How to host a poetry party with free printables

Hello my dear friends! Greetings from Teacher Omi's little kinter garden. I just love thinking up fun, educational things to do with kids. So today, let's explore ways to host a poetry party for children. I'll throw in some free poem patterns, writing prompts and poetry templates. You can use these poetry lesson plans anytime, anywhere with all ages. So they're perfect for homeschool. As we're heading back to school this fall, why not host a poetry party in your classroom? 

For starters, where shall we hold the poetry party? You know what I'm going to say---outside! You can go for a nature walk or sit on blankets in the back yard, by the beach or in the park. You don't need much in supplies: a notebook, pencil and maybe some markers are really all. Some kids (like my grandson Silas) prefer drawing to writing so the markers can be used to illustrate their poems. 

And on that note, if writing isn't your thing or if younger children aren't quite ready to write, there are options. You can do picture poems, like a pictograph. Or you can dictate your thoughts into a recorder. All phones have one. Thought ideally, I prefer the poetry party to be device free. 

Oh, one more thing, what's a party without snacks? I think the best snacks for outdoor poetry parties are varieties of fresh fruit. For our fall back to school theme, why not bring an assortment of apples, pears and grapes?

So once we have our location, snacks and materials, we need a theme. You could do autumn, bugs, butterflies, beach, harvest, clouds, flowers, birds, meadow or woods or even just a nifty tree you saw on your walk.

Next, you'll want to create a word bank. This is as simple as encouraged kids to explore around them and come up with words to express what they see, hear, smell and touch. They can discuss and describe the fruits they've sampled. 

I like to have kids call out words and phrases as they think of them. And then you can note them in several ways. The teacher can bring a large poster board or dry erase and write the words there. Or kids can transcribe them into their notebooks. You might also do the silent word bank with older kids in which they find a quiet alone space to journal their ideas and thoughts. 

Be sure to let kids know that this word bank itself is a form of poetry. They can arrange the words into a kind of rhythm such as a song. They can play around with rhyming but make sure they know that poems do not have to rhyme. One of the most famous is William Carlos Williams "This is just to say" 

I have eaten the plums which were in the icebox and which you were probably saving for breakfast. Forgive me. They were delicious. So sweet and so cold.  

How is that a poem? I would say because of the rhythm and cadence. But that is the beauty of poetry. It's an arrangement of words that sound pleasing to the ear. Or they might sound discordant, like Edgar Allen Poe "The Bells." 

Once kids have their word banks, they can arrange their words to express thoughts. Encourage them to make sub lists of synonyms (words with similar meanings). This will give them more choice for their poems. 

Here's a sample word list with synonyms that I made on a walk to the Lake Michigan dune. 

sand

surf (waves)

gray, grey, slate, charcoal, smoke, dusty, smudged

aqua (teal, blue-green, turquoise, aquamarine)

hemlock, fir, evergreen, balsam

buzzing, creaking, dripping, croaking, chirruping, whistle, kiss, crash, roar

cloudy, misty, fog

dusk, twilight, evening

spicy, sharp, piney, peppery, 

blue jay, cardinal

Then I made up some combination of words: 

pepper pine

click tick tock

dusty dusk

creak-croaking, 

fir-frog

fluffy fog

sun-sun sand

cardinal kiss call

blue jay joy

wave rave

surf roar

And then I made these into my poem

in noon dune

blue jay joy

sings praise to pines

beetle tick-clicks

fir frog 

creak croaks

waves rave

on sun sun sand

in dusk dune

fluffy muffled fog 

creeps up on

jewel-bright surf

turns blue sky

to charcoal cloud

waves and frog shush

cardinal kiss calls

for twilight slumber

in dark dune

owl's hush hoot

on slow dancing tree

leaves fold in on themselves

pepper pine sharp

scents sklish, swish breeze

end of wonder wander

as weary wanderer

wends her way home

After creating poems, kids can read theirs aloud. It's always gratifying for them to hear their words. here are some free printable poem templates. I've listed the google page because many are downloads for you to click and print. 

How to write poetry

Hi my dear ones! Maybe you didn't know this but Teacher Omi is also poet Omi. I have a blog of poems called The Writer's Garden. People ask me sometimes, how I write poetry. And the answer is embarrassingly simple. I just do. I start typing ( or writing in a notebook). And when I'm finished, I call it a poem. There's more to it if I'm writing a formula poem, like rhyming, haiku or sonnet, but not much more.

Um, so you're wondering, 

I do sometimes edit it but only after I've let it marinate. And then not very much. I believe that free writing, just letting the thoughts come, is the most effective. Oh, one step I forgot, which isn't really a step but more of a preparation, is to pick a theme or subject. I know, probably obvious, but it's an important way to overcome writer's block and probably what caused the block in the first place. 

My theme is memories of my childhood with my grandparents. Mostly the ones who lived near Lake Michigan but I'm working toward including my Grand Rapids ones too. The overarching theme is walks with grampa to the lake.  We called it the Big Lake so my poems are the Big Lake Anthology. 

It's important to pick a subject or theme that means a lot to you. You can't really get a good head of writing steam going if you're not interested. And my time with  my grandparents means the world to me. It's been fun exploring these memories with my children and now grandchildren, too. 

I know that there are some poems with a very angry vibe to them. And if that's what you need to write then more power to you! Writing is a perfect way to work through bad feelings and experiences, for sure. I personally am a bit old-fashioned and like the pretty poems that make me feel good. And which I think people prefer to read. Not that this should matter or affect your choice of subject. You do poetry for you. If people want to read it, fine. If they don't, fine. 

And I'm always going to plump for nature poems. You know me and my "get schooling outside" mantra. Our big beautiful world is the best teacher and for a writer, it's an amazingly fertile and endlessly pleasing subject to write about. When I first began writing poetry, I would sit outside. Now that we have phones, I can walk and talk-write into the notepad app on my phone. Then upload to my blog later. 

I don't talk-write directly into the blog template. I'm techno-fied enough to use a blog but still old-school about needing a full computer keyboard. 

Another thing: to rhyme or not, that is the question. The answer is whatever you prefer. You knew I was going to say that! I like to exercise my skills on a rhymer occasionally but I'm more concerned about word choice rather than whether it fits a pattern. I don't want to sacrifice the perfect word, just because it doesn't rhyme. I also feel that word sound is more important. It's like the music of the poem. 

One of my favorite poem styles is onomatopoeia in which words are just sound descriptions. The classic example is Edgar Allen Poe's "The Bells" which is a fabulous read-aloud. And on that  note, poems are meant, in my opinion, to be read aloud. So as you write, practice reading it the way you're thinking it. This will help you "hear" your poem. 

Oh and another fun thing about these sound poems is making up sound words! I love trying to get just exactly the right descriptor for the sound. Here's one called "Campfire music and lightning bugs or fireflies" ( I greatly dislike the title and that's always my nemesis. If you  think of a better one, let me know, please and thanks!) I am particularly and fondly proud of crickle-trickle, sklish-swish and moan-groan. I do hyphenate a lot in onomatopoeia. 

Okay so stay tuned because I'm going to write a post on how to throw a poetry party that promises to big fun! 

Little ways to find God in your daily lesson plans

Hi friends. Did you know that writing to you is my therapy? I don't know who needs to hear this, but you are precious and amazing, just as you are. And I see you. I know, being a teacher can be overwhelming, especially if you're homeschooling. There is always a mountain of things undone. That monkey on your back never shuts up. If you do stuff with the kids you should be doing housework, or laundry, or cooking, or, or, or. And if you work around the house, bad you, you're  neglecting the kids. 

Well, Teacher Omi (grama) is here to tell you that neither is true. You don't have 8 arms or 48 hours in every day. You can't be in two places at once let alone everywhere. Even if you spend the day reading and eating chocolate chips (kids, remember "The Musgrave Ritual" on that summer day?) it's okay. You are a human being, not doing. God doesn't expect as much of you as you expect of yourself. And having said that, here are some little ways to find God in your daily lesson plans. 

You know what I'm going to say, here. Go for a walk. In the woods or beach if possible. But down a street will do to. I used to take my kids and later grandkids on walks when they were babies. I babbled on about all we saw. I asked them questions and they answered in their baby ways. We talked about cracks in the sidewalk and foofers (dandelions gone to seed). We observed insects and birds and squirrels. We admired the work the neighbor had done on his roof and another's pretty flowers. 

I think those walks held my soul together. And you can do that too, anytime, anywhere, with 12 kids or one. You can fancy it up by having them keep a science journal, if you feel the need. Or you can just make memories. You can make it 10 minutes or two hours. You don't need any materials, lesson plans or lecture. Nature speaks for itself if we will just listen. If you're city bound, you can notice the cool buildings or nice people you meet. (thank you, Mister Rogers 🥹) 

When we went to Louisiana to visit this year, one thing my second oldest baby grand Moses wanted was to go for a wander with Opi (grampa). I loved wandering with my Opi along the Big Lake (Michigan) dunes. We didn't bring anything, no water bottles, sunscreen, and certainly no phones. We didn't talk about God or even talk about much at all. We just appreciated God's handiwork. He really outdoes Himself in a back dune woods. If you've never walked the beach of Lake Michigan, do yourself a favor and come visit.

We'd walk for hours. Even the dog got sick of it and went home. But he was an overweight poodle. I'd come home from our walks, footsore, weary and thirsty as all get out! Grama always joked that she thought we'd gotten lost. And in a way, we did. I loved every minute and treasure them. I'd go back to the woods with grampa in a heartbeat. I wanted to live there forever. 

He's swimming in the big lake of  heaven now. But I can and do take every opportunity to enjoy wherever I am with my grandkids. We took numbers 5 and 7, Milo and Juno on Grampa's and my woods walk to Mona Lake channel.  I told them how happy I'd been walking with their great-great Opi, how lucky I was to be able to take them and that maybe someday they'd take their grandkids and tell them the story. Heavy stuff for kids. But Milo smiled and said, "Omi,  I want to live on the great-great Opi beach forever!" That's my boy.  

So this has kinda digressed from lesson plans, but not really. My goal in teaching and hopefully yours too is to make (as Dr. Montessori showed us) every moment a teachable one. 

(Picture is a much younger me and Emma Grace, not at Lake Michigan but nearby at Bass Lake, in Pentwater.)

Free printable paper airplanes and plane models for aviation science lesson plans

 

Hello and welcome to a beautiful day in the Omschool! Teacher Omi (grama) here with some science lesson plans I know you're going to enjoy! I've got a collection of free printable paper airplanes for you to cut out and assemble! Sprint is the perfect time to turn out attention to flight and aviation science lesson plans. 

Since I was a kid, I've been fascinated with all things with wings, be it birds, bugs, airplanes or helicopters. The science of flight is crucial to our understanding of physics (physical science) Building model airplanes or making paper airplanes are excellent hands-on STEM (STEAM) activities. STEAM is the expanded version of STEM that includes science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Building model airplanes addresses all those STEAM disciplines. 

Here are free printable paper airplanes from Delta. Here are more downloads for free printable paper airplane models from Iowa State University. Fold 'N Fly has a plethora of free printable paper airplanes to cut, fold and assemble. There are instructions plus information of flight duration and expected distance that you can use for measurement and other STEM lesson plans. My favorite part are the suggestions to extend the science lesson plans by encouraging students to experiment with add-ons, different configurations, etc., thereby building in student creativity. 

I suggest giving each student a notebook science journal to record airplane statistics, modifications and results of experiments. Using scientific method shown below, students can collect and analyze data to draw conclusions. 

Science journals employing scientific theory make ideals HOTS (higher order thinking skills) activities. Plus flying their model airplanes gets kids outside, actively learning,  in the fresh air and away from passive staring at screens. 

Free printable calendar lesson plans: reuse old calendars

  Hi friends of the Omschool! Teacher Omi (grama) here with free printable calendar lesson plans and ways to reuse old calendars. If you use paper calendars, you've got a treasure trove of math manipulatives at your disposal. Save your old calendars to make hands-on math activities to teach date and time, skip counting, sorting and organizing and calendar skills.

Reuse old calendars as math worksheets. Give students calendar pages and teach them to count, skip count by 2-8, to help kids understand times tables (fact families). The beauty of  reusing calendars as worksheets is that kids can write on them like workbook pages. Use them to teach days of the week and months of the year. 

Reuse old calendars as flashcards. Let children cut and paste calendar numbers onto recycled cardboard. Then students can arrange flashcards in order or by 2-8 fact families. In this way, you get double duty free lesson plans with math crafts and counting activities. 

Reuse old calendars as games. Have students cut and paste calendar numbers to make Memory games, Bingo or a pathway counting game such as Candyland. Students might also invent their own games. This expands these into cross-curricular free printable lesson plans that include writing, reading, spelling, creative writing, design and STEM activities. 

Reuse calendar pictures as homemade kids books. Calendar pictures are usually centered on a theme (nature scenes, etc.) Instruct students to cut and paste the 12 images onto recycled cardboard. Then they can practice creative writing skills to make these into homemade books. Kids might then read the stories aloud to younger children to practice storytelling skills. 

These free printable lesson plans make excellent resources for classroom and homeschool students. 

Free St. Patrick's Day lesson plans with printables, books, activities, crafts and snacks

 Hello my friends of this blog on free printable lesson plans! Teacher Omi (grama) here from the Omschool! (2nd gen homeschool by grama) with St. Patrick's Day printables, activities, games, crafts and snacks. Learn more about St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland and other Catholic saints with these homeschool activities. 

Any time I post about Catholic activities, I have to share Catholic Icing, a wonderful blog created by a homeschool mom featuring a wide variety of Catholic Christian lesson plans, printables, crafts and more.  You can get secular St. Patrick's Day activities anywhere with leprechauns, rainbows, shamrocks and other Irish schmaltz. But for free printable lesson plans on the St. Patrick visit this blog. 

For free printable coloring pages to explore the Bible, Catholic saints, teachings, liturgical activities and more, visit The Catholic Kid.  Loyola Press has pages of Catholic lesson plans  and The Kids' Bulletin has free printable Sunday bulletins for children that follow the Catholic Bible readings of the liturgical year. EWTN Kids has a lot of good homeschool and religious ed activities too. Catholic.org has a plethora of helpful links, activities and lesson plans. Though these sites are free, they're free for moderators to maintain, so a donation is requested to defray costs. 

For kids books on Saint Patrick, read Gail Gibbons St. Patrick's Day and Tomie DePaola Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland or Patrick, Saint of Ireland Joyce Denham and Diana Mayo. The Wolf and the Shield is excellent for older readers (Sherry Weaver Smith). Check this link to Thriftbooks for other picture books, easy readers and chapter books on St. Patrick, Ireland and the saints. 

Stereotypical foods to serve on St. Patrick's Day include the usual corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, Irish soda bread and beer. However, in 4th century Ireland that would be almost unheard of. The fare in 399 was wheat bread (barley was for ale, fermented to prevent the grain from spoiling), sour milk and cream and cheese. Fish was common too, so salmon, eel and trout. Include garlic, apples and watercress too. 

And Patrick was not Irish but a wealthy patrician (where the name Patrick actual comes from) of Rome living in Saxon Britian, the furthest Roman outpost. So prior to being taken slave (or running away as some stories tell it) he would eat as "an expat with a mild case of affluenza" as one author adeptly put it. So this would include such foods as French wines, game birds and peas with coriander. 

In his Confessio, Patrick recalls as a captive living on deer and wild honey. If you want to eat like Saint Patrick really ate, serve salmon with garlic and butter, creamed peas, flatbreads made of wheat (think pita) buttermilk, simple watercress soup and stewed apples with nuts. 

More YA literature and kids books on girl power for Women's History Month

Hello my friends of this blog on free printable lesson plans from the Omschool (Omi's homeschool)! Teacher Omi (grama) here with another list of YA literature and kids books on girl power for Women's History Month. When I was a kid and teen, literature was my lifeline, social media and therapy! There's a word for this: bibliotherapy. My role models came from strong female characters. The term "girl power" wasn't a thing yet, but I think it stems in part from many of the girl protagonists featured in these books. 

The most important thing about these girls and women is that they are 3D, realistic, relatable and fallible. They aren't cardboard Disney princesses, helpless handwringers or male dependents that peopled so many books of the time. They interact with men. But they are higher power or self-reliant. They break glass ceilings and defy expectations. I know that now, this may sound like dated ERA rhetoric, but believe me, it was crucial then and necessary now. Because expectations woman were hypocritical, shaming and punitive. 

We had to be beautiful but humble, work like mules and be paid about as much, achieve the impossible but not outshine men. We worked in factories to support families when our men couldn't or wouldn't, but were blamed for taking men's jobs. And then we couldn't vote or own property. We had to take care of our children but not have a say in their lives. The list and I, could go on all day. So here are YA and kids books featuring young women and girls, existing within these expectations but yet rising above them. 

Where the Lilies Bloom I'm known for crying over stories, even Pooh Bear and this YA book, was one of the tear-jerkiest. It explores the lives of an orphaned family of rural Appalachian children who find creative ways to avoid being separated. Second oldest, Mary Call Luther takes on the matriarch (and patriarch) role at just 14. 

The Boxcar Children You haven't lived till you've read the story of four also orphaned kids who make a home for themselves in an abandoned train boxcar. It's maybe a smidge idealized but the lessons learned on sticking together are worth it. Eldest sister Jessie is our featured she-ro, but little Violet gives a lot in her own way too. 

Me Too also by Bill and Vera Cleaver. A sister rails against having to basically parent her special needs sister. But she also fights hard for her. It's got a lot of mostly-recent negative reviews, but that's because many in younger generations can't wrap their minds around issues and situations that many of us in this time period lived every day: parentification, rabid cruelty, discrimination and anger with no channels. 

I'll be sharing more YA literature and kids books on girl power for Women's History Month as they surface in my memory! Love you all and a special hugs and kisses sent to my lovely daughters, Emma and Molly, daughter-in-law Samantha and grand-daughters Lola, Juno and Flora. You rock my world. 

10 Classic Kids Books with Realistic She-ro Girl Protagonists for Women's History Month

Hello my dear friends of this blog on free printable lesson plans! Teacher Omi here from the Omschool. Today, March 1, begins Women's History Month so we're going to look at 10 classic kids books with realistic girl protagonists. These young ladies will make you laugh, cry, cheer and most importantly resonate. 

First, a bit of back story. I'm 59 years old and I was lucky to be a kid during a great literary revolution in young adult literature. Beginning in the mid-ish 60s, youth, YA and teen literature was turning a corner away from the more cardboard hero/heroine characters to much  more realistic, identifiable, fallible 3D characters. And I, being so fully human, very awkward and out of step, embraced, this change with open arms. 

Because let's face it, the Disney princesses, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Nurse Cherry Ames, Trixie Borden, Nancy Drew, even the March sisters of Little Women, are all much larger, and well, gooder, than life. They are poised and pretty.  They make mistakes but they never fail or fall. They are the toad-kissers but never the toad. This was difficult for a little girl who always felt fat, warty and klutzy. 

So the "heroines" in my book list are believable. Most of these works of classic children's literature date from my childhood and teen years. 

Sam, Bangs and Moonshine This book is an excellent resource for helping kids deal with grief. Sam has just lost her mother and she's developed the habit of making up stories to cope (denial). Her lies cause some real problems. But what makes her a she-ro, in my book, is the way she recognizes and works to fix the damage she's caused. 

The Pigman This one is definitely not for kids under about 13 (take this from someone who read it at 10). Lorraine and John both live in dysfunctional situations and find friendship in each other and an elderly man. What happens is very upsetting but it's real and what I like about Lorraine is that despite her cruel upbringing, she very maturely takes responsibility and doesn't blame anyone else. 

Harriet the Spy So Harriet isn't your average kid detective. She's a snoop and a bit of a stalker. But she's just so darn clever about how she does it, with all the little gadgets she invents. I couldn't help but admire her, especially being weaned on Nancy Drew, who if I'm honest, is incredibly annoying. Nancy is a busybody snoop too. But it never backfires like it does with Harriet and usually in real life. 

Honestly, Katie John! (Mary Calhoun, author of lots of good kids books) I seriously love this series! Just look at her facial expression! Katie John gets into so many mishaps all with the best of intentions. She's not beautiful or a star pupil,  just a plain old kid and so relatable. Her ways of shirking work, helping her parents ready their new boarding house is hilarious. 

Katie Kittenheart (Miriam Mason) Hands-down, my favorite book from around age 6. From forgetting to dress up for picture day, to nearly incinerating her kitten, to single-handedly getting 40 kids through a flood, Katie is a delight. 

Velma (Scooby-Doo) Can we just agree that without brains-behind-the-outfit Velma, Mystery Inc. kids would have been gunned down, drowned or eaten alive in every episode? Velma shows that you can be smart and cute even without red hair and a scarf! 

Laura Ingalls Little House on the Prairie series I identified so with Laura. She is always the one in trouble. She can never match up to perfect little blonde Mary. She hates her brown hair, Sunday clothes and having to sit still and quiet. She's a little mouthy. But when push comes to shove, like in The Long Winter, Laura proves that she is the bravest of all! 

The Cat Who Went to Heaven The she-ro in this story is a sweet, self-sacrificing little cat who gives everything to help her friends. I cried my eyes out at 8, reading this story under the covers one night. 

I Was A 98 pound Duckling What resonates in this story is the challenge of those bumpy tween years. So I was "too chubby" and this character is "too thin" we struggled with the same issues, feeling (and sometimes being made to feel) ugly. 

The Doll of Lilac Valley Another one I cried myself to sleep over, what got me is how sensitive and empathetic Laurie is. When  she loses her favorite doll, her kindly (but non-child-aware) caregivers present her with one the complete antithesis of the other.  But the universe rewards her gentleness. 

Are You There God, It's Me Margaret? The great thing about this book and Margaret the main character is that they talk about the unmentionable...getting your period. Regardless, of time or age, all girls have to deal. Most of us felt like freaks. We hated it. Thank God for Judy Blume who at least normalized it. 

These girl protagonists may read like just kids but that's what makes them she-ros. Every girl is in my book! Most of these kids books are available on Thriftbooks or Amazon. Happy reading and HappyyWomen's History Month! 

Hands-On Preschool math and science lesson plans with play food, with free printables

Hello teacher Omi here with more free printable lesson plans from the Omschool! Today we are going to talk about how to use children's toys and common household objects to create interactive, Hands-On lesson plans for preschool, in your classroom or homeschool. Here's an idea to use play food to teach early math skills like sorting, symmetry and matching. These activities build fine motor and STEM skills as well. 

I recently bought some play food for the grandchildren to play with at their kitchen set at our house. Most play food now comes pre-cut. Children can use a knife to "cut" food into pieces and then reassemble by attaching velcro pieces. The bananas corn on the cob are "peelable" too. Use these as an easy matching game. This can be adapted for children ages 18 months through preschool and kindergarten. It's perfect for children with special needs, too.

For the youngest learners, (Omi is looking at you, Remus and Emmett! And Flora you'll be there soon too) simply have them separate the pieces or separate them for children. Then they match up the two halves. For older children (hello Juno and Ezra), put all the pieces in a basket and have them sort to find matching pieces. You can also play a memory game with kids of all ages (that's you, Lucian, Lola, Milo, Moses, Silas and Henry!) by placing food halves randomly on a grid you've made on a board. Cover each and have students uncover two at a time till they find the matching pieces. 

Students can also sort food by food group, color or plant part (in the case of fruits and vegetables. So this activity does does double duty as science lesson plans. 

Here are some more free printable matching activities (Education.com) and Memory games to print (Busy Bee Kids) for your classroom or homeschool. And check out Enchanted Learning which has 1000s of free printables with banner ads. You can also subscribe for the  nominal fee of $29 a year to print banner-free. If you subscribe for three years, it's only $69 which is almost a full free year. They offer school district pricing too. 

Bibliotherapy with Vintage Children's Literature: Lesson Plans Using Old Kids' Books

Greetings from the Omschool! Teacher Omi (grama) here with lesson plans using vintage children's literature. I was an avid reader pretty much from day 1. I grew up being read to, reading and and then reading to others, as a parent, teacher and grandparent. I have a huge memory bank and now library of old kids' books from my childhood and earlier.  Here are ways to use vintage children's literature as bibliotherapy. 

First, think back to favorite books from your childhood. If you can't remember the title or author, ask a librarian. This is how I unearthed "Mr. Miacca: An English Folktale (Evaline Ness, 1967). She was able to do a Google search and found it because I vaguely remembered that it was written by the same author as another favorite "Sam, Bangs and Moonshine." Another librarian helped me find my beloved book "The Doll of Lilac Valley." I knew the name but not the author and since it was withdrawn from circulation, it seemed lost in time. Which brought me to the next step. 

Do your own searches with Advanced Google Book Search, or Google Books just Google, using details I recalled from other works of children's literature I'd loved. This is how I found "Walter the Lazy Mouse" (Marjorie Flack, 1937). I'd been read this story at around age 4 and could only remember that it was about a mouse who moves to an island and makes furniture. 

Use picture memories. Many of my earliest books memories are of the illustrations. Before discovering Walter, anyone I'd ask would suggest "Stuart Little." I knew that wasn't the one because I recall the image of Walter making a stick bed and table. My mental image was a little blurred with Stuart Little but when I saw Walter's furniture, the illustrations fit my memory image perfectly. 

Begin (or continue) collecting old kids' books. Through garage sales, library book sales, thrift stores and now Thriftbooks and Amazon, I've amassed over 1,000 kids books, most written in the 1960s or before. Some were from the Little Lending Libraries. I rarely pay more than a buck or two per volume. I've had to pay more for a few of them because of age and the fact that they're collectibles. "Mr. Bear Squash-You-All-Flat" a classic my dad and I both loved, was going for about $50 but finally, I was able to purchase it for $8 at Thriftbooks. 

Find old kids books at Thriftbooks and Amazon. These sources have the best pricing for purchasing used and vintage children's literature.  As part of our travel quest, my husband and I rediscovered Uzbekistan, specifically Tashkent and Samarkand. He'd not heard of these cities but I remembered reading of them at about age 5, in my grandmother's Childcraft series. 

Try to recall as many details as possible. The Childcraft books were a children's encyclopedia set. My husband had not heard of these so I thought maybe I'd gotten the name wrong. All I remembered was that they were white or silver books with a dark red banner. I searched and found that the Children of Many Lands was volume 5 (with the Uzbekistan stories) but the cover didn't look familiar. I kept searching and found that Grandma Langerak had the 1961 collection with the covers exactly as I had remembered. I was able to locate and purchase volume 5. I've not received it yet so I don't know for sure if the stories of Taskent and Samarkand are in it but I will update you!

Keep digging. My husband had a favorite book called "The Big Book of Real Trains" that was lost. It took us awhile to locate, first because he forgot the "real" trains part. Then we discovered it had about 6 editions as trains changed over the years. We finally located one based on his memory of the cover. The illustrations were close but not exact. So we'll keep pursuing till we get the correct volume. 

Be prepared for some culture shock. I'll talk more about this is upcoming posts. Just to summarize, your beloved kids books will likely contain some things that might be uncomfortable or even offensive to you now.  Depending on time period, many kids books contained racial profiling, cultural appropriation (or misappropriation) and inappropriate depictions. I recently found a recording of one of my favorite albums "Aunt Theresa Please Tell Me a Story."  I cringed at how missionaries were portrayed as so superior and condescending to those they were missioning to. The racism, bigotry, inaccuracies and Messiah Complex in "The Stick of Wood That Talked" was rampant. 

Free printable Chinese New Year lesson plans for wood dragons and the rest of the zodiac

Hello my friends of this blog on free printable lesson plans (and other goodies!) Teacher Omi from the Omschool here with free Chinese New Year activities. CNY 2024 celebrates the wood dragons of which I am one! Learn all about Chinese or Lunar New Year and Chinese Zodiac with these fun lesson plans! 

We start all units in the Omschool with books! I ground lesson plans in children's literature because kids books are THE root of a good education. Here are books that, while not exactly about Chinese New Year, do explore culture and traditions of China. Some are based in Japan but still deserve a mention because they deal with animals, especially of the zodiac. 

The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac Children will laugh at the ambitions, follies and foibles of 12 animals who enter a swimming contest, and which became the basis for the Lunar Calendar. 

Buddha Stories (Demi): Buddhist and oriental fables are generally allegorical. Demi's stories are translations of Buddhist wisdom. Children can learn important truths from the antics of the animals in these stories.

Zen Shorts and Zen Ties (Jon Muth): Gentleness is the key construct in Buddhism. Stillwater the Panda and his Haiku speaking nephew Koo, teach three children of the wisdom of the orient is these endearing tales.

Three Samurai Cats (Eric A. Kimmel and Mordicai Gerstein) Three brave warrior cats learn the art of humility and patience from an aged Samurai cat.

The Story about Ping (Margorie Flack, Kurt Weise, 1933) Ping is an adorable, nosy little yellow duck who lives with his family of ducks and people aboard a Chinese junque on the Yangtze River. Children will delight in Ping's mischief and subsequent close call with the soup pot. Kurt Weise's delicate pictures evoke the fishing life on the Yellow River.

Tikki Tikki Tembo (Arlene Mosel, Blair Lent) The curious naming of children in Chinese culture almost causes grief in the village when little Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo falls into the well. Almost as much fun to read as it is to hear, this is a must read for young children.

Pearl S. Buck stories. Buck was a missionary to China and early winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Ms. Buck writes with compassion and verve about her beloved China. Best selections include: The House of Earth, The Mother, The Big Wave and Other Gods

Red Dragonfly On My Shoulder (translated by Sylvia Cassedy and Kunihiro Suetake; illustrations by Molly Bang) This whimsical collection of oriental Haiku, published in 1992, is perfect for introducing children to the joy of poetry and Haiku.

The Cat Who Went to Heaven (Elizabeth Coatsworth) At age 8, I stayed up reading this book till the late hour of 10pm, under the covers with a flashlight. I cried my eyes out at the tender story of a little cat named Good Fortune and the gentle painter who loves her.  This 1931 Newbery Medal winner tells of a poor painter who adopts a white cat whom he names Good Fortune. Fortune smiles on him when temple priests consign him to paint Lord Buddha and with animal friends. One problem, though: Cats mustn't be included because they once scorned the Buddha. Little Good Fortune loves Buddha and grieves to be denied worship of him. This tale is appropriate for Chinese New Year theme of good fortune.

The Chinese Cinderella Adeline Yen Mah, the ill-fated fifth younger sister, retells her story of abuse and neglect by a wicked stepmother and cruel father. Mah finds solace in Shakespeare and later becomes a physician and author.

The Five Chinese Brothers (Claire Huchet Bishop, Kurt Wiese) There is a famous legend retold in many cultures about five brothers who all look alike, but each have a unique power. The fidelity of the brothers is called upon to rescue one brother from death by the combined efforts of their special talents. This is the Chinese version of the tale.

The Funny Little Woman (Arlene Mosel, Blair Lent) This is a kind of Chinese Little Gingerbread Man story with much silliness, chasing and three wicked Oni to outwit. It won the Caldecott Medal for children's literature illustrations. This story will enchant young children.

Free printable Chinese New Year crafts from Activity Village will help extend lesson plans based on kids books about the Chinese Zodiac and Lunar calendar. 

Free printable Lunar New Year coloring pages Crayola offers some really attractive coloring pages for children and adults to enjoy. Each animal and  mythical beast (dragons!) of the Chinese New Year is represented. Coloring.ws has free printable dragon coloring pages with printables ranging from primary to challenging coloring pages. 

I had written parts of these blog post years ago and rereading, I see some problems with terminology and ethnocentrism. I grew up in a time where terms like "ethnic", "foreign" and "oriental" (meaning eastern, contrasted with occidental or western) were used. I thought then that I was writing primarily to westerners particularly in the US. I'm realizing now how big the internet is and how readers visit from all over the world. 

Also, I loved books like Childcraft Children of Many Lands which explored cultures and  traditions around the world. I never thought of them as being racist or profiling. Now I see how the original title "Our Own Country and Foreign Lands" might seem that way. But reading the stories you'll feel the deep respect and appreciation for the many wonderful people in our big multicultural world. 

For myself, I respected, admired and longed to be part of these world cultures more than my own. I still do. Probably because my country of the United States is just a big conglomeration of cultures across the globe. I don't pretend to know or understand it all. So I approach like a child, eager to learn and explore! A few years ago, watching a travel vlog about Tashkent and Sammerkand, I gasped with joy remembering reading of these "exotic" places in Childcraft when I was around 5! I hadn't thought of these cities in 50 years! All the fascination and longing to visit came flooding back and now Uzbekistan is top of my to-see list. 

Free printable Valentine's Day Lesson Plans: Love coupons

 Hello friends of this free printable lesson plans blog! I'm teacher Omi (grama) of the Omschool! Today I'm sharing free printable Valentine's Day lesson plans to make Love Coupons. We made these years ago, when I was homeschooling our children. A love coupon book is very easy to make with kids of all ages, from toddler to teen. And they make great Valentine's Day gifts that cost nothing. 

You can get free printable love coupons and love coupon booklets to personalize from Spruce Crafts and FTD. BH&G has more Valentine's Day love coupon printables and crafts. But you don't have to print anything if you don't want to. Kids can design their own and probably will enjoy it more. 

For homemade love coupons, simply have kids design a frame pattern like a store coupon. I made some for my now-husband, when we were dating, using index cards. Even the youngest can illustrate or color the coupons. Kids can write in "this coupon entitles the bearer to__________" with a blank to fill in. You can then photocopy the page of coupons to fill in. 

Then practice writing skills having children fill in what the Love coupon is good for. Here are some great free Valentine's Day gifts kids can give. 

--back rub

--do the dishes

--play with little brother

--clean garage

--wash the car

--hugs and kisses

--make breakfast

--feed the cat

--walk the dog

--fold clothes

--quiet time for parent nap

--shovel snow

--rake leaves

--reading to siblings

The list is endless! And best of all, none of these task cost anything. Toddlers can help by doing shorter simpler tasks (sorting socks, picking up toys, drawing a picture). I really encourage all teachers and homeschool families, to keep lesson plans simple. As much as possible, make them, individualized, open-ended, hands-on and designed for high success. 

International Holocaust Memorial Day: How to remember

 Hello my dear friends. Some blog posts are easier to write than others and today's is one of the hardest of all. January 27 commemorates International Holocaust Memorial Day, to honor the 6-20 million souls killed during the Nazi genocide of Jews, Poles, Slavs, Roma and Sinti in World War II. Sadly, it didn't even end which those millions of people. Anyone deemed undesirable, such as gays, political dissidents, developmentally and physically disabled, was targeted, persecuted and ultimately murdered. 

International Holocaust Memorial Day focuses on this genocide but it's also a day to remember all those lost to war, in refugee situations or in planned genocides, of which our world has seen so heartbreaking and atrociously many. To help understand and lovingly remembered those who were lost, visit Yad Vashem which is the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. It is located in Jerusalem in Israel. 

It is particularly important in this time of conflict in Gaza between Palestine and Israel, to pray for and work toward peace in the Middle East. We will never understand the entire situation. It would be arrogant to think, especially if we are westerners, that we could. We don't explore the situation to pass judgement to but learn and grow. 

Of course, as educators, it's crucial to be very sensitive to each child's response to this situation. Be sure to judge wisely when a youth is old enough to learn about these terrible crises without causing needless trauma over things she can do nothing about. If you are a family of faith, whatever that may be, remind your children that we can offer up these sufferings to our higher power. 

Thank you, Love Omi

Free printable animal tracks flashcards to play nature detective

 

Hello my friends! Teacher Omi (grandma) here with some fun winter science lesson plans for you. Today at the Omschool, we are having a big blizzard, so the ground is covered with snow. Opi (grandpa) was clearing the snow and noticed that lots of different animal friends had visited. How did he know? Yes, you  guessed it. Because he saw animal tracks in the snow! But the mystery was, which animal tracks are they. So we decided to play nature detectives and thought you might like to join us. But first you'll need some free printable animal tracks flashcards to help. 

We can figure out who visited by looking at the footprints and sometimes, tail prints that they left behind. Let's begin by printing those free printable animal tracks identification cards to help us solve the mystery of the who visited our yard.  You can use these to make your own field guide. 

Exploration America offers free printable animal tracks flashcards for you to print out, cut and assemble into a booklet. You can even use these as animal identification coloring pages. Maine.gov offers free downloadable printables of animal footprints and the Minnesota DNR (Department of Natural Resources) has 14 more free animal tracks printables. Massachusetts.gov has free printable animal identification flashcards.  

Along with our field guides, nature detectives need a magnifying glass. A camera would help, to take pictures of the tracks in situ (as they are). We can then make them into a nature scrapbook. We might also bring tweezers and some small plastic bags to collect any specimens we find, of fur. If we find any scat (animal droppings, or poop), we'll just leave it there and take pictures! 

Free printable snowflake patterns for winter science lesson plans

 Good morning! Teacher Omi (grandma) on this lovely winter day! We were just hit with a massive blizzard and it reminded me that when I homeschooled our kids, the weather and seasons played a big part in our lesson plans. Here are free printable snowflake patterns to extend winter science lesson plans! 

First Palette has long been a favorite for free printables, activities and lesson plans. This site offers free printable snowflake patterns and templates for snowflakes to cut. Use these to explore crystals, three forms of matter (solid, liquid, gas), fraction math and weather lesson plans. 

When I was a kid, we learned to cut snowflakes by folding paper. A snowflake crystal always has six sides. To create that, you need a perfect square piece of paper. And to create that from 8x11 paper, fold in half and then half again (quarters). Then without creasing, fold again, into 8ths and cut the excess off. Now open the paper and fold diagonally to form a triangle and then in half again so the points of the triangle meet. Now fold both sides half way in, so they overlap and cut off the excess. 

What you are left with is 12 sections, folded in on each others. Keeping that folded, make any cuts you like but don't cut all the way through. You can cut the center point to make an open pattern. Whatever cuts you make will be repeated 6 times. The snowflake pattern is achieved when the 12 sections are divided into six repeated sets of two each. 

You can do the same design folding the paper into 8ths. You'll still have 12 sections only this time, the pattern will be repeated four times instead of three (or six). It won't be a  snowflake but it will be very pretty. And you can teach fraction math and also the factors of 12: 1, 2,3,4, 6 and 12. You can also teach symmetry (mirror images) by showing how, when you open the snowflake pattern, the repeated patterns are facing each other, exactly the same but opposite.