Spring Sprang Sprung

It's snowing as I type this, but spring did arrive last week. In a rare turn of events, it was also sunny that day. If you are reading this from pretty much anywhere in the South, you know how wacky our weather has been.

On February 25th, I was getting a hankering to see something besides all of this gray...it's in my hair, it's the color of my cat, it's in the sky, it's the carpet and walls of our classroom. Enough already.

Having not yet figured out my get rich quick scheme, my thoughts quickly turned to paint chips, yellow and orange ones. As my 2A class was enjoying their independent reading time, I got an idea. 

What if we write out the lyrics to "Here Comes the Sun" on paint chips and hang them somewhere in time for spring's arrival? I researched the lyrics to make sure that George Harrison was the only songwriter to credit. Guess what? February 25th was Mr. H's birthday. Well, that settled it. No turning back now.

When the kids were done with their 20 minutes of reading, I said, "I have this idea, and I think we should go through with it."

"Okay," said one male voice. The others listened enthusiastically...I think. I explained the whole alignment of the universe with the March 25 coinkydink, and they were on board. I split the song into lines. They wrote the lyrics on the paint chips. Our dear Mrs. Lassiter, also a George fan, laminated them for us. We punched holes and waited for the day.

Someone who looks a lot like me misremembered the solstice kick-off, but the display was up on the school's wheelchair ramp for the first full day of spring as the students arrived for another day of state testing. Ten bucks at Dollar Tree also got me a fistful of pinwheels, Elton John sunglasses for our tiny potted tree and three smiley face balloons. I know for a fact that at least two kids appreciated the effort, so it was all worth it.

We have packed up our paint chips and are ready to mail them to any location in the continental United States. You will need ribbon or yarn and a place to display them. We'd love to send them to you. 

Just ask. 

After all, who doesn't love this gem of a tune?

Wonder: A Blog Inside a Blog

Help Readers Love Reading: Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Thanks to my own middle skoo pal, Laura, I can share this ^ resource with you.   I have nothing to do with all of the hard work that went into this awesome site.   It's full of clips, links, songs and photos to help children visualize and understand the pop culture references in R.J. Palacio's Wonder.

What's Wonder all about?   Check out this book trailer:

Wonder has a broad appeal, and even though the main character is youngish, my 8th graders are enjoying his story right now.   When we talk about struggling readers, they are often open to a variety of stories, if you will provide the support they need to get through them.

I've been alternating my read-alouds with the book on CD.   So far we've only gotten through two parts, meaning two voices.   I'm not crazy about the voices that we're chosen to narrate, but sometimes my throat needs a break.   Now, I can use the resources this wonderful teacher has assembled to help kids get some of the references that are made in the book, most often by Auggie.   A good reader visualizes without thinking twice.   Others could use a little assistance.

Today we used paint chips to copy September's precept from the book.   Each child wrote on two paint chips.   They will hang one in a public spot.   My friends will help out by hanging the others.

What's September's precept?

"When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind." (Dr. Wayne Dyer)

(For the record, I am well aware that I could also use a little personal growth, so I'm keeping one of the less legible tags for myownself.)

Long after I was out of paint chips for our Random Acts of Inspiration, people still wanted to participate, so those folks are at the top of my list this go round.

Isn't it good to be reminded every now and then that we are all wonders of creation?

Squared

Yesterday in inquiry block, we read the amazing true story of Henry "Box" Brown's journey to freedom.   He was a slave who worked with tobacco in Richmond.   Once his family was sold and sent to another state, Brown decided to make a wooden box and ship himself to Philly with the help of two friends.   That's the short version.

Read this book to find out the details.   

It's illustrated by Kadir Nelson. 

I first fell for Nelson's warm style when I bought a copy of Ellington is not a Street because the cover had a beautiful girl in braids holding a 78.   It's like everything he paints is smooched by the sunlight.

See?

But let me tell you about the craft we did today.   Thanks to Pinterest, I decided to bring in paint chips and have my students make small boxes.   One chip for the lid, one for the box.   Easy enough, right?   And free!

Well, the first set of directions I found were not in English, and the computer translator was no help.

I found another set of directions that seemed straightforward and headed to Lowes for more chips.

Yeah.   I was so prepared by the time IB rolled around, so prepared that I should have known better.   My paint chips were smaller than the pattern suggested, and we weren't too skilled at immediately reducing the box to lid ratio.  

Who among us can do such precise math in the 15 minutes before lunch anyway?   

I showed the kids the main idea behind creating the box...where to cut vs. where to fold and then we estimated the size of our matching lids.   Some of us did pretty well.   And others of us, ahem, had lopsided marshmallow looking creations.   In spite of it all, many of the kids gave it their best shots.  

We ended up with enough oddly shaped containers to have a wedding shower for Barbie -n- Ken and offer them endless colors and sizes in casserole dishes, litter boxes and trash cans.  

And that's all I have to say about that.

Random Acts of Inspiration/ Time to Diversify

Thanks to my amazing Facebook friends, paint chips inscribed with inspirational messages have been placed from sea to shining sea.   And there are still more chips yet to be revealed.

Here's the tag I placed at the Scottsboro, Alabama Home Depot.   It was penned by a student who made her way into my classroom from a meandering life path for sure.

There were many stellar, thoughtful photographic offerings from the volunteers who found our small town tags homes in the big wide world.   Thanks to all of the hands that set this project into motion.

People have contemplated taking on similar projects with their own dear children.   When it comes to being kind, there aren't too many bad ideas out there.

Perhaps some of the younger kids would like to participate in this guerrilla-style undertaking.   Pinterest pointed me to a page that has a few free doodled sayings that you can download as coloring sheets.

Does this mean you have to be in the crowd that likes to eat paste, demands shoestring assistance, insists upon extending bedtime deadlines and exudes 24-7 cute-as-a-buttonness?   No, everyone should grab your favorite colors and make something purty.   I'm partial to this one.   If you don't see one that fits your plan, design one your ownself.

Random Acts of Inspiration/In the Beginning...

It's the last week of school, so I'm trying to be reasonable about what I ask kids to do in class and what I'm willing to grade.   Last Friday, we reminded ourselves of Where the Wild Things Are before sketching ourselves as Wild Things, cutting out our mini-portraits and gluing them in a group to form a massive Rumpus.   We also wrote vignettes about our earlier Wild Thing selves.

It's my opinion that opportunities for art and kindness should be integrated into the curriculum whenever possible.   I never feel like I do enough of the latter, so I wanted to think of something small and cheap that could turn into something big and priceless.   And, yes, it would involve paint chips.

To replicate this activity you will need one paint chip per child, a single hole punch, ball point pens, yarn, scissors and patience.   To add a little drama, you will need some super awesome Facebook friends, a camera, stamps and envelopes.

Here come the baby steps.   Have kids get out a spare piece of paper for a rough draft.   They should imagine opening a fortune cookie and reading an uplifting message that makes them have a positive outlook on their lives.   What would that one sentence say?   Come up with four rough ideas.   Star one.   Craft it into perfection.

Once they think they've got it going on, they should show it to you for approval.   You may need to help and redirect them at this point.   Mark their sentence with a highlighter when it's a final draft.

When they get the official okay from you, they should pick out a paint chip, punch a hole, tie a piece of yarn and write their message.

Option A:   Allow students to take their own messages and hang them somewhere out in the world for someone else to find.

Option Awesomer:   After school, create a Facebook event.   Invite your friends.   People who choose to "attend" can send you their snail mail address and receive a paint chip in the mail.   They must agree to hang the inspirational message, post a photo on the event page with a brief message of the where and why to their location choice.   The next day, have kids write the return address on the envelope as well as a thank you message on the back of the envelope.   Kids then select a pre-approved tag and attach a sticky note, "This chip was handpicked for you by (student's first name)'".   Unsealed envelopes should be placed in a box.   After looking inside the envelopes to make sure that all is well, have a "responsible" student seal the envelopes and another one put the stamps in the corner.   Send yet another child to the school's mailbox.   Include them in as many ways as you can; they should feel like they are in control of something good.

Students know what I'm planning to do with their work, and they know that any extra chips will be delivered on my road trip to the Delta.   (And, no, they are absolutely not my Facebook friends until they graduate high school, friend me first and I know at least one of their parents.)

Here's what my friends and my students have in common.   They're all willing to give a potentially good idea a chance.   I never confuse the two groups, but I sure do appreciate their shared sense of daring.

Keep your eyes peeled.   My buddies have all summer long to get the job done.   Wanna play along?   The next time you are in Lowes, grab a stack of paint chips and commence with some guerrilla inspiration.

Deck the Room with Paint Chip Garlands

You know how much I love paint chips.   They are beautiful, inspiring, plentiful and free.   I've already told you about Paint Chip Poetry.   Let's make something festive for the classroom.   How about some mini all-about-me collages to string into garlands?

Swing by Lowes for the Valspar paint chips that come with three colors and three squares cut from the bottom edge.   Haul out your Magazine Mountain.   Get the scissors, glue and twine or ribbon.

Here's the tricky part.   Students will need to keep their chips color side up but with the three holes along the top of their collage.   This is where the twine will go to string the art.   Someone in each class will probably assemble his upside down.   It happens.

My preference is for the collage to contain words and images and not extend up to the top third of the chip.   I like to see a little bit of the colors they chose. and I need room to thread the collages.   Also, no ratty edges from magazine pictures extending over the side of the chip, please.   Names can go on the back, since it's easy to flip the chip and see what's what.

This is a great beginning or end of year activity.   It's also a relaxing respite from a week of state testing.   Teens need the opportunity to express themselves...and see themselves in their learning spaces.

Paint Chip Poetry

I have to confess that I have always loved standing in the middle of those paint chip displays at hardware stores.   It's like being inside a no-maintenance flower garden.   And Lowe's sometimes opens at 6 A.M. on weekdays.   Let's say you wake up after a rough night without a lesson plan.   Swing by Lowe's.   I've got you covered.

Some of the chips come in a single color, some have several variations of a similar hue.   Take the number of students you teach and offer twice the number of paint chips for their selection.   They are free.   Just be polite about it.

To tell you the truth, my paint chips are still in the console of my truck because I kept forgetting to bring them inside to use.   I have a plan for the coming year though.   Simply writing while being inspired by a color may be a little too unstructured for eighth graders, so I think I'll make a pattern for poets to follow for those who choose to use it.

I should probably tell you now that I am not a huge fan of rhyming poetry generated by 8th graders.   Every now and then my best writers will surprise me with something artfully crafted, but most often finding a rhyme blows the whole point of careful word choice.   A desperate rhyme jolts the reader out of the poem.

Colors evoke memories.   This is a good activity in teaching tone, specifically nostalgic tone, and sensory imagery.   Pick one paint chip that reminds you of a person, place or object from your childhood.   (For writing purposes, I consider an 8th grader's childhood to be 5th grade or earlier.)  

Arrange the chips in groups of blues, greens, yellows, oranges, etc. and allow the writers to choose their own colors.   Students usually choose happy memories, so their tone easily translates into nostalgia.   If some children want to write about a negative memory, give him that opportunity.   It's a great moment when those memories are ready to have a voice.

Here's a general idea for the structure of the poem, but please modify it to make it work for you.   I also included a rough sample of something that I could have written as an eighth grader.   When I model writing for students, I try to choose from the topics that I would have had on-hand at their age.

[Paint color's name] is the color of __________________
I remember __________________
and how it felt to__________________
I can still hear__________________
I can still see __________________
I miss__________________
[Paint color's name] is the color of __________________

Summer Sigh is the color of July
I remember mint chocolate chip birthday cake
and how it felt to be able to invite everyone I knew
I can still hear my mom wondering aloud if we had left anyone out
I can still see my dad showing off the severed thumb trick...again
I miss my grandparents gathered around the picnic table waiting for my wish
Summer Sigh is the color of days melting away

With your writers' permission, it would be fun to post the colors and poems around the room for their classmates to enjoy. 

I've also seen paint chips turned into simple bookmarks.   Just punch a hole and add some ribbon.   Thread a bead, but only if you are feeling fancy.