These are my favorite parts of emails sent from Mrs. Allen’s third graders at Valley View Elementary. I enjoyed reading them and writing back. Then I thought of something even better… sharing them with you! ************************************************************************* Dear Mrs. Rinda, Thank you for coming to Valley View. Dillan Dear Dillan, I loved visiting you at Valley View Elementary! You are the best audience ever! Rinda *********************************************************************************************************************** Thank you Rinda for putting our pictures on your blog, and I love your stories. LOVE, Kendal Happy Valentine’s Day Dear Kendal, I was so happy to post your pictures. Your class was awesome! You are great listeners. Rinda *********************************************************************************************************************** Rinda, You are doing a good job writing stories. I LOVE them! Love, Zachary Dear Zachary, I’m so happy that you like my stories! It makes me want to keep working to make them even better! Rinda *********************************************************************************************************************** I hope you come again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eli Eli, I love Valley View, and I hope I’m back soon! Rinda *********************************************************************************************************************** Thank you for coming Rinda! I had a great time with you we loved your stories. We looked at your website. It looks like you have a really awesome life meeting all of those authors and illustrators. I think it is fun to write and illustrate stories. But I think I am going to be better at drawing than writing when it comes to stories. Emalynn Dear Emalynn, I was so happy to come visit you! I’m glad you loved my stories. I do love telling them, and I hope I come back to tell some more! I’m glad you liked meeting my author friends online. We had so much fun reading picture books and learning how to be better writers. I hope you practice your writing. It makes everything better! Rinda ************************************************************************************************************** Dear Mrs. Rinda Thank you for coming to our school, and thank you for telling your awesome adventure of your writing process. From, Jessa Dear Jessa, I loved coming to your school! You are great listeners. I hope I have more great adventures because then I can come back and tell you about them. Rinda *********************************************************************************************************************** Dear Mrs. Rinda, I loved your stories. I hope your stories will come to our library. Hope you had a great time at Valley View. Alexis Dear Alexis, I promise I’ll work hard to make my stories great so your library will want to buy them! I was so glad to visit your school! I would come back anytime to talk to you! Rinda ************************************************************************************************************* I enjoyed your lesson a lot. I have been trying to make my own little comics but I’m still working on them. I think your books should be published because you put time and effort into those books and I would like to read one. Rowen Dear Rowen, I’m so glad you enjoyed my lesson. I work really hard on it, and on my books. I hope, someday, if I work hard enough, you’ll be able to read one. I think it’s exciting, and fun, to make your own comics. I wish I could. I’m only good at stick people. Keep working at it, AND having fun doing it. Maybe someday, I’ll be looking at your comics. Rinda ************************************************************************************************************** It’s exciting to post email from my friends at Valley View Elementary. It took a while, but it was worth waiting to get student/parent permission to post them. I love following rules! When Mrs. Allen emailed permission, she also sent along a question...Could a few more students email? I answered ABSOLUTELY! I’m thrilled, a month after my visit, that 3rd graders want to email me, and even better, want to use their keyboarding skills to write those messages. But I’ve heard Mrs. Allen put out the word that I answer all letters, and who doesn’t love getting mail, especially when your teacher prints a hard copy for you! I’m looking forward to more emails from my Bobcat friends at Valley View Elementary!
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After featuring a fictional book about the White House on My Reads, I decided to carry the topic over to the blog. Here’s the real White House, and here’s my three-part Presidential Trivia Challenge. Good Luck! Challenge #1 Here are some of the presidents mentioned Commander In Cheese. Can you match the presidential picture to a name? Here are their names, mixed -up, of course! Guess first, then check your answers below. Theodore Roosevelt Bill Clinton Calvin Coolidge Abraham Lincoln Herbert Hoover Ronald Reagan William Howard Taft Answers: 1. Abraham Lincoln 2. Herbert Hoover 3. William Howard Taft 4. Theodore Roosevelt 5. Bill Clinton 6. Calvin Coolidge 7. Ronald Reagan. Challenge #2 Can you put the presidents in historical order? Test your knowledge, then check your answers below. Answers in presidential order. Lincoln was our 16th president. Challenge #3
Now for your final presidential trivia challenge. Can you name the president? 1. I loved jelly-beans so much I kept a jar in the oval office. I also had a jar of acorns so I could feed the squirrels. 2. I had the first cat to live in the White House. Tabby came to White House dinners, and I fed her with a gold fork. 3. I put in the first phone. Before that I walked down the hallway to use a phone booth. 4. I brought lots of children and pets into the White House. My son Quentin had pet snakes. To escape my family, I built the West Wing. My wife suggested we use the second floor for family and pets. 5. I had the most pets in the White House. I even had a canary who walked up and down my cat’s back. Caruso was the clever canary, and Timmie was the kind cat/ 6. My cat Socks was famous. He was on TV, in cartoons and books, and even on stamps for the Central African Republic. 7. Because of a Christmas Eve fire, I designed the West Wing. I added the Oval Office to my design. Answers: 1. Ronald Reagan 2. Abe Lincoln 3. Herbert Hoover 4. Teddy Roosevelt (And yes, the Teddy bear was named after me.) 5. Calvin Coolidge 6. Bill Clinton 7. William Howard Taft This famous American author has a February birthday. Do you recognize her? She is Laura Ingalls Wilder of Little House fame. I read all her books as a kid, but had no idea what she looked like. Thanks to google, now I do! I also thought I knew all about her. I didn’t! Did you know she never wanted to be a writer? Laura was born in1867, but didn’t start writing until 1911, at age 44. She was invited to submit an article for a magazine, The Missouri Ruralist. She did. Laura went onto to write about her home and family for them. She also did some editing too. By the 1920’s her only child, Rose, was one of the highest paid writers in the country. In 1924 Rose helped her mother get two articles published in another magazine. Rose saw potential and started encouraging her mom to really work on her writing. Can you imagine teaching your mother? The Stock Market Crash of 1929 changed everything for most people. Rose and her parents lost almost everything, except their Missouri farm, but Laura didn’t give up. She kept writing, and a year later she had a manuscript for Pioneer Girl. She wanted to hang onto old memories, and make a little money. Rose’s publisher liked it, but wanted a bigger story. Laura wrote more, with a little help from her daughter, and in 1932 her first book Little House in the Big Woods was published. Laura was 65 years old. The first is the original book, and the second is the 1953 edition. That’s when the publisher brought in a new illustrator. I love it! That’s because it’s the one I grew up with, and it’s still for sale. The last picture is a replica of Laura’s real house from the big woods. It looks pretty small for a family of 5. Can you imagine living there? Laura’s books help you imagine growing up on the frontier. They’re mostly true, but somethings are fictionalized to make the story better. For example her publisher wanted an older Laura. They thought 5 year olds remembered things better than 3 year’s. That’s usually true, but not for Laura! Let me introduce you to Laura’s family. First are her parents, Charles and Carolyn Ingalls. Funny, I never pictured Pa with a beard. Next is Laura herself, age 10. Back then she was living in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, the home of her 4th book, On the Banks of Plum Creek. Last is a picture of the 3 sisters, Carrie, Mary, and Laura. Did you notice Laura’s dress is the same in both pictures? I’m guessing she’s still 10! Now look at Laura, all grown up! It’s 1885. Laura is 18, and she’ll soon marry Almanzo Wilder. Laura’s 2nd book, Farmer Boy, was published the next year in 1933. It’s all about Almanzo growing up. Two books in two years…I bet Laura, Almanzo, and Rose were feeling better about their finances! This is a map of Laura’s travels. If you’re ready for a road trip, check out the addresses and phone numbers.
For me, the best part researching Laura was getting to know her as a writer. Like Laura, I never wanted to be a writer, but, I got a later start. I was 49, but I still have time…Laura didn’t get published till she was 65. Maybe there’s hope for me yet! Here are three letters I want to share. The first was written by Ethan, a third-grader at Valley View. I loved Ethan’s email because he talked about editing without knowing it. See if you can find his comment about editing. I loved your stuff. You did a great job teaching us. Your reading is awesome. You are so awesome. All of the books that you have done should be published. I am so glad you came to see us. I think you did a great job and I really loved it. I even went home after school and told my parents about you. I think they loved your stuff too. When I first told them they acted like they didn’t know what I was talking about, but then I told them every thing about you and they were really interested. Bye bye, Love your stuff Ethan Check my answer to see if you found it. Dear Ethan, I’m so glad you liked learning about my writing story. It’s been a voyage! Imagine meeting people like Tedd Arnold or Lisa Wheeler. Incredible! I hope my writing, someday, reaches their level. Thanks for giving me hope I’ll get there! I also love the story you told me about your parents. Did you know you were editing when you retold my story so they’d understand? That’s what writers do! It’s also what good speakers do! I think writing’s easier to edit. But best of all, the more you do it (me too), the better you get at it. Good luck to both of us! Love your letter! And love those Bobcats! Rinda Beach I also got a letter from Ethan's mom. It made my week. I asked if I could share it with you. The answer was YES!!! Hi Rinda, I am the mother of Ethan. He cried when I read your reply. I think he is proud of it. He would love to have you post his comment to your blog. He really enjoyed your visit. It is not often my kid comes home excited about something he has learned at school. Tiffany This is biography month, and this is a very famous American. Do you recognize him? This is Neil Armstrong at age 6. He has already had his first airplane flight, and he’s fascinated with all things air-borne. By 15 he was walking or biking to an airport near Wapakoneta, Ohio for flight lessons. Would you believe he got his pilot’s license before his driver’s license? The second picture shows Neil’s senior picture and signature. In high school he built a wind tunnel in his basement so he could fly model airplanes. Can you imagine? After graduation in 1947, he was off to Purdue to get a degree in aeronautical engineering. Time flew, at least for Neil! In the first picture, he was a Navy pilot who flew 72 missions during the Korean War. In the second, he was a test pilot who tried out 200 different planes. It must have been a dream come true! For Neil, his dreams grew even bigger. In 1962 he was picked to be one of the New Nine, NASA’s second group of astronauts. In 1966 he lifted off in Gemini 8 with David Scott. The first 11 hours were perfect. They successfully docked with a satellite, but then, it began to spin. Not good! Neil undocked. But the capsule still spun! Neil had 30 seconds to react before facing black-out, a death sentence in space. Neil and David remained calm. They got the ship under control. It was NASA’s first in-space critical failure, but Neil and David saved the day, and their own lives. The Gemini docking was a prep for extracting the lunar landing. Maybe the experience helped Neil later. He and Buzz Aldrin were picked for Apollo 11, the first mission to the moon. They landed the Eagle, the lunar module, on July 20th, 1969. They had 30 seconds of fuel left. Wow! Good timing, guys! At 10:56 PM that night Neil climbed down the ladder and put his foot on the moon. Can you imagine how he felt? He had the perfect thing to say! When you’re in the hot seat to say something important, plan ahead like Neil did. He tried out his line on his brother months before the launch. It worked! Neil and Buzz spent about 21hours and 36 minutes on the moon. Not even a whole day! They took pictures and video. They collected rocks and dirt. They left behind footprints, an American flag, some science equipment, and a memorial bag. They’re still there, along with the lunar landing vehicle. Its plaque says: HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON JULY 1969 A.D. WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND On July 21st at 1:54PM the two astronauts left the moon behind, never to return. I wonder if they knew. The next picture is Neil in 2008, almost 40 years after the moon landing. He spent the rest of his life as a private citizen, out of the spotlight. He taught aerospace engineering in Cincinnati. He was chairman of an aviation company. Can you imagine working with Neil, or better yet, having him as your teacher?
In August of 2012 Neil died at age 82. If you want to remember him, go out on a clear night when the moon’s smiling down on you. Think of Neil and give him a wink. |
AuthorWhen I write, I can only have one voice in my head, mine. A little noise is fine. But too much, or worse yet, WORDS, and I must change rooms or pull out headphones. Then I can write on! Categories
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