PPBF: Ripples

It's almost April, dear reader, and that means Earth Day is approaching.

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My Earth Day Dad

It's Earth Day, so I'm celebrating nature.

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Earth Day Giveaway

Happy Earth Day 2021; whoooooo's celebrating with me?

Photo credit: Nancy Faust

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Look UP And Know

Happy Easter.

Today's worship service left me so incredibly emotional and raw.

 The music, the fanfare, the jubilation, the celebration. 

Words powerful enough to describe that experience escape me.

Instead, let me share about yesterday's mindful morning trek

to the Gruener farm, where wild dewberries made this

the prettiest {and tastiest} fence line around.

The bright sun warmed our skin as we braved the bramble

and came away blessed with lots of these tasty treasures. 

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You Are Never Alone

Happy Friday; how are things going for you today?

I got back late last night from a Character Strong training in CA;

check out this serene sight from my airplane window.
Isn't the shadow of my plane encircled by a rainbow glorious?

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PPBF: What Does It Mean To Be Green

Today I'm happy, because we're celebrating my Dad's 79th birthday. 

On Earth Day. 

So fitting for a farmer, who made his living off the land, right?

Today's PPBF is the perfect fit for Earth Day, too.

Title: What Does It Mean To Be Green?

Author: Rana DiOrio

Illustrator: Chris Blair

Publisher: Little Pickle Press

Date: March 15,  2010

Suitable for ages: 4-8

Themes: recycling, conservation, citizenship

Brief synopsis: This treasure trove offers lots of ideas that we

 {young and old alike!} can all use to go green and save our planet.

Opening page: What does it mean to be green?

Resources:  Sign up to download lesson plans for the book {here}.

Share this beautiful tribute song to the earth. 

Encourage students to upcycle something, like this, brought to me by a fifth grader. It's an empty tissue box that he filled with handwritten, heartfelt cheer-up notes, perfect, he said, for a counselor like me. And he was spot on! 

Download an Earth Day freebie from Denise at Sunny Days {here}.

Watch the book trailer on You Tube:

Let your students host a recycling campaign.

Our Student Council is collecting clean grocery bags this week.

Don't you love their handiwork that's hanging all over our school?

Or make a Go Green wall of fame, like this one spotted by the character cam in the second-grade hallway at the school next door.

Why I like this book: Its silly start and simple conservation suggestions hooked us; its adorable illustrations reeled us in.

Looking for green things like the frogs subtly placed on the pages sealed the deal. Actually, it took an observant kindergartener to point that last part out ... 

and oh, what fun we had going back through the pages once we realized that there were little green frogs hidden on most every page!

We started the lesson with Boris the bear, who told our young sponges that he was "green with envy" that they get to go to school at Westwood, his former school. That engaged them and got them laughing and thinking and ready to read. 
But first, a song.

If You're Green And You Know It

by Barbara Gruener

Sing to the tune of If you're happy and you know it. 

If you're green and you know it, plant a tree. {clap clap}

If you're green and you know it, plant a tree. {clap clap}

If you're green and you know it,

then the world will surely show it; 

if you're green and you know it, plant a tree. {clap clap}

After singing the first verse, let the students write the next verses by suggesting phrases to replace the lyrics plant a tree. 

We sang about four verses, then we read the book aloud before singing a few more verses, all sparked by the new ideas we gleaned from the book. Check it out and enjoy going green!

For other PPBF picks today, hop to Susanna's blog next.
While you're there, wish HER a blessed day as well.
{A little birdie told me it's her dad's special day, too!} 

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Earth Day 2015

First things first; April 22nd is my father's birthday. And every year, he shares it with Earth Day. It's a pretty good fit for a dairy farmer, someone who made his living off the land. Farmers have to be uber-responsible. I always tell my students that responsibility is all about choices and chores, and, believe me, 

there were a lot of chores on that farm. 

Now that he's semi-retired, Dad spends a lot of his time in his wood shop, crafting cool stuff. Here's a picture of the rain barrel that he and the boys worked together to make when he was here a few years back. He's really good at building things. And people.

Birthday blessings, Dad. Thank you for your strong example.

Today one of my littles asked, "What's Earth Day?" and it felt weird to try to explain that it's a day set aside for us to celebrate the Earth, 

because I could hear what was coming next. 

"Shouldn't every day be Earth Day?" Why yes, yes it should. 

Did you know that our responsibility pillar is colored green because of our responsibility to the earth? From the Character Counts! website: As in being solid or reliable, like an oak. 

And before I could even look for something Earth-Day-ish to post, look what found me. Click it to go to its source, the HeartMath Institute.

Harmony. 

My 2015 one little word. 

Being one with Mother Nature.

On Earth Day. And Every Day.

Oh, and we finished our state testing, so I'm ready to celebrate.

Birthday cake anyone?

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Touched By Her Thoughtfulness

 Today I'm super excited to share this list of picture books

that my friend Shawna posted to complement my book.

Click the graphic to check out her picks!

I've admired Shawna's work for a long time now,

and I am so touched by her thoughtfulness.

To return the favor, some ideas to show kindness to our earth,

backdropped by a shot that my character cam caught

as I was returning to Texas from Shawna's corner of the country 

on Southwest last week.

Here's to a super Saturday!

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Testing, Testing

Today I'm excited to wish my Father a happy birthday.
Birthday blessings, Dad!

I'd also like to wish you a happy Earth Day.
Click {here} for some creative ideas for being kind 
to the earth from my friend Jennifer at All Done Monkey.

I'll be spending the day monitoring

our state-mandated STAAR testing.

{I know, it's misspelled. Weird, right?}

I woke up in the middle of the night thinking that we could give our shining third-graders each a stress star (cut from a pool noodle) to celebrate successfully making it to - and crossing! - the finish line of their first official state testing session.

I figured we could attach a note that looks something like this:

Squeeze Me - I'm A

Smart Student,

           Trustworthy Test-Taker,

  And A                    

       Responsible Reader!

Sometimes the thought of testing

eight-year-olds keeps me awake at night.

Does your school do anything special

to help students skate through the rigor

of your state assessments?
How about to celebrate Earth Day?

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Mobilize The Earth

Click the image for an Earth Day Book Review.

Happy Earth Day!  This year's theme - Mobilize the Earth - intrigues me.  What do you think that means? And what do you think you can do to make that happen? It's also my dad's birthday today, he's turning 75, and I'm thinking about the rain barrel stand that he helped us make last time he visited us in Texas. My husband and he worked together to make a rain-water collection system that would effectively reuse the rain. Dad's a skilled carpenter, always willing to lend a helping hand and build or fix something. Finally, I'm thinking about the song I Refuse by Josh Wilson. It's become one of my favorite Christian Rock songs; I get SO happy when I hear that dulcimer in the intro. I've kind of adopted the song's powerful lyrics that coincidentally fit beautifully with Earth Day:  

I could choose not to move but I refuse!

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