Authors – Page 3 – MOOSE TRACKS

Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed your Family Day weekend! I wanted to let you know about an upcoming event for the whole school- I READ CANADIAN DAY. We will be celebrating this as our AR Term 2 Celebration on Friday Feb. 26. This will involve:

outdoor events- bonfires, snacks, and snow sculpture competitions

indoor events – reading books about Canada or by Canadian authors, Canadian trivia and virtual field trips

and THEMED DRESS for the day! You and your children can start planning what they will wear that day to fit the Canadian theme. They can wear red and white Canadian colours, or dress as a famous Canadian, dress as a Canadian author, etc. I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!

On that note, I want to feature a Canadian author today- Jon Klassen.

I have been putting together a master list of research websites for students that I think are the most helpful or of the best quality. There are many out there but these are the best that I have found so far. I will feature the rest of my list next week. Feel free to bookmark this post or these sites for when your child has a school project or assignment to work on , or if they just want to use these sites for fun!

The Canadian Encyclopedia: Home

Especially helpful for older students.

https://school.eb.com/ – This is the Britannica database – our school has a subscription. Email me (see ‘contact Mrs. B’ at top of page) for the username and password.

Encyclopedia Britannica Logo

https://www.dkfindout.com/

Great for primary grade students.

https://www.factmonster.com/

Frank - FactMonster

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

So much to explore here!

Image result for kids national geographic

https://www.kiddle.co/

Safe virtual search engine for kids.

https://wonderopolis.org/

Anything you’ve ever wondered about… find out here!

Apps and websites, Authors, Building Belonging- diversity, Events, Social-Emotional, Uncategorized

The Snowy Day, More Reading Resources, and Recent Read-Alouds

January 11, 2021 mrsbinthelibrary1

Hello HHCS! I thought I’d start off this week’s blog post with the children’s book that I most associate with winter and snow – The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats- a classic book loved by many. (Although we don’t really have that much snow at the moment- but I hear we’re getting some more next week!)

Have a look at this interview with the author of A Poem for Peter- a book that tells about Ezra Jack Keats and his best-loved character, Peter- from The Snowy Day.

Enjoy some more snowy read-alouds:

Our public library is a very valuable resource for you right now! Got a library card? Then you’re all set to go – sign out audiobooks and e-books on your library’s website! Even if you don’t have a library card, you can now sign up for one via email or phone! You will be able to access Audiobookcloud, Cloudlibrary, Overdrive, etc. The Tumblebook library is an online collection for young readers of over 600 titles and reading levels from grades 3-8.

https://odmc.overdrive.com/ Ontario Download Centre – overdrive- ebooks

Libby is an app where you can borrow e-books and audiobooks using your library card:

https://www.overdrive.com/apps/libby/?utm_origin=lightning&utm_page_genre=tout&utm_list=meet_libby&utm_content=libby_tout_learnmore_06019018

Hoopla is through the public library as well and is a digital service that allows you to borrow movies, music, audiobooks, ebooks, and tv shows to borrow. There is no waiting at all when using Hoopla- you can stream or download immediately.

https://www.hoopladigital.com/

This past week I have been hosting Zoom read-alouds, available for all families from the school to drop in at 3:20. You can find the link and information on Sycamore or in the list of links that your child’s homeroom teacher will have emailed to you. I look forward to seeing you this coming week- I will be there every day during distance learning from Monday to Friday! This past week we read some great books. Mrs. Bonvanie loaned me her copy of Maybe God is Like that Too- a beautiful book about seeing God and the fruit of the spirit everywhere we go.

Goodreads.com

We had fun reading the latest book by Jory John (author of The Bad Seed, The Good Egg, and The Cool Bean)- The Couch Potato! I love the social-emotional themes of these books, and of course I love that they are hilarious!

Goodreads.com

The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be- a beautifully illustrated book with a beautiful message- written by Joanna Gaines- what a treasure! This book reminds us that our diversity and different interests and talents make the world a better place.

Happy reading!

Apps and websites, Authors, Uncategorized

Reading Resources- Ways to Keep Your Kids Reading During Covid-19

January 4, 2021 mrsbinthelibrary1

Happy New Year HHCS! Since we will be doing school from home for the next little bit, I wanted to give you some resources in case you might be running out of reading material at home!

First of all, I wanted to mention that students can be doing their AR (Accelerated Reader) tests from home! This can be a good way to keep them on track with their reading. Go to the link http://global-zone08.renaissance-go.com/welcomeportal/1068. If you have any difficulties then email your child’s homeroom teacher. Let’s keep working on those Term 2 goals for AR!

Next, many of the homeroom teachers at HHCS have a class code for their students to use Epic. Even if the teachers are not currently using it, families can sign up for free for the first month. It features books, learning videos, and quizzes. It has fiction and non-fiction, graphic novels, biographies, STEM and DIY books, the list goes on! Some of the books even have the “read to me” feature to be able to hear the audio. If you haven’t used this already at home, please do, you’ll be glad you did!

http://getepic.com

Several homeroom teachers also use Raz Kids for reading support with their students. This would be a great time to catch up on some reading here!

http://www.raz-kids.com/

Next, you can scroll through my blog for previous posts, some of which will have online resources that can be accessed from home. Click on this previous post about how the public library can help you! Curbside pickup is still available, and read for more information as well!

Public Library Resources, Reading and Writing Gifts for Kids, and Bookmark Contest Results

Lastly, there are many online read-alouds on YouTube. Here are a few good quality ones for you to enjoy!

Ryan and Craig are hilarious and have a big selection to choose from:

Some favourite and fun authors:

Storyline Online is so fun- celebrities reading aloud!

I’d love to have some comments from anyone who reads my posts! Please share- what have your kids been reading lately? Have a good week HHCS!

Authors, Christmas, Uncategorized, Vintage

Vintage Christmas Books and Special Christmas Books for the Family

December 6, 2020November 23, 2021 mrsbinthelibrary1

I love vintage children’s books and I have a collection at home. I thought I’d share a few of my vintage Christmas books! A couple are from my childhood but most I have found at used book sales. Does anyone else have any vintage books at home? I’d love to hear about them!

You may already know about the Jesus Storybook Bible- one of my favourite Bible storybooks ever! This year I am excited that The Jesus Storybook Christmas Collection has been released. This “interactive story, sound, and song” experience features 10 buttons Christmas music or narration to go with each section.

http://www.sallylloyd-jones.com/

The Wonder of the Christmas Gift by Ann Voskamp is another special book for the family. Each day of Advent you will read a story that is paired with an ornament to hang on the pop-up tree.

http://annvoskamp.com/

It’s time for some HHCS moose facts! Have you ever wondered about the similarities and differences between moose and reindeer? CBC Kids is here to help!

Apps and websites, Authors, Building Belonging- diversity, Social-Emotional, Uncategorized

Anti-Bullying, and Just Ask! Book

November 23, 2020November 23, 2020 mrsbinthelibrary1

This week I am featuring some articles and book lists on the topic of anti-bullying. I invite you to take a look and find a book to read and discuss with your children!

A Mighty Girl is an amazing source of reading-related information for everyone. Take a look at the article titled “The End of Bullying Begins with Me” for some helpful books to share with your children, tweens, and teens.

The End of Bullying Begins With Me: 18 Bullying Prevention Books for Young Children

Doing Good Together has an article about “Picture Books About Bullies, Bystanders, and Being Kind.”

A Growing List of Picture Books about Bullies, Bystanders, and Being Kind – Doing Good Together™

Check out this article from Scholastic, focused just on tweens and teens:

Books About Bullying for Middle Schoolers

This week I featured the book “Just Ask”, written by Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, in lessons in some of the classes that I teach. This book is amazing! It is written in a matter of fact, age appropriate way for children to learn a little bit about some of the differences that some people have, such as diabetes, asthma, autism, down syndrome, dyslexia, ADHD, nut allergies, blindness, and deafness. Sotomayor compares the differences that people have being just like the different flowers in a garden. Rather than making assumptions or avoiding people with differences, the author encourages children to just ask their questions in a polite and friendly way. What a great book to help our children be more accepting and understanding of each other! I love the tagline at the bottom of the book too- “Be different, be brave, be you”!

Source: Commonsensemedia.org

Moose information of the week: The main predators of moose are wolves and bears.

Enjoy the new snow everyone!

Authors, Building Belonging- diversity, Uncategorized

Learning Disabilities Month, and Author Spotlight on Eric Walters

October 5, 2020October 12, 2020 mrsbinthelibrary1

Hello HHCS! October is Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia Awareness Month. I hope you will try out some of these books with your children! It is important for children to see themselves reflected in literature as well as to look out into the world and learn something new about other people or places. Whether learning disabilities are something your family is very familiar with, or a subject that is new for your kids, some of these books would be great to use as either a “mirror” to reflect themselves or a “window” to look out and learn something. Check out the link at http://imaginationsoup.net for more.

Best Children’s Books With Characters Who Have Learning Differences (Disabilities)

Imaginationsoup.net

Author spotlight: Eric Walters.

Canadian author Eric Walters has written over 100 books for young readers ,middle grade readers, and young adults. I introduced his book “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”, written about a group of students during the Covid pandemic, to several of the classes I teach at school. I also showed them a video interview with Eric Walters and talked about his impressive catalogue of books that he has written. Check out his work at https://ericwalters.net.