DO NOT OPEN THIS BOX!

guest post by Timothy Young

Boxes are incredibly useful and somewhat mystical things. Without boxes, birthdays would be less exciting, we’d have a heck of a time on moving day and Schrodinger would have no problem knowing if his cat were dead or alive. Thankfully, we have boxes and my new picture book, Do Not Open The Box!, is a story about one boy and a box. Benny comes across a very large box with a sign on it that says “Do Not Open.” Benny is curious and thinks of all kinds of things that could be in the box, both good and bad, and has to decide whether to give in to temptation and open it.

There are many books about boxes and their plots are as different as the number of things you could find in a box. For example, Too Many Toys by David Shannon, Not A Box by Antoinette Portis or The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli tell very unique stories about what kids do with boxes.

Writing Exercise:

Put a box on a table. Ask students to write two lists of what they think could be in the box. One list will be things that would realistically be in the box. The other will be a fantasy list of what they’d like to be in the box. Examine the differences between the possible and the impossible.

Art Exercise:

The students can pick an item from each list and draw a picture of a dragon eating cupcakes or monsters reading textbooks.

Timothy Young has been an animator, puppet maker, toy designer, sculptor, art director and graphic designer. He’s designed for Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, the Muppets, The Simpsons, Disney, and Universal Studios. Tim is the author/illustrator of 6 picture books including Shadows On My Wall, The Angry Little Puffin and the highly acclaimed I Hate Picture Books!. His latest, Do Not Open The Box, will be released on January 23rd, 2016. He lives with his family on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Find out more about him and his books at www.creaturesandcharacters.com

Writing Connections with Jon Scieszka

by Mary Quattlebaum

Make writing and science fun with Jon Scieszka!  His latest book is the third in his zany Frank Einstein series.  In Frank Einstein and the Brainturbo, students can hang out with Frank’s two wacky robot sidekicks and learn about the human body.  In an interviewwith the KidsPost section of the WashingtonPost, Scieszka talks about encouraging curiosity and his favorite facts about the body.

MAKE YOUR OWN HUMAN:  Frank creates a kind of super-charged brain.  As a class, students might create their own human.

Research:  Assign each student a certain part of the human body to research.  Ask each to find and write down three facts for his or her body part.

Writing:  Ask each student to write down two things that might happen if his particular part of the body were super-charged or made bigger or better than real life?  What would that body part then be able to do?  Ask each student to draw a picture of his/her super-charged body part.  What might happen if a villain tried to grab and run away with it?  Why would a villain want it?  How might the student (as a zany kid scientist) save it?

Sharing:  Teacher might have a silhouette of the human body on  the bulletin board, and students might post one or all of their true facts on the bulletin board.  In this way, students can learn about the intricate work of many organs and body parts.

www.maryquattlebaum.com 

Writing and Wonder

by Mary Quattlebaum

Kids are full of questions about the world:  How do snakes shed?  When do sharks lose their teeth?  What makes rocks hard?  Why is the sand white at this beach and beige at another?

Writing can be a place to explore, formulate opinions and theories, ponder facts and share ideas.  One of the most helpful books on this subject is A Place for Wonder by Georgia Heard and Jennifer McDonough (Stenhouse, 2009, $20).

Though this volume is geared toward parents and teachers of grades K-3, many of the writing prompts—and certainly the spirit—can apply to older kids and adults as well.  Indeed, some of the simplest exercises are the most adaptable—and profound.

With summer upon us, you might be eager for some “playful learning” approaches that stretch your kids, engage the whole family and fit in well with vacations, daycamps and the season’s more relaxed pace.  Or as a teacher, perhaps you’re thinking through changes for next year’s lesson plans.  Here’s an activity that can last the whole summer—and beyond.

Place of Wonder.  Heard and McDonough designate an actual place in the classroom for children to write and post questions.  Kids can read one another’s questions, share thoughts and think about where to find answers.  You might designate a similar place in your home or have a weekly dinner where each family member comes with a question about the natural world.

Even reluctant writers can write down one question and reluctant readers are often galvanized to read if they think it will help them to discover what they want to know.  Rather than simply doing a Google search, encourage kids to check out books from the library and to “teach” or talk about what they learned.  They might make a poster, draw a picture or write a report, story or poem.  This whole question-research-writing/drawing-teaching/sharing process often jumpstarts additional questions and investigations.

For adults, the Place of Wonder can be a powerful way to connect with what actually is around us.  Techno gadgetry, general busyness and a certain “seen that-done that” attitude can work against us actually experiencing the small wonders of the world—which are anything but mundane.  This summer, adult writers might set aside 10 or 15 minutes a few times a week to focus on something in the natural world—perhaps a plant, bird, stone or shell.  Allow yourself to be curious, to ask questions, to seek out some answers, to write about the experience.  Or perhaps, just stay quiet with that object for a while and wonder.

www.maryquattlebaum.com