SNAIL MAIL AUTHOR LETTERS

Hello lovelies. 

Many of you are home with kids due to the current world health pandemic. {That is a sentence I never thought I'd write. }

But here we are, facing fear with courage and creativity. And in that light, I would like to offer some ideas. 

I got to homeschool my kids for four sweet years. 

During that time, we enjoyed heaps of knee-deep creative learning. 

In case it helps anyone who suddenly has a houseful, 

I thought I'd share some favorite creative learning projects with you over the next few days.

SNAIL MAIL AUTHOR LETTER PROJECT

One of our favorites was when we tried to write 100 letters to children's book authors & illustrators. Life jumped in and we only managed about 35 or 40 letters, but many authors wrote back & won fans for life! 

Some authors sent bookmarks and "swag." 
Some drew the kids beautiful pictures. 


Thank you Nina Laden!Thank you, Dana Sullivan!

Our very dear Kim Baker sent my girl Winnie a PICKLE t-shirt. Swoon!
 Rayna received a package from author-illustrator Evan Turk that had two of his books in it!
 

  This project incorporates:

• LITERACY (read an author's book)
• CRITICAL THINKING (What questions do you have for the author or illustrator after reading it? What do you wonder about? What connections do you have with the author or book that you can share?)
• RESEARCH (google author & hunt down a mailing address - or mail to the author c/o the publisher address)
• WRITING (How to write a letter is a helpful thing to learn! We always did a rough draft, edits, final draft)
• ART (I always had the kids add an illustration inspired by the author's book)

Stay tuned for more homebound learning ideas over the next few days!

School's out!

Goodnight, pencil jars. 

Goodnight, lunchboxes. 

 School's out!

Hello, sunshine books.

Hello, swing seats. 

Hello, sandy feet. 

Summer is in session!

Summery reads:

 

   

 Sam and Jump by Jennifer K. Mann
A Beach Tail by Karen Lynna Williams, ill. by Floyd Cooper
Listen to Our World by Bill Martin Jr & Michael Sampson, ill. by Melissa Sweet
Surf's Up by Kwame Alexander, ill. by Daniel Miyares
Ocean Sunlight by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm
Island: A Story of the Galapagos by Jason Chin

Mermaid sightings

The twins are fast approaching ten!
"Tween twins!" Winnie reminds me.
"Double digits, doubled!"

And just like that, a decade ebbs. 

 

Having soaked up the Emily Windsnap books lately, 

they want to be mermaids. 

So, I've been making art.

Mermaidy tattoos!

 

Painted shells. 

Waves of seaweed.

 

 

Glowy lights.  

Cupcakes + art = yummy.   

 

Mermaids, this way. Your party awaits.

 Books!

The Mermaid and the Shoe by K. G. Campbell

The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler

The Little Mermaid - Hans Christian Anderson, ill. by Lisbeth Zwerger 

Breathe - Scott Magoon

 

The Forgotten Sisters - Shannon Hale

Three Times Lucky - Sheila Turnage

Secrets at Sea - Richard Peck 

Listen, Slowly - Thanhha Lai

Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea - Steve Jenkins

The Storm Whale - Benji Davies
Plastic Ahoy! Investigating the great Pacific Garbage Patch - Patricia Newman
Shackleton's Journey - William Grill

Got Mail?

 
Because everyone needs a reason to hide secret notes...


I made a mail kit.

It's our Narnian Lamppost.
Our Portal.
Our place where the real world transforms into the magical one.
 
See, Pip and Winnie haven't exactly been excited
about writing time.
They moan and whinge when it's time
to pull out notebook and pen.

But now they have a reason to write.

All manner of small letters, notices and lists
have been appearing in the mailbox, begging for a reader. 
 
Secret message makers, word lovers in the making, I hope.
And if we're not so concerned with punctuation just yet,
still Something is being kindled,
and that Something is what we're going for - 

getting so lost in play so that the unseen world
shines brighter within us,
and the ordinary world shines brighter on our return...

This is what I want for myself, too.
To take more time to play
with my words, with art, with the kids
without focusing on how much I get done.

I have a choice every day -
wear myself out trying to blast through my goals,
or find the sweet spots and savor.

Relish the revision. 
   (thank you Gail Carson Levine and
     Molly Blaisell for your great advice.)
and

if you need a reason to play with your words,
or an incentive for young heel-dragging-writers,
may I suggest a mail box?

Our kit is compiled of:

A domed box (thrift store find)
Denim.
Felt.
Mod podge.
Ribbon.
A cardboard swing arm fastened with a nut and bolt.
 
I added a mail sack, felt envelopes and flannel stamps
plus a thick stack of paper
for good measure.

My dad's old mail carrier hat tops the cake.

Any mail today?

Books of Note:

 

The Dove's Letter by Keith Baker


The Jolly Postman, by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

The Jolly Christmas Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart, illustrated by David Small
Toot and Puddle by Holly Hobbie
Letters from Father Christmas - J.R.R. Tolkien
Love, Mouserella by David Ezra Stein
 
Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly - Gail Carson Levine

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
The Enchanted Chocolate Pot - Patricia C. Wrede, Caroline Stevermer

And an experiment. 

I've been trying to set up some freebies for my small writer friends, so here is my first attempt. Drag the image below to your desktop, and it should be ready to print.

You are welcome to use this art as long as you credit the artist (Hey, that's me - Faith Pray!) and as long as you don't try to pass it off as your own work, or sell it (That would be illegal). If you are going to pin or webshare this, please credit me as the artist, and link back to this original post.

Thank you for the respect.