Sandra Markle's Blog, page 8

KICK THE BLUES--YOU CAN DO MAY!

 

KICK THE BLUES! RUN, SKIP, DANCE THROUGH MAY! 
What If You Had Animal Feet!? will help!
LET’S STOMP
Have each child choose his or her favorite animal feet. 

Choose some foot stomping music and have the children spread out at least an arm’s length apart. Then turn on the music and have kids dance where they’re standing. 

Remind them to dance as if they had their favorite animal feet. 

Afterwards, ask the children to tell how it was different to dance with that animal’s feet. 


FOOT SWAP


What if one day a rhino woke up with another animal's feet!? In fact, with kangaroo feet! What could a rhino do if it could hop like a kangaroo? How might a rhino have a problem living with kangaroo feet?
Now, imagine other foot swaps.
What would each of these animals do it could do before? What problem might it have?      *A Mountain Goat with Rhinoceros feet?
*A Cheetah with Kangaroo feet?
*A Barn Owl with Cheetah feet?
*A Giant African Millipede with Green Basilisk feet?
I hope this Foot Work makes you HOPPY!?

YOU CAN DO APRIL--REALLY!

Need ideas for fun this month? 

Here you go...

Don't miss that April 2nd is National Children’s Picture Book Day and to top that off April 16th is National Librarian Day and April 23rd is World Book Day. 
So, READ! READ! READ!


April 3: Pony Express started and the first mail delivery started from St. Joseph, MO in 1860.
Would you want to be a Pony Express rider? Read. Then decide.

April 11: Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play in major league baseball in 1947. Read two different biographies of this person. In your opinion, which is better? How do the books tell Jackie's story differently?




April 16: Aviation pioneer Wilbur Wright was born in Milville, IN, in 1867. Read about the man. Then start flying your own planes--that's straw airplanes.

Click to link to directions.



April 17: Celebrate Bat Day
Read my book The Case of the Vanishing Little Brown Bats (Millbrook/Lerner) to discover why bats are in trouble and why we need to help them.
Then follow the steps on this site to make an  origami bat.


April 18: Paul Revere and William Dawes made their "Midnight Ride" in 1775.
Read a really fun telling of this moment in history as shared by Paul Revere's horse.



The San Francisco earthquake and fire happened from April 18-21, 1906.
What was it like to survive this quake and fire? Here is one fictional story about it.




April 22: Arbor Day often observed on this date. First observed in Nebraska in 1872, by planting trees. This is one of my favorite new picture books about trees. If ever an acorn was lovable, it's this one!



The first Seeing Eye Dog was presented as a guide dog on this day in 1928. I have a WONDERFUL Guide Dog story coming October, 2021 in my new book ANIMALS to the RESCUE: Amazing True Stories from Around the World (Lerner). 

I can't share the cover yet but it's GREAT!

Enjoy a month of reading...You might even spot yourself in one of my books.

MAKING THE MOST OF MARCH--YOU'VE GOT THIS!

 While there are 31 days in March, some mark events so much fun they worth a little extra.

CHECK THESE OUT!

March 1: YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK was established by Congress in 1872. It became the first National Park in the US. But soon people became worried that the wolves living there were killing the deer. So, wolves were hunted until by 1926 no more remained in Yellowstone. That turned out to be a DISASTER! 
The deer herds grew so large they ate and ate all the plants they could find till there wasn't enough to eat--especially during the winter. Not only were the deer dying, the forest trees were struggling because the starving deer were eating the buds and bark, killing the trees. Finally, in 1995--almost 70 years later--people decided wolves needed to be reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park to restore the natural way the habitat functioned.  

Of the books I've written, one of my favorites is FAMILY PACK (Charlesbridge). It tells the true story of one very special wolf, Female #7, who was one of the first wolves released into Yellowstone. 
You see, those working on reintroducing the wolves believed they could capture wolves in Canada and put them together when they released them in Yellowstone to create packs. They knew wolves do best when they have other wolves to hunt with them. But Female #7 wanted no part of that! In fact, she went out on her own as soon as she was released into the park. And what happened next was AMAZING! HISTORIC! Enjoy this special story.


Read on your own or share my reading it.







March 7: NATIONAL CEREAL DAY  

What's your favorite kind cereal? Make a bar graph by asking that question of at least 20 people. And record the results.  Here are some fun cereal facts:
The cereal industry uses over 800 million pounds of sugar a yearThe average American consumes over 160 bowls of cereal a yearCheeriOats was the original name for CheeriosCorn Flakes was the first boxed cereal to offer a prize
We don't usually think of food as being an invention--but cereals were invented. 











March 13: EARMUFF DAY It really is. And time to thank Chester Greenwood for creating them in 1877. He called them "Champion Ear Protectors".

Now, it's your turn to create a really useful invention. Create an earmuff--face mask combination so people can stay healthy and have toasty warm ears on frosty March days. Draw a picture. Give it a name!

ONE MORE DAY TO CELEBRATE
March 29: EARTH HOUR was founded by the World Wide Fund for Nature in Sydney, Australia in 2007. The goal is to have people think about climate change by turning off all non-needed lights for one hour. But here's another way to celebrate on March 29th. 
Take time to appreciate all of Earth's oceans because climate change will hit them hard--in fact it already is. And that effects all the ocean animals from the surface to the deepest depths. Explore the different layers and investigate some of the animals living in each layer as I read to you... 

I'm Reading WAITING FOR ICE for International Polar Bear Day!

 

International Polar Bear Day on February 27, 2021 is a good time to stop and think about how global climate change is challenging these bears. They are the top of their food chain, big, strong and able to survive almost anything except ice melting.

This is a very special story based on a real story. So, after we share my reading of the story, meet the REAL star of WAITING FOR ICE.

NOT TOO LATE FOR FEBRUARY FUN!

 There's still time to make FEBRUARY FABULOUS!

February 15: SUSAN B. ANTHONY was born in 1820. Her work was key in gaining women the Right to Vote.

February 16: OPERATION SANDBLAST The submarine USS Triton left New London, CT beginning what became the world's first underwater circumnavigation of the earth. It took 84 days and covered 41,500 miles. It also followed, generally, the route of the first ever circumnavigation of the globe by Ferdinand Magellan from 1519-1522.


February 17: NATIONAL RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS DAY. Think of some way to be nice to someone else.


February 18: ALESSANDRO VOLTA was born in Italy in 1745. He invented the electric battery. It's become NATIONAL BATTERY DAY. List at least 10 things you use that's battery-powered.


February 19: PHONOGRAPH In 1878, Thomas Edison received a patent for inventing the phonograph, which could play recorded sounds. 

February 20: ANSEL ADAMS was born in 1902. His amazing photographs of nature encouraged people to want to conserve and protect nature. It's also LOVE YOUR PET DAY. *I have to share one of my favorite love your pet books.





February 21: WASHINGTON MONUMENT was completed in 1885. Work had begun 37 years earlier on July 4, 1848.

February 22: POPCORN While this may not be the exact date, it's believe February, 1630 was when Native American Quadequina introduced early colonists to popped corn. You may be shocked to learn popcorn was the original puffed breakfast cereal. Popcorn was also worn by the early Native Americans. Have kids pop up some jewelry too. After threading dental floss through a needle have them poke the needle through the thickest part of the popped kernel. String necklaces or bracelets. After wearing, hang outdoors for bird snacks. 

February 23: TOOTSIE ROLL This chocolate-flavored candy treat was first introduced to the world in New York City. It was the first individually wrapped penny candy in the US.


February 24: STEAM SHOVEL This machine was invented in 1838 by William Otis and patented on this day in 1839.


February 25: READ ACROSS AMERICA begins today! It ends on March 2nd, Dr. Seuss's birthday. So be sure and read a Dr. Seuss book out loud today. *Here's my favorite.













February 26: NATIONAL TELL A FAIRY TALE DAY. It really is! *Here's one of my favorites.











February 27: POLAR BEAR DAY It's the day to celebrate this amazing animal. *I have to share one of my own stories about a polar bear because it's about a real bear--a very special polar bear cub.


February 28: NATIONAL TOOTH FAIRY DAY *And what could be a better way to end the fun. I hope all the young readers enjoy my very first WHAT IF YOU HAD!? book. Ask children what kind of animal teeth they would like to have and let them imagine having them!


I hope your FEBRUARY is FABULOUS!

I READ MY BOOKS ALOUD!

 

Even Better Read Aloud!bySandra Markle
I won't let my book be just print on a page.I'll read it aloud--give each phrase a stage.
Because giving text sound is sure to work magic--Make it funnier, scarier, and way more dramatic!
A book shared between reader and listener is truly betterBecause every page, word by word, bonds them together.

I'M READING WHAT IF YOU COULD SNIFF LIKE A SHARK?

 

Ready to have fun?!

Then share my book WHAT IF YOU COULD SNIFF LIKE A SHARK? (published by Scholastic)

HERE WE GO...

I'm READING What If You Could Sniff Like a Shark!

 

Ready to have fun?!

Then share my book WHAT IF YOU COULD SNIFF LIKE A SHARK? (published by Scholastic)

HERE WE GO...

WATCH! WONDER! ACT!

 

Check out this AMAZING chance to watch elephants in action. Each little elephant symbol represents a real elephant living along the Ewaso Nyiro River in northern Kenya. 

The elephants--the real ones--are wearing satellite tracking collars as part of Dr. Lain Douglas-Hamilton's Save the Elephants study. The graphic just shows the elephants from late May through early June 2015. 

What an amazing chance to see real elephants moving around their range near the river. See them interacting with each other.

*After watching--what is 1 more thing you would like to find out about these elephants?

*After watching--what is 1 thing you learned about the way elephants move around where they live? 

*After watchinng--what is 1 way you could use what you discovered about the elephants to help keep them safe?

Click here to explore more...

WATCH! WONDER! ACTION!

 

Check out this AMAZING chance to watch elephants in action. Each little elephant symbol represents a real elephant living along the Ewaso Nyiro River in northern Kenya. 

The elephants--the real ones--are wearing satellite tracking collars as part of Dr. Lain Douglas-Hamilton's Save the Elephants study. The graphic just shows the elephants from late May through early June 2015. 

What an amazing chance to see real elephants moving around their range near the river. See them interacting with each other.

*After watching--what is 1 more thing you would like to find out about these elephants?

*After watching--what is 1 thing you learned about the way elephants move around where they live? 

*After watchinng--what is 1 way you could use what you discovered about the elephants to help keep them safe?

Click here to explore more...