Welcome to Paula's Primary Classroom! This blog is where I share ideas for teaching and learning with families, friends and other early childhood educators. Please don't use the photos or text of this blog without permission, but please do use any ideas you find useful. Thank you for stopping by!

Monday, February 17, 2020

A Whale of a Good Story Time

I've talked about polar bears, penguins, and other polar animals in the last few weeks, so it's time to break out the whale books!
A round up of favorite whale books for children, from Paula's Primary Classroom

Sure, I have a couple of old favorites: Baby Beluga is and always will be a winner, whether you read it or sing it or both, and Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale is still a hit with the kiddos, but I recently found some new favorites too!

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog.  All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.

 

Breathe  What a lovely book!  The illustrations are gorgeous, and the spare text tells everything it needs to with only a few words.  When I read this aloud the children were fascinated - and calm.  I read it at a slow pace, taking a few moments to savor the words and pictures of different arctic animals on each page, and found the whole room taking a moment to breathe and slow down with me.  This beauty would be wonderful as a calm down story in a hyped up classroom - haven't we all found ourselves needing to take a few deep breaths and calm the room? - and it is perfect for a snuggle up bedtime read aloud.  I will definitely be reading Breathe again!


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1442412585/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paulabeckerma-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1442412585&linkId=5708d6d5d19bd2f0aeaeace2a99e14c5

Following Papa's Song is my other new favorite! The illustrations absolutely glow, and like Breathe, there are just enough words on each page.  The children were hanging on to every word by the end of the story, waiting for little whale to follow papa's song and find his daddy.  Without making a point of it, this book surely taught my little ones that whales migrate and sing to communicate, while celebrating the close relationship between parent and child.  I don't think I'd read this one as a bedtime story because I did have one child quite worried that little whale was lost, but for the classroom or library story time it's a winner!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017WQDZ7E/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paulabeckerma-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B017WQDZ7E&linkId=db07be8e7a012564da6b17aa0b2e50f2

Here are a few more whale books that I've enjoyed reading with children.  The Gift is a little longer, more suited to early elementary grades - or at least to children with a longer attention span.  Barbara Lavallee's illustrations are gorgeous as always, and the story feels like poetry.

The Whale's Song tells the story of Lilly doing what her grandmother used to do, and waiting at the end of the pier for whales to come.  Again, this book feels like poetry.  I would read it with kindergarten and first graders, and it too would make a lovely bedtime story, sending animal loving little ones off to sleep thinking about meeting a whale.

The Snail and the Whale almost made the cut for story time, but with time for only 3 books, I left it out this time.  Snail and whale reminds me of Aesop's Lion and the Mouse - you might think there's nothing something so little could do to help something so big, but you'd be wrong. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081180447X/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paulabeckerma-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=081180447X&linkId=ad3264fce71283686c415807e8aa56dc   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0803709722/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paulabeckerma-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0803709722&linkId=4de55128e9226c22c1acb375204effe1 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142405809/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paulabeckerma-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0142405809&linkId=d6bf0759cce5b3256fdb40d2e92665ae

Don't forget I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean when you're looking at whale books!  Sure, the focus is on a giant squid, but look where he ends up!  Yup, your kiddos will definitely remember that the squid is NOT the biggest thing in the ocean after reading this one!  I blogged here about an activity my students enjoyed with this book, and created an ocean themed measurement center that can be used with it too.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Activities-for-the-book-Im-The-Biggest-Thing-in-the-Ocean-math-science-craft-2811307

Finally, another book that I almost chose for story time: The Whale In My Swimming Pool.  This one will appeal to children (because sure, they imagine things like this all the time!), and parents (because we know our children imagine things like this all the time)!  There's a surprise ending, which I won't spoil - you should go grab a copy and check it out for yourself!

I hope you enjoyed this round up of whale books!  Is there something you'd like me to blog about, or a book topic you're looking for?  Let me know, maybe I'll write about it next! 

Happy reading!
Paula

Friday, February 14, 2020

Teacher Things We Love Giveaway

Happy Valentines Day!  There are many things that make teacher's hearts pitter pat: watching the light bulbs go off in our students' heads, drinking our coffee while it's still hot, long lunches (you know, like more than 10 minutes)... and then there's these things!


 To say "THANK YOU!" to teachers everywhere, I'm participating in giving away ALL these fun resources to one lucky teacher!  Scroll down to enter!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Prize: Things We LOVE prize pack including: Mr. Sketch Markers, Flair Markers, Personal Laminator, Dry Erase Pockets, Dry Erase Markers, Astrobrights Paper, Ticonderoga Pencils, and a $50 Teachers pay Teachers gift card.

Giveaway Organized by: Kelly Malloy (An Apple for the Teacher)

Co-hosts: An Apple for the Teacher, A Plus Kids, Smart 2 Heart Creations, TheBeezyTeacher, Teach & Play with Mrs J, Pint Size Learners, Star Kids, Think Grow Giggle, It's Kinder Time, The Fun Factory, The Chocolate Teacher, Kelly McCown, Leah Popinski, Mickey's Place, The Literacy Garden, Little Owl's Teacher Treats, Priscilla Woodard - Tasked 2 Teach, Right Down the Middle with Andrea, Sugar Cube Learning, Paula's Primary Classroom, and The Froggy Factory.

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter to enter. Giveaway ends 2/21/20 and is open worldwide.

Are you a Teacher Blogger or Teachers pay Teachers seller who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your store and social media? Click here to find out how you can join our totally awesome group of bloggers!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Polar animals: beyond penguins and polar bears

Sure, we all love penguins and polar bears - they're adorable, exotic, kids love them, and they make it so easy to include science learning along with reading, writing and math.  So why doesn't every child learn about moose... mooses?... could that be the hold up right there?  What about lemmings and fur seals and narwhals, oh my?


This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog.  All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.


I talked about Pebble books from Capstone Press a couple of weeks ago, and have to mention them again.  Life in a Polar Region is beautiful, with full size up close photos of many polar animals, and simple but meaningful text. If you're teaching about non-fiction books you'll appreciate that it includes a table of contents, index, glossary and even on-line resource recommendations, but even if you skip over those text features, you and your children will get a lot out of this book!

Where's Walrus and Penguin is a fun book for younger children who'll love looking closely at the illustrations (there aren't any words) to discover how walrus and penguin blend in.  I see a lot of opportunity to talk about the pictures, and a fun read together session!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0545402956/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paulabeckerma-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0545402956&linkId=49b9a16e51193aadd13f2032eac63464

To add a walrus and a few other fun polar animals to your math learning - because really, why wouldn't you - check out these Polar Animal Tangrams.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2D-Shapes-Center-Polar-Animal-Tangram-puzzles-3595614


Every child ever has probably dealt with a sibling or friend copying them to be annoying, so Don't Copy Me!, with a puffin as lead character, will have wide appeal.  I wish this one had been around when my children were going through this stage - I would have enjoyed it even more than them!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1910126187/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paulabeckerma-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1910126187&linkId=53eec35246ab352e4a065d3ed2f2e0db 


 Then there's the moose books!  I don't know about you, but I had no idea how HUGE moose can be until I did some research for a moose themed story time!  They can be almost 7 feet tall at the shoulder, with antlers extending even further.  It's little wonder that Ernest the Moose Who Doesn't Fit  doesn't fit into this book!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1529021170/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paulabeckerma-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1529021170&linkId=ce8d708d346868463a1489dbd7e937e1

So surely it must be easy to find a moose?  Not in Looking for a Moose ! There's evidence of moose on every page - if you know what to look for, but on a first read children seldom notice them.  This book invites a second reading, and maybe a third one too... so you know that makes my teacher heart happy!

While we're looking at moose books, we have to include Margie Palatini's Moosekito and Mooseltoe.  This slightly goofy moose.... okay, this very silly moose... runs into all kinds of problems, but with ingenuity and moose know-how he gets through it all.  I love Palatini's humorous style, and if your children can sit through a slightly longer story, they will too.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0439330408/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paulabeckerma-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0439330408&linkId=bf65fc70e1d6731ec07a4878fded3417

I read Mooseltoe to a group in December, and we all had a lot of fun making our own moose antlers covered in Christmas bits and bobs.  I raided my old Christmas decorations and wrapping supplies, added a few red, white and green craft supplies, and we went to town!  F. U. N!



Read the Book, Lemmings! is adorable!  First, it has lemmings.  Second, they jump off everything.  Even though lemmings don't really.  Which you'll learn, if you just read the book!  Trust me on this one, your students are going to laugh, say "Oh no!", and ask you to read it again.  What more could we ask of a book?!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031634348X/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paulabeckerma-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=031634348X&linkId=faa42c5ca9a9ef8292c1185fef3de4e1

Want more lemmings?  I created this Arctic Animal Measurement math center to practice non-standard units of measure during our polar animal unit - and what could be more non-standard to measure with than lemmings?!  It's available for download in my TeachersPayTeachers store, along with many other polar learning activities!


Mama, Do You Love Me? is an oldie, but a goodie.  Children will learn a little bit about many different Arctic animals in this book, along with native culture and Inuit words.  It's a beautiful book for mommies and little ones to snuggle up and read together, and the message is universal. 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811821315/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paulabeckerma-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0811821315&linkId=090a72d9cff7dbea015e611a9309a2d1

Finally, I'm including Narwhal Unicorn of the Sea - even though it's a graphic novel better suited for early elementary rather than preschool / kindergarten - because it's so awesome to have books about narwhals! Children love the dynamic duo of Narwhal and Jellyfish, the graphic novel encourages children who might not otherwise read, and each book includes "sea worthy" facts.  Check one out at your library!