It is difficult to believe that most elementary-age children were not born when the horrific events of September 11th rocked our nation. However, as teachers and as communities, we respectfully remember and learn about what happened during and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks just like we learn about the American Revolution, the Civil War and the Declaration of Independence. The stories below will empower students at William O. Schaefer to discover their own super powers!

The Man In Red Bandana by Honor Crowther Fagan

When Welles Crowther was a young boy, his father gave him a red bandanna, which he always carried with him. On September 11, 2001, Welles Remy Crowther saved numerous people from the upper floors of the World Trade Center South Tower. “The Man in the Red Bandanna” recounts and celebrates his heroism on that day. Welles’ story carries an inspirational message that will resonate with adults as well as young children.

Listen to the story below read by Emma.

September 12th: We Knew Everything Would Be All Right

Heartfelt and touching book by 1st graders at Masterson Elementary School in Kennet, Missouri, about the day after the tragic events of September 11th.

On September 11th horrific events occurred, yet through the simple text and vibrant art of first graders, we are reminded that the world continued the next day. On each page, children experience the comforts of ordinary routines, such as their teacher reading books to them, having homework and recess, and knowing that 2 + 2 still equals 4. This is a poignant message of hope that reassures us all that even after bad things happen, tomorrow always brings a new day.

Listen to the story below read by our assistant principal, Jeannine Carr.

The word on the street this month is respect: treating people the way you want to be treated. Watch this video to hear what other people think about respect!

Assembly Read Aloud:

Respect: Dare to Care, Share, and Be Fair by Ted and Jenny O’Neal

Please Say Please by Margery Cuyler	Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller	Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel
Clifford’s Book of Manners by Norman Bridwell	The Legend of Papa Balloon by C. R. McClure	How To Be a Friend by Laurie Kransy Brown & Marc Brown

Read Aloud YouTube Videos:
Me First by Helen Lester

Pinkerton Pig always has to be first — first to eat, first off the bus — until, running to be first for a sandwich, he finds himself in trouble with the Sand Witch.

The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill

Mean Jean is the reigning Recess Queen, pushing and smooshing, hammering and slammering the other kids whenever they cross her. And then one day a puny new girl shows up on the playground and catches Mean Jean completely off-guard. Not only is little Katie Sue not the least bit intimidated by the bully, she actually asks her to jump rope with her. In no time flat, Jean and Katie Sue are best buddies, and the playground is safe for all again.

Same Same But Different by Jenny Kostecki-Shaw

Elliot lives in America, and Kailash lives in India. They are pen pals. By exchanging letters and pictures, they learn that they both love to climb trees, have pets, and go to school. Their worlds might look different, but they are actually similar. Same, same. But different!

Are You Respectful Today? by Kris Yankee and Marian Nelson

Why do you need to be respectful? Patience, tolerance, consideration, and trustworthiness are qualities of respectful people. Life is happier with a respectful heart.

Respect Song:

Bruno Mars You Can Count On Me video

Be flexible! Flexibility is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

Assembly Read Aloud: Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae

Gerald the giraffe longs to dance, but his legs are too skinny and his neck is too long. His knees buckle whenever he tries to twirl. At the Jungle Dance, the warthogs waltz, the chimps cha-cha, and the lions tango. “Giraffes can’t dance,” they all jeer when it’s Gerald’s turn to prance. But there is one little creature who believes in Gerald. “Everything makes music,” the cricket explains, “if you really want it to.” So Gerald starts swaying to his own sweet tune.

Books:

Zoom by Istvan Banyai

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

You might have had your hopes up that your mommy packed you a meatball hero with an ice cream sandwich on the side for lunch, but don’t get upset if it turns out to be a PB&J with some carrots. You’ve got to change the plan, and be flexible. Sing along with Ernie as he sings the Change The Plan Song!

Last week in the library we had all the ingredients of a mystery! First, we discussed a real mystery involving the stolen statue of the Lorax from the home of Dr. Seuss located in California. Discussing this real mystery, allowed us to use detective vocabulary such as “clue”, “crime”, “red herring”, “detective”, “evidence”, “mystery”, “suspect” and “witness”! Watch the news broadcast below.

Now that our detective skills were warmed up we were ready to solve the mysterious happening in the William O. Schaefer Library! Four of Dr. Seuss’ beloved characters were suspected of creating a mess directly inside of the library door! View the “Crime Scene” images below.

The students and I were extremely upset to find such a disrespectful mess in the library. We knew we needed to get to the bottom of this crime, but first we had to read each character’s alibi!

Yertle the Turtle alibi: It was 4:00 and I was baking some homemade bread. When it was finished, I took some bread over to my friend Hop On Pop. I asked if he wanted to go to the mall, but I got a text from Fox in Socks and Starbelly Sneetch asking if I wanted to go to the movies. My mom said I could go to the movie, but his mom said he had to do homework. He tried not to show it, but boy, was he mad. I had to leave Hop On Pop to make it to the movie on time. I told him if we had time, we’d stop by the library after the movie to hang out with him.

Starbelly Sneetch alibi: It was 5:00 and I heard a knock on my door. It was Fox in Socks. He came in and I turned off my music and put away my iPod. We played at my house until we got bored. We decided it would be fun to go to the movies. We texted Hop On Pop and Yertle the Turtle to see if they wanted to come, too. Everyone came to the movie except Hop on Pop. After the movie we couldn’t think of what to do so we walked around. We thought we might stop by the library to visit Hop On Pop. It started to rain as we walked so we stopped at Fox in Sock’s house to pick up some blankets to keep us dry on our walk.

Hop On Pop alibi: It was 5:00 and I know because I was looking at the clock when the doorbell rang. It was Yertle the Turtle. He had brought me some homemade bread! He asked if I wanted to go to the mall. My mom said, “No. I had to work on my homework at the library.” Yertle the Turtle got a text right after that asking if we wanted to go and see the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie. Bummer. I really wanted to see a movie and hated that I had to go to the library instead. Yertle the Turtle left to meet everyone for the movie. I headed to the library with my homework. My animal report was due on Monday and mom said I couldn’t do anything fun until I was finished with the report. The fun thing was that everyone came by the library after the movie and told me all about it. They had a great time. At 8:00, everyone had to head home. I had about thirty minutes left of homework, so I told them I’d have to stay around just a bit longer…

Fox in Socks alibi: I was sitting in my room when my mom came in and said when I finished my chores I could play. I decided to go over to Starbelly Sneetch’s house to play. We thought it would be fun to go to see a movie and texted our friends to see if they could come, too. When the movie was over we went by my house to get some blankets because it was raining and we didn’t want to get wet. Then, we headed to the library to visit Hop On Pop because he was doing homework there. At the library, I looked for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. I really liked the movie so I thought I would like the book.

Students gathered round the crime scene to take notes, discuss clues and look for evidence! Any accusations made MUST be backed up with evidence from either the crime scene or the suspect’s alibi!

So, I guess you want to know who did it!

Hop On Pop was guilty. Hop on Pop was mad he could not go to the movies with his friends. Instead, he had to go the library to work on his animal report which was about bees, bears LOVE honey! Many of you good detectives figured it out when you saw the pencil beside the nonfiction book, “All About Bees”!

Well, he was sitting in the “Honey Bear” rocking chair when his friends came to visit him after seeing the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” movie. He was so excited to see them, he jumped up and knocked the chair over! No one bothered to pick the chair up because they were so excited talking and telling Hop on Pop all about the movie! While his friends were at the library, Yertle the Turtle wanted to read “All About Geckos” and Fox in Socks wanted to read the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” book. Hop on Pop said he would check the books out for them.

After his friends left the library, Hop on Pop noticed they dropped their movie tickets and forgot the blanket that was keeping them dry on the walk to visit him! He got mad when he realized he had missed such a good time with his friends! He turned and pulled all the Jan Brett books off the shelf! He was so frustrated that he still had so much work to do on his animal report that he ripped the “All About Geckos” book and threw down the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” in a fit of anger! Hop on Pop left the library.

Evidence: All of the other characters visited the library to visit Hop On Pop and they did not say anything about something being wrong in the library. It all happened after they left!

Thank you all for being such great detectives and supporting your theories with evidence! This was a tricky mystery!

Thank you to the Everything Library blog for inspiring and creating this fantastic mystery!

For weeks we have been closely observing our mealworms as they change into pupas and then into darkling beetles. We’ve been hoping to catch metamorphosis in action – and today we got our chance. Watch the videos below to see a beetle emerge from one of our pupas!

And now the beetle is in his new home!