The Curious Adventures of Sydney & Symon in: Water Wonders

Hello! I hope your week has been great so far!

The end of the college semester is here and I have tons of projects and exams to complete! Life is hectic, but it just means that I am one step closer to my goal of becoming an elementary teacher! YAY!

This week, I had no idea what to read, so I googled children's chapter books and found this gem! It is called The Curious Adventures of Sydney & Symon in: Water Wonders by Peter H. Reynolds. Based on the front cover of the book, I could quickly tell that it would most likely have something to do with science.

Two mice live with their father and mother in an apartment on the third floor. Their names are Sydney and Symon Starr. They are curious little mice and ask tons of questions! Sydney writes all of her questions down in her "Wonder Journal." At the beginning of the story, they discover that the flowers in their window flower bed are wilting. They had grown tall with all of the spring rain, but now they are wilting under the summer's humidity. The problem gets bigger! Their window will only open just a little bit, and it gets stuck often. They must come up with a solution in which their plants will get water, but they do not have to open their window frequently. Throughout this book, they take the reader on a step-by-step process of how to form a question/make an observation, gather evidence, form a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, report the results, and draw a conclusion. This book teaches students the scientific method in a creative way!

I think that this would be a great book to read before or during the scientific method unit. It teaches the S.T.E.A.M. way of learning. This book also discusses the various forms of water, so it would also be helpful in providing examples of the different states of water. One thing that I also like about this book is the fact that it provides several illustrations of the mice working their way through the scientific process, which makes it much more fun and interesting than just learning through the use of a textbook or worksheet. Also, this book provides a Spanish translation which could potentially be helpful to some ELL learners.

I like the idea of having students create their own Wonder Journals to jot down questions that they think of throughout the day pertaining the school. It would be a great way to keep a dialogue going between students and teachers, as well as the entire class. I highly recommend this book!

Thanks for reading my blog this week,

Ashton Schimmelpfennig

Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon

Hello, all! I hope you are doing well! Once again, it is Tuesday, so it is book blog post time.

This past weekend was Easter, so with the busyness of that, I did not get to read a ton, but I did get to enjoy most of the Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon book by Mary Pope Osborne. This is the fourth book of the series. Since a couple of my classmates and I have to present at a Young Author's Conference this weekend, I chose to read this book since this is what the theme of our station is going to be.

Magic Tree House books have always been some of my favorite chapter books. As a child, I remember reading these books as though they were candy! I still think that they are great books for elementary students because they not only take the reader on an adventure, but they also give them true facts to learn about history.

In this book, Jack and Annie start out in the tree house, just as usual, but this time, Annie spots a book opened up to a page with an island and a parrot. Annie expresses how she wishes to visit the beach, when BAM, a parrot appears in a tree next to their tree house. Then, they are transported to a tropical island where they spot a ship in the distance. Judging by the flag that is flying high from the ship, they conclude that it must be a pirate ship! Jack reads to Annie from his book that pirates used to rob Spanish ships in the Caribbean Sea, so they hurriedly run towards the tree house. OH NO! Jack remembers that he left his book on the island, so he quickly goes to retrieve it when pirates start chasing him! They catch him and demand to see what is inside of the tree house because the pirates believe that the gold treasure is hiding in there. The pirates hold Jack and Annie hostage on their ship until they agree to help them find the hidden treasure. I am going to stop there, and you will have to read the rest to discover what happens!

I love that Magic Tree House books incorporate both fact and fiction aspects. Not only does it show them the adventures that a book can take you on, but they are also learning true historical facts at the same time. Excerpts from these books would make a great minilesson over fact or fiction statements.

Until next time,

Ashton Schimmelpfennig

A Child's Garden of Verses

Hello, readers! I hope all is going well for you this week!

This past week has been rather hectic for me, as I have three lesson plans due during the same week! To say I am busy and a bit overwhelmed is an understatement, but I guess that is just a day in the life of an aspiring elementary teacher!

For this week's blog, I decided to venture into the world of poetry. I chose to read A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson. I did not read the entire book, but I chose a few poems from each section. Stevenson lets us into the side of his life that was sad and lonely, as he was ill during most of his childhood years; however, he also lets us in on his adventurous memories of childhood, which gives us a glimpse of a child's imagination. I am going to share two of my favorite poems that I read from this book and discuss them a bit.

"Whole Duty of Children"
A CHILD should always say what’s true
And speak when he is spoken to,
And behave mannerly at table:
At least as far as he is able.

Stevenson wrote this poem in the section of the book that pertained to the time that he was sick as a child. As a future teacher, I personally related this poem to children with disabilities. As a society, we set standards for children, adolescents, and adults. A child can only perform to his capabilities and should not be expected to perform to a standard that is not reasonable for them. Pertaining to this poem, a child should behave with manners and be respectful to others, but only to the extent that they are able to behave and be respectful. This can be directly related to the classroom, as children with disabilities need to be placed in an environment that is the least restrictive for them. This also applies to different grade levels as well, as we cannot expect a Kindergarten student to behave in the same manner has a fifth-grade student.

"Autumn Fires"
IN the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!
Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The gray smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!

Stevenson wrote this poem simply about the changing seasons. He mentions that during the summer, the flowers bloom, and in the fall, the bonfires blaze. I definitely associate these things with the two seasons discussed in this poem, and it flooded my mind with exciting memories of past summer and fall seasons. This poem mentions, "Sing a song of seasons! Something bright in all!" I interpreted this poem as a reminder that in each season of our life, whether good or bad, we can always find something positive to celebrate. Relating that idea back to the classroom, we can always find something positive in each student to praise them for. Yes, this can be difficult sometimes, but trying to find the good in the situation will always help it turn out for the better!

Though I am not a huge poetry fan, I did enjoy reading Stevenson's poems, and I would encourage you to check them out as well!

Have a great week,

Ashton