50 Cents A Cap!

I always love reading Caps for Sale! It's definitely one of my favorites, especially when it comes to a read-aloud. It's always an engaging crowd pleaser. Children are mesmerized by it. It's like magic really. And I think there is a lesson to be learned in that. Because it is the simplest of stories, with simple illustrations. It's a traditional tale, re-told in a book that was published decades ago. There's nothing gimicky, or flashy about it. No rhymes or predictable repeating texts (not that there's anything wrong with that). No familiar characters or borderline offensive humor. It's just a good story. And there's power in that. It's appeal probably lies somewhat in the fact that it's a bit refreshing!

So anyway, we read it and all enjoyed it!

When I asked my students what they would do if monkeys stole their hats (or anything else), most of them responded with violent solutions. Yikes! Where does that come from? Is that just a kids thing, or is this generation just exposed to more of that (violence, that is)? I don't want to sound like a farty, old person here... Were we like that when we were little too?

You can get back to me on that. In the meantime, check out what we did after reading our story:

Monkey Business

Today was the first official day of Literacy Launchpad for the year! Hooray! And this week we're reading Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina. This is one of my favorite stories of all time. I remember the librarian at my elementary school reading it to my class when I was young, and I find myself mimicking the gestures and inflections she used when I read the story.

I met with two great groups of kids today(2 yr. olds through 4 yr. olds). They all did so great. It amazed me how well they all jumped into the swing of things on our first day of class! Especially since many of them are new students that weren't with me last year.

There were a few kids that came in with the wiggles, but isn't it amazing how a good book can calm even the most outrageous cases of the wiggles?

The kids laughed at the monkeys in the book, shook their fingers and stomped their feet like the peddler, showed me their angry faces, made monkey noises, and began making unprompted predictions! I was so proud of them!

After our story and discussion, we made monkeys out of construction paper. And decorated our own caps to put on their heads. The kids were excited about telling me what kind of monkey they made: mean, sad, nice, etc. I love their creativity. One little girl even gave her monkey sharp, scary teeth! Yikes! Don't mess with that monkey!

It was so fun to be back at school, and to hear the kids saying, "Hi, Ms. Amy" in the hallway. It's going to be a great year! More news to come later in the week!