Love, Your Fiend

It's the last day of school. Children are weeping with nostalgia and shrieking with delight. Many are eating sugary concoctions. What memories. I feel sorry for those whose parents took them out early--they miss so many rituals and special goodbyes. Meanwhile, we've checked out over 3000 books for families to enjoy over the entire summer.

Treasured notes of appreciation:

"Dear Natalie, I like that you red to us. Thak you for being a techr. Your fiend, Audrey."

(In California, where school librarians have lost their jobs, they are being told they are absolutely not teachers because they don't take attendance. Thanks, Audrey. I FEEL like a teacher. I teach classes all day. I don't take attendance but I would miss you if you weren't part of the class.)

"Dear Natalie, I would like to thank you for giving me so many great books to read. I almost lost an hour or two of sleep. You have a great stash. Jack."

And a few photos from one of my all-time favorite research projects. Peter and Luke's 9 & 10 year old class does an in-depth art history project, culminating in a forgery: each student learns about an artist, writes a written report, and creates a work of art that might well pass as an original. Art forgers might go on to lucrative careers -- beware of Interpol! A few examples:

Warhol

Renoir

Matisse

Lichtenstein

Goya


Cassatt

Ansel Adams


Picasso


M.C. Escher

Chuck Close

Kahlo

Have a great summer and remember, a day without reading is like a day without brushing your teeth. Do it too often and things get mushy.

More posts in the fall.