What’s Happening

You Matter

Right now there are millions of people and their supporters using their voices to tell the world how much they matter.  They are using their voices for change and to make sure that everyone is treated fairly and equally.

Here is a story by author and illustrator, Christian Robinson, who reads his book, You Matter, in the video.  Listen carefully at the beginning of the video as he talks about why he wrote this book.

Christian Robinson has a series called “Making Space”.  In these videos he works in his making space to lead viewers in art projects and to talk about books.  This next video is about friendship.  Have fun and be creative!

 

Read Aloud with Mrs. Good – #6

Today marks the beginning of Pride Month and it is a time to celebrate love, acceptance, diversity, all types of families, and including others.  Pop over to my Read Aloud page to listen to me read the story, Mary Wears What She Wants.  This is the story of a young Mary Edwards Walker who lived in the 1800s.  She just wanted to wear what made her comfortable, but it was a difficult journey to be able to do so.  How would you feel if you were told you could only wear certain clothing and not allowed to wear others?  You can learn more about Mary and her efforts to wear what she wanted in this video.

Read Aloud with Mrs. Good – #5

Sometimes when we think about making art, we think of using materials like paper, paints, felts, and crayons.  But what about using materials found in nature?  Let’s on an outdoor art adventure in this week’s read aloud, Anywhere Artist.  After listening to me read the book, head outside and see what you can create using your imagination and the materials you find.

To help inspire you, here are some examples of the mandala art created by artist, James Brunt.  He uses materials such as rocks, leaves, and sticks to create circular works of art.

Source: thisiscolossal.com

Lately he has been using materials he finds around his house to create art when he has to stay at home, like us.  He used his mom’s button collection for this work of art!

Source: Twitter

 

 

 

Source: Twitter

 

And here he used screws.

 

 

When Fall comes, how about some leaf animal art?

Source: Twitter

The Ickabog

What is The Ickabog, you say?  Well, it is a new book by J.K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter!  While we are spending much of our time around home, she decided to dust off a fairytale that she had written specially for her own children.  On her website, she says that she went up to her attic to find the story, which she had placed up there several years earlier.  She spoke with her children about the parts they enjoyed the most and other ideas that they thought should be put back in.  J.K. Rowling is regularly posting chapters of The Ickabog on her website and will continue to do so until the book ends.  There are currently five chapters available.  This is an exciting way to experience her writing from home.  Click on the image to begin reading!

 

A is for Aviator and Airplane

“A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P…”

This is a song nearly all of us know very well and some authors use the alphabet as a way to create non-fiction books about a topic or subject.  Today we are going on a journey in the book, Alis the Aviator, written by Canadian author, Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail, to learn about many different types of planes.  The main character, Alis, is named after Dr. Alis Kennedy, one of the first Indigenous female pilots in Canada.  Not only is there much to learn about the history of flight, you can also learn about the art of cut paper with the book’s illustrator, Kalpna Patel.

As I learned about this book, I began to think about the alphabet photography art that I have in my home and have seen in different places.  The idea of this found art is to find items that look like letters of the alphabet.  I was inspired to try this by taking pictures of items around my home, in my backyard, and around my neighbourhood.  Here are some of the letters I discovered.  Which letters can you see?  Try exploring around your home and outside to see which letter shapes you can find, and take photographs of them.  Now we know our ABCs in a whole new way!

Virtual library – Intermediate edition

I’m always hoping to find something for everyone when it comes to reading.  If you are in Grades 4 to 7, then this virtual library display is for you!  There are new books which include novels and graphic novels available in ebook or audiobook options.  There’s even a video from Epic Squad author, Ted Staunton.  His book, Bounced, is a mystery novel and he has tips on how you can write mysteries too.  You may remember Mr. Staunton from his visit to our school last October, along with his co-authors, Kevin Sylvester and Richard Scrimger. Two of the books are creepy and perhaps scary, so please don’t let younger brothers and sisters listen to or read them. They can visit the virtual library with picture books on display.

So come on in, pick a book, relax, and enjoy!

 

Read Aloud with Mrs. Good – #4

Our fourth read aloud is to honour Asian Heritage month which takes place in May.  Hop on over to my Read Aloud page to watch and listen to me read Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang and illustrated by Canadian artist, Charlene Chua.

In this story, a young girl named Amy is determined to make the perfect bao just like her family members.  A story of family traditions and trying hard to reach a goal, you’ll be sure to find a connection in this book.  Can you think of a time where you had to try hard to achieve something?  Or a time when you didn’t give up on a task even though it was frustrating?  And finally, do you have a family recipe or cooking tradition that you enjoy?

Learn how to make the perfect bao just like Amy by watching a cooking video here.

Watch and listen to the book’s author, Kat Zhang, read her book here.

Happy Reading and Happy Cooking!

 

The Flight of the Hummingbird

Q’inti the Hummingbird is an Indigenous story traditionally told by the Quechan People of Peru.  Haida artist, Michael Nicoll Yahgulnanaas, created art for a book titled, The Little Hummingbird.  The Vancouver  Opera performs for audiences in theatres and also in schools.  They would usually visits schools to share their performance of The Flight of the Hummingbird, but cannot do so right now when theatres and schools are closed.  However, you can still watch their performance tomorrow, May 19th, on Youtube from the comfort of your own home!

All tell the story of a hummingbird who tirelessly works to protect her forest home and her animal friends from a wildfire.  Not every animal, however, believes that such a small creature can help with such a large problem.  What do you think people can learn from the story of the little hummingbird?

Use the choice board below to experience and explore the story of the little hummingbird in a variety of ways.