3rd August Sandcastle Day

Head to the beach. It is time to have fun building sandcastles, such a simple activity but one that promotes creativity, social skills and the inner architect! 

I was stunned when I went looking for books in the library catalogue, that I don't even need to look for books about the beach because there are so many that are explicitly about sandcastles. Start with the beautiful textless book by JonArno Lawson and Qin Leng. It will give your students plenty to talk about and make connections to.

• A Day for Sandcastles  by JonArno Lawson and Qin Laeng

• The Sandcastle That Lola Built  by Megan Mayor and Kate Berube

• Sandcastle by Philip Bunting

• Sandcastle  by Einat Tsarfati

• Sandcastles are Forever  by Ellie Peterson

• How to Code a Sandcastle  by Josh Funk and Sara Palacios

• The Sandcastle  by M.P. Robertson

• Do Princesses Live in Sandcastles?  by Carmela LaVigna Coyle

• The Sandcastle Contest  by Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko

• Sisters are for Making Sandcastles by Harriet Ziefert and Chris Demarest

• Fancy Nancy : Sandcastles and Sand Palaces by Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser

• Hamlet and the Magnificent Sandcastle  by Brian Lies

• Sandcastle (Little Kippers)  by Mick Inkpen

                                            • Day at the Beach  by Tom Booth

• Ella and Olivia: Super Sandcastles  by Yvette Poshoglian

Reading is Magic : 8. Magic Hats

The Magic Hat  by Mem Fox is a picture book most of my students will know, but it will make a great focus for Book Week when we ask the students to wear a magic hat on dress-up day. Students will be asked about their hat and what kind of magic it can do. 

In the lead up to Book Week the class teachers and I will talk about hats and what kind of magic they might do...it makes the person wearing it kind to others; it means that the wearer will be able to find friends; it will turn you invisible...  Each student will design a hat and write about it. These will be displayed throughout the school and talked about on our dress up day. 

Mem Fox is so good at bringing the magic of storytelling to life. Watch and hear her read her book here. On her website she tells how the idea for this book actually came from a child who had written to her wanting a book about a magic hat.

Here's some teaching ideas and there's a Pinterest page with lots of follow up ideas.

Of course this is not the only book with this idea, but for a Prep school where all the students are under 8 years old, it is fun!

Other books that could be used to talk about whether hats can make magic are these, and most are still in print or are read on line somewhere.

The Magic Hat Shop by Sonja Wimmer

 A delightful tale about magic hats and bonnets, but above all about the importance about being yourself and the hidden treasures we carry within us.

Clara Button and the Magical Hat Day  by Amy de La Haye and Emily Sutton

Clara Button loves hats, and when her older brother Ollie breaks her favourite, Mum takes them on a special hat day out. While visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum, Clara gets lost and embarks on an exciting journey of discovery. Meanwhile, Ollie is having adventures of his own, with swords and tigers! 

Millie's Marvellous Hat by Satoshi Kitamura

Millie loves hats, but she has no money and she can't afford to buy any of the lovely hats in town. But the man in the hat shop has an idea. He produces a box containing a hat too fine and beautiful to behold, but with the most perfect shape and colour imaginable, if Millie dares to imagine it. Millie does dare, and soon she can not only see her own beautiful hat, but everyone else's hats as well.

Hat Tricks  by Satoshi Kitamura

Hattie the rabbit conjures an amazing succession of animals out of her hat, and for a grand finale produces a wonderful habitat where they can all live. Bigger and bigger animals start appearing and before each page turn is a visual clue as to who will pop out of the hat next.

My Red Hat  by Rachel Stubbs

A grandfather passes down to his grandchild the joyful anticipation of a life lived with wonder and openness ... and a very special hat. The hat is full of dreams, secrets and stories and can even spark new adventures. Explore all the possibilities that a treasured hand-me-down can bring and see how love is handed down with it.

What Hat are you Wearing?  by Marion Green and Liz Barron

The tale of a girl named Nina who creates her own special hat that ignites her "superpower"-turning undesirable feelings into more desirable ones. As Nina's story unfolds, she begins to discover that she can choose how she wants to feel in everyday situations instead of falling prey to worries, fears, and even her moods.

Mr Brown's Fantastic Hat  by Ayano Imai

"Who needs friends?" thinks Mr. Brown. "I can suit myself and wear my smart hat all day long." Try as he might, however, Mr. Brown is lonely. But when a woodpecker decides Mr. Brown needs some company, his life is transformed.

That's My Hat!  by Anouck Boisrobert and Louis Rigaud

A little boy invents many stories with the help of 10 geometrical patterns. One day, he creates a hat, but the hat flies away and is stolen by a little monkey. He chases the hat around a pop-up city, trying desperately to get it back. During his hunt he goes to many different stores and places (the zoo, the bakery, the hairdresser, the library...). All images are built with these 10 geometrical patterns.

The Magic Cap  by Mireille Messier and Charlotte Parent

Many moons ago, in a tiny, thatched cottage at the edge of the woods,  two children named Isaura and Arlo lived with their hedgehog, Crispin. When their beloved pet becomes ill, Isaura suggests that they seek the magical healing power of gnomes. Convinced this will heal it, the children set off into the woods with humble offerings, hoping to attract the gnomes. This book is new to the shops, very gentle and has lovely illustrations.

Sam and the Gnome's Red Hat  by Admar Kwant 

Two of Sam's friends live in the forest: a robin with her cheerful song and a shy fawn with his brown eyes. But his very best friend is a gnome who lives where the leaves are thick, and ferns and mosses grow. They often leave gifts for each other -- a beautiful feather, a golden leaf, or an empty snail shell. One day, after a very windy night, Sam finds a torn piece of red cloth snagged on a thorn. It's from his best friend's cap! So, Sam runs home to sew a very special gift for his best friend.

Keith the Cat with the Magic Hat  by Sue Hendra

Meet Keith—a very cute cat with a magical hat! When Keith wears the hat, it makes bunnies appear out of nowhere! It even makes a stick move all on its own! But when Keith’s hat falls off, will the magic still work and save the day?

The Hat Full of Secrets by Karl Newson and Wazza Pink

Henry’s got a secret… a big one! And he doesn’t know what to do with it.
Grandpa suggests he should keep it under his hat – and he’s got just the hat for the job. When Henry puts it on he discovers that Grandpa has some secrets of his own! But what of Henry’s secret? Will he finally put it under his hat?

The Extraordinary Adventures of an Ordinary Hat  by Wolfram Hanel

He is an ordinary bowler hat. A little out of shape, perhaps, but all in all, quite normal. From his place high on the hat-shop shelf, he dreams of seeing the wide world, and of finding a sweet straw hat. Then one day, inspired by a carefree rabbit, the hat decides to break free. Can an ordinary hat ever have the adventure of his dreams?

The Brown Felt Hat  by Richard Tulloch 

The brown felt hat was beautiful - very elegant - the hatmaker was delighted with it. "This hat is fit for a queen," he said."This hat will really go places."

This is  very old, but if your school library is older and well-stocked, you may find a copy of this and it makes a great short read aloud.

25th July Carousel Day

It is Carousel Day or National Merry-Go-Round Day every year on July 25th  in the USA.. The holiday was created by the National Carousel Association (N.C.A.) as a way to mark the registration of the first patent for a carousel design in 1871 by William Schneider. However, carousels are not exactly a modern phenomenon, as their existence has been traced to 500 A.D in the Byzantine Empire where ancient drawings depict a fascinating carousel style.

Many children see merry-go-rounds as being too sedate, not enough excitement but during this holidays I went to Luna Park with a six year old who lives an idyllic island life away from all that cities have to offer. He was enjoying going to any park, any shopping centre, but he was keen to go 'on a ride'. He loved sitting on the horse that went up and down talking to his sister on the neighbouring horse, so much so that he wanted to do it again. He went on the ferris wheel, but didn't seem to want to go on anything more boisterous or exhilarating which was probably good because he wasn't tall enough. He was happy just to watch everyone screaming.

When I started teaching books about carousel's and roundabouts were easier to find. Many of the ones that are in libraries now offer more than just a ride...they are rides off into a magical world. Yes more magic in the lead up to Book Week and Reading is Magic.

Look for this textless book, The Midnight Fair  by Gideon Stirer and Mariachiara Di Georgio

Far from the city, but not quite in the countryside, lies a fairground. When night falls, and the fair is empty, something unexpected happens. Wild animals emerge from the trees, a brave raccoon pulls a lever, and the rollercoasters and rides explode back into bright, neon life. Now it’s time for the woodland creatures to have some fun…

Please Bring Balloons  by Lindsay Ward

Ever wondered what it would be like to ride a carousel right off its platform? As Emma discovers, all it takes is a handful of balloons and a very kind polar bear to show you the way. 

Kaya's Heart Song  by Diva Tharan Sanders and Nerina Canzi

Kaya goes off to play and takes a new path through the jungle, where she discovers a run-down carousel. As she sets to work clearing the vines, her mind quietens and soon she can hear the beat of her own heart song. The carousel begins to move and she is able to share her magical experience with lots of people.

Gator  by Randy Cecil

Gator loves everything about being a carousel animal the flashing lights, the calliope music, and most of all, the laughter. But day by day, week by week, fewer and fewer people come to the amusement park, until one day, no one comes at all. And so begins an extraordinary odyssey, as Gator leaves behind the only life he s ever known and sets off through some deep, dark woods to a place with real alligators.

Carousel  by Liz Rosenberg and Jim LaMarche 

Two sisters remember their dead mother's love and what she told them about the carousel horses - that they sleep all winter and wake in the spring. But, one cold day, they see the horses moving, alive and ready to take them on a magical ride. 

Carousel  by Brian Wildsmith

Every year the fair comes to the village where Rosie and Tom live. They wish it would stay forever, but after a few days it always moves on to the next town. The children watch as the carousel is taken down and carried away. One winter Rosie gets sick. To cheer her up, her brother gives her a little toy carousel, just like the one at the fair. As it turns and plays its magic tune the magic begins!

                        Merrylegs by Pam Smy

Merrylegs plods and clomps around the ring every day carrying children on his back. When Merrylegs and his friend Feather visit the fair, he is entranced by the spectacle of the carousel. The lights, the joy, the exaltation of the children’s faces riding the majestic ponies! Why couldn’t Merrylegs be like that? Is there a chance? Maybe a little magical wish that could be summoned one night…

Harry the Carousel Horse by Karin Tetlow and Tessa Gaze

Harry lives on a carousel on the Mall. He is unhappy because no children want to ride him and goes on a dream journey to find out why. On the way he meets different horses and finally finds Will, who helps him change how he feels.

The Carousel by Ursula Dubosarsky and Walter Di Qual

The story of a young girl, and her relationship with the horse she rides on the carousel. When circling, the girl can hear the beating heart of the horse, and knows that he is sad. He is confined to the rhythm of the carousel, going up and down, around and around, and longs to be free.

There are some carousel books without magic

22nd July Hammock Day

National Hammock Day is celebrated every year on July 22nd  in the Northern Hemisphere because it is summer! It is designed to commemorate a universal symbol for relaxation. Developed by the Mayans of Central and South America for sleeping or resting, a hammock is a sling made of fabric, rope or netting, which is suspended between two points such as posts or trees.

It's the day to grab a book and go read in a hammock!

A Wisconsin school has even come up with a creative way to make reading more fun for students. Somerset Elementary School has a new hammock reading garden.

The book doesn't have to feature a hammock, but if you would like it to, look for:

• Havoc in a Hammock  by Kelly Russell Jacques

• Hammock for Two  by Shoshana Stopek

• A Happy Day for Mole and Mouse  by Joyce Dunbar and James Mathew

• Murilla Gorilla and the Hammock Problem  by Jennifer Lloyd and Jacqui Lee

20th July International Chess Day

Let's come together on International Chess Day 2024 to celebrate the timeless game of strategy and wit, and to discover the endless possibilities that chess has to offer. This annual event, recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) since 1966, aims to promote chess as a means of developing intellectual and cultural values, as well as fostering solidarity among people across the globe.

Parents 'push' their children to play chess because it 

• enhances cognitive abilities. Chess has been shown to improve memory, concentration and problem solving skills.

• teaches life skills...patience, resilience, sportsmanship, planning ahead, consequence of your actions and winning or losing with grace.

• promotes social interaction. Despite being a solitary pursuit, it is a very social game, fostering friendships.

• transcends language and culture.It doesn't matter where you are from or what language you speak, the game is universal and the rules are the same for everyone.

I am often asked for books on chess, but not many of them are written for the young students I teach. We have some quite old ones, but these are some new ones.

My First Chess Book  by Katie Daynes

Learn how to command a chess army in this friendly introduction, with entertaining illustrations on how the pieces move, and tons of tips on attacking, defending and winning. A perfect starting point for young children.

The Life-Changing Magic of Chess by Maurice Ashley

Chess is a bit like doing magic. The pieces come alive and you're the magician. You get to move them where you like, within the rules of the game. Cool, huh? So let me take you back to the very beginning and show you how it's done...

Discover why the world's first Black Grandmaster Maurice Ashley thinks that chess is one of the best skills in life. 

Chess for Kids  by Elena Ulyeva

This entertaining and informative introduction to chess teaches children the basic rules of the game, the names of the pieces, and how they move on the board. Readers can follow along with an adorable character named Little Pawn as she finds her way across the chessboard to reach the Queen!

Chess Legends Alphabet  by Beck Feiner

The latest in a series ... From Kasparov to Xin, Polgar to Fischer, Chess Alphabet Legends is an A to Z of the most tactical and cunning chess maestros ever to play the game. Grab your rooks, knights, and board, and prepare for a masterfully illustrated journey sure to captivate chess fans of all ages!

The Queen of Chess  by Laurie Wallmark and Stevie Lewis.

The queen of chess, Judit Polgár, dazzled the world as a prodigy, winning tournaments, gold medals, and defeating eleven world champions, including Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen. At her peak, Judit was rated the eighth best chess player in the world.

When there are chess competitions at school not many girls enter, so this book may help convince them they too, can play chess.

21st July Lamington Day

A lamington is an Australian cake made from squares of butter cake or sponge cake  coated in an outer layer of chocolate or chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut. 

21st July was designated as National Lamington Day in Australia to commemorate an Australian stalwart cake. The history of it is fascinating if you believe what Wikipedia says.

The earliest known reference to the naming of the lamington, from June 1927, links the cake to Lord Lamington, who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901. Most stories attribute its creation to Lord Lamington's chef, the French-born Armand Galland, who was called upon at short notice to feed unexpected guests. Using only the limited ingredients available, Galland cut up some left-over French vanilla sponge cake baked the day before, dipped the slices in chocolate and set them in coconut. Coconut was not widely used in European cooking at that time, but was known to Galland, whose wife was from Tahiti, where coconut was a common ingredient.

It is timely that there is this day to celebrate lamingtons because next month it will be Australian Children's Book Week where the slogan is Reading is Magic. In Australia's most well known picture book Possum Magic the magic 'device' is a lamington. A bite of lamington will make Hush visible again. What a good excuse to reread an old favourite!

There is a copy of mom Fox's lamington recipe here.

Surprisingly, there's not a lot of other story books which feature lamingtons. Your library might have a copy of The Lamington Man by Kel Richards which is a Gingerbread Man story with a lamington instead.

The Concrete Garden by Bob Graham

The Concrete Garden,  an uplifting story about hope and the power of creative expression by Bob Graham has been shortlisted for the Early Childhood Book of the Year! What a gem of a book with so much to offer teachers and students during the lead up to Book Week. At my school we plan to use this book as a focus for reading and creativity while exploring themes of community, resilience and the power of a vivid imagination. Hopefully, every class will make their own chalk garden and we then can have an 'expo' where classes get to visit other classes' gardens.

Amanda comes out of the unit block with a box of chalk and together with other children, on every inch of the pavement outside, they draw pictures of flowers and trees, mushrooms and snails, and a few very unexpected things. It’s a concrete garden. Their creativity, unfettered in the open air, brings something beautiful, something hopeful, to the residents there.

The concept of drawing with chalk on concrete is not a new one. There are other picture books that explore the wonder of chalk drawings, where some even have a piece of chalk that is able to do magic.

The Magic Chalk  by Norwegian author, Zinken Hope was first published in 1949.

A boy named Jon finds a piece of chalk, dropped by a witch, and uses it to draw a stick man on a fence, not knowing that it is magic. The stick man becomes alive and says his name is Sofus. Jon draws a door and together they enter a garden full of talking animals, some of whom they help out using the magic chalk. 

The newer versions of this idea, though are so much better.

  

The Chalk Garden  by Sally Anne Garland

What can you create with a little chalk and a big idea? As Emma uses her imagination to draw a beautiful flower garden with sidewalk chalk, a tiny ecosystem develops outside her door, with real-life flowers that bud and bloom!

Chalk  by Bill Thomson

A rainy day. Three kids in a park. A dinosaur spring rider. A bag of chalk. The kids begin to draw...and then...magic! The children draw the sun, butterflies, and a dinosaur that amazingly come to life. Children will never feel the same about the playground after they experience this astounding wordless picture book and the power of the imagination.

Chalk Boy  by Margaret Wild and Mandy Ord

This book was shortlisted for  CBCA Picture Book of the Year, 2019

Barnaby is a pavement artist. This morning he started drawing me. I have a head that can think, eyes that can see, ears that can hear and legs that can run. Best of all, I have a heart that can feel. Thank you, Barnaby. 

Chalk Eagle  by Nazli Tahvili

A young boy living in the heart of a busy city spots an eagle swooping overhead, and dreams of what it would be like to fly away from the noise and to soar over mountains and rivers. Using a little chalk he draws his own eagle - and then himself - into existence. The two fly away together, and embark on a wonderful adventure of the boy's own imagination.

The Case of the Red-Bottomed Robber!  by Richard Byrne

The young chalks are busy at the chalkboard but someone keeps stealing their drawings . . .Mrs Red calls Sergeant Blue to investigate but when the culprit is caught, he absconds in a cloud of chalk dust. The chalks find another way to lure the suspect into their hands and it is only then that they discover they've misjudged the poor chalk rubber all along . . .

The Boy, the Troll and the Chalk by Anne Booth and David Litchfield

Only one child cannot turn their back on the troll at the edge of the playground. One day, he takes his chalks up to the mouth of the cave. He draws a flower with every petal coloured in but one, and leaves the chalk behind. The next day, the flower has been completed. Day-by-day, the boy and the troll finish each other's drawings, until they each draw a portrait, showing a boy holding hands with a fierce, scary troll. "But you're not a troll," says the boy. "You're a boy - just like me."

How to by Julie Morstad

This imaginative 'how to' book explores whimsical ways of doing a host of different tasks, including 'how to wonder', 'how to see the breeze' and 'how to be brave'. It is not only about chalk, but an entree to other imaginations as well.

A Piece of Chalk  by Jennifer A. Ericsson and Michelle Shapiro

A world of possibilities in an ordinary box of chalk... What would you do with a brand new box of chalk, and a whole driveway as your chalkboard? What would you draw? This little girl draws a red brick wall for starters, then a yellow sun, a brown bird and more. ..

If you are looking for  ideas of what to do on concrete with chalk here are some good ones, and a whole Pinterest here.

Your library might also have this: