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Please visit this site for more information, including how and when to vote for your favorite book.

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It's time for kids to vote for their favorite books!

Kids may vote online, through their school librarians, or at their public library. The deadline for voting is April 22.

Kids read or listen to at least 5 of the Picture Book Nominees, then vote - HERE.
(If you still need to checkout the nominees, please go to the 2022 Picture Book Nominees tab.)

Kids read or listen to at least 3 of the Junior Book Nominees, then vote - HERE.
(If you still need to checkout the nominees, please go to the 2022 Junior Book Nominees tab.)

Please remember we are also accepting nominations for next year's awards. Kids should use THIS FORM or go to the tab at the top of the page to submit their favorites.

Librarians/Teachers: please submit the votes you collected from your students/patrons using the Librarian Vote Tally Form located on the Librarian/Teacher Resource page

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It's time for kids to vote for their favorite books! Kids may vote online, through their school librarians, or at their public library. The deadline for voting is April 22. Kids read or listen to at least 5 of the Picture Book Nominees, then vote - HERE.

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New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2019.

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This books tells the story of how one young girl becomes a composer because of an unexpected illness, the actions of others and a little bit of luck. It also reminds readers of  the unseen people and steps necessary to make things happen.  

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This books tells the story of how one young girl becomes a composer because of an unexpected illness, the actions of others and a little bit of luck. It also reminds readers of  the unseen people and steps necessary to make things happen.  

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Login to teachers pay teachers for a great FREE composition activity.

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Login to teachers pay teachers for a great FREE composition activity.

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TeachersPayTeachers.com -- 2,500,000+ free and priced teaching resources created by teachers for instant download including lesson plans, interactive notebooks, unit plans, novel studies, worksheets, printables, PowerPoint Presentations, quizzes, exams, task cards, workbooks, projects and more. Join over 8 million teachers on the web's most vibrant collaborative exchange.

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This book would be a great introduction to the collaborative composer research project for 4th graders at Bethany --- scroll to "Music Research" on the Bethany Elementary Destiny page. 

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This book would be a great introduction to the collaborative composer research project for 4th graders at Bethany --- scroll to "Music Research" on the Bethany Elementary Destiny page. 

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How to Make 52 Homemade Musical Instruments

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Learn how to make improvised musical instruments-including flutes, shakers, tambourines, bongos, guitars, and maracas-with these 52 homemade and kid-friendly craft tutorials.

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BECAUSE | Inspiring Kids Books Read Aloud

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The Story of the Story of Because | Mo Willems and Amber Ren

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New York: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2018.

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This is a story of a little dog looking for a home. He writes letters to perspective owners in hopes of finding someone to love him.

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Early Elementary Letter Writing Resource

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Early Elementary Letter Writing Resource

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Teaching kids how to write stories and non-fiction texts is very important. For some kids, especially reluctant learners, writing is one of the last things they want to do. Writing letters can actually motivate them like no other because of the interest level involved.

And it can be FUN to learn how to write a letter as well with this free printable! The free download link is at the end of this post. Click on the teal, oval button.

*This post contains affiliate links.

Teaching Kids How to Write a Letter

Both boys have had birthdays recently and we've been working on writing some thank you letters during some of our writing time. While my 3rd grader already has letter writing under his belt (mostly), I pulled out a printable I used as a classroom teacher and NJoy {Kindergarten} and I worked on how to write a letter together.

We talked about the parts of a friendly letter together, as he glued on the labels. Doing the cutting and gluing of labels kept him actively listening and participating in the lesson, something that he struggles with at times.

This teddy bear graphic organizer stays in a spot where my boys can see it to help them format their letters each time they need to write one. My oldest son keeps his in his writer's notebook.

More Writing Resources:

Follow This Reading Mama's board Writing Ideas for Kids on Pinterest.

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Teaching Kids How to Write a Letter {free printable}

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Teaching kids how to write stories and non-fiction texts is very important. For some kids, especially reluctant learners, writing is one of the last things they want to do. Writing letters can actually motivate them like no other because of the interest level involved.

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Letter writing can be fun, help children learn to compose written text, and provide handwriting practice - and letters are valuable keepsakes. This guide was written for England's "Write a Letter Week" and contains activities to help children ages 5-9 put pen to paper and make someone's day with a handwritten letter.

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ELA program for grades 3-4 about the art of letter writing

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Invite a speaker from the local animal shelter.

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Invite a speaker from the local animal shelter.

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Then consider making cat and dog toys or gathering donations to present to the speaker.

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No matter what age your students are, learning how more than 6 million animals end up in shelters across the country every year-and why they face an uncertain future-can lead students to make lifesaving decisions in the future. Whether it's talking to their parents about adopting only from shelters and rescues (and never buying any animal from a pet store or breeder) or volunteering to walk, groom, or play with a lonely dog or cat, every student can be a hero for animals in shelters.

Teaching kids why they should care about others and make kinder choices to reduce suffering is an invaluable lesson that can help your students realize their place in your community and our world. Empower them with these fun activities:

Make (and Deliver) Gifts

What can you make with pieces of old fabric, catnip, and yarn? Catnip toys that cats adore! You probably already have most of these items in your spare closet or junk drawer at home, and you can pick up catnip on the cheap online or at your local pet-supply store (just avoid Petco, PetSmart, and any other store that sells live animals).

DIY dog treats are also easy to make and can help students learn math, measuring, and home economics skills. Have your class whip up some heart-shaped doggy biscuits with an inexpensive cookie cutter (you can find them at any craft store). We love these three-ingredient treats.

There are also many DIY dog toys that are a snap to make-like these braided toys made of old T-shirts. The best part? Dogs in animal shelters will be grateful for every single second of work, and they'll show it!

When you're done DIY-ing it up in class, deliver the treats or toys yourself or do it as a class-and be sure to snap lots of photos of the animals as they enjoy the goods. Post the photos in the classroom to keep your students thinking about what they've done to make the world a kinder place.

Tell Your City to Make a BIG Change

Have high school students who are eager to make a difference for animals? The most effective way to help homeless animals is to prevent them -and asking your city to enact a mandatory spay and neuter law is a great way to do that.

Explain the importance of spaying and neutering, check out the current legislation in your area, and work with your students to draft letters to local decisionmakers. Here's an to working on lifesaving legislation.

Need more guidance? TeachKind is here to help! Just e-mail us at [email protected] .

Hold a Blanket Drive

These are popular around the holidays, but shouldn't every day be a day of giving? Your students can play Santa any day of the year by providing vulnerable animals with warmth and comfort. The world can always use a little more of those. And this activity is really easy-all you need is a box. Then have your students ask their parents for old T-shirts, blankets, or towels to donate to your local open-admission animal shelter (a shelter that accepts every animal and never turns animals away for lack of space).

Be sure to lead by example by donating a few old things of your own to get started.

Take a Field Trip

After using TeachKind's lesson plans focusing on adopting and never buying companion animals as well as the importance of taking proper care of them, contact your local open-admission shelter and try to set up a trip for your students to visit it.

This may seem like a sad lesson, but it's an important one. Seeing the animals firsthand can make a lifelong impression on your students. When their family decides to add a new cat or dog or when they graduate from college and get their first apartment, they'll think about the animals they saw in the shelter and be more likely to make the compassionate choice and adopt a homeless cat or dog instead of buying one from a pet store or breeder.

This is one school lesson that can truly save lives.

Host an Animal Shelter Worker

Most kids care about animals-and they want to help them. We bet you have more than one student who wants to be a veterinarian or a marine biologist, and teaching them how to help animals in their own community is a great first step.

Shelter workers do more than just play with cute dogs and cats-they work on socializing animals who come from abusive situations, counsel guardians on how to take better care of their companions, screen potential adopters, coordinate fundraisers, and more. Younger students will love hearing about how to be better friends to cats, dogs, and other animals, and older students can learn about the importance of cruelty case investigations, humane laws, open-door policies, spaying and neutering, and more.

Extra Credit

Work with your local animal shelter to get your students trained to volunteer (each shelter has different requirements, so be sure to check in advance), and then offer students extra credit for volunteering throughout the school year. Giving awards such as "Hero for Homeless Cats" or "I'm a Dog's Best Friend" is a great incentive, too, and can get your kids excited to make a difference.

Have some teacher friends who may be interested in these ideas?

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6 Ways Your Class Can Help Homeless Animals | PETA

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No matter what age your students are, learning how more than 6 million animals end up in shelters across the country every year-and why they face an uncertain future-can lead students to make lifesaving decisions in the future.

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Humane Education Lesson Plans for Grades 3-5

The Michigan Humane Society continually strives to be a leader in teaching humane values to students of all ages. In an effort to assist humane educators, we have made available standards-aligned lesson plans, reviewed by the Michigan Board of Education. Lesson plans may be downloaded for free in an easy-to-follow manner for teachers or youth groups. Lessons may be used for a full week of instruction focusing on humane values, spread throughout a month, or used as a theme.

Lesson 1: Understanding Animal Shelters
Lesson 1 Overview
Help These Animals Find Homes - ( Spanish) - ( Arabic)

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Education Lesson Plans for Grades 3-5 - Michigan Humane Society

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The Michigan Humane Society continually strives to be a leader in teaching humane values to students of all ages. In an effort to assist humane educators, we have made available standards-aligned lesson plans, reviewed by the Michigan Board of Education. Lesson plans may be downloaded for free in an easy-to-follow manner for teachers or youth groups.

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Read Aloud by Stories on the Go With Mr. O

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Read Aloud by Stories on the Go With Mr. O

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Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019.

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This book tells the true story of how crayola crayons were invented and named. Edwin Binney's wife, who was once a schoolteacher, encourages her husband to create crayons so kids around the country can express themselves in color.

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Read Out Loud | THE CRAYON MAN - The TRUE STORY OF THE INVENTION OF CRAYOLA CRAYONS

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Can you imagine days without crayons? Ever since these artistic tools were introduced in 1903, children have used them creatively. This versatile art material has become a staple on school supply lists and kids look forward to a new box each year. Teachers are finding new ways to create lessons with crayons across the curriculum. Here are a few ideas to try in your classroom.

Before I begin, teachers need to check out Crayola's website, not only for products but for lesson plan ideas in their Education Section.

Crayons Are Used in Literacy

It's best to start your theme unit by reading books about how crayons are made. A few titles found in libraries and online:

From Wax to Crayon by Robin Nelson

How Is A Crayon Made? By Grace Hansen

The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons by Natascha Biebow

Then for fun, read stories that use crayons as characters in fictional books.

How the Crayons Saved the Unicorn by Monica Sweeney

The Crayon Box That Talked by Shane Derolf

Ritchie and His Crayons by Shobana Gomes

After reading about crayons, engage your students in creative writing. Give the kids some story starters and ask them to write a work of fiction or an essay depending on the child's choice of titles. Here are a few ideas:

1. I like the color _____ because...

2. Imagine a world without crayons...

3. If I could invent a new crayon color...

4. One day my crayons began to talk...

5. (Color word) makes me feel...

6. The Runaway Crayon

7. Crayon Man to the Rescue!

Crayons in Art

Your students are familiar with crayons for drawing and coloring tools, but crayons are fun to use in different ways. Here are a few to try.
Crayon Rocks

1. Have the kids look for smooth, flat rocks either on walks at home or with the class on a nature walk.

2. With a toaster oven in the classroom, heat the rocks for about 15-20 minutes at 200 degrees. Carefully remove the rocks with oven mitts. Invite the child to paint wax on the hot stone with the tips of crayons. Colors will mix and create an ombre design. This craft is best for older children who can be mindful of the hot stones and use extreme caution not to burn hands and fingers.

3. Let the stones dry thoroughly. These can be used as paperweights for gifts or hidden for others to find in parks or towns who participate in the "painted rocks around town event".

For more information about this craft
Crayon Penny Spinner
This colorful craft is fun to make and the children will have a spinning top toy. Your students can observe physics and motion. Discuss how this top spins.

1. Cut a circle from heavy cardboard. Mine is about 5 inches in diameter. Also cut the same size circle from white cardstock or heavy-duty construction paper.

2. Engage the kids in coloring. Let them create a color wheel or spiral design on the white paper. Glue this onto the cardboard circle.

3. Make a small slit and insert a penny. Make sure the penny is secure inside the slit, so make the slit tiny.

4. Spin the top on the floor and observe how the colors blend or the spirals circulate.

For more information about this craft, click here. Crayon Sandpaper Tee Shirt

1. Provide each child with a half-sheet of fine sandpaper.

2. Instruct them to draw a picture or design of their choice on the sandpaper. Make sure they press hard with the crayons. The more saturated the colors, the better the results.

3. An adult can now transfer the sandpaper design to a clean, white tee shirt. Place the sandpaper face down onto the shirt. Cover the sandpaper with a sheet of parchment paper first to protect the iron from any crayon wax. Iron the parchment/sandpaper to the shirt using a dry, cotton setting. Carefully lift the sandpaper to see a transfer of the picture onto the shirt.

For more information about this craft

Math Lessons With Crayons

Crayons can be used in a variety of math activities. Have the kids create patterns using colors (or color families) of crayons. Use the AABAAB (red, red, blue, red, red, blue) pattern or ABBCABBC or dream up some new ideas.

Crayons can be used as a tool for measurement. Lay crayons end-to-end. How many crayons make a foot (12 inches) or a yard (36 inches)? Check your answers by lining the crayons along side of a yardstick. Think about measuring other things in the classroom (or home) with crayons.

Create math problems (addition or subtraction) using crayons, such as Susie had 16 crayons. John gave her a gold one and Caryn gave Susie her silver one so she could create a metallic picture. So, how many crayons does Susie have in total?

These curriculum ideas are only a few of the many lessons with crayons you can use in the classroom. Check out these ideas on Bright Hub Education.

Preschool Crayon Activity Ideas for School and Home

Activities for Teaching Geometry: Art and Shapes

Preschool Craft: Black Color Ideas: Art, Black Spiders, and Black Collages

Sources:

Copycat Magazine, Crayon Creations, Jan/Feb 2001

I Can Make A Rainbow by Marjorie Frank, Book

Crafts Adapted From Sources Listed in Text

Photos courtesy of Tania Cowling, all rights reserved

Crayon Feature Image, Pixabay.com

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Crayon Creations: Lessons With Crayons - Bright Hub Education

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Can you imagine days without crayons? Ever since these artistic tools were introduced in 1903, children have used them creatively. This versatile art material has become a staple on school supply lists and kids look forward to a new box each year. Teachers are finding new ways to create lessons with crayons across the curriculum.

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Some inventions are famous and legendary, while others are obscure and practically forgotten. Behind every invention is a person who saw a problem or an opportunity and invented a solution or a new device.

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Teaching Through Invention
Invite your students to invent a better mousetrap -- or a better mouse! This week, Education World lessons focus on inventors and inventions, challenging your students to see the world in a whole new way. Included: Five "inventive" problem-solving lessons.
"Throughout history, inventions have helped people discover new worlds, build communities, develop resources, increase productivity, cure diseases, ease burdens, and enjoy life to the fullest. ... New inventions lead to new technologies, create new jobs, and improve our quality of life."
--The U.S. Patent Office

Inventing -- building something new or making something better -- is often thought of as a purely creative act. In fact, invention demands much more than a vision. It requires previous knowledge and new information; the ability to observe, analyze, and identify problems; and the utilization of critical-thinking skills to find appropriate and workable solutions. This week, the Education World lesson planning article focuses on inventors, inventions, and the process of inventing, requiring your students to utilize all those skills in productive and enjoyable ways.

A brief description of each activity appears below. Click any headline for a complete teaching resource!

Big Ideas Quiz Whiz
The National Geographic Kids provides a quiz that test kids' knowledge about inventors and inventions.

Selected Resources for Patents, Inventions, and Technology Transfer
Stanford University provides this list of links to resources about patents and the patent process.

Inventors
This About.com site offers many resources on inventions and inventors, including inventors categorized according to such ethnic or minority groups as women, Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, Chinese, and so on.

Inventors and Inventions Theme Page
The Community Learning Network provides an excellent list of links to sites containing lessons and activities about inventors and inventing appropriate for K-12 students.

Wacky Patents
This archive of wacky patents includes the inventor's name, the patent number, and patent design illustrations.

Inventors and Inventions
Education World provides two original Internet scavenger hunts on inventions -- one for elementary students and one for older students.

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Teaching Through Invention | Education World

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Invite your students to invent a better mousetrap -- or a better mouse! This week, Education World lessons focus on inventors and inventions, challenging your students to see the world in a whole new way. Included: Five "inventive" problem-solving lessons.

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This curricular unit is a themed Internet research unit on inventions. This site introduces the unit and has links to four mini-lessons, which contain an activity and resource links for student searches. The lessons are about famous inventors, everyday in

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New York: Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2018.

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In this story, a shark accidentally interrupts a newscast. The news anchor reminds him not to eat anyone because people are watching. The shark explains that he has no plans to eat anyone; he is simply misunderstood.

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Misunderstood Shark by Ame Dyckman | Official Book Trailer

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Use this video has a springboard to research misunderstood animals and create a "news story" about your chosen animal.

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2nd SUMMER: DAY 1 Read Aloud- Misunderstood SHARK by Ame Dyckman and Scott Magoon

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New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2018.

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Mixed is a wonderful story of how two open-minded colors go against social norms to form something beautiful. Their love for each other changes things for everyone.

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If you've been following me for awhile, then you likely know this already. If not, listen up! What you will find often here on HEE - what I absolutely love and champion- are the stories I call #booksforbetter. These are the books that I value tremendously, the ones I turn to with my own boys and students again and again. These are the books that showcase the human capacity for respect, kindness and empathy, the ones that convey the beauty of embracing our differences and illustrate how we can harness these differences to create greatness. Do you like these books too? Thought so. This is why you must add Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung, to your home and school collections.

In Mixed, Chung tells the story of the three colors that started it all- red, yellow and blue. All were special and all lived harmoniously, until that fateful day a fight ensued among the colors and the they all retreated to separate parts of the city. There was no more interaction between the colors - ever. But one day, a yellow noticed a blue, and the two realized how happy and calm they made each other. Can you guess what happens next? You have to read it to find out, but let's just say a new color, green, arises. Are you in love yet???

Books that speak to family diversity, discrimination, tolerance, and inclusiveness run the risk of being didactic and preachy. But when you are in the hands of a good writer, you feel none of this. Instead, you marvel at the brilliance and creativity inherent in the story and at the ways the author made a tough concept fresh, accessible, and fun. That's how I feel about Mixed. What a unique, yet totally tangible idea this is - so perfect for speaking to children about prejudice and intolerance, the dangers of closed-mindedness, and the beauty of family diversity and alternative family structures! Mixed is relatable to all kids. It is age appropriate for nursery school but fantastic for older children as well- even for those of you doing #classroombookaday with your middle schoolers. Vibrant and oh so special, Mixed will spark lively discussion and personal growth. This is one you don't want to miss.

Did you like this post? We think you will love these, too! Best Books About Family Diversity and Alternative Family Structure , A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O'Leary , and Gaston, by Kelly DiPucchio.

Want the book? Get it here! Mixed: A Colorful Story, by Arree Chung. *This is an affiliate link. HEE received an advanced review copy of this book from the publisher, but all opinions contained herein are expressly our own.

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If you've been following me for awhile, then you likely know this already. If not, listen up! What you will find often here on HEE - what I absolutely love and champion- are the stories I call #booksforbetter. These are the books that I value tremendously, the ones I turn to with my own boys and students again and again.

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You can never really do too many color mixing activities withÂ kids, right? There is always an unexplored medium, a way to extend a familiar activity or a new shade to create. Plus, there is something absolutely magical about combining two colors (blue + red) and voila, creating a new color: purple! I treasure fond mem

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Scholastic Tolerance and Acceptance Lessons

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Scholastic Tolerance and Acceptance Lessons

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Visit Scholastic, the world's largest children's book publisher. Whether you need a classic kids book or classroom-proven teaching materials, discover it at Scholastic.

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How to mix crayons  - Beginner Tutorial - 3 color rainbow

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New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2018.

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This entertaining story follows Potato who is so excited about buying a pair of pants at the one-day only sale. Unfortunately, his plans are thwarted when he sees Eggplant. In the end his braveness leads to a new understanding of Eggplant and a happy ending for all.

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POTATO PANTS! book trailer (extended version)

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Students brought potatoes to school to decorate.

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She said I was the best dressed there. A bit of an exaggeration but I still shared that with my friend who was with me when I bought the dress. Because of that, I stared at my wardrobe for a long time. "How would the 'best dressed' dress to school?" In the end, I chose a new dress that said friend from above picked out, leggings, a scarf and denim jacket. Oh yeah, and my signature red high top chucks.

Today was our Skype visit with Laurie Keller. LAURIE KELLER! She's HUGE! I was nervous and excited!

Every third grader was asked to bring in a potato to draw some pants on it. FUN!

We've been talking so much about author purpose, it was refreshing to ask that question and have them all say in unison, "make us laugh." Exactly. And laugh we all did.

First I read the book aloud and then we called Laurie.

Some fun facts we learned about Laurie:

Laurie loves drawing with markers. In fact, on her favorite page of the book she used markers to draw all the potatoes running into the store. I think she's the first illustrator we've met who uses markers.

French fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes...She loves them all but fries are her favorite way, hands down. Steak or shoestring? We forgot to ask!

Red has always been Laurie's favorite color but now she is entering an orange phase. What could that mean?

I had read in Book Page that Laurie did not know how to fold a fitted sheet. Mrs. Warland to the rescue! This morning, she gave Laurie (and all of us) a step by step lesson at the conclusion of our Skype.

There is no plan for a sequel but Mrs. Warland had a great idea if there is one--Potato needs glasses because he has EYES! That Mrs. Warland is a clever one!

Last night I pulled out our Scrambled States of America game to bring to school. I love that game! And right there in the small print, "based on the book by Laurie Keller." How cool is that?

Well, I'd say we are well on our way to gathering some good information about Laurie for when she visits Castleton ;-)We even have a head start on our meal for "dinner at Doe's."

Thanks, Laurie, for a great Skype. We laughed. We drew pants on potatoes and we even threw in some home economics skills. I just hope I didn't disappoint in the fashion area,

PS-Thank you Lucy and the crew at Macmillan for seating me in between Laurie and her editor, Christy Ottaviano, at the Caldecott-Newbery banquet. If that had never happened, today wouldn't have happened.

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She said I was the best dressed there. A bit of an exaggeration but I still shared that with my friend who was with me when I bought the dress. Because of that, I stared at my wardrobe for a long time. "How would the 'best dressed' dress to school?"

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New York: Scholastic Press, 2017.

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This is an inspiring story of a rooster who would not quit singing no matter what the town mayor took from him. His bravery and persistence changes the entire town and reminds us of the importance of standing up for what you believe in.

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The inspiration behind "The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet"

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Book Talk... The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet

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A rooster who was born to sing loud and early disrupts the quiet village of La Paz where the new mayor Don Pepe has banned all singing. This celebration of courage and individuality follows the adage of "be careful what you wish for." Engaging, repeating rhythms and mixed-media illustrations highlight the visual-based humor.

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Carmen Agra Deedy Reads The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet

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New York: Scholastic Press, 2019.

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This story is about a caterpillar who doesn't quite know what he is supposed to be doing. He has to learn a little patience before he can become a beautiful butterfly.

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The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach

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Celebrate National Butterfly Day With The Very Impatient Caterpillar | Scholastic

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Celebrate National Butterfly Day or start a lesson on butterflies with a fun true-or-false quiz and the book, The Very Impatient Caterpillar.

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Adventures In Storytime: A storytime blog dedicated to literacy & youth services, including storytime planning, STEAM programming, commentary & more.

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This post contains affiliate links, if you click through them I will earn a commission. You can learn more here.

Insect Lore makes it easy for kids of all ages to do some science and biology with this caterpillar butterfly life cycle activity . To date, this has been our favorite kids activity. I say kids activity lightly though, because as an adult I think I may have enjoyed the process even more than my preschooler and elementary aged kids did. Besides being one of the best toddler activities that we have done I think it would be just as great to add on to your preschool activities and elementary grade students activities will enjoy it just as much. Read on to learn about our experience and watch the special video at the end where you can see my kids set our amazing butterflies free.

The Caterpillar Butterfly Life Cycle Activity is a hands on approach to learning.

I have wanted to do this activity for the longest time but this kit wasn't available in South Africa. As soon as I moved back to America I patiently waited for the weather to get warmer so I could order this. Seeing as I had waited so patiently, I knew that I wanted to fully immerse my kids into learning about the caterpillar butterfly life cycle. I purchased these items on Amazon so that I could create a well rounded unit.

It is important to note that I was not paid to do this review nor did I receive the product for free. I purchased every one of these items and thoroughly enjoyed every single part of this educational kids activity. (Please note that affiliate links are used in this post.)

Products I bought:

- Insect Lore Butterfly Garden (This one comes with a voucher that you would use once you receive the package that will allow you to get some caterpillars for free.) If you are impatient and don't want to have a lag between the time you receive the package and the time you would receive caterpillars you can purchase the package that comes with everything together. However, I think it works out to ten more dollars.
- Caterpillar to Butterfly National Geographic Book - This allowed us to learn more about the caterpillar butterfly life cycle. It is not necessary because all this information can be found online. If you are like me though and want to spend some time away from the computer (bloggers life...) then the book is a good option.
- Butterfly life cycle stages - I wanted my preschooler to be able to look at each stage more carefully while also giving me the ability to add these figurines to a sensory bin.
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Book - We already had this book as do most Mom's of toddlers. This book by Eric Carl is a staple in every child's home library. She loved exploring the book with her caterpillar "eating" through all these items.
- Safari Ltd Butterfly Toob - These are great for your sensory bin and to use as counters for educational kids activities.

The Caterpillar Butterfly Life Cycle Kids Activity By Insect Lore

Look at how tiny these little caterpillars were. One of them wasn't moving at all when it arrived. I was so disappointed and I thought it was dead. This is completely normal.

Over the next few days we began to see what looked like fuzzy little threads begin to surround each of the caterpillars. This is a protective shield and was interesting to observe. We were amazed to see how much these painted lady butterfly caterpillars grew! I was sort of scared by how large they became. (I'm generally scared of ANY insect...) You will be able to track their growth in the video I posted below.

We went through the Very Hungry Caterpillar book almost daily and my toddler loved re-enacting the caterpillar "eating" through each of those items.

10 days after we received our caterpillars they began to form chrysalides. This was such an interesting and amazing part of the process of the caterpillar life cycle. They shake SO much during this stage! If you hold the cup (be very gentle...) you can feel how strong this vibration is.

Once all the chrysalides have formed you have to take them out of the cup and attach the paper that they are attached to on the inside of the butterfly garden. Then we waited... This is the most amazing preschool activity.

Butterfly and Caterpillar Themed Kids Activities

We did many arts, crafts and themed activities during this time. Click on the link below to be taken to the blog post related to that activity.

Butterfly Themed Sensory Bin
Butterfly finger paint printable activity Folded Butterfly Painting Activity Butterfly Yarn Activity

Coffee Filter Butterfly Activity

Later on this week I will be posting our Printable Letter C Activities. Many of which focus around caterpillars. I will update this post with the corresponding link.

The caterpillars emerged!

We were hoping that they wouldn't emerge as butterflies in the middle of the night while we were sleeping. Who would want to miss out on THAT part? I considered recording them throughout the night but my tech skills aren't THAT good.

Thankfully, we got to watch almost every one of them emerge and even caught one of them on camera! The best moment of this whole Insect Lore butterfly garden activity was the moment we let our butterflies go. The look on my daughters faces, the amazement that I heard in their voices and the sheer love and joy that I saw in their eyes. It was a moment that will live in my heart forever and always.

I love that the butterfly garden habitat is reusable so that we can do this activity every year.

Watch videos of the Caterpillar Butterfly life cycle in this video below and especially watch the moment where we let our butterflies go free. I can with all my heart recommend that you purchase the Butterfly Garden by Insect Lore and make these same memories with your children.

Thank you for watching my first Youtube video! I hope you enjoyed it. Please give it a thumbs up and follow me on Youtube to see more exciting kids activity ideas!

Caterpillar Butterfly Life Cycle #lifecycle #kidsactivities http://bit.ly/2gVL2rz

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Caterpillar to Butterfly Life Cycle Video and Activities

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This post contains affiliate links, if you click through them I will earn a commission. You can learn more here. Insect Lore makes it easy for kids of all ages to do some science and biology with this caterpillar butterfly life cycle activity . To date, this has been our favorite kids activity.

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Read Aloud by Storytime with Ryan and Craig

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Read Aloud by Storytime with Ryan and Craig

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📚 🐛 Read Aloud | THE VERY IMPATIENT CATERPILLAR by Ross Burach

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Los Angeles: Disney-Hyperion, 2018.

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Penelope the T. Rex is nervous about her first day of school. Things do not go so well when she can't control her appetite for tasty children. One day, she unexpectedly gets a taste of her own medicine and learns to treat others as she would like to be treated.

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Have you seen this book by Ryan T. Higgins? It is my new favorite back to school read aloud!

Penelope Rex is nervous to start school...and what's worse, her class is filled with children! So she ate them, because children are delicious!

Here are a couple of my favorite pages in this book:

...check out her artwork...

...look where she's pointing :)

Through the story, Penelope has to learn how everyone is the same on the inside.

I've created a book study filled with companion activities to go with this back to school book that I'm sure your students will LOVE!

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Have you seen this book by Ryan T. Higgins? It is my new favorite back to school read aloud! Penelope Rex is nervous to start school...and what's worse, her class is filled with children! So she ate them, because children are delicious! Here are a couple of my favorite pages in this book: ...check out her artwork...

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Introducing a quirky back-to-school read about making friends~ featured in MaiStoryBook Library Collection:

"We Don't Eat Our Classmates" by Ryan T. Higgins

*~Click here to purchase your own copy of *We Don't Eat Our Classmates* to start on your own reading adventure! (This is an affiliate link~ 5% of your purchase will go to MaiStoryBook to help create Reading Resources for your littles)~*
Book Synopsis and Review
It's the first day of school, and Penelope Rex is excited to meet her classmates! *Who will they be? Will they be nice? How many teeth will they have?* When you are a T. rex like Penelope, that last questions is very important. With her new pony backpack (ponies are *delicious* by the way!), and lunch box filled with 300 tuna sandwiches~ and 1 apple juice~ Penelope heads off to school! But, imagine her surprise when she arrives to find out that all her classmates are~ Children! And if there's one thing Penelope knows about children... it's that children are *Delicious!* So how does Penelope start off her very first day of school, and greet her new classmates for the very first time? *She *EATS* them, of course! And no matter how hard she tries not too, she can't resist a tasty snack~ that is, until the class goldfish teaches her a lesson she won't forget. Read along as Penelope learns that if she wants to make friends~ she'll need to put her appetite aside and realize~ *We Don't Eat Our Classmates!*

Author Ryan T. Higgins succeeds again in creating an absurdly, hilarious, curious, delightful tale ~ a subtle yet prevalent sense of humor drives the story as young Penelope Rex tries to resist eating her classmates. For little ones anxious about meeting new friends, well... being eaten by a classmate is about as bad as it can get, and as Ryan T. Higgins illustrates and tells it~ it's really not too bad at all. After all, everyone *wants* to be a good classmate and make friends~ everyone is just still learning how~ and as classroom and school rules are developed, practiced, and understood, friendships will slowly form. Penelope Rex shows us that even if we get off to a bad start, you can always make friends by doing what friends do best~ sharing, using nice words and actions, and playing!
Vocabulary

Nervous (p. 1) when you feel anxious, a little scared, and you don't really know what's going to happen

Delicious (p. 4) super yummy

Determined (p. 13) trying very hard and not giving up

Appetite (p. 30) the want and need to eat

Peeks (p. 34) looking at something quickly and sneakily

Themes/ Main Ideas

How to be a Good Friend~ Good friends share, play together, and use kind words and actions

First Day of School Worries Feelings: Discuss with your little one how they fell about the first day of school and if they have any questions

YouTube Video: Guided Shared-Reading Read Aloud Example
Example of a shared-reading, interactive Read Aloud of "We Don't Eat Our Classmates" - how to subtly introduce the vocabulary list words within the text, ask guided questions, and spark conversation!

*~Check it Out~*

Subscribe: MaiStoryBook Youtube Channel for additional read aloud videos!

Follow: MaiStoryBook on Vimeo for additional read aloud videos

*Friendship Sandwich* Craft

*~First Day of School!~* It can be daunting... *Will I like the teacher? Will the teacher like me? Will I like my classmates? Will they like me?* First day jitters are more often socially oriented, rather than *Will I be able to learn? Will I like what we are learning?* And it makes sense~ after all, we are spending the next ~9 months with these people, the majority of our days will be at school~ it's important that our classroom and school be a place we feel like we belong and are welcome. As a first-grade (and first year!) teacher this coming fall, my main goal is to create a caring classroom community. I want to create an environment students feel safe and respected in, and excited to come back to everyday! One way to create a community is to firmly establish expectations and procedures at the beginning of the school year~ and sometimes, this can take weeks! It involves creating rules together as a class, and role-playing and modeling how to be a good classmate, what to do when there is a disagreement, how to share, how to be inclusive, etc. Children, especially the little ones, need this explicit guidance. One way to teach children and provide explicit examples is through *read alouds* and this book, *We Don't Eat Our Classmates* is the perfect read to spark a conversation about how we treat each other. Plus, this week's craft, making a *Friendship Sandwich* is a great way to review the *ingredients* to a lasting friendship!
Materials Directions

Print out the Friendship Sandwich template. Choose the black and white version to color yourself, or to print onto colored paper, or print the colored version with color ink.

Cut out the pieces.

Write your name on the front of the *Friendship* toast piece, where it says "Me," and write the name of a friend on the *Sandwich* toast piece, where it says "My Friend."

Cut out the ingredient middle pieces. Fill in the sentence frames with words and activities that describe good friends and what they do together.

Write your own descriptions and drawings if you choose the blank versions.

Draw and color a picture to match the sentence on each ingredient piece.

Use a hole puncher to make holes at the top of every piece.

Sandwich the ingredients in between the two pieces of bread, and then loop the string/ pipe cleaner through the holes.

Make sure both toast pieces are facing outwards. The *Friendship* piece is on the front. The *Sandwich* piece is on the back, facing outward. The ingredient pieces should face forward, the same direction as the *Friendship* toast piece.

Tie the string/ pipe cleaner so that the sandwich pieces are all connected.

Enjoy Your *Friendship Sandwich* Craft

Share your friendship sandwich with family and friends to discuss what makes a good friend and what some of your favorite friend activities are.

Use your sandwich as a reading buddy as you re-read the story and talk about what Penelope could do differently to be a good friend *instead of eating her classmates*

Hang up your friendship sandwich to remind you of how to be a good friend.

Share a friendship sandwich with a friend and choose an activity from your sandwich to do!

*~Overall, have fun creating and sharing your *Friendship Sandwich* Craft, and I hope you and your little ones have a great First Day of School! - tag me on Instagram @MaiStoryBookLibrary, Twitter @MaiStoryBook - or post on to share your photos of your own *Friendship Sandwich* Crafts, and your own reading adventures! I'd love to hear from you!~*

*Check Back on Next Friday for our New Reading Adventure*

*~Until next time, Happy Reading~*

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MaiStoryBook Library: We Don't Eat Our Classmates + UPDATED *Friendship Sandwich* Craft

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Introducing a quirky back-to-school read about making friends~ featured in MaiStoryBook Library Collection: "We Don't Eat Our Classmates" by Ryan T. Higgins *~Click here to purchase your own copy of *We Don't Eat Our Classmates* to start on your own reading adventure!

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We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins: An Interactive Read Aloud Book for Kids

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New York: Orchard Books, and imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2018.

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Jerome likes to collect all kinds of words. One day he drops his collection and notices that he can put different words together to form new ideas. When he realizes the power of his words he decides to share them with the world.

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The power of books never ceases to amaze me. Anytime I come across a new one that resonates with me, I feel compelled to share - especially with the teaching community. Teachers have the ability to get books front and center with their students, increasing the impact that their messages will resonate with them, too! Author, Peter H. Reynolds, does an amazing job of combining stories with resounding messages that appeal to all ages of readers. Today I'm sharing one of his latest, The Word Collector, along with activities you can use with your students to enhance and extend the story.

The Word Collector is the precious story of Jerome, a boy who LOVES words. Jerome loves words so much that he literally collects them on yellow slips of paper. He pastes them into a scrapbook as he goes throughout his day. He loves words he hears and words he sees and words he reads; words he knows and words he doesn't know; short words and long words; powerful words; words whose "sounds [are] perfectly suited to their meaning."

My favorite part of the story is when he realizes that sharing his words is the best part of collecting them. In a touching metaphor for this, he takes his collection to the top of a hill and spills them into the wind. The children gather in the valley below and begin collecting his words for themselves. Jerome is the happiest. Reynolds ends the story with this:
Reach for your own words. Tell the world who you are and how you will make it better.
Oh, it's just so good!!! Whether you check it out from your library or grab it on Amazon, The Word Collector is a must-read. Here are SEVEN ACTIVITIES to use with The Word Collector:

The Word Collector easily lends itself to teaching theme. I have several activities within this set that will help you do that!

As the new year begins, it's a great time to use this read-aloud to have students reflect about their personal outlooks. Gather as a class to discuss the One Little Word movement. Share what your One Little Word for the school- or calendar-year is and how you will intentionally focus on that word and its meaning to you. Together, you can generate a list of words to choose from so that they, too, can have a focus word for the coming year. ( You can download this printable for FREE at the end of this post!)

Give each student a book and ten slips of yellow paper. Students will page through the book, choosing interesting words. They will record their words (one per slip) and place them into an envelope. Students will exchange their words and create a poem just like Jerome did when his words became jumbled in the story. They can paste their words onto a sentence strip, creating a short poetic phrase or sentence. (This activity is ideal for students who are upwards of second grade and can confidently select interesting words.)

Discuss the power of words, as mentioned in the story. Give each student a speech bubble and have them choose a powerful word or phrase to record on the speech bubble. Then, they'll explain how or why that word or phrase is powerful.

Give each student a clipboard and piece of paper. Have them search your classroom, books, magazines, walls, school, etc. for words! Students will record words. As a whole group, students will explain to the class why they chose a specific word.

Create a Word Book for your class. Next to it, place yellow slips of paper, pencils, dictionary-access, and a glue stick. As students come across interesting words they can add them to the book. At the end of the week, review all the new words added.

This set includes some great comprehension questions to use for discussion, along with three differentiated assessments to use after you've read the book through a few times and worked on the skills.

And, if you enjoyed The Word Collector activities share here and you LOVE teaching vocabulary as much as I do, you'll definitely want to see the activities mentioned in !

You can purchase a copy of The Word Collector by clicking below!

This post uses affiliate links for the convenience of the reader. Should you make a purchase via one of the links shared within this post, I will make a commission. This will not affect the price of your purchase and helps support The Inspired Apple.

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The Word Collector Activities - The Inspired Apple %

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The power of books never ceases to amaze me. Anytime I come across a new one that resonates with me, I feel compelled to share - especially with the teaching community. Teachers have the ability to get books front and center with their students, increasing the impact that their messages will resonate with them, too!

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Inspire Creativity In Your Classroom With The Word Collector | Scholastic

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Help your students discover the power of words with a collaborative classroom vocabulary activity and Peter H. Reynolds book The Word Collector.

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The Word Collector
Written and Illustrated by Peter Reynolds

2018 Orchard Books

ISBN 978-0-545-86502-9
Grades K-5 Book Review
Fans of Peter Reynolds' , , and Happy Dreamer , will be delighted by his latest picturebook, The Word Collector . Reynolds continues his trend of crafting seemingly simple text with significant and lasting meaning, this time with an overtly literacy-specific message: words are worthy of collecting. Deeply attuned to how children naturally operate in the world, Reynolds refers early in the text to the ways children tend to collect things-coins, baseball cards, bugs-and brings to life a character that offers an alternative approach by collecting words. As a logophile, Jerome models for readers the visionary idea that we all have the power to be collectors by paying attention to what we hear, see, and read in the world. The book as a whole is a celebration of "short and sweet words, two-syllable treats, and multi-syllabic words", but the book is also a celebration of the process of discovery as readers are invited to find words in the text that they themselves want to collect. By looking beneath the book jacket, readers will be surprised to find an array of words covering the front and back cover that invite eager eyes to get closer and spot new words. Intentionally illustrated as a young boy of color, Jerome continues Reynolds' commitment to diverse representations of society, and of children, specifically, as seen through his previous characters like Vashti ( ) and Marisol ( and ). The Word Collector offers teachers a fresh opportunity for a joyous read-aloud as part of a literacy celebration and can serve as a touchstone text for nearly any unit of study that positions students to be wordenthuasiasts and wordsmiths.
Teaching Ideas: Invitations for Your Classrooms
Dynamic Character Comparisons. Jerome is a character with complexity and agency. He knows that he loves words and he is self-driven in his commitment to collecting and cataloguing them. In this way, Jerome serves as a mentor for building a life of joyful purpose. Engage students in an inquiry about dynamic characters that serve as mentors for how we want to live our own lives. What makes a character dynamic and worthy of emulation? After exploring students' ideas, deepen their understanding by inviting them to engage in character comparisons. You may want to start with other characters from Reynolds' picturebooks like Raymond and Marisol ( ), Vashti ( ), Raj ( Playing from the Heart ) and some of his unnamed characters as seen in books like Happy Dreamer, I'm Here , and . You can extend your class study with other books written about at The Classroom Bookshelf like Kobi Yamada's What Do You Do With a Chance? and Dan Santat's After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again . What do these characters have in common? How are they different? Which characters are models for how we want to live our lives and why? Then, encourage students to notice and name dynamic characters in other books in your classroom library or that they have read at home. Keep a class list of these dynamic characters that grows throughout the year.

Real-Life Logophiles Text Set. Throughout history there have been people who loved studying, collecting, and organizing words like Jerome. Pair The Word Collector with The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet, which introduces young readers to Peter Mark Roget best known for publishing and popularizing the thesaurus. Gather other books that extend students' understanding of real-life logophiles and linguaphiles like Noah Webster and His Words , Noah Webster: Weaver of Words , and Enormous Smallness: A Story of E.E. Cummings . You can extend this study even further by gathering books about influencers of English as a language such as Will's Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk .

Collections to Build Community. The Word Collector taps into children's natural tendency to collect things. Have students consider whether being a "collector" is part of their identity and in what ways. Do they enjoy collecting some of the things described by Reynolds like bugs, coins, stamps, coins, rocks, art, baseball cards, or comic books? Do they collect other things like Pokemon cards, beyblades, matchbox cars, or video game figures? Consider as a class things that can be collected that are not dependent on money. Create a class list of things they can collect that are free and openly available in the world depending on where you live-leaves, pinecones, sand, or even memories.

Word Collecting Field Trip. Jerome starts his word collection by listening for words that catch his attention, looking for words that jump out at him, and noticing words that pop off the page in his reading. Go on a word collection field trip where students are invited to jot down words they hear and see or encourage students to take photos of words in their community (visit collectingwords.com for ideas). Then, during independent reading invite students to continue their word collecting by jotting down words that pop off the page for them just like Jerome. At the end of the day, have students share with the class or with a partner their top 5 favorite words and why they grabbed their attention. Consider building in time weekly for students to share their favorite words from the week. Encourage students to keep searching for words and recording them. You may want to create special notebooks for students to keep their word collections in or have students create simple blank books for this purpose by using a variety of papers and staples.

Word Study: An Inquiry Approach. Jerome adds to his logophile identity by transitioning from word collecting to word sorting. After he starts to fill scrapbooks with words, he begins to organize them using topics like "dreamy", "science", "action" and "poetic". Once your students have begun their own word collections, have them work in small groups to notice the kinds of new categories they could create for the words on their own lists. Have small groups share their new categories and why they placed certain words together. Consider creating an interactive Wondrous Words bulletin board that invites students to create new categories for words along with the words they hear, see, and read that could fit into each category.

Word Celebration. When Jerome accidentally slips, his words go flying everywhere. When he picks them up he notices how big words were now next to little words and sad words were next to dreamy words. This becomes a happy accident of sorts that fosters new word combinations for Jerome. Jerome starts stringing words together that he had not previously thought of having side by side before. To mimic this experience for your students, hang a clothesline in the back of your classroom that invites students to string unusual combinations of words together that can become a spark for writing poems, songs, or stories. You may want to have a random words jar that you and students fill with fun, unusual, and inspiring words that can be used for the classroom display or as a catalyst for student writing. At the end of the school year, you may want to reenact the final scene in the book where all of Jerome's words are scattered freely out into the air for others to scurry and collect by engaging in a word celebration in a playground or park. The physicality of discovering new words can spark all kinds of writing and sharing either outside or back in the classroom.

Simple, Powerful Words. Jerome starts to notice that "some of his simplest words were his most powerful"- I understand . . . . As a class, discuss why these words matter so much and why we need to hear them and say them to each other. Encourage students to add to this list of simple but powerful words. Start a simple and powerful word campaign in your school to spread kindness and empathy by posting these phrases and the ones your class comes up with around the school building to gently encourage others to say them. Build in a class routine where students can share at the end of the day simple, powerful words they heard that day that made them feel good.

Power Pose With Your Favorite Words. On the book jacket of The Word Collector, Jerome has his hands up in the air with his eyes closed with words swirling around him. Social psychologists and embodied cognition psychologists would call this stance a "power pose" with the recognition that our bodies shape our minds. Show images of people in "power poses" like runners making their way across a finish line and superheros with their fists by their waists. Take photos of students in their favorite power poses against a background a words. Encourage students to get into their power poses when they need a mental break or to find their own place of strength when they are feeling doubtful or uncertain.

"Creativity Guru" Author/Illustrator Study. Peter Reynolds has been called a "creativity guru" for his work that celebrates the creative process of artmaking and storytelling. Gather a collection of Peter Reynolds' books (see Further Investigations below) and view his as a class. Define together what it means to be a creativity guru. Have students think about ways they can be creative gurus based on their own interests and passions.
Critical Literacy.
Privileging English. One of the critiques of The Word Collector by Kirkus Reviews is the monolingual emphasis in the book. Disrupt the monolingual nature of the book by having students create their own multilingual word collections. Encourage multilingual conversations across language about words that sound similar and/or words that sound and look different but mean the same thing. Also consider including words with alphabets different from the English alphabet we commonly use in the U.S. Consider using shared or interactive writing to have the class write and send a suggested multilingual word list to Peter Reynolds or invite students to send him tweets @peterhreynolds with multilingual word suggestions from their own word collection lists. Invite students to interview family members for their favorite words from other languages or partner with language teachers to encourage student word collections in languages other than English.
Further Explorations Online Resources
Peter H. Reynolds's website
http://www.peterhreynolds.com
Peter H. Reynolds's tips for sparking creativity http://www.fablevision.com/education/creativity_tips/index.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8jhyId12Qw
Collecting Words Tumblr Page
http://collectingwords.com/ Books Raczka,B. & Reynolds, P.H. (2010). Guyku: A year of haiku for boys . Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Santat, D. (2017). After the fall: How Humpty Dumpty got back up again . New York, NY: Roaring Book Press. Yamada, K. (2018). What do you do with a chance? Seattle, WA: Compendium.

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The Word Collector Written and Illustrated by Peter Reynolds 2018 Orchard Books ISBN 978-0-545-86502-9 Grades K-5 Book Review Fans of Peter Reynolds' , , and Happy Dreamer , will be delighted by his latest picturebook, The Word Collector .

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Business, Educators, Grow Your Creativity, Parents

I'm a big fan of all books by author-illustrator and creativity evangelist Peter H. Reynolds, who has become a friend.

The books themselves speak to creative strengths of all varieties:
invention strengths (Going Places),
artistic strengths (),
imagination strengths (),
independence strengths (The North Star),
musical strengths (Playing From the Heart),
and now my personal favorite,
language strengths (Word Collector).

I'm also a big fan of using picture books as catalysts for learning, exploration, and creativity.

So let me share an activity that I've been using for a decade to help adult and kid learners become more detailed observers and creative writers. Originally inspired by Poem Crazy, Word Collector now gives us an easy, visual jumping off point.

Here's how to play the word collector game:

Read Word Collector for inspiration.

Grab your pencil and Post-it notes or tiny slips of card stock or cut-up index cards.

Take a walk around your house, office, out in nature, or in a town or city. Don't forget unassuming spaces like warehouses or basements or bathrooms. Words can be found anywhere!

Collect words as you go, writing each one on an individual card or note. Get lots of nouns and verbs, and descriptive words, too.

When you're done with your walk, do what Jerome does in Word Collector and start "stringing your words together." Don't think too much, and let random and surprising combinations happen.

Find a fun container to keep your collection. I have mine in a small paint can. Susan Wooldridge uses a fish bowl.

Keep extra blank cards around so you can continually add to your word collection when new ones come to you.

Here are some ways to use your word collection:

As a spark when you're stuck. Grab a handful of words and string them together. What ideas do these combinations bring to mind to help you solve your problem?

As poetry starters.

Collect words around certain topics.

Perhaps you are working on a marketing piece for a new business service, or for a concert you are promoting. Collect words connected with your topic and use them to develop fresh messaging.

Maybe you are a teacher creating a lesson plan on World War II. Start a word collection about the topic to help you think about the topic differently.

Enlist others to start a word collection with you. Read Word Collector at a team meeting. Have your team collect words that describe your company mission in a central place. Use these to develop your vision statement.

Teachers, read Word Collector to your classes and collect words around a topic of study or around a character trait you are trying to encourage, like kindness.

To build vocabulary, collect the most obscure words that you see and don't know. Engage students to do the same.

These are just some ideas on how to use your word collection. Sparkitivity has created a WordPlay workshop using the word collection premise to teach writing. If you're interested, let us know through the contact page of this site and we'll put you on the list for when it's available.
If you'd like more ways to grow creative strengths, sign up for our free Strengths Spotter, twice-monthly Spark Report, other free resources here.
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Recent Talk

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Be a Word Collector, Grow Your Creativity - Sparkitivity

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Business, Educators, Grow Your Creativity, Parents I'm a big fan of all books by author-illustrator and creativity evangelist Peter H. Reynolds, who has become a friend. The books themselves speak to creative strengths of all varieties: invention strengths (Going Places), artistic strengths (), imagination strengths (), independence strengths (The North Star ), musical strengths (Playing From the Heart ), and now my personal favorite, language strengths (Word Collector ).

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What It Means

Pandemonium refers to a situation in which a crowd or mass of people act in a wild, uncontrolled, or violent way because they are afraid, excited, or confused.

// Pandemonium ensued when a power failure knocked out the city's traffic lights during rush hour.
See the entry >
pandemonium in Context

I went to the ______ store to buy a birthday card.

Did You Know?

When John Milton needed a name for the gathering place of all demons for Paradise Lost, he turned to the classics as any sensible 17th-century writer would. Pandæmonium, as the capital of Hell is known in the epic poem, combines the Greek prefix pan-, meaning "all," with the Late Latin daemonium, meaning "evil spirit." ( Daemonium itself traces back to the far more innocuous Greek word daímōn, meaning "spirit" or "divine power.") Over time, Pandæmonium (or Pandemonium) came to designate all of hell and was used as well for earthbound dens of wickedness and sin. By the late-18th century, the word implied a place or state of confusion or uproar, and from there, it didn't take long for pandemonium to become associated with states of utter disorder and wildness.

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to complete a word meaning "hell" or "eternal damnation": p _ r _ i _ _ o n.

VIEW THE ANSWER

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When John Milton needed a name for the gathering place of all demons for Paradise Lost, he turned to the classics as any sensible 17th-century writer would. Pandæmonium, as the capital of Hell is

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The Word Collector by Peter Hamilton Reynolds

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A speech pathologist taught her dog Stella to 'speak'

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Click on the strange gray person below to vote or just communicate with Mrs. Chrisco.

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