Cynthia Lord's Blog, page 25

Camden and Rockport

Here are a few more photos of my school visit to Camden-Rockport Elementary School.







Thank you to Media Specialist Debbie Meservey for these photos!

And since this was my last school visit of the year, after school I drove around Rockport. Then I climbed Mt. Battie to break in  my new hiking shoes.



Summer is here!

Camden, Maine

I had a wonderful day at Camden-Rockport Elementary School.  I shared Hot Rod Hamster with the kindergartners and first graders, spoke to one fourth grade, and then afterschool, I met with the kids' book group.



Debbie Meservey, the school media specialist, had brought a special snack to honor Touch Blue: two huge whoopie pies and chocolate-chip, cookie dough ice cream (Tess and Aaron's favorite flavors).

A wonderful fourth grader showed me the board game she had made for Rules.



Isn't this incredible? It's played like Monopoly but the goal is to have enough money to buy Jason a guitar. So first you have to earn enough money and then you have to land on one of the spaces that allows you to buy a guitar.

I also loved the tokens for the characters in the book, including Speech Woman, who is wearing a cape that says "Super Speech Woman" on it.



The fourth graders I spoke today had seen my blog, and they made a hamster mood icon, like I have on all my posts.



Me, too!  I had such a nice time at CRES, and I get to do it all again tomorrow!

My Last Days of School

Tomorrow I'm off to Camden-Rockport Elementary School in Camden, Maine for my two last days of school visits.



This is my second visit to CRES. Last year when I came, I was stunned to step inside to see all these fish. One year, every child painted a fish and they are all hanging in the lobby. When you stand beneath them, it looks like you are at the bottom of the ocean with a school of fish swimming and swirling above you.



The fish are lovely as a group and beautiful up close as individual fish.



Can't wait to be back!

Muffin and Cookie sharing a treat

We have a great farmer's market where I live. Today, there were cute, small heads of lettuce for sale, so I brought one back as a treat for my guinea pig and bunnies.



Cookie (the guinea pig) says, "Oh yes! It's good to support local farmers!"

Thank you, York Middle School!

I had a lovely day with the fifth graders at York Middle School yesterday. This is my SIXTH visit to YMS, and the staff there feel like family to me now. Rules is a core 5th-grade book, so I've come to visit the fifth grade each year.

This year the school was also having a marvelous Shakespeare Festival on the day I visited. So I had the chance to see a little of that and to have a special lunch. For fun, I asked some friends for help translating some rules into Shakespearean language for the kids to guess. Katherine Quimby Johnson did a fabulous job, and I just tweaked them a tiny bit.

Study nearer still, for careful eye marks beauty that is oft hid.

Put not thy childish playthings in yon piscean dwelling-place.

The bare legs fraternity 'tis naught to do with me.

I'll put the answers in the comments.

After my visit, I took a drive around York before coming home. York was chartered as a city in 1641. It is home to historic buildings, beautiful beaches, and the Cape Neddick Light (Nubble Light). It was a special day!



Ahhhh. 

Five Things on a Wednesday

1.  With all the rain we've had in Maine lately, my garden has really come to life. My husband took this photo of one of my bleeding hearts.

2.  I had a wonderful school visit at Northside Elementary School of the Arts yesterday in Rock Hill, South Carolina. All the students had written and published their own books. Before I spoke, students read their books aloud to each other. I walked around and listened. So I started off each session saying how impressed I was with them. "Writing is fun, but it's also work.  And sometimes it can feel scary to share our writing aloud with other people. I still find it hard to share sometimes. So I'm very proud of you."

3.  I'm coming to the end of my school year. I have two more visits in Maine in the next week, and then I have a summer of writing and family time ahead.

4.  My guinea pig and bunnies have been loving the dandelion greens and grass that spring brings. Cookie is my little lawnmower.



5.  I was so excited to see this photo of Mayor Hancock of Denver, Colorado reading Hot Rod Hamster to a group of kids.

Five Things on a Friday

1.  With all the rain we've had in Maine lately, my garden has really come to life. My husband took this photo of one of my bleeding hearts.

2.  I had a wonderful school visit at Northside Elementary School of the Arts yesterday in Rock Hill, South Carolina. All the students had written and published their own books. Before I spoke, students read their books aloud to each other. I walked around and listened. So I started off each session saying how impressed I was with them. "Writing is fun, but it's also work.  And sometimes it can feel scary to share our writing aloud with other people. I still find it hard to share sometimes. So I'm very proud of you."

3.  I'm coming to the end of my school year. I have two more visits in Maine in the next week, and then I have a summer of writing and family time ahead.

4.  My guinea pig and bunnies have been loving the dandelion greens and grass that spring brings. Cookie is my little lawnmower.



5.  I was so excited to see this photo of Mayor Hancock of Denver, Colorado reading Hot Rod Hamster to a group of kids.

A hot rod for a hamster? You'll need something small and fast!

Last week at one of my schools in South Carolina, the librarian held a contest for kids to make a car from recycled materials, just like Hot Rod Hamster does!

Look at the great cars the kids of AJ Whittenberg School created!

Hello from South Carolina!

   I'm back in beautiful Greenville, South Carolina for a series of school visits this week. In downtown Greenville, they have adorable little mouse statues around the downtown. When I was in Greenville in March, I bought a replica to bring home with me, and now he sits on my living room windowsill.

Here he is with the South Carolina Picture Book Award medal for Hot Rod Hamster.

Hanging Out to Dry

My husband took this photo in New Harbor, Maine of a lobsterman's newly-painted buoys drying. Buoys have to be repainted every year.