure part!

Honest to goodness I truly can 'see' how Pinterest is morphing early education -- right before my very eyes. It's such a thrill as a 'blogger' to realize that ideas that I've had (or fellow bloggers have created) now have such an 'easy' way to be shared with our colleagues across the country -- and around the globe. These teachers yesterday were the first to wax on about their enthusiasm for the visual nature of Pinterest and being inspired by ideas they'd seen there for inspiration.

Here are a few of the Portraits of the children as 100 Year old Individuals -- these created by tearing construction paper to create the self-portraits.

When I first walked into their kindergarten pod..... the very first thing that greeted me was an amazing celebration of all things 'mathematic' -- relating to 100.

So here's what the finger-count looked like, with each student contributing one hand to the total.

Counting by 10's is not the only way to get to the total.

They also counted by 'fives' featuring furry feet!

There's so much more to share...... I guess this is going to be a three part series!!!!

Come back again tomorrow to see additional "100 Days" ideas.

Did you get to see yesterday's post?

• Part 1 in this mini-series.
• Part 3 in this mini-series of 100 Day Ideas.
• Last year's 100 Day Art projects

Whenever I work with children, even as young as kindergartners, I ALWAYS tell them: that my JOB is to have ideas and to write them down.

I even go so far as to tell them that I get PAID for having ideas that I have written down!!!

They are often ASTOUNDED by this thought! 

 I think that its so important for children to begin to realize that 'creativity' can be self-sustaining,

that having ideas adds to one's personal economy,

that sharing the Arts can provide income while contributing!

YES!!!! I have written and recorded a dittie -- just for the 100th day party! It's an Elvis-style bit of nonsense that includes a lot of counting by 5's and a grand finale of counting by 10's! It's on my fifth recording, "Debbie's Ditties 5: Jump, Jam and Jive."

***Therefore I have a Pinterest board for all things 100!
                         Click right here for those ideas!

Now to the 'secondly' part of today's post:

Well folks, in yet another leap of collaboration, today marks my entry into an ongoing Friday blog-hop, linky of bloggers from around the world --

dedicated to improving the lives of children through sharing, collaboration and cooperation.

Every Friday I will help 'host' this sharing of ideas.

Link your thoughts below for the wider world to 'see' what's going on from your perspective!!

This is my first time to enter into with this group.

I have a lot to learn!!!

I am so excited to grow with each of these opportunities.

100th Day EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

Reporting live from South Daytona, Florida.
LUV comin' to you in 'real' time!
This is where I was this morning! Photos downloaded on the same day! Whoohooo!!!

We just couldn't get the logistics to jive for my arrival on their 'exact' hundred-th day party, but my visit to my newest Florida friends coincided 'just' after all the hoopla for the big extravaganza -- in time for me to report live here, to anyone still awaiting their own celebration..... or anyone beginning to plan ahead for NEXT year: LOL.
[We can always improve our lesson plans for the future!]

100th Day Bulletin Board of 'Homework' Baggies Filled with 100 Items

Brilliant!!!

Just how brilliant is this?

Homework assignment:

Send home a sandwich baggy with every student.

Have said child return to school with baggie filled with 100 items!!!

This may not be the first time to ever use this idea............

but I would nominate this 100th Day Bulletin Board as one of the best displays,

OF ALL TIME!!!!!!

In the bags from home:

• silly bands
• cheetos
• black eyed peas
• crayons
• marshmellows
• cheerios
• noodles
• pennies
• paper clips
• goldfish crackers
• balloons
• macaroni

Think of all of the amazing discussions: 

Compare + Contrast!!! 

The kindergarten 'building' was ALIVE with ideas to convey the 100 concept. You'll have to come back tomorrow for some of their other awesome ideas. I took a TON of pictures, well actually 100+++!!!

Well one more b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l-l-y conveyed cooperative. You know how I LUV cooperation!!!! This does look like something I'd seen earlier on Pinterest. The teachers at South Daytona told me that they've really been inspired by the 'pins' of others. This heart is soooooooo well done.

100th Day Party in February! 100 Handprints in a Super Heart Bulletin Board!

Close-up of 100 Handprints for detail of Paint Application

Now please 'pin' these images to your hearts content -- I promised these 10 amazing kindergarten teachers that you would! Don't you just LUV seeing excellence in action? I know I do!!!


I know that you're proud of me for getting to my "author-school-visits" in plenty of time to document all of the amazing work I see from my travels. I've seriously got a TON of pictures to share with you -- or at least 100+++ -- so be sure to come back tomorrow!!!

• Here's the link to tomorrow's set of ideas. Part 2 in the series.
• Here's the link to the concluding set of this year's 100 Day ideas.
• Here's the link to last year's 100 day Art projects

****Have you noticed that I am c-r-e-e-p-i-n-g up on my 1000th FB Networked 'follower' count. That will be a party. I'll give you a freezer size bag and you put 1000 do-dahs inside to share: JK {just kidding!} I will have a party though, please help us get there!

YES!!!! I have written and recorded a dittie -- just for the 100th day party! It's an Elvis-style bit of nonsense that includes a lot of counting by 5's and a grand finale of counting by 10's! It's on my fifth recording, "Debbie's Ditties 5: Jump, Jam and Jive."

Therefore I have a Pinterest board for all things 100! Click right here for those ideas!

                                                              -- Debbie --

*Linked up over at Kindergarten Lifestyles.

The Power of the BOOK

The power of the book. The power of the printed word.
The power of the traditional format of pages bound together. Pages that can be turned, felt, touched -- even smelled. My bias. My predisposition. My upbringing. My world. My passion. My books. My work. My greatest delight!

Did you take a good look at that picture above? Did you look at the details? The engagement. The exploration. The pointing finger. The "I can't get close enough to these images, these words." The sheer JOY -- conveyed in the photograph. To me that's what it's all about. That's what books have always offered. The traditional picture book format. Slick glossy pages. Pages filled with color. Pages with words. ART UP CLOSE. LANGUAGE. LEARNING.
ART + WORDS TOGETHER! Behold the power!!

Captured here forever are young friends: one two years old and the other three. Neither particularly 'readers' (as in reading actual words) yet both immersed completely in the power of the book. Totally engrossed. Completely ready for 'reading' ahead. That's the power of the picture book. The foundation for all that is to come!

We had just spent a whirlwind morning together in Thibodaux Louisiana. 

Presentations with the children, mini-concerts if you will. Smiles. Dancing. Quilt illustrations. Lunch with the staff plus sharing. King Cake. All the bells and whistles.

These two wonder girlies stayed along during the staff luncheon and adult brainstorm session. Then they were rewarded with choosing one of my books to take home! We posed and smiled together. Proud mama-teacher. Proud Nana-teacher.

It was after the official 'posing' that the magic happened. We adults were all hugging and thanking one another and the girls went off by themselves and were left alone while we tall people said good-bye to one another. It was then that they were left to explore the uncharted territory between the covers of my books.

Just by chance I glimpsed over and was able to capture their innocent exploration for all time. I have a lot of 'favorite' photographs. This one is certain to be in my Hall of Fame of Favorites. Just goes to show that you can't script your favorite moments -- you just have to be available when they unfold. Quite a legacy indeed!

• What is your legacy?
• Where are you leaving finger-prints?
• Where will your impact be felt?
• What contribution are you able to make?

                               -- Debbie --

P.S. Thought I'd share their 'hand-print' poem that was being laminated in time for the grandparents day celebration yet to unfurl. True, true, true. Treasure each moment as it unfurls and be grateful.... fingerprints and all! After all -- that's how you know that you're leaving your 'mark' on the world!

Yup!! I linked this over to Kindergarten Lifestyle.... for Jeannie's "You Know You're a Teacher"