Day 29 SoL Story Challenge: A Mash-Up

Join hundreds of students and teachers as we share stories every day in March!

You know that phenomenon where once you learn about something, you start to see it everywhere?  Well, a few years ago, it seemed like  everywhere I turned, "mash-ups" were coming up. I'm a fan of the show Glee, where mash-ups were in vogue on the show for a while, and maybe they still are. Friends kept posting mash-ups to their Facebook "walls," and even in my doctoral program courses colleagues were taking on the concept of the mash-up as a tool for researching student identity and culture.

Here's an example of a mash-up, in case you're not familiar. DJ Danger Mouse mixes The Beatles with Jay Z to create this mash-up:

Mash-ups are so interesting to me because they often bring together elements of style, culture, and identity that might at first seem disparate, but when juxtaposed or mixed, the common threads pop out. The Beatles are larger than life, Jay-Z is larger than life (if you're a New Yorker especially), and there's a demographic that is attracted to both. The mash-up demonstrates how some of the same people who love the Beatles can also love Jay-Z. I find it very cool.

Anyway, I hadn't thought about mash-ups in a while. Then, tonight Little L. did this:

Go Little L., mixin' it up. Why let the limitations of one genre get in your way, when you can mash them up into a Poem/Song/Story combined?

What I love about L.'s mashup is that she's included her classic go-to's for each genre. She starts with a poem that goes "I am a wish box…" Earlier this month L. made up a similar poem about a "hello box." I loved it so much, that she repeats variations of it often--in the car, at the dinner table, while playing...  Next she moves into ABC's… classic. Finally, a chipmunk story. If you've been following Little L. and I this month, then you know she loves a good chipmunk story. All in all, her mash-up does a nice job summarizing the recurrent themes in her body of work to date!

Day 11 SoL Story Challenge: Then And Now

Join hundreds of students and teachers as we challenge ourselves to write a story from our own lives every day for the month of March!

I've always thought that March and April are a great time of year for reflection. We've come so far since the start of the school year, but we still have plenty of school year left to go. We've made lots of progress toward our goals, and we still have time to do even more.

As readers, kids might look back on their book logs and surprise themselves with how many pages, chapters, and whole books they've completed so far this year. They might think back on favorite books or series, and make plans for how to keep that momentum going.

This is the time of year that kids might look in their own writing portfolios and really see the difference between that first published piece, and the piece that they publish now. They might also reflect on all the different kinds of writing they've learned to do, from small moments, to information books, to how-to books, to persuasive letters…and beyond.

Reflecting on our lives as readers and writers is important, not just so we can become stronger students in school--my hope is that kids can also learn to be reflective in life.

The past year and a half have brought my family many big changes. Several moves. A new house. We left behind ten years in bustling, busy, crazy New York City for the serenity and familiarity of our native Vermont. We've endured loss and illness. We've welcomed a new baby into our life. Our life has been both more peaceful and more tumultuous than ever.

Lately Little L. has been asking a lot about how thing used to be in Brooklyn. What was her old bedroom like? What was our old library like, and did the park have swings? When can we go visit?

She's beginning to forget our old life. But she wants to remember. She wants to hear stories about when she was a baby, and how we used to ride the subway, and how we used to walk Indigo instead of letting him out in the yard. We didn't have a yard and we lived in a big tall building. This is ancient, fascinating history to her.

It's amazing to me how much can change in a year, how much we can learn and grow in such a short amount of time.  Here is L., telling a story just about a year and a half ago, way back then.

…playing with his own ball. And then he was playing with his mom and dad’s ball. And that was playing with her ball. And they loved to play. THE END. And then they went of setting into the woods with Indie. And Indie paddled for a while. And then they were lost. And then, and at the VERY time when they went home, they had a new dog named Luckchuck. And Luckchuck loved… They, they got a new dog because Indie set off into the woods to somebody else’s house. And then they ran to their house, and ran to the house, and grabbed Indie. And Indie gave Luckchuck a big (slurp) juicy kiss. Luckchuck gave Indie a big juicy kiss (slurp). “And then…” And then Luckchuck and Indie were set off into the woods. And Lily and Grandma and Grandpa and Daddy and Mommy were set off into the woods to find Luckchuck and Indie. “And then what happens?” And then Luckchuck and Indie came scampering back to them. And then Luckchuck and Indie and Grandma and Grandpa and Daddy and Mommy scampered back home, all together and then they ran back inside. And then they were safe and sound, all back asleep. “The End.”

And here she is now.

Taking Our Tiny Scientist to the New York Aquarium

Yesterday we braved the pouring rain and howling wind and packed up Baby L and drove to the New York Aquarium. We brought along with all the books we could find about sea life, and read them on the way!



One great thing about this book...













...and this book....













are the audio recordings of the books on the CDs that come with them. We have four or five books from this series and all of them are equally as beautiful. Baby L, Daddy B, and I loved listening to the the CDs all the way to the aquarium, and we felt like experts on sea life by the time we arrived!

And then, one of the first things we saw when we got there...









He (or she?) looked just like the turtles in our book!

But Baby L's (and Mommy and Daddy's) FAVORITE thing of all at the aquarium was this guy:









I nearly bought a stuffed animal version of the walrus, but it was Baby L who said, "Put back!"(One of her favorite things to say these days--especially if it's a food she doesn't want to eat). I listened to her and I put back the toy walrus... we really do not need any more stuffed animals... but I kind of wish I had brought him home to cuddle with!

Song for a Happy Rainy Day

It's a rainy day here in Brooklyn. We haven't one in a while. It feels good!

If all of the raindrops

Were lemondrops and gumdrops

Oh what a rain that would be!

Standing outside with my mouth open wide,

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah

If all of the raindrops

Were lemondrops and gumdrops

Oh what a rain that would be!

If all of the snowflakes

Were candy bars and milk shakes

Oh what a snow that would be!

Standing outside with my mouth open wide,

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah

If all of the snowflakes

Were candy bars and milk shakes

Oh what a snow that would be!

If all of the sunbeams

Were bubblegum and ice cream

Oh what a sun that would be!

Standing outside with my mouth open wide,

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah

If all of the sunbeams

Were bubblegum and ice cream

Oh what a sun that would be!

Treehuggers

This morning the weather is BEAUTIFUL here in sunny Brooklyn, so Baby L and I went for an extra long walk with Indigo to enjoy the breeze and the sun. And on the way, L made a new discovery--TREES!

Every tree we passed was reason to stop, look up, wave to the branches, touch the bark, feel the leaves, and for Baby L, to say an approving, "Aaaah."

If hadn't been for L's coos, it would have been just a regular walk around the neighborhood, but she reminded me to stop and appreciate the trees. It's so easy to take them for granted, isn't it?

The next time you go for a walk in the park, a stroll down the block, or a hike on the trail, maybe you'll stop and appreciate the trees with your tiny readers. Talk about the height, the shapes of the leaves, the colors, and the names of the trees if you know them. Doing this gives your little ones experience with science, the outdoors, builds vocabulary, and models that trees and the environment are worth appreciating and thinking about.

Like they say, stop and smell the flowers-- and the trees too!

This New Mom Depends on Her Online Friends

I am one of those people who likes to be prepared for, well, everything. I am super-organized, to the point of being a bit obsessive. And I like to know EVERYTHING ahead of time.

When I was pregnant, I read tons of books, went to classes, researched online, talked with every mom I knew, and still I wasn't prepared for mommy-hood.

One of my most valuable resources is a local online listserv that I joined early on called Brooklyn Baby Hui, for moms like me in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. This is a place where I can post any question at all - about pregnancy, about childbirth, about parenting, health, baby gear, things to do in the neighborhood - anything! And the other gals in the neighborhood will do the best they can to share their experiences and point me to other resources. There are also tons of events and activities for new moms to attend. If you live in or near our 'hood, you should join it!

Before Baby L. was born I posted tons of questions on how to find a nanny in our neighborhood, and people sent me recommendations for actual nannies, not just vague suggestions. When I was having trouble breastfeeding, I found support from dozens of other moms who were either having the same problems, or had been through it before. When I wasn't sure what kind of stroller to buy, I was pointed in the right direction (I love my stroller!).

Now that L. is three months old, I find myself answering other people's questions for the first time -about pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding. A group of moms have figured out that I'm a reading teacher, and now people email me directly with questions about schools and their child's learning.

Maybe there's something like it in your neighborhood. If not, maybe you should start one! Google Groups or Yahoo Groups are easy places to start. You could always try one of the web resources that are less neighborhood specific, like Urban Baby, Baby Center or Parents Magazine Online.