Episode 50: Migration

Click here to listen to: Migration

Hello All,

Fall is upon us. The crisper air, changing leaves and ripening pumpkins are all signs that we've moved on from Summer. Another sign is one that our son pointed out to us the other day. Birds were migrating. What does that mean? Listen to our 50th story to find out! 

That's right. I said 50th story! Can you believe it? 

You know what we should do? Give away some fun prizes. 

First off, we have the Rock-O-Matic CD/DVD combination pack, which is the newest music creation from the kid’s band, Imagination Movers.

 

 

Next, we have two Zamzees, which are meters that measure activity and a website that makes moving fun. You can find them over at http://www.zamzee.com.

 

And last, but certainly not least, we have an autographed paperback copy of 'The Underwear Book' from The New York Times Bestselling Author, Todd Parr.

Simply enter by following directions in the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

 VORACIOUS VOCABULARY

What did you say? A word of the day! In our story

there are many juicy words that are fun to use and say.
 

arduous: requiring great exertion, laborious, difficult.

cue: hint or guiding suggestion.

migration: to go from one country, region, or place to another.

scarce: insufficient to satisfy the need or demand.

 

JUST ADD IMAGINATION!

Try these activities to keep your imagination glowing

after hearing the story.

1. List how many words you can make from the word "MIGRATION".

2. Create a diagram of the formation birds take while migrating. You could use a variety of materials; such as macaroni, stickers, markers, paint, or crayons.

3. Play the interactive online 'Migration Game'. Learn all about migration while helping Wanda the Wood Thrush travel from her winter home in Costa Rica to her summer home in Maryland! 

COMPREHENSION CHALLENGE

After listening to the story, can you recall the

details to answer these questions?

1. Who does the boy ask his questions to in the poem?

2. What letter caught the boy's eye?

3. When do the birds fly south for the winter?

4. Where are the birds flying from?

5. Why do the birds leave a place so nice?

We want to send out bright birthday wishes to:

Ryan B of Texas

Seth F of Texas

Zadie of West Virginia

Damien of Massachusetts 

Bennett of Wisconsin
Beth Poss of Maryland

Sabrina of North Carolina

We hope your days SPARKLED!

Dragonfly, Dragonfly E-book Announcement

 

Click here to listen to the audio recording of our announcement

Click on the screen to watch our announcement on YouTube

We would like to thank Flying Books App for publishing our story. 

You can find Flying Books on their Facebook Page and Twitter.

  

We'd like to give a special thanks to our 

editor, Hana, for all your hard work.

And we cannot say enough about our illustrator, Reg Silva.

Her patience, talent, and creativity are overflowing! 

You can find her at Wedgienet.net

SHARING YOUR CREATIVITY WITH BRITELY

Mr. Chris and the kids love to carve pumpkins. I enjoy taking pictures of them doing this yearly ritual. The goofy laughter, smearing of pumpkin guts on faces and planning of jack-o-lantern designs are always something we look forward to each and every year with our little ghouls. 

Recently, we found a very cool way to share our pictures in a flip book and wanted to share it with you. Take a look at 'A Toddler's Guide To Pumpkin Carving'! 

This book was created at the site called Britely. Have you heard of them? No? Well, let me tell you a little bit about them.

"Britely makes it easy to share those ideas in a fun new visual 
format called a brite. Brites are short, digital books filled with beautiful pictures that you can read in under 30 seconds. Britely is free to use." 

Not only are they easy to use and fun to make, they are a great way to visually spruce up your blog. But guess what? You don't have to be a blogger to make one! ANYBODY can. You can share a lesson plan, show off your recent trip to Disney, display the different cakes you've designed, create a photo story of your pumpkin patch visit, publish a story you've written, or use them in a classroom to bring out your student's creativity! There are so many ways to use this site. 

The sign-up is quick, free and easy. The site itself guides you through making the book step-by-step. The options available are appealing and not overwhelming. So what are you waiting for? Create your Brite today! 

  (Then PLEASE share the link with us so I can see it.)

Have you heard our story about pumpkin carving? 

The Patchwork Pumpkin: Part 1 (17:12) and Part 2 (12:14)
A little girl living on a farm longs to carve the Halloween pumpkin 

with her father but his chores seem to keep them apart. 

Can she find a different way to spent time with her father?
Free audio download: The Patchwork Pumpkin (Part 1)
Free audio download: The Patchwork Pumpkin (Part 2)

LIGHTHING THE WAY WITH WORDS

The Patchwork Pumpkin: Part 1 (17:12) and Part 2 (12:14)
A little girl living on a farm longs to carve the Halloween pumpkin 

with her father but his chores seem to keep them apart. 

Can she find a different way to spent time with her father?
Free audio download: The Patchwork Pumpkin (Part 1)
Free audio download: The Patchwork Pumpkin (Part 2)

When do you find that you yawn the most? 

Tell us in the comments below.

Have you seen our other words that begin with the letter Y?

Yearn

Yen

Yore

Yummy

A DAY TO REMEMBER

Today is the 11th year anniversary of 9/11. It is a day of remembrance for those we lost and give thanks for all the heroes who risked their own lives to save others. It is a day this country will never forget and one that I want to be able to accurately explain to our own young children, now 7 and 4 years old. One of the sweetest and most telling books I have found was written by a first grade class in Missouri and published by Scholastic. It is called September 12th: We Knew Everything Would Be All Right.

Below are just some sample activities that Mr. Chris and I have done with students and with our own children over the years to remember 9/11.

1. Write an acrostic poem using the words: America, Liberty, United States, Together We Stand or any other patriotic terms you can think of.

2. Draw a picture of what makes you feel safe. Write a descriptive paragraph or make a short video about it.

3. Learn 50 new facts about each state at the 50States.com website.

4.Paint or trace each person's hands in the class or family with red paint. Join the hands together to create the stripes for the flag.

5. Sing the first verse to our National Anthem, called The Star Spangled Banner.

6. Join the 9/11 Day Movement, formerly known as the 9/11 Day of Service. You can read more about it from a previous Night Light Stories' blogpost.

7. You can learn even more about the 9/11 Day Movement project by listening to this episode on Mr. Chris' podcast, the A.T.TIPSCAST.

8. Do a good deed in your school, community, or home. It could be as simple as taking out the trash without being asked or reading to another classroom.

9. Make a chart keeping track of all of your good deeds.

10.  Find local opportunities to volunteer in your community by visiting 911day.org/volunteer.

11. Make a timeline of events from 2001-2012. What has happened in your families' life over the past 11 years? You can make a paper and pencil timeline or design one free online at TeAchnology, timetoast.com, or xtimeline.com

Please feel free to add to them in the comments below. 

We'd love to hear what you have done or are doing this week.