Veteran's Day

Hey friends!  Today I wanted to share a sweet book that could be used to discuss Veteran's Day.  The Wall by Eve Bunting is about a little boy that visits the Veterans Memorial with his father.  The little boy's dad lost his father when he was his son's age.  They look for the name of the little boy's grandfather.  While they are there they see flowers and notes along the wall.  The little boy wishes he could have known his grandfather, but is proud that his grandfather was a hero!  After reading this book my class creates cards that I send to the Paralyzed Veterans of America every year.  My students always get a thank you from them!
I also do a handprint flag, which  always turn out ah-dorable!  Click here for the link! :)  What do you do for Veteran's Day?

September 11th

Hey friends!  I had planned on posting this earlier for ya'll but the winds of Hurricane Lee had other plans!  I finally got power last night...and ya never know how much you appreciate something until you are without it for awhile. :)
I can't believe that Sunday will be ten years since September 11, 2001.  I still remember sitting in Mr. Hodge's AP US History class, decked out in Homecoming Powder Puff  attire, on that sunny Tuesday morning.  The principal ran in to tell us to turn on the tv because something bad had happened.  We watched stunned as the second plane crashed into the twin towers.  For the next week at school we watched footage after footage of the events that occured. 
It's hard to teach students about September 11 because they were either too young to remember or they weren't even born yet.  It is even harder to explain why someone would do something so terrible to young children when I don't even really understand why. While some teachers may not teach about September 11, I do because I think it's important for students to learn about a turning point in America's history and how the world changed as a result.  I love teaching with picture books, and these are some awesome books that I read aloud when teaching about September 11.  So check them out!

This book is the true story of a fireboat called the John J. Harvey.  A group of friends buy and restore the fireboat when New York no longer needs them. When 9-11 happened the John J. Harvey came to help put out the fires.  It is a touching story with beautiful artwork.  My students love this book!

This is one of my favorite books!  It is about two sisters from South Africa that come to New York for a flower show with thousands of roses.  When they arrive to New York they fly through smoke, and learn about the terrorist attacks. When they hear about the attacks they decide to make something very special with their flowers.  They create a monument of the Twin Towers out of all of the roses they brought with them.  This is a very moving and touching story! 

I'm sure everybody has heard of this book!  It was written by first grade students, and is about how they knew everything was going to be all right after the terroist attacks.  My first graders last year loved this book!  They said "Wow Ms. Newberry!  Look at how good those kids can color a picture!"  Ha!  The joys of kids!

This book is NOT about September 11, but it's about the Twin Towers.  It's the true story of a Frenchman, Philippe Petit, that walked on a tight rope and did tricks between the towers in 1974.  It has beautiful pictures and the kids always enjoy this book!

What do you do for September 11th?