Hoop Genius and Trashket Ball

Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball
John Coy, author
Joe Morse, illustrator
Lerner Books, 2013

Teachers are under-rated. If you've never been in charge of the education of a group of squirrely youngsters during the month of February, then you have NO idea of the level of inventiveness going on in the classroom. I'm not surprised in the least that a gym teacher invented one of America's favorite sports! Nor that it was with his students' help and based on a childhood game he seemed to have invented with his neighbors.

Hoop Genius is a terrific read, especially if you have young basketball fans in your home (as I do!). What makes this a strong informational picture book?
*Vibrant, active illustrations--Morse packs this book with energy in art form
*An insight into the origins of sports: all sports we play today were invented at some point--and many are no doubt based on the games children invent and creative adults recreate
*Some things never change: a group of bored students is always a party waiting to happen (whether that party is on their terms or the teacher's!)
*the mash-up of text and pictures works quite well in this book

Look for Hoop Genius on shelves come March 1. In the meantime, you might consider playing "Trashket Ball" in your classroom or in your home as a review game. This is a game my students taught me when I taught high school English.

Group Play:
Two teams. Teacher asks a player on each team in turn a review question. If the student answers correctly, his or her team gets a point. If they answer correctly, they also get the chance to shoot the "ball" (a wadded up piece of paper) into the "basket" (trash can works nicely) for an extra point. I need hardly tell you the motivation this gave some of my students to work hard at the review game.

Small Group/Individual Play:
At home with just one or two students? Teams are not necessary. Score each child as an individual and ask whatever level questions each child needs (this allows you to mix and match grade/ability levels). A laundry basket and nerf ball work just as well as wadded up paper and a trash can!

Enjoy! And share with us some of YOUR favorite February games and activities!

Book from Lerner Press via Netgalley (thanks!); cover image from goodreads.

Giveaway Winners Announced and some Weekend Fun

Announcing our first giveaway winners! (Determined through the VERY scientific process of drawing names out of a hat ☺).

Planting a Rainbow goes to "daughtermommie."

Growing Vegetable Soup goes to "Jason Kaiser."

Congratulations!! If you would email me with your snail mail address, we'll be happy to get those out to you! I'm fyona(at)gmail(dot)com.

Second order of business is some weekend fun for you and your kids. Last week we featured an activity to go with some board books. This week, we're bumping it up to those early readers we love. You no doubt remember Green Eggs and Ham from when you were a child yourself, but if you haven't witnessed its enduring magic with a child in your life, make haste to check this book out at the library next time you're there! Perfect for those just starting to read, this book is a delight for children with its silliness, approachable text, and zany illustrations.

And, you might try this delicious "Green Eggs and Ham" recipe when you read the book! One morning, I had some spinach languishing in the fridge, some leftover ham, and some eggs...

And here you go! Green eggs and ham. I accidentally deleted my picture of it; it's more "yellow eggs with flecks of green." The kids eat this--you cannot taste the spinach. Feel free to add in a little cheese, too. That's also yummy.

• Fresh spinach
• Ham chunks
• Eggs

Amounts vary depending on your family. Remember, spinach cooks down quite a bit. Saute a few handfuls of spinach in a tiny amount of water, tossing and turning over, until wilted/cooked (don't cook it to death). Drain well and chop. Add chopped ham and chopped spinach to beaten eggs. Scramble as you would normally.

Enjoy!

Gardening + Giveaway! (Planting a Rainbow and Growing Vegetable Soup)

 


Planting a Rainbow
Lois Ehlert
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
1992


Growing Vegetable Soup
Lois Ehlert
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
1987



These two charming books have been around a while, but they're worth reminding folks about. My daughter could not get enough of Planting a Rainbow when she was a toddler and preschooler. Recently, we gave board book editions of both books to a friend for her kids; I could hardly pry the books out of my trio's hands in order to wrap them up. They're all old enough to read the books now, so they have a renewed enjoyment in them.

Both books are structured the same way: a garden is planted from start to harvest. The seeds/bulbs/rhizomes/cuttings are all labeled with the name of the resulting fruit/flower. The book progresses through the growing season, showing each plant growing and blossoming (labeled on each page). Ehlert's bold, collage style illustrations are an especial hit with young children.

Friday Fun Activity!

You guessed it: go plant a garden!! These books are wonderful aids in showing our children the intricacies of Creation as well as how much work and time goes on behind the scenes for that delicious carrot or beautiful zinnia. Children love to see how different all the seeds look and love getting their hands dirty and poking around in the dirt. It's not too late to start a garden--flowers or vegetables--this year.

Flowers: Planting a Rainbow features many common flowers, some of which are very kid-friendly. Pick up a packet of zinnia or marigold seeds and let your children have some fun. These flowers are easy to grow and you will still get some nice summer blooms out of them (you may have to water them/baby them a bit if it's already quite hot in your area).

Vegetables: Growing Vegetable Soup talks about a lot of different veggies. Some of the easiest to grow are things like zucchini ; you still have plenty of time to plant those for a harvest (cucumbers, melons, snap/pole beans--all are easy to plant from seed now). No time to garden? You might consider making a regular visit to your local farmer's market or joining a CSA (community supported agriculture).

Just to inspire you MORE, we have 1 board book copy of each book to give away!! We will be including a little extra special surprise for you along with the board book. Leave a comment saying what your gardening plans are and/or a favorite children's book about gardens and which book you'd prefer (no guarantees). We'll choose names at random.

Giveaway ends midnight EST, Thursday May 31. Check back next Friday for the winners!