FLIP BOOKS, TIMELINES, PERSONALITY BOTTLES & OVERALLS

For several years I've had the pleasure of speaking to all 4th graders in Alexander County Schools in North Carolina. Melinda Glenn and her magnificent team provide a wondrously nurturing time, not only for me,  but also for the students. I really love that about their program - the extra care they take to create a leisurely time for author-student interaction, snacks for the students, and some scrumptious lunch for me and the amazing volunteers who pull this off.  It's no small task to bus in kids, coordinate multiple events happening simultaneously, and keep everyone's needs met!

I get into several host schools over the course of two days.  And I really love seeing the Blue based projects I find there. These are from Spring 2013.

Flapbook with information about polio. Simple idea for breaking down and organizing information.

I really like their timeline which charted activity in BLUE.   And I realize I should probably create one of these for every novel I'm writing. 

I like that it shows the concentration of activity in summer when polio was always most troublesome.

After all, I can't blame all my pacing on an epidemic.

Tear Bottles or Personality Bottles are always popular activities for BLUE. 

 Sometimes kids decorate actual bottles.

 And sometimes they create them on paper.

 The bottles are a great way for them to reflect on who they are and to articulate their self-image to others.

  I think Alexander County is the only place I have seen this overall project which I really love.  Kids design a pair of overalls with images and information relevant to the story.

 I love that these are made out of actual denim.

And here's a whole clothesline of overalls.

I'm going back to Alexander County in a few months. Can't wait to see what I find this year.