South Carolina Stories

I am teaching South Carolina History this year and have been compiling a list of some books about South Carolina. I wanted to find some books that will help kids enjoy the history and rich culture of their state. Here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order.

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Palmetto: Symbol of Courage

Why is the Palmetto Tree on the South Carolina flag? What is so important about it? This book tells the story of how the Palmetto Trees helped the colonialists during the American Revolution. 

Dave the Potter

This is a beautiful story about Dave, who was a poet and craftsman, but also a slave. He would engrave lines of his poetry into his pots, and some are on display at the State Museum. 

Let My People Go

This is a longer book, and one that doesn't sugar coat the terrible reality of slavery. Each chapter starts with a story of a freeman and his daughter. As she asks questions about the injustices she sees, and wonders about the way life is, he brings her to the truth found in the Bible. Don't forget to read the author's and illustrator's note on this one. They both offer some valuable background that make you appreciate the story more.

The Story of the H.L. Hunley and Queenie's Coin

After reading this book, be sure to check out the replica of the H.L. Hunley at the State Museum! It starts as a story of how the Hunley was created, but then ends on a more factual note as it shares how the submarine was finally recovered!

Freedom Ship

While the family in this story is fictional, the story of Robert Smalls daring journey to freedom is very much true! Also check out Seven Miles to Freedom for a story that shares more of Robert Smalls' story!

Carolina Shout

Listen to the sounds of Charleston street vendors in this wonderful book! A little girl takes a walk around Charleston shares all the sounds and sights. 

Hey, Charleston!

The true story of Daniel Joseph Jenkins and his orphanage band. These kids helped to start "rag" music and traveled around the US and to Europe sharing their music and helping to raise money for their orphanage!

First, You Explore

The laser display at the State Museum makes so much more sense after reading this story! This story definitely encourages kids to explore their world and ask questions! Charles Townes was always interested in the world around him and inventing new things. His most famous contribution was the laser, which has certainly impacted our lives today!

Let Them Play

Kids who love baseball will especially connect with this story of a group of little league boys. This is an important story that will help kids see the injustice and inequality African American's faced and how terrible it was. But as they make their way to the Little League World Series, they do find support with the fans. This is a story that will help kids see that while laws and decisions in South Carolina were very wrong, they can make a different choice.

A Sweet, Sweet Basket

This is a sweet story that celebrates the impact the African American culture has had on South Carolina and how important it is to learn the traditions and pass them on. Sweet grass baskets are everywhere in Charleston and this story gives a glimpse of the work that goes into them.

Shackles

This story is set on Sullivan's Island where several boys are digging for buried treasure in their backyard. Instead of treasure they uncover some chains and with the help of their neighbor, learn about the painful truth behind them. It discusses the cruelty of the past, and how we need to combat that with kindness and goodness.

The Pink House

A story that celebrates family and the way South Carolinians like to spend their vacations at the beach! Its a fun read and makes you want to head to the beach immediately!

P is for Palmetto

A great overview of all things South Carolina! You can read the simple rhythmic text, or take time to read the paragraphs on the side that offer more information about each letter.

Net Numbers

Count your way through South Carolina and find out lots of interesting facts in the mean time!

Charley's Columbia Backyard

This is a fun book to read to make sure you experience all the fun things Columbia has to offer! 

Rosebud Roams Charleston

This is a fun one to learn more about the city of Charleston through a horse's perspective.

Books for Babies:

We can't forget the little ones! 

Here are two sweet board books you can read with little and not so little kids!

Little South Carolina

This one is full of fun riddles that teach kids about some of the state symbols.

Good Night South Carolina

Wake up with the shrimp boats and say good night in the Blue Ridge Mountains! Travel around South Carolina in this sweet board book.

If you are looking for chapter books, I would check out Idella Bodie. She wrote a whole series about famous South Carolinians during the Revolutionary War, along with several other books that take place all around the State!

Any great ones I missed? What are your favorite South Carolina books?

Checking in...

Hello Winter Break!
This past week was full of craziness. By Tuesday I was pretty sure I had been at school for a whole week, but it was JUST TUESDAY!

We spent the mornings doing Holiday's Around the World. Doing the same activity SIX times gets a little old, but the kids enjoyed it. It is fun to get to know all the other classes better.
I started most groups by going to google maps and checking out our school (they love seeing the picture of of school when you switch to the earth view!) then adding our destination: Tokyo Japan!
We read one of my favorite books:

Tree of Cranes is one of 3 books that Allen Say wrote that chronicle a cross-cultural family. They are near and dear to my TCK heart.

Christmas in Japan has become a lot more popular than in years past, but it is not a day off for the kids. New Years is their main holiday so we talked about that more and then we played a popular new year's game called Fuku Warai. Then they each make their own and play it! 

In the afternoons we did some winter stations. We didn't even make it through all that I had made, so I am happy to have some stuff ready for when we come back from break!

{Click on the Picture to check them out!}

But then on Wednesday FLU struck our house! I had to leave early on Wednesday and Thursday to visit the pediatrician...

I know, I win mom of the year for taking a selfie with my sick boys, but it was to send to my husband to show them how pitiful they looked! And the good thing is it meant lots of cuddle time for me since they usually don't sit still! But the whole family was down, and Will was too sick to take care of the boys so I missed out on the Polar Express and our winter celebration to stay home and tend to the sick! Thanks to tamiflu and lots of mommy's TLC, Alex was full of energy again by Friday evening, and Liam still has a runny nose, but he is feeling much better too. Of course, Will and I are at about zero energy... I don't have the flu, but I am definitely run down from it all! 

The last couple of years, Alex and I will make snowman pancakes the first Saturday of break. They are not pretty, but we put snow on them (powdered sugar) and that makes them much more beautiful! :) This year he wanted a hat, so I tried to oblige! ;) I added in a couple of extra chocolate chips because the others sunk into the pancake when I flipped it over!

Besides getting over the total exhaustion the last couple weeks of school have brought (it's been really rough), I am hoping to work on a couple of projects over break, getting sucked in to a netflix show, and enjoy lots of time with the boys! I also need to start walking, running or something. I need to get in a routine to build in some me/stress relief time! My brain is already going into reflection mode about things I need want to do better once we get back from break, but I am going to try to hold off on that for a bit. :) 

Hope you all have a well deserved and very restful break! :)

Favorite back to school books

Back to school and I have a love-hate relationship. I love routine so its hard when we are not in our set schedule yet, but I love some of those books that help us get to know each other, celebrate who we are, and also teach us to get along! :)

The Color of Us by Karen Katz:

We have a really diverse school so I love this book because of the way she describes the different shades of people! :) I like to buy the multi-cultural faces and have the kids pick the color that they think fits them. Their pictures are always so precious! 

The Best Part of Me:

I read this book for the first time this year! It is such a neat book written by students who describe their best body part! :) It uses black and white photos of their favorite part as well as the words in their own handwriting. Precious! So this year my kiddos wrote about their favorite part. It was very informative to watch the kids sound out words or think of the reason why that is their favorite part!

How to Fill a Bucket:

I have used this book every year I have taught! It is a wonderful way to help kids understand how mean words and actions hurt and how important kindness is to others. This year we made a big bucket anchor chart with kind things to say to others. In the past, I have also had a little bucket that we work together to fill up by doing nice things to each other!

Chrysanthemum:

Another favorite book! While we read it we tear off a little piece of a paper doll each time we hear a put down. After we finish, we try to put the person back together... but they don't look the same because the put downs did hurt them inside. Then I glue it to a bigger piece of paper and we promise to say and do kind things to each other! :)

How to Lose All Your Friends:

I pull this one out after we have been together for a couple of days and we need to start talking about teamwork and problem solving. We always read the book and afterwards I tell them that it is a horrible book to keep in our room so we make our own book about how to keep our friends! They work with a partner on a page. It always turns out SO cute! :)

We will be reading lots of other books, but these are definitely my go-to books! :)

We have been doing a lot of community building this year. I decided to go slow with academics so we could focus on each other and being friends. We have been sharing our All About Me bags. It is fun to see what the kids are bringing in to describe themselves. Then they get to call on three kids who ask questions. At the beginning of the year we practice asking questions a lot. We start with the basic 5 and then try to move to more 'thick' questions. If we can get the kids to be inquirers about each other, it is easier for them later on to use the skills they learned now!

Two days left this week!