Volunteer Rifles and New Flags

I have finished the Volunteer Rifleman and I am rather pleased with it. I as you can see I went for the Rifle Green jacket with black facings and silver buttons of a British Rifle regiment. I also gave the chap a Glengarry of the Rifles with a plume or hackle and as the regiment is Scottish I have given it the checked board band with green to mark it as a rifle unit. The trews are in Douglas Hunting Tartan, thanks there to Ray for suggesting that pattern and it works rather well with this.

Douglas Volunteer Rifles, 1938

Also I have done a couple of flags for someone too, these are for his Anglican League force which are based in Chester.

The Aftermath and a new Sketch

Friday night went really well way beyond my widest dreams with about sixty plus people turning up and having a great time. Now it looks like we are going to organise another one for Christmas.

Scottish Republic Volunteer Rifles, 1938

Here is the second sketch for the next Solway book this time about Scotland. I have gone for the semi Victorian/Edwardian look with him. He is wearing a Rifle Green jacket, with 08 pattern, actually its Pattern 1925 Webbing, and he might have Douglas Hunting tartan on the trews.

FLASH SALE & A WINNER!

Thank you so much to all of my sweet followers who participated in my I {Heart} Fall Giveaway!

And the Winner is….

Congratulations to Adelia! Please email me at secondgradeshenanigans@gmail.com to collect your prizes!

And for all of the rest of my followers, I am throwing a little fall celebration in my TPT shop until tomorrow night…midnight!

All of my units will be on sale including all of my favorite fall units! Visit my shop by clicking on any of the pictures below!

Have a happy weekend!

Twitterville Talk #68

Talk about information overload!  There were so many good tweets this week, it was hard not to list every single one.  Here are some which address my followers' love of writing and reading the best.  Have a wonderful fall weekend and make time for reading.




The challenge of retelling Grimms' fairy tales  is a thoughtful essay written by Philip Pullman.  His book Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version is slated for release on November 8, 2012.  Pullman will be retelling fifty of his favorites offering commentary at the end of each.

Thanks to Guardian Books for this tweet.



Here's some food for thought in a summit to be held in New York City, Future of Storytelling.  My personal take is despite the format used, digital or print, oral will never die.  All you have to do is look into the eyes of your listeners to understand.

Thanks to Kevin Hodgson, sixth grade teacher and blogger at Kevin's Meandering Mind.  


If you really want to spend the best hour all month mark down this date, time and event.  The SharpSchu Book Club will be meeting on Twitter on October 3, 2012 at 7:00 PM CDT.  Five picture books will be discussed.

Where's Waldo?  It's his birthday.  It's hard to believe but 25 years of asking: Iconic children's book character celebrates a quarter-century.

I was so excited when my personal copy of Patricia Polacco's new book, Bully arrived.  This is her commentary video.  Plus here is a link to some bookmarks.





A reminder---November Picture Book Month A Celebration!

The first tweet (plus others) is courtesy of John Schumacher, Library Journal Mover & Shaker 2011, teacher librarian and blogger at Watch. Connect. Read.  His co-host is Colby Sharp, fourth grade teacher in Michigan and blogger at sharpread.


Please join Colby Sharp and Donalyn Miller, fourth grade teacher in Texas and author of The Book Whisperer, on Twitter at 8:00 PM EST on September 30, 2012 for #titletalk.  The topic will be booktalking with kids.





How very fortunate we all are.  A Monster Calls written by Patrick Ness with illustrations by Jim Kay (reviewed here) has been read aloud on BBC The 4 O'clock Show.  This title won both the CILIP Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenway Medal.  No book has ever had this distinction.

Sincerest thanks to author Patrick Ness for this tweet.




A pictorial tribute to The Phantom Tollbooth Visualizing Relationships; a wonderful infographic.

Thanks to Maria Popova of Brain Pickings.




For a little peaceful relaxation, a reminder to enjoy the simple things in life and to be receptive to a change in plans read this post, On Butterflies, Discovery, and Magic.

Thanks go to Buffy Hamilton, high school librarian in Canton, Georgia, 2011 Library Journal Mover & Shaker, and blogger at The Unquiet Librarian.




There was a huge birthday party this week, Clifford the Big Red Dog turned fifty years old. Clifford the Big Red Dog creator Norman Bridwell Interview

Thanks go to Sarah Ducharme, elementary school librarian in Budapest and blogger at Try Curiosity.




Author/illustrator Stephen McCranie has posted another comic titled Know You Don't Know which not only showcases his art but gives readers something to ponder.

Mal & Chad Wallpaper---Wow


Thanks to Stephen McCranie for his posts.








Author, Bobbie Pyron, who wrote A Dog's Way Home (reviewed here) has posted the first chapter of her new book, The Dogs of Winter, on her website.  I cannot wait to read this book.

Many thanks to Bobbie Pyron for this post and for writing the books she writes. (Xena loves them.)




For fans of food and books, it doesn't get much better than this--The Tail of Peter Rabbit? 161-year-old Beatrix Potter recipe book goes on sale.

It was an evening to celebrate children's books--The 2012 Carle Honors: Wit, Wisdom, and One Very Drunk Puppet.


Thanks to Children's Bookshelf of Publishers Weekly for this tweet.

If you want to get the inside scoop from authors/illustrators head over to Video interview on NBC Learn(s).

Loads of thanks to Mo Willems' Pigeon for this tweet.




Wanna read... Yes, we do.  Author, Barbara O'Connor shares the first chapter of her title, On The Road to Mr. Mineo's.

Thanks for this tweet and a glimpse into this story, Barbara O'Connor.





I was very fortunate to get an ARC of Grace Lin's new title, Starry River of the Sky which I reviewed here.  When my hardcover copy arrived I was completely taken with the beauty of the full color illustrations.  This week the book trailer was released.

Thanks to Grace Lin for giving her readers another book showcasing her gifted storytelling skills and for this tweet.



If this doesn't make you want to read the books and watch the movies all over again, I don't know what will.  Just The Spells from all the movies.

Thanks to School Library Journal for this tweet.






Tony DiTerlizzi has been hard at work on the tenth anniversary edition of The Spiderwick Chronicles (time most certainly does fly). Here is a link to a blog post where he gives readers a peek into the process.

Many thanks to Tony DiTerlizzi for this tweet.





We most certainly have come a long way in some things---The Internet A Decade Later

Thanks to StudyBlue for tweeting about this infographic.





Author/illustrator, Matt Tavares, gives us a peek at some of the original artwork he created for Doreen Rappaport's new title, Helen's Big World.  The title will be released in October 2012.

Many thanks to Matt Tavares for this look at these beautiful pictures.





I could not resist some of these quotes.  I am sorry about having so many but it was just one of those weeks.

“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” ~ C.S. Lewis...
— ReadingIsFundamental (@RIFWEB) September 18, 2012

Have a smile! Happy Saturday! What are you reading this weekend? instagr.am/p/P4WKxeB6MZ/
— Jen Vincent (@mentortexts) September 22, 2012

What a perfect day for a drive—wind in your face, ears flapping in the breeze. twitter.com/SandyBoynton/s…
— Sandra Boynton (@SandyBoynton) September 22, 2012

"I encourage you to go to the library because it's part of our civic participation." @realjohngreen #NatBookFest
— Rebecca Oxley (@LibrariansFTW) September 22, 2012

Walter Dean Myers says comic books have 5x the language as evening news:an important literacy tool. #NatBookFest
— Judy Polak (@jfpolak) September 22, 2012

Happy First Day of Autumn 2012! ... BONK! fb.me/1V0gMQX2N
— MuttsComics (@muttscomics) September 22, 2012

I'm not totally anti-kindle but I do think books are best when you open them like little doors because that is what they are, really.
— Matt Haig (@matthaig1) September 22, 2012

After seeing the crowds @ #NatBookFest in DC, I'm certain the physical book is here to stay for a long time. Esp. children's picture books!
— Peter H. Reynolds(@peterhreynolds) September 22, 2012

Just got my first marriage proposal from a reader. Of course, he's ten. But I'm willing to wait! ;-)
— Kirby Larson (@KirbyLarson) September 24, 2012

Mary Pope Osborne just shared that Alexander the Great and Harry Houdini will be featured in future Magic Tree House books.
— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) September 28, 2012

A student told me today that his dog ate his homework. It was his entire novel, Flush. Gone. His dad had to go store to buy a new one.
— KevinHodgson (@dogtrax) September 28, 2012

Flannel Friday Guest Posts: Apple Farmer

This week we have a return Guest Poster for the Flannel Friday Round-Up. 

Lindy is back! 

Yay!

To learn a little about Lindy, you can visit her first Guest Post here.

And now, here is her contribution for this week:

Apple Farmer

(Sung to "Bingo")

There was a farmer had some trees.

His apples were so tasty.

A-P-P-L-E

A-P-P-L-E

A-P-P-L-E

His apples were so tasty!

Continue singing the next verse and turn over the first apple and clap like when singing "Bingo".

Continue singing, turning over apples and clapping until the last apple is turned.

Then everyone yells, "Yum yum!"

And So It Begins...

Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it.

Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana (1863-1952)

I've always liked those two phrases but what if the history you knew was slightly off?  What if the facts filling pages of books, the history you had been taught to remember, were not true?  What if for thousands of years history had been manipulated by a powerful entity?

A few short weeks after the ringing in of 2012 an announcement heralding a new series, complete with specialized maps and an online game feature, was made.  Containing seven books in total it would be written by six bestselling authors, James Dashner (books 1 and 7), Carrie Ryan (book 2), Lisa McMann (book 3), Matt de la Pena (book 4), Matthew J. Kirby (book 5) and Jennifer A. Nielsen (book 6).

A Mutiny In Time (Book One, Scholastic) starts off running and never looks back.

Dak Smyth sat on his favorite branch of his favorite tree, right next to his favorite friend, Sera Froste.  Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon, he thought.

Fifth graders Dak and Sera are not only best friends but geniuses, nerds in their respective areas of interest.  At the most inopportune times, Dak can't help but give small verbal dissertations on aspects of history.  The methodical, organized calm of a science lab is pure heaven for Sera.

In short order escaping death when an earthquake strikes, during a class field trip to the Smithsonian Museum in the capital city of Philadelphia, becomes the least of their worries.  When his parents leave on one of their fairly predictable weekend trips, Dak takes the keys to their lab knowing Sera will enjoy spending time there.  Inside the lab they discover a puzzle and a figure eight shaped metal object encased in glass, The Infinity Ring.

When his parents are told what the two have done their anger and fear for all their lives nearly overrides the good news, Sera has completed the formula, the program necessary to travel in time.  Before Dak and Sera can comprehend that his parents have vanished during an initial test of the device, the lab is invaded by people dressed in black from head to toe.  Hoods placed over their heads, the two are taken and driven to what they can only imagine is SQ headquarters.  SQ controls everything... worldwide.

To their surprise they have been removed from the lab for their own protection by a group known as the Hystorians, formed by Aristotle who believed there were Great Breaks in history, who believed that one day time travel would be possible to fix these obstacles placed in the flow of events.  Brint Takashi and Mari Rivera, heads of the Hystorian team, fear the Cataclysm (a natural world gone wild, breakdowns in the grid, stronger Remnants, unexplained memories) is quickly approaching. An explosion rips through the Hystorian stronghold.  It's not the Cataclysm...the SQ have arrived.

Riq, a sixteen year old specialist in languages, Dak and Sera warp from the mass confusion and certain death in the nick of time but ill-prepared, having only the Infinity Ring and a small handheld computer, a SQuare.  Whisking from the pyramids of ancient Egypt to 1492 Spain, the trio are determined to complete their first fix.  Just as the Hystorians have been preparing for their arrival for generations, so too have the agents of the SQ, Time Wardens. One will protect them, the other will not hesitate to kill them.

Uncertainty about their exact task, fearing anyone could be working for the SQ and the lack of time stalk them as they become part of the crew aboard the Santa Maria.  Tension at every turn of page, mounting dread and non-stop twists propel the action forward.  In the final two pages readers will start to breathe normally again only to be startled by the very...last...line.

James Dashner certainly knows how to spin a story filled with non-stop action, appealing characters and hints of humor.  Cliff-hanger chapter endings, dialogue and thoughts that ring true and the mix of history and science through time travel, are a winning combination in his more than capable hands.  The interplay of Dak and Sera, who've known each other so long thoughts can be conveyed in a glance, against the snarky hostility between Dak and Riq is an interesting, entertaining element.

Here are a couple of passages.

It's coming, all right.  The Cataclysm is coming, and we'll all wish we were dead long before it kills us."

"Yeah, I know," Dak interrupted.  "Easy. Piece of cake. Like ...naming the presidents in order of how old they were when they got elected.  Kid's stuff.  But how do you know for sure that it does work?"
"Because all the formulas are balanced.  The mechanics of it make sense now.  I'd go into more detail, but based on how riveted you were by my earlier explanations, I think I'll spare you the pain. But I know it works.  The same way you know that two plus two is four."
"Thanks for keeping it at my level. Anyway, what do we do now genius?"
A huge smile lit up her face.  "We tell your parents all about it."
He suddenly wanted to throw up and run to China.

"What a weirdo," Dak said. "He could sleep on the tip of a weather vane."

Infinity Ring, Book One, A Mutiny In Time written by James Dashner is a gripping, science fiction adventure that will have the intended audience eagerly awaiting the next installment, Divide and Conquer, set to be released in November of this year.  In the meantime a top secret, only to be opened after completing a Mutiny In Time, guide and map is tucked inside the front cover.  Readers are encouraged to use it and join the game at the official Infinity Ring website.

By following this link readers can read and listen to excerpts from this title as well as view other related media.

Here is a series of videos.  The first introduces the authors.  The second is a combination of the characters' quest in the books and the first fix in the game.  The third is a student interview of James Dashner.

Planning a Big Eat for my local Community

I know this has nothing to with wargaming but tomorrow night I am planning a Big Eat and Get Together for the local community. As a member of the local forum, in which we try and save our local village, which is a urban village now, for building developments which are out of character with the rest of the village, getting a 20mph zone in place in front of the infant school, stopping developers from building houses on a flood risk area and destroying the local wildlife and getting potholes filled, I am planning an evening where anyone and everyone in the local community to come and share there favourite disks with each other and actually get to know there neighbours. Now I have never done anything like this before and if it is successful and I hope it is, then plan to repeat this every quarter. As you can imagine I am shite scared as I hope people turn up or else I have a ton of meatballs and pasta to eat by myself, lol. So please wish me and the others the best of luck and people will turn up. So if you are in the area please pop in.

To The Core...

Thirty years ago a community in Michigan began what has become an annual tradition, Applefest, held on the second weekend in October each and every year in downtown, Charlevoix.  The street is lined with orchard vendors displaying as many different shades and varieties of apples as Mother Nature painting her colors across the surrounding forests.  It is a celebration of a fruit spread through the creation of nurseries by a man commonly known as Johnny Appleseed.

Yesterday, two hundred, thirty-eight years ago, a man named John Chapman was born.  His status in American history has grown to that of hero.  Seed by Seed:  The Legend and Legacy of John "Appleseed" Chapman (Greenwillow Books) is a labor of love by author, Esme Raji Codell and author/illustrator, Lynne Rae Perkins.


In a present day city we see a girl and boy looking out a window with all the changes from progress reflected outside in the cityscape and inside their home.  As the narrator speaks the two find themselves (as we are) transported back to an era with a slower pace; wagons instead of cars, dirt roads, axes not chainsaws for the cutting of wood, fires for warmth.  Walking through the snowy woods the two see ahead into a new season, a season of beginnings.

From the date of John Chapman's birth we are fast forwarded to how he viewed his purpose, how he lived his life and what it means to all of us today.  Shown to us is a man who walked the talk:

Use what you have.
Share what you have.
Respect nature.
Try to make peace where there is war.
You can reach your destination by taking small steps.

For these five beliefs readers are provided with supportive pieces from this man's daily life.  Chapman's clothing was hand-me-down or made from coffee and potato sacks.  He shared his books by ripping them up by chapters to circulate to people he met on his travels.  Can you imagine the kind of man who would save mosquitoes from the flames of a fire?

In order to protect the Native Americans and settlers from one another he perfected a plan for peace.  Chapman may have taken small steps but he covered large areas; his nurseries stretched for more than one hundred thousand square miles.  Where are the boy and girl to whom we were first introduced?

Seed by seed, deed by deed.

Will they, will we, make a difference today as John Chapman did hundreds of years ago?


Esme Raji Codell, a proud honorary member of the Johnny Appleseed Society, composes her discussion of this man through poetic prose that allows readers to step through a window into his world.  She aptly compares our current world with the world of John Chapman using sensory sentences.

Maybe you could catch the creaking of a wagon wheel,
straining against the ruts in the road...

What she has chosen to share with her readers is exactly what we need to know to make this man alive for us today, what makes him someone we would want to know and what gives him a prominent place in our past.


Using watercolor and gouache Lynne Rae Perkins's rich illustrations provide the ideal depiction of the change from present day to the past.  The shifting of time from an apartment building to Johnny Appleseed sitting on a fallen tree in front of a fire, snacking on an apple, flows with purposeful ease.  Altering between single-centered illustrations on a page, two-page spreads, full-page bleeds and varied smaller groupings, Perkins matches Codell's pacing.

To bring more realism to her pictures Lynne Rae Perkins has experimented with other materials.  Her endeavors to transport readers to the here and now of then are notable.  In the section on Use what you have, the background for the text is burlap.  To highlight Share what you have an old book separated into chapters showcases the words.  A detailed woodcarving becomes a broad eye-catching heading. A breathtaking, exquisite embroidery spans two pages to picture the final phrase.


Esme Raji Codell and Lynne Rae Perkins have created an informative, thoughtful portrayal of a man who made his mark in their title, Seed by Seed:  The Legend and Legacy of John "Appleseed" Chapman.  As part of the title verso Codell has included a list of selected resources and acknowledgments.  On the final page is an activity that could be done in the classroom or at home along with a recipe for apple pie.

Be sure to visit each of the websites linked to the author's and illustrator's names at the beginning of this post.  Their discussions about this book are wonderful.

The Final Frontier?

On September 18, 2012 Time released their list of the 50 Best Websites 2012 in an article written by Harry McCracken (@harrymccracken).  Heather Moorefield (@actinginthelib), former chair of the AASL Best Websites Committee was kind of enough to bring it to the attention of her followers on Twitter.  One of the websites on the Time list under the category of News and Information was NASA.gov.

Interestingly enough one of the 25 Best Websites for Teaching and Learning selected by The American Association of School Librarians for 2012 was NASA Kids' Club.  It's included under Curriculum Collaboration, Standards for 21st-Century Learner, 1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community, 3.1.2 Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners, 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess and 4.3.1 Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person.  Within the info for teachers section they state:

NASA will provide a wealth of resources that are safe, fun, and educational for your students.  You can expect them to find reliable information on space-related topics, as well as games, Web Quests, and even chats with NASA experts.

I decided to try every single option on the home page.  The first button on the top left took me to Now In Space---Space Station Crew.  Viewers are introduced to each of the current crew members and given a couple of interesting facts about each.  The commander of the crew now, Sunita Williams from the United States, holds the record for the longest spaceflight for a woman.  You can also get information about past space station missions and past shuttle missions.


The middle button on the top is Window to Earth---What's New, pictures of earth taken from space.  After clicking on that button as well as look here, you are taken to a map of the world with place names on the left.  There are arrows on either side of the globe.  You can select a place from the written names or click on the arrows to spin the globe and choose a place that way.  Icons at the bottom left allow users to turn off the sound and seek help.

When you choose a place it takes you to a satellite image where a geographical/land form term is defined.  You can manipulate the picture by using the tools on the right to zoom in and out.  You can go up or down and left or right once you have zoomed in.

The final frame on the upper right contains 170 photographs that can be viewed in a loop or individually.  They range from views from and of space, to space vehicles, or to geological facts.  Each photograph is accompanied by a short explanatory caption.

Level 1 example

Level 2 example

The numbered (1-5) colored boxes beneath these activities represent a series of games at different levels, beginning with the easiest on the left.  Level one has three games in the space/geology theme having to do with matching patterns, letter identification and finding what is different between two similar pictures.  There are only two games in level two, building a rocket from a blueprint, matching parts and guessing a number with hints of too high or too low.

Level 3 example

Level three has three challenges, adding a grid of numbers to match the changing numbers on the moon, moving the Mars rover through a series of mazes and finding clusters of stars based upon their heat.  In level four there are two tests of wits. The first is a concentration-type matching of clocks to get a plane to take-off.  The second is a bit trickier.  You need to find everyday materials that are spin-offs of NASA creations.

Level 4 example

Level 5 example

The final set of tests first asks you to choose which planet best answers a question to move a comet closer to the sun.  The second concerns lining planes up on a runway.  That was difficult for me. (But then I'm not a gamer.)


Beneath this series of challenges are four more areas to explore.  They are so complete and detailed you could spend hours here.  They are:

• Mars Fun Zone
• Asteroid Naming Contest
• Go Look
• To Infinity and Beyond

The Mars Fun Zone takes you into the Mars for Kids section but you can also go to other areas within the larger heading of the Mars Exploration Program.  At the kids section are a games and interaction category.  Three games are available, Take a Mars Adventure, Mars Word Find and Weight on Mars.  Send Your Name to Mars, Be a Martian, Send a Postcard to Spirit, Ask Dr. C a Question, Rover Photosynth and Explore the Mars Yard are the interactions.

The Asteroid Naming Contest is exactly what it says.  By December 2, 2012 children under the age of 18 have the opportunity to name an actual asteroid.  Try for a chance to name 1999 RQ36!

In Go Look  Sesame Street's Elmo visits the Kennedy Space Center.  Take the tour through a series of nine videos with Elmo and Leland Melvin, a former astronaut.  When a video is chosen the next page contains that video plus access to all the NASA videos.  For that video there are buttons to enlarge it to full screen and turn on the closed captioning.  It can be shared via a URL link, HTML embed code, email, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Digg, Delicious, and Pinterest.  The video can be downloaded and comments can be made.

The last square in the lower right-hand corner, To Infinity and Beyond, uses Buzz Lightyear to guide users through a series of six missions concerning the International Space Station.  Each of the missions provides an educational worksheet.





 The missions loosely defined are:

• two different levels of difficulty in loading the spaceship using metric measurements
• a concentration game matching a country's flag with a fact having to do with space exploration
• an I Spy type game where users locate objects tossed about in the spacecraft, as each object is found a fact explains how NASA developed its use
• robotics in space; using an arm to grab
• building the International Space Station, how it was done

NASA Kids' Club is "out of this world".  There is so much information at this site presented in a "kid-friendly" manner you could be "lost in space" for weeks.  I wanted to go back and try everything again as soon as I was finished.  You could not ask for more appropriate resources for the intended age groups with supporting materials for educators and parents than this site provides.  I completely concur with AASL's placing this on the 25 Best Websites for Teaching and Learning 2012.