Grade 1-2

First Grade marked the birthday of Wilhelm Grimm by performing an original Skit on the Spot. In this modern-day version of Cinderella, (one of the hundreds of stories collected and transcribed by the Grimm brothers), Cinderella’s sisters and stepmother keep her busy by fetching lattes and doing their nails, while the Prince desperately tries to locate the owner of the missing shoe by email. The students loved dressing up in costumes and acting out the parts of this tale.

Students also learned about the history of the Grimm brothers, Jakob and Wilhelm who were by training and interest, linguists who studied language change (Wilhelm was also a professor and librarian!) and even compiled a German dictionary. The Grimm brothers embarked on a huge folkloric endeavor, collecting hundreds of folk and fairy tales by interviewing people in their homes during the beginning of the 19th century, and transcribing the tales. Later the tales were published and many are still widely read today including versions of Snow White, Cinderella, The Frog Prince, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin and Sleeping Beauty.

We concluded with book browsing and checkout. Happy Reading!

First Graders visiting the library enjoyed Roald Dahl’s humorous novella, The Magic Finger. This fantastical story about an 8-year-old’s magical ability to bring about justice by using her special finger was a perfect selection for this snowy day. We also reviewed book care, and made bookmarks using foam, beads, and markers. We concluded with book browsing and checkout. Happy Reading!

Today in the library, we continued our Passport to Reading program by visiting India. Sasha Sicurella, a BCD enrichment teacher and director of Art Omi, as well as the director of the I Am: International Foundation, joined us to share her videos and stories of her trip in March 2010 to India. I Am: International Foundation works with students and children around the world using art as a medium to bring people and ideas together. After viewing the photos, we compared and contrasted the images in the presentation with life in the Berkshires. Sasha also allowed us to explore some decorative textiles and souvenirs from her trip. Thank you Sasha for joining us this week in the library!

First Grade extended its penguin study today to the library where we shared the adventures of Tacky the Penguin. Helen Lester’s series unfolds the trials and tribulations of a non-conformist penguin named Tacky. Tacky’s peers (aptly named Lovely, Neatly, Angel, Goodly and Perfect) are model penguins who march, dress, splash and slide with appropriate consistency. In many of the Tacky tales, however, these penguin pets find themselves in a sticky situation, from which Tacky, and only Tacky, is able to extract them. Three Cheers for Tacky finds the penguin gang in a cheering competition for the coveted shiny blue bowtie prize. A companion book, Tacky in Trouble, highlights Tacky’s eccentricities as positive attributes. The Tacky books can be found in many libraries, bookstores and on-line and all of them showcase the themes of teamwork, friendship and above all, respecting and marveling in our differences. We concluded with book browsing and checkout. Happy Reading!