6th January Pulse Feast

2016 is the International Year of Pulses. Visit the website and see a film clip that explains what pulses are and why we should celebrate them. Pulse Feast is celebrated on 6th January (aka  Bean Day). This feast encourages people around the world to eat pulses, to show their love of beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas. It also aims to raise awareness of the health, nutrition and sustainability benefits of pulses for people, animals and the planet.

And as I have written about for the last three days, and will again tomorrow there are hundreds of picture books you could use to also celebrate pulses.

Strictly speaking pulses are seeds, so they are dried beans and peas rather than the fresh vegetables, so today I searched the library catalogue for books about baked beans and was surprised to find we had some. You may have some of these too, even though some are old.

While reading these remember the song Musical Beans

Beans, beans, the musical fruit
The more you eat, the more you toot
The more you toot, the better you feel
So we have beans at every meal!


And then you will have to read It All Started With a Bean by Katie McKy.

28th March Skipping Day

Our school is a 'big' skipping school. We take part in Jump Rope for Heart and the kindergarten teachers make a point of teaching their children to skip each year and giving them time during most days to do some skipping before the big event. Last year the teachers told the children they would come to school in their pyjamas if they raised a certain amount of money. It was a very large amount and I don't think the teachers thought it would ever happen, but it did! So school in pyjamas happened.

So when I read it was Skipping Day in England today I thought I would investigate what they did in the way of skipping. It turns out that it is not a fundraising day, but purely about children, fun and good aerobic exercise. Schools can register, just like our Jump Rope and take part in activities that are planned and conducted by visitors to the school.

Today as I was putting Olive and the Big Secret  by Tor Freeman back on the shelf, I noticed that Olive always seems to have a skipping rope in her hands and then I went to the catalogue to see what other books could be used to  encourage skipping. There were three:
• Hop, Skip and Jump, Maisy!  by Lucy Cousins
• Ready, Set, Skip!  by Jane O'Connor and Ann James
• Elsie Piddock Skips in her Sleep  by Eleanor Farejon and Charlotte Voake.

And then two books with skipping rhymes:
• One Two Skip a Few by Roberta Arenson
• Schoolyard Rhymes by Judy Sierra and Melissa Sweet

And don't forget all those rhymes from your childhood like Cinderella dressed in yella, went upstairs...; Miss Mary Mack all dressed in black...; Teddy bear, teddy bear... etc  all collected together by June factor in Australia and Roger Abrahams in the USA.

8th January Marjorie Priceman (1958)

Yesterday's book was new, today's is old. You will probably have it in your library though. Summer by June Factor and Alison Lester is a good book to revisit at the beginning of school because the children can then compare their summer activities to the activities of the children in the book. It has a simple text by Dr June Factor, the folklorist responsible for collecting all those wonderful playground rhymes that started with Far Out Brussell Sprout. The illustrations are very early Alison Lester, with strong colour and bold shape as she has done again in her new picture book, Noni the Pony.

P.S. It is American illustrator Marjorie Priceman's birthday. Read Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, a story about the orchestra, written in rhythmic verse and a fun way to introduce number and music to a child. See lesson plan for how it could be used here.