Penguin Power and A Winner!

Today's post begins with the Great Joy Giveaway winner . . . drum roll please . . . 

Kim at Finding JOY in 6th Grade! Using the Gruener Generator, Joshua pulled her name from the hat; here he is holding the card he made after she reflected about the things that bring her Great JOY:

  

1) Watching the grin spread on the face of a child who just "got it" and now understands a concept
2) "Real" hugs... tight, squeezy hugs that come from the heart
3) The choir at my church... goosebumps too!
4) Visits from former students who come back to the classroom years after graduation and walk in and say, "Everything looks just the same... only smaller!"
5) Comments on my blog (I know, I should be beyond that, but it still makes me happy!) AND
6) Visiting the Corner early in the morning and finding that Barbara has already posted!

Thanks, Kim.  You have the gift of encouragement and now you, too, will have Great Joy! I'll be in touch today to get your address so I can get that book on its way to you in CA.  Thank you to everyone who entered; your reflections brought me Great JOY!

If you're looking for a penguin book, some activity suggestions and an engaging video clip about a real-life pet penguin in Japan, waddle over to PreK and K Sharing to read my guest post there today. There you'll find lots of penguin power based on the book My Penguin Osbert by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel. 

Here's a bonus idea: Have your students find a rock that they can paint to look like a penguin (or any other animal). My son did this one when he was in the fifth grade and it's one of my treasured keepsakes from his intermediate years. 

Oh, and Jennifer over at Herding Kats in Kindergarten (who also LOVES Osbert and even has the Osbert plush toy - insert envy here!) put together this AmAzInG Osbert packet that you can download here for free!