Red Clover Voting at EES

Vermont's children's choice award goes to James Solheim's BORN YESTERDAY.  More than 6,400 children voted for this book across the state, with more than 22,000 children participating in the voting.
Click here to view the book trailer.
















Titles                                     Votes
Art &Max                               27
Bink & Gollie                         24
Born Yesterday                     85
I Know Here                            3
Mirror Mirror                          19
Nabeel                                     6
Pig Parade                            22
Stand Straight Ella Kate        29
Who Stole Mona Lisa            19
Wonder Horse                     102

Campfire in the Learning Center ?!?

     How many of us love sitting around a campfire, gazing into the flames and listening to stories?  There’s a kind of peace that settles over all who sit within its ambiance.  For many it conjures up summer nights when bedtime is far away, crickets and katydids are playing their songs, the marshmallow bag is bottomless, and stars are glittering above.  Everyone becomes a skilled storyteller – there must be some kind of magic in its glow.

     But here in Vermont, in February, summer nights are only wispy pieces of dreams.  And winter is making us all a little cabin-crazy by now.  Our pitiful snowfall was just a tease this year.  So to brighten up our winter blues I had a week of “campfire in the library.”

  This is the third February I’ve held this event and it always generates a lot of amazement.  Children gather around the "fire.".  “Is it real?” some ask.  "How did I make it?" "Is that real wood?"  "Can we touch it?"  "Why am I doing this?"  Yes, the wood is real firewood, and that's the closest it gets to a true campfire.  I have used a string of lights with orange and red bulbs to simulate authentic color. Underneath the firewood pyramid sits a small fan that blows upwards on some strips of colored cellophane that are meant to mimic flickering flames.  I tell the children it's a real pretend campfire.  And with the lights off, it looks pretty close to real.  Real enough that the kids all hold out their hands as if to warm them.  And we have great fun pretending to roast marshmallows!  A great companion book is Kristine O'Connell George's Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems.

 I love to see the children enjoying the unexpected surprise of a campfire inside the school.  They’ve done their book shopping and have returned to the “fire” with their selections.  There they sit with their books and their peers in the warm glow of the fire.  This is what memories are made of; good feelings, happy times, and good friends.  Top it all off with a great book and a campfire!

Readers Become Judges

During the last couple of weeks our students have donned a new hat: they have become judges of the art of the picture book.  Over the next few weeks we will be reading the ten picture books that make up this year's Red Clover nominees.  The children will be noticing things such as how the illustrations match the story, how the illustrator uses the space on the pages, and the placement of text or even the absence of text on a page.  All of these elements are meant to work together to bring the story to life.                                                                                                                                                                       To start off, we discussed what an award is.  I showed the children the recent Caldecott winner, A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka, and another Caldecott winner from 2007, Flotsam by David Wiesner.  The children noticed that Flotsam had won both the Caldecott and the Red Clover awards. 

It seemed fitting to start with reading David Wiesner's Art & Max, a splendid story about an artist and a would-be artist and their discovery of the creative process. David Wiesner wields a lot of power in both his pen and brush and his imagination seems to know no bounds.

Students retell the story of Art & Max with puppets

The next book we explored was Who Stole Mona Lisa? by Ruthie Knapp and illustrated by Jill McElmurry.  Again, the children really enjoyed this book with its playful illustrations (particularly the moving eyes in the paintings!) and exciting drama; it's an interesting blend of nonfiction and imagination.  We followed up the reading with an exploration of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum.  For a close-up of the painting click here, and for an explanation of the painting click here.  We have discovered that one of our UVM student teachers has actually been to Paris to see the Mona Lisa!

In the very first week of April our children will make their final decisions and choose the one book that they think best deserves the Red Clover award.  Last year more than 24,000 Vermont children in grades K through 4 voted for their favorite book (Let's Do Nothing! by Tony Fucile).  Which book will win this April?  Stay tuned!

Naturalist Jim Arnosky Visits EES

     

Vermont author, illustrator and naturalist, Jim Arnosky, spoke to children at Essex Elementary School on Thursday, January 19th thanks to a grant from the district PTO.  The prolific author and illustrator of more than 125 books for children shared with the students his enduring passion for learning about the natural world, and the living organisms within it. 

Jim Arnosky sings a song about hawks riding the warm thermals in the sky

It’s been about 10 days since Jim and Deanna Arnosky visited our school and the children are still talking about it!  The children absolutely loved his songs, stories and drawings.  Mr. Arnosky played his guitar and sang songs from several of his books, such as Man Gave Names to All the Animals, I’m a Turkey, and Gobble It Up.  Each group heard dramatic retellings of stories that had really happened to him while he was out researching and observing for his next books.   Jim enthralled us with tales about raccoons and alligators, bears, mother and baby alligators, and manatees, keeping us laughing or in suspense until the end of each story.  Ask your children which stories they remember.

Jim Arnosky tells how the crocodile sneaks up on the raccoon

Mr. Arnosky exemplifies the attributes of a life-long learner.  His curiosity has propelled him to continue exploring and observing nature wherever he travels. His subjects range from manatees and the environmental hazards that threaten their existence to buffaloes on the prairies; from wildlife tracks to sea monsters; from sketching Great Blue herons on Lake Champlain to the wild ponies of Chincoteague.  His books seek to inform and inspire young readers to become stewards of our environment, with a message that is positive and engaging: keep wondering about the world around you, keep noticing, keep asking questions, keep looking for answers.  Such traits as these are precisely what the Essex Town School District outlines in its Ends Policies (1.2) for its students:  life-long learning involving critical, creative and innovative thinking, and working together to analyze and solve problems in our complex world.

Jim Arnosky to visit EES!

We are so fortunate on several counts.  One, that renowned Vermont naturalist and children's book author and illustrator, Jim Arnosky, will be visiting our school on January 19th.  And two, that we have a super-supportive PTO that is sponsoring this event.

Families will have an opportunity to purchase a selection of his books prior to the visit, and Mr. Arnosky has agreed to autograph after his presentations.  Phoenix Books, Essex's local bookstore, is working with us to provide the books.  We'll be sending home a letter this week with the details.


In the meantime, we are busy studying his books in the Learning Center.

Book Fair Bonanza

Our Book Fair in November was a huge success. Thank you to all who volunteered and shopped and attended our Family Fun event on the Saturday. We had tons of fun!

Miss Cherry gets ready for Saturday

A couple of readers blast off

Clifford love

Clifford gets chased!

Miss Cherry at the Galaxy fishing game.

Mrs. McKenna runs the refreshment table at our Family Fun Event.

Mrs. Heppner hosts a Galaxy Painting activity.

A Special Thai Visitor

Sawaddee Ka! The Essex Elementary School Learning Center has gone Thai! Our special guest educator, Thitima Muakphet, fondly known as Cherry, has been spending the fall months at EES. Cherry teaches 8th and 9th grade social studies in Samutprakarn,Thailand, but she will be spending the school year in our district.

Last week the children of EES had a very special treat. Each class entered the Learning Center to find the lights dimmed, beautiful Thai music playing softly, and Mrs. Scrimgeour, Mrs. Doble and Cherry dressed in festive Thai costumes.

The children were introduced to traditional Thai shadow-puppets, and then watched a shadow-puppet show of the story “Why Frog and Snake Never Play Together,” a pourquoi-style of tale that explains why something is the way it is.  

Cherry showed pictures of Thailand, including some of their important customs for children and their teachers. Each child received a small booklet on which she had written each child’s name in the Thai alphabet (which has 44 characters!). 

Children also learned to greet each other in Thai. Girls greet others by saying “Sawaddee Ka,” and boys return the greeting with “Sawaddee Krab.”

The children thoroughly enjoyed this cultural exchange. Thank you, Thitima Muakphet!  Kob Kun Ka, Cherry!