Turkey Centerpiece: Apple with Goodies

There are some days where my heart is so full I think I might just literally 
*POP* from such a feeling of well-being and joy. Today is that type of day multiplied about a gazilliondy-million times seven. 

What is it about seeing an apple festooned with cereal and candy corn that brings a grown adult woman to tears? I suppose one contributing factor is that this sculpture was created by my very own Little Red. [To those new around these parts -- that would be my grand-daughter, the carrot top.] 

At four-and-a-HALF she is already coming into her own. For real. She has her own sense of style and the fact that it echos my own delightful flair for unique combos-of-fashion makes my heart reverberate across the miles. 

The apple-as-turkey above is just a portion of my morning's Halmark commercial, parade of tear inducing emotional bliss + overwhelm. Truth be told I'm sending Allen out the door to obtain Dayquil. Nothing exotic, just all of those delightful symptoms from their commercial. Seems I've been gifted with germs from this last cross country series of flights.

At this minute I'm home-in-Florida, but less than 24 hours ago was the unfolding of what is my newest, favorite picture of all time. This was me hopped up on cough drops yesterday, with a library  filled,  packed, STUFFED with PreK peeps, Kinder Kiddos and mature first graders in SOUTHERN TEXAS, a few miles from the border. Doesn't it just make you smile?

If you've read here for very long at all, you might get the impression that I'm living a fairy tale existence. It's days like today that I believe it myself. How many angels does it take to orchestrate my visit to these amazing students in a truly amazing school, half-a-country away? 

Truth-be-told, there's oodles of strands of Ripley's Believe it or Not fortuitous flotsam and jetsam that are woven deftly for this visit to occur. Michelle Ayala of Kinder Fun fame has been working behind the scenes for months to orchestrate our day yesterday. We 'met' on Pinterest and then have become blogging buddies via Top Teachers. 

Where there's a will there's a way! We are now bonded to one another forEVER! She holds a very dear place in my scrapbook of incredible memories. Read here to see her impressions of our time together, narrated from her blog. 

I took several hundred photos yesterday and will be sharing those sights and inspiration over the coming year, when there's ample time to replicate their collective holiday excellence in your own program. There's so much to share. 

Michelle and I were able to orchestrate our day yesterday, because I was already way-down-south in Texas, presenting an all-day seminar in McAllen at Southern Texas College. And how did I get that invitation you ask? The lovely Veronica, director of their ECE program googled: "creative Arts" and located MOI!!! Yeah internet! You are responsible for this entire series of delights cascading. GRATITUDE. 

Second Grade Boys in Tennessee Reading "You're Wonderful" Together

Just off of the airplane last night and completely jet-lagged, I opened my email to receive this image of ubber mature second graders in Tennessee. This is the latest, again courtesy of yet another fellow blogger, Jenn of Best Practices for Teachers. She is bound and determined to teach me about using my picture books and songs as the backbone for 'shared reading' amid mature readers: LUV it! The fact that two mature boys are pouring over my picture book? PRICELESS!

Then this morning as I'm fishing around Facebook for several of the above images, I find yet another picture left for my heart. This photo is on my FB wall today, directly from California, via a fellow survivor of Breast Cancer. It is her own beloved wonder-peep, curled up with a good book. Thank you Helga. Thank you Alice. Yes. Folks. That's MY good book. Makes my heart melt. LITERALLY. 

So in less than 24 hours I have gratitude rippling in southern Texas, Tennessee, California and Ohio that I'm aware of.... while I'm in sunny Florida this morning. Maybe it's the cough drop fumes penetrating my heart? Pinch me, I'm literally living my dream. Thank you to all who have participated in inching my efforts further forward toward visibility in this great big world of ours. 

-- Debbie -- 

And to add a final footnote. While typing here I see that I have a new person who has just this moment purchased my song featured in all of these images above via instant download at TeachersPayTeachers.

This cyber footprint of mine is beginning to reverberate with greater impact! Oh happy day of gratitude. 

Quilted Thank You for "You're Wonderful"

It's FRIDAY!!! Ya got it! FINE MOTOR FRIDAY. 

Fine Motor Leads to Fine Arts. 

Welcome or WELCOME BACK!

This is part 36 of an ongoing weekly series.

Kindergarten Response to Picture Book, "You're Wonderful" (with Quilted Illustrations) 

Take a look at what just arrived  at my house!

It's a thank you quilt -- full of both: fine motor + fine art!

Here's a close-up of some kindergarten expression of thanks. 

I'm so fortunate to get to do so many things that bring me joy. Making visits to schools and sharing my work with school children is at the height of my list of "pinch-me-this-is-too-good-to-be-true."  

If you're new around here, I'm a "music-lady" and have written oodles of songs for children. Then I started turning my ditties into picture book format. Now I get to go where I get invited and share the whole adventure with classrooms and teachers. My illustrations are made from fabric into small, graphic quilts. Receiving a 'thank you quilt' is at the top of my list of gratitude.

This labor of love is from the children of Blue Heron Elementary in Colorado. The kindergartners have responded to my time in their midst by sharing a glimpse of their favorite aspect of our visit. The child above is a big fan of "Tall Giraffe" my second book. 

The more I looked at the quilt square writings, the more amazed I got over the details that the students included. 

Yup. That's me immortalized in my giraffe 'costume. 

By not just one artist-in-the-making, but two! 

The picture below is representative of the appreciation of my newest picture book, "Red, White and Blue." 

To see their impressions brought together in one quilt is an amazing act of generosity and support. It's brilliant to bring together the acts of reflection, writing and drawing into one project. Yeah brilliant teacher!

Author-Illustrator School Visit to Kindergarten in Colorado

I just received the following picture in an email from one of my favorite kinder-teachers. I'm so grateful for learning about PBL and how it relates to my work. Read her thoughts below.

Hillidard, OH Kindergarten Students Perform "Red, White and Blue" in Sign Language  as part of Project Based Learning Approach

Hi Debbie!

We are doing PBL (Project Based Learning) our first one was with our social studies standard of learning about our country's symbols - the flag, the pledge, and the National Anthem. One of the components of PBL is making it authentic and having a real audience or speaker. We decided to coincide ours with Veteran's Day and culminate it with a performance honoring our Veterans. Attached is a picture of my a.m. class singing and signing your "Red, White and Blue". There wasn't a dry eye in the room! It was a big hit. We taped it and I hope to have it on DVD so we can show you when you come.

OK. One more highlight of the week. Here's one more piece of writing that I received in my email this week. This is from the pencil of a second grader in Tennessee whose class is using my book in a 'shared reading' format, which is something else I need to grasp. Who knew? My books and songs for 'mature' readers. Gotta LUV opening my email! I have so much to learn! Special thanks to Jenn at Best Practices 4 Teaching for leading me in the direction of the promised land regarding my work as material for shared reading. 

"I heard these lyrics today and wanted to share them with you. I think you are wonderful." 

The great news beyond all of this admiration and support? All three of my picture-book-songs are now available in instant download format as Mp3's in zipped files over at Teachers Pay Teachers. Never heard any of them? I have a YouTube video of each song in the tab up-top. Come get your freebie.... follow my store and you'll see when I add new projects. 

Special thanks to all the teachers out there across this big country of ours who are using my materials and taking the time to send me feedback. We leave later this morning for my second-of-four trips to Texas! Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU! 

-- Debbie -- 

Archives, LUV, Support: Collaborative Quilt

AMAZING!!!!!!

INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!

SUPERLATIVE IN EVERY WAY!!!!!!!

Making my 'author/illustrator' visits to schools is such a THRILL!!!!!

Are you ready for the true confession part of today's installment?

This is so embarrassing...............

I can hardly bring myself to type this out............

Confession is good for the soul, right?

I've been 'home' in Ohio this past week.

Long story short daughter Sarah wanted my old sewing machine. 

This simple request required a visit to the basement dungeon of our former home. 

Once I swept back the cobwebs, I started rummaging around in basement boxes that hadn't seen the light of day in years and years and years. 

GLORRRRRRY BE!!!!!! 

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GREAT GOOGALA-MOOGALA!!!!

The great embarrassment is that I have no 'documentation' of which school showered me with this LUV.

I know that it had to be prior to the existence and birth of my blog.... nearly four year's old.

Had to be after I created my first picture book, "You're Wonderful."

Who's responsible for this amazing project? 

I have a glimmer of a guess.

Is it worse to guess and be wrong?

I did lovingly box it up all those years ago.

--Debbie--

Tenn IRA + Graphic Organizers

 

It's time to attempt to get caught up on the back-log of
so many experiences saved on my memory card.

Here I am in Murfreesboro, TN.

Just a couple weeks ago.

I had two workshop presentations for their International Reading Association.

We women-of-the-headwear posed to show our zip.

              These are some some of my workshop participants,
 caught in the act of participating!!
This is my first workshop:
"Lyrics to Literacy: Read a Song & Sing a Book"

Now back to the exhibit hall... wait till you see these!!!

The Foldables Exhibit was right around the corner from my booth in the exhibit hall. I never had a chance to speak with Dinah. Our presentations and exhibit times were apparently overlapping? I can tell you that her 'booth' was hopping, and I mean non-stop! Teachers were in a constant clamor and the flash-bulbs were poppin'!! BTW: Here's the direct link to Dinah's website... remember to tell her that I sent you!

I took the following pictures (from her TONS of examples) to honor my promise of providing more support to my readers. I know that these will bring new visitors from Pinterest! [Please become a 'follower' thru your fave avenue: FB Networked Blogs or Google Friends.]  I just knew these examples were going to spark all sorts of teacher imaginations. I think they speak for themselves. I took photos in an effort to share ideas for different age groups and grade levels. Which style will be your favorite?

 

These ideas are for the big kids!!!!

                                             Palindromes, INDEED!!!!

This would be an awesome possibility for an older student's first major book report! It would be so easy to 'adapt' these flap-categories to suit your needs depending on your grade level -- for older or younger students. There could also be more or fewer categories (flaps) as per the need of any given student or book summary. How clever to have the student's illustration continue from flap-to-flap!

Two thumbs up!!!

This pink foldable wins on so many levels. I can really 'see' this as a personal dictionary of sorts.... with new vocabulary words being added over time and complete with definitions! It would be fun to have the student add an illutration to their new entry.

I thought that the "Little Red Riding Hood" captured in the example below, could work especially well for my Kindergarten friends. Long term readers know that I'm all-about helping every learning style -- about every child getting the support they need to grasp information, subjects, new concepts. These 'foldables' offer all sorts of manipulative + kinestetic feedback and potential. Whoooohoooooo!

 
Teachers, these get your motors running, don't they?

 

I can envision creating a more 'permanent' fold-able in the style of the "Little Red Riding Hood" example and using post-it-notes to personalize subsequent books + stories to follow this same breakdown review. What a perfect way for sequential learning to be broken into smaller chunks for retention and review.

**Fast forward into the future!! 
I have a follow-up article with tons more of Dinah's foldables. CLICK HERE

***Further out into the future I was able to photograph actual student 'foldables' used to make reports on inventors in elementary school.  CLICK HERE

Student Inventor Reports as Foldables

Also in the future I write an article on organization in the classroom! 
CLICK HERE for that hugely popular photo-essay!

Dr. Danny Brassell's son creating a photo-dictionary of vocabulary.

Today over at our collaborative blog, Dr. Danny Brassell has an article on how parents can help support their children in their language acquisition -- building their vocabulary -- all in a help to support their child's future reading efforts. His article dove-tails nicely with these foldables. Which to me, are all also all about "doing-whatever-it-takes" to reach each student, each child. Click here to read Dr. Danny's thoughts, his article has that same mantra: whatever-it-takes. His is the type of article I think you'll want to copy for your files.

My second workshop was a big hit, literally!! I presented all of my 'big hits' -- my original songs for children -- perfect for "brain breaks" with even sophisticated, mature students.

Then back to the exhibit hall for some

more signing + personalizing of my picture books.

Click here to read the synopsis of my first picture book, "You're Wonderful" for which I am author + illustrator (plus publisher + composer -- as the book is based on my original song by the same name.) The post has some amazing student created artwork in response to my quilted illustrations, from my Author-in-the-Schools visits.

Consider these foldable inspiration ideas and Dr. Danny's article an early holiday gift. I know that you'll be pinning-the-dickens out of these photographs!! What an amazing resource we have in Pinterest. What an amazing resource we have in fellow bloggers!!

Now that you're home for some much needed vacation time, you can brainstorm all the possibilities of these 'foldables' combined with Dr. Danny's insight. I promise I'll be on the look-out for additional brilliance in my travels. Thanks for stopping through.

                                                                -- Debbie --

Yes!! I now have a shop of goodies. 

***I am now an "Amazon Associate" which means when you click through from my blog to do your shopping, you add a little cha-ching to my Retirement Account! I've gone window shopping for you and located oodles of resources for foldables and graphic organizers. ENJOY! 

I have added this post to the blog hop, link-up, on all things 'foldable' over at Corkboard Connections.

NAEYC Celebrations!!!!

It's a REDLEAF PRESS PARTY!!!!!

It's a "One, Two, What Can I Do?" Party!!!!

It's a HIGHLIGHTS HIGH FIVE PARTY!!!!

It's a get-interviewed-for-radio-telecast party!!!!

It's a BIG-APPLE Hug Fest Party!!!!

It's a Donna Wittmer & Dr. Alice Hong Hug Party!!!