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Company Owner is Finalist in PNWA Literary Contest
Laughing Crow Curriculum LLC company owner, Kristen Bergsman, has been named as a finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association's annual literary contest. Her children's manuscript, Valley of the Jade Dragon, is a finalist in the Children's Chapter Book/Young Adult Novel category. Winners will be announced on July 27th.
Nature Journaling Activities--Part II
Summer is here. I can chart its arrival to my garden by the height of the fennel plants, the sweetness of the rhubarb, and the ripening of the blueberries. Grab a blank journal and pen, and step outside into your own garden or a nearby park. You'll be amazed at what you discover.Metaphors. Find a natural object for a subject. Any natural object will work, such as a stone, the bark of a tree, the surface of a pond, or a fern frond. Challenge yourself to develop a list of metaphors for your natural object. Write down the metaphors freely without evaluating them…just write down whatever pops into your mind as it arrives. For example, some metaphors for the bark on a madrona tree might include: mineral scales on the bottom of a teapot; newly stripped bone; tea stained teeth; or peeling paint that needs scraping. You may want to later revisit your list of metaphors and develop one or more of them into a poem or short essay.
Edges. All around you are edges, the boundaries between two spaces. An edge might be large, such as the place where two different ecosystems meets, or it might be a tiny border. An edge could be an estuary, the site of the gravel path, a garden bed, or the base of a cliff. Write about the edge. What is happening there? Include sketches of your edges as well.
Relationships. Sit quietly in nature and soon you'll see relationships emerge. Tree leaves rustling in the sunshine. A songbird eating a worm. A raindrop splashing into a creek. Name the relationships that you see around you. How are things in the immediate environment connected?
Animal Eyes. Shift your perspective and try observing the world around you through the eyes of a wild animal. How would this meadow look if I were a fox? What would I be doing if I were a pond snail? How would this feel if I were a chickadee? Choose an animal that would live in the particular habitat that you are journaling in. Try describing the place through the eyes of the animal.
A Very Good Pig
Today, I'm thinking about pigs. I just finished reading Sy Montgomery's memoir, The Good, Good Pig, which tells about her experiences adopting, raising, and befriending a pig named Christopher Hogwood. This little piglet--the runt of the litter--grows to 750 lbs. and lives to be 14 years old. This is a wonderful book for anyone who understands the intense bond that can form between a human and an animal.I also want to let you know about an amazing organization I just learned about: The Pigs Peace Sanctuary. This is a sanctuary for pigs who are abused, neglected, unwanted, or for those who escape slaughter. Currently, they have around 200 pigs (!!!) plus horses, a pony, sheep, chickens and other rescued animals.
Here's their website: http://pigspeace.org/main/index.html
The sanctuary is located in Stanwood, Washington, about 45 miles north of Seattle. They are always in need of volunteers, donations, and currently, they have a wish list of simple materials and food supplies.Pigs are Friends, Not Food.
Encyclopedia of Life
Have you heard about the Encyclopedia of Life, an unprecedented effort to provide information on all 1.8 million known species of life on Earth?The Encyclopedia of Life is a partnership of The Field Museum of Natural History, Harvard University, Marine Biological Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, and Biodiversity Heritage Library.Check out the demonstration pages at wwwl.eol.org to get a sense of what this amazing online encyclopedia will be like. The first authenticated pages should start being posted in mid-2008, and the Encyclopedia will grow from there.
Nature Journaling Activities--Part I
My garden is bursting with blooms. My peonies look like scoops of raspberry sorbet. My foxglove stalks are blooming in shades of peach, pink, and cream. My rain garden is overgrown with the lilac and white blooms of iris and creamy rock rose. Spring is here in all its glory, making it an excellent time to grab your field journal, head out to your yard, and do some nature journaling. This is the first post in a series of fun, easy, prompts to get you started with nature journaling. So grab a hardback, blank paged journal. Gather a pencil, black pen, and colored pencils. Find a spot in your yard and sit still, taking in all the ongoings of spring. And start writing and drawing!Silhouettes. Sometimes, the hardest part of journaling is getting started. When a blank page looms before you, leaving you stuck, try this simple exercise. Collect several leaves from the ground around you. Choose leaves of interesting and diverse shapes. Trace the leaves on your blank journal page. Now, use the structure imposed by the leaf shapes to form your writing. You can either write your words within the shape of the leaves, or along the outside edge of the leaves. Try this with other natural objects as well, such as stones, shells, and feathers.
Smell. The sense of smell is powerful. In one moment, a scent can transport you through time and space, triggering a specific memory. In the field, gather some natural objects with different scents, such as crushed leaves, flowers, berries and soil. Ask your students to close their eyes as they smell one of the objects, inhaling deeply. Then, encourage your students to free write for a short period about the images conjured up by the scent. Encourage students not to strive to identify the source of the scent, but just to enjoy its unique fragrance.
Touch. Gather some natural objects with interesting shapes and textures, such as a branch covered in lichen or a pine cone dripping with dried sap. Ask your students to close their eyes and explore the object by touch. Ask them to explore the object carefully with their fingertips and with their whole hand. How heavy is it? What is its texture? What is its shape? Now, challenge your students to write about the object, trying to describe it without knowing what it is. After students are done writing, show them their objects for a surprise.Have you created an interesting page in your nature journal? If so, email it to me and I'll post it here in a gallery of nature journaling!
Book Expo Insider Tips
I spent the last four days in NYC attending Book Expo America, a gathering of people involved in the book industry as well as book lovers. While tromping through the seemingly miles of exhibitors, and giving myself a collection of well-earned blisters, I saw many small and large publishers of children's books and educational products.I enjoyed the products exhibited by Nomad Press, an independent publisher based in Vermont. Nomad Press offers books, activity guides, and curriculum for kids, parents and teachers. I especially liked their Explore Your World series, but they have many fun products. Check it out at: http://www.nomadpress.net/CATALOG.htmlI have been a fan of Dawn Publications since I first started teaching games out of Joseph Cornell's classic nature education books, including "Sharing Nature with Children." What I didn't know is that Dawn Publications now has a series called John Denver & Kids that brings to life some of the musician's classic hits. The illustrations in "Take Me Home Country Road" are absolutely beautiful, quilt-like images that at once make you feel like you are wrapped up in grandma's quilt sitting on the porch drinking tea. I love these illustrations. Dawn Publications is one of the few publishers who creates quality Teacher's Guides for some of their children's books. Learn more at: http://www.dawnpub.com/Chronicle Books is a large publisher with many quality products. One stood out for me. Dianna Aston's "An Egg is Quiet" is filled with amazing watercolor illustrations of eggs from birds of all sizes from all over the world. Check it out at: http://www.chroniclebooks.com/site/catalog/index.php?main_page=pubs_product_book_info&products_id=5666&store=kids&zenid=375472ac5079e044c5bc3a9e992ab67eThere's another book in the series called "A Seed is Sleepy" that's also worth checking out.http://www.chroniclebooks.com/site/catalog/index.php?main_page=pubs_product_book_info&products_id=6555&store=kidsHere's to good reading!
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