Dia de los abuelos: Book recommendations

I am so thankful for grandparents!  My girls are blessed to have four wonderful grandparents that love them and care for them in four unique ways.  While Grandparents' Day is celebrated in other countries on different dates, it is celebrated here in the US on September 9th.  There are so many great books to read to your students about grandparents with lots of reading strategy and writing potential.  Here are some examples:

I am kind of partial to books published by Piñata Books Arte Público Press.  This one is a precious cumulative tale in the style of "This is the house that Jack built".

Ésta es la abuela

que sueña con las caras felices

que comieron las empanadas

y bebieron la leche

que sirvió la abuela

que alimentó a la familia

que vino con los primos…

Younger students would love to participate in this as an interactive read-aloud.  Second graders could revisit the text for some great practice on past tense verbs.  

There is not much text to this book BUT if you are working with early writers, this is an excellent way to show how the author tells a story with her illustrations and just a few words to convey the meaning.  

This book is filled with beautiful language.  The descriptive scenes would be perfect for having small groups of students act out what they visualize based on the text.  

One thing I love about this book is the many reasons it provides for why so many people appreciate this grandmother.  Using a Bubble Map from Thinking Maps or another descriptive graphic organizer, your students could brainstorm their own reasons for why they are grateful for their own grandparents.

Another book from Piñata Books, this one highlights the special way we can learn about the past from our grandparents.  An excellent homework writing assignment would be to have students interview a grandparent or other older person to learn about a favorite food and its history.

This list is just a beginning!  I would love to know your suggestions and other ideas you have for helping your students celebrate this special day!

Do you love your biblioteca???

My four-year-old is definitely into the word "special" lately.  She wants to know what "special" thing we are going to do each day.  Thankfully, it doesn't take much to make something special.  In fact, high on her list of favorite special things is our weekly visit to the public library.

I grew up going with my mother to the public library and I have never stopped going.  Like my daughter, it is high on my list of favorite places.

Several years ago, as I was preparing to finish the year with another group of second graders, I happened to notice the new library that was opening near the neighborhood of my school.  In the minutes it took for me to drive home, I had a hopeful idea to make that library a special place for my students.  I created a survey to send home to the parents of my students asking them about their interest in meeting me at the library once a week throughout the summer.  I asked for them to indicate the best days and times and sent home a library card application with my letter.

A couple of weeks later, I delivered the applications to the library and picked up cards for most of my students.  The librarian gave me a card too, even though I don't live in that city.  The last day of school, when I gave each of my students a book I had picked out specifically for him/her, I also gave them their library cards.  They were so excited and proud!  I mean, seriously, how often do kids get to have an official card with their name on it?  Library cards = POWER!!! :)

Saying good-bye to my students didn't really feel so final because we got to say, "I'll see you at the library!" Every Wednesday afternoon, with a few exceptions for vacation, I was at the library from 3:00-5:00.  One week, I had seven students and their families show up and other weeks, I had one or none.  I was just there to listen to them read, help them pick out books, and chat with their parents.  When I had no one to talk to, I picked out books for myself and discovered a lot of gems!

So, if you are looking for a super-easy and fun (probably more fun for me than for them!) way to continue loving on and support your bilingual students' love for reading, consider becoming a regular fixture in their public library.  After all, it IS such a SPECIAL PLACE!  You have read this book, haven't you?  LOVE IT!


And, if you aren't convinced yet, Lydia Breiseth, managar of Colorín Colorado, contributed an article to Spanglish Baby titled "How the library can help you raise a bilingual child".  Now, go forth and give your library some love!