Ellen Miller

12-7-09 Making Bandana Man with Ms. Morrison's 4th graders

Friends:

Today I began a two-week residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, Louisiana. This is my 9th year at Bissonet, and I look forward to my annual visit. Special thanks to Ellen Miller, Bissonet’s Librarian, for always inviting me back! This year, I am doing Handmade Tales with the students, teaching them the stories. At the end of the residency, students from each class will perform a tale.

My day began in 4th grade with Ms. Morrison’s class. I told them the story “Catching a Pest,” a story I created that uses the numbers 1 through 7 to depict a mouse. They loved it. Then I shared “Bandana Man,” a rendition of “Gingerbread Man,” created with a bandana. The students had so much fun learning how to make Bandana Man, though it was challenging.

12-7-09 Bandana Man in Ms. Morrison's 4th grade class

I then went to Ms. Naugle’s 4th grade class. They were working on a number of holiday projects, including these adorable cards!

12-7-09 Happy Holiday Cards from Ms. Naugle's 4th Grade Class

I told “Catching a Pest” and then taught them “Bandana Man.” They enjoyed the handmade tales and had a great time.

12-7-09 Ms. Naugle's 4th grade class creates Bandana Man

From 4th grade, I traveled downstairs to Ms. Hahn’s kindergarten class. They loved the story of “Catching a Pest” but were REALLY thrilled when I told “Papa’s Teepee,” a story that turn a coffee filter into a Native American teepee and then turns the teepee into a snowflake. I worked with them, helping them turn their coffee filters into snowflakes.

12-7-09 Working w Ms. Hahn's Kindergarten Class

After creating their snowflakes, we created a snow blizzard, turning the classroom into a “winter wonderland.” You should have seen the students’ faces as they floated their snowflakes!

12-7-09 Ms. Hahn's Kindergarten Class makes snowflakes!

After kindergarten, it was on to Ms. Presser’s second grade class. We did “Catching a Pest,” “Papa’s Teepee,” and I even had time to do a draw and tell story, “The Emperor’s Dragon.” All of the stories are from my book, Handmade Tales. The students were so well-behaved. I really enjoyed seeing them make their snowflakes float to the ground!

12-7-09 Ms. Presser's 2nd graders created snowfall

My next class was Ms. Duhe’s first grade class. They were so excited to see me that they cheered. So many of the students remember me from last year’s visit. In many cases, I see the students as they go from kindergarten to 5th grade. The children had fun doing the handmade tales.

12-7-09 A student in Ms. Duhe's 1st grade class creates a mouse using numbers

We hung their snowflakes from their display line. Wintry greetings from Ms. Duhe’s class!

12-7-09 Ms. Duhe's 1st graders' snowflakes

My final class was Ms. McLeod’s 5th grade reading class. The students were so excited to see me. It was such a warm welcome. We worked on “Catching a Pest” and “The Magic Star,” a cut and tell story. The star proved to be very challenging for the students. Consequently, I only took one picture!

12-7-09 A fifth grader creates the numbers mouse

It was a great day and I enjoyed being back at the school. It’s a challenge going up and down the stairs of the school with my sprained ankle still healing but the students helped me tremendously. Tomorrow is another full day! Six classes of joyous students.

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

(Note: Students’ faces are obscured to protect their identities.)

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