Tales of a Third Grade Classroom: Our Halloween Party!

Hey there, Ghosties and Ghoulies!

I promised I would share the photos from Halloween, didn't I? Well here they are... boy did we have fun! Can you guess what I dressed up as?

Ut oh, which team should I be rooting for?
How about a rain-date?

What do you mean, you want MY autograph?!
Well, then, I will pose as a tear of joy!

Here I am posing as a drop of water from the Nile river!

Eeeek! Don't add me to your witches' brew!

Here I am as a drop of sweat
from a some hard playing fellows!

Totally gnarly, duuuuuude!
I'm a drop of ocean water!

Oh dear... does this mean the toots sound like WET ones?!

Here we are, goofing off as usual!

PPPPPPPFFFFFFRRRRRRRRTTTTT!!!
Whoops! Was that from ME?!

What's the mater, couldn't figure out my costume? Hee hee, that's because it was a TRICK... I wasn't just a raindrop on Halloween, but a droplet of many forms! Rain water, river water, ocean water, drops of tears and sweat... we're all the same!

Made you think, didn't I? Hee hee!

I hope you had a Happy Halloween! Don't eat too much candy!
-LR

"Little Raindrop's BIG Plunge!" Book Status Update & Little Raindrop's Big Helpers!

Greetings!

At the end of August, I posted the book's latest status update about how close we were to finishing up the text and starting on some new tasks! Many readers were astonished at just how much work goes into making a book. There is always SO much to do, all the time!

But I'm betting you'll be just as astonished at how many people go into making a book, too! We like to call them "Little Raindrop's Big Helpers," and everyone has a different job to do. Some are friends or family members, writers or readers (that's YOU!), illustrators or graphic designers, parents or kids, teachers or librarians, students, science or water environment professionals, editors, printers, bloggers or book reviewers, or just regular 'ol people... and some of them have just been sent a Review Package in the mail!

Lot's of work goes into mailing things, too!

Plenty of goodies to go around!

No matter how big or small the job is to be done, ALL of our helpers have big hearts and are willing to lend a hand to help make this book the best it can be! We are SO LUCKY to have all of Little Raindrop's Big Helpers here on our side!

The great news is, Mr. H and I are done with the manuscript (or the story text) for now! We are sending it out to some of our Big Helpers who have volunteered to read it and send us back some input and ideas. I am hoping we get a lot of helpful advice and constructive criticism, because we really need to weed out any mistakes or fill in any holes in the story. It is very important that we make Little Raindrop's story the best we can!

While we wait for our friends to send back the edited story, Mr. H and I are busy doing some other important things:

-Mr. H has been actively promoting the book every moment he can, from Parent Teacher Day, to book festivals, to just about any event he can get involved in. He is sharing all the latest updates with the kids in both his classes, which is a total of 44 kids! And then if we add up how many kids he taught last year, that's over 60 kids who have been involved in the behind-the-scenes making of a book! That's not to mention all the kids who know Little Raindrop from Mr. H's school plays, too! GOOOOO, Mr. H! :D

-I am also promoting the book while I work at my other job, but more importantly, I have been busy drawing! Yes, DRAWING! Making art is my favorite part of making a kid's book, and I am very happy we are at this stage in the process. Right now, I am mostly working on all the Activity Pages we will need for every chapter. There should be a total of 32 activity pages, so every chapter will have four fun pages!

-Here are some photos I have taken as I work on the art:

Images Copyright 2013 Melanie Linden Chan,
All Rights Reserved

Images Copyright 2013 Melanie Linden Chan,
All Rights Reserved

-Once I am done making some of the Activity Pages, I will be sending them along to Mr. H and my other teaching friends to test them out on the students. This will help us learn if the Activity Pages are too easy or too hard, and we can adjust them to meet the story's needs. And, yes, we will be posting some of them here on Little Raindrop's blog!

So far, we're staying on track, just like the Little Engine that Could! I hope you are having fun riding along with us on our little train, and I hope you'll continue to join us as we travel forward towards publication. Wooooo wooooooo!

Thanks for reading, as always!
~Miss Melanie

Tales of a Third Grade Classroom: The Start of a New School Year... new friends and fun festivals!

Hello!

How is the new school year going for you so far? Mine has been TOTALLY AWESOME!!! Although I haven't yet finished telling you all about my amazing summer... I just couldn't wait to share with you my new friends in Mr. H's class, and our newest batch of Little Water Heroes!

The lovely ladies from Mr. H's science Class of 2014!

The lovely ladies from Mr. H's homeroom Class of 2014!

The mighty misters from Mr. H's science Class of 2014!

The mighty misters from Mr. H's homeroom Class of 2014!

Aren't they just the coolest kids you've ever met?! I sure think so! Miss Melanie told me they are a pretty smart bunch, and she's going to test their science skills by sending them some Activity Page samples from my book! The kids last year sure were helpful in letting us know what worked for the book, so we'll see how these kiddos measure up! I'm betting we'll be calling them The Pro's soon, too! Gosh, I sure love making new friends! :D

Speaking of friends, I made a few more in September during the Nauck Civic and Community Pride Day! It was lots of fun- full of good food, face painting, live music, storytelling, and even carnival games!

Here I am with Mr. H and his school's Superintendent,
chatting about the book!

I think I could use a nap myself!

Dr. Sharon Gaston is telling another one of her wild stories!

And last weekend, Mr. H, Dr. Sharon Gaston, KC the red-footed tortoise, and I had a real blast sharing our stories with the guests at the "Celebrate the Book" festival in Carlisle, Pennsylvania! Dr. Sharon Gaston spoke about her storytelling and books, including one of my favorites, "Turtle Without a Home". Mr. H brought me and KC along for the fun, and we told everyone we could about my upcoming book!

Dr. Sharon Gaston at our booth!

Mr. H and I keeping an eye on KC!
Even though he's 23 years old,
he gets himself into trouble a LOT.

Look at all the goodies on our table!

KC likes to talk about his favorite book,
"Turtle Without a Home"!

KC is pointing out some important information!

Hey, KC! Where are you going?

KC, where are you taking me?!?!!

KC! We really should be getting back to work!

Well NOW I know where you were going...
for a snack!

That's okay, I've got someone
to hang out with anyway!

What a nice start to a new school year, don't you agree? And Halloween is just around the corner... YIPPIEEE! I so totally love Halloween! Dressing up in fun costumes is the best!

Well, it's time for me to sign off! See ya around!

-LR

Around the World with Little Raindrop: A Visit to Biomes Marine Biology Center! @biomescenter

Heya, Kiddos!

This summer, I was able to take a quick peek into the Biomes Marine Biology Center. It is so cool in there! They have a gazillion touch-tanks where guests can experience what certain underwater animals feel like. They have so many different kinds of plants, fish and aquatic animals, and many are even native to Rhode Island, where Miss Melanie is from!

We only visited for a short time, which means I will get to go back again because we didn't get to see everything in time! Yippieeee!!!

I feel like I'm at the beach!

I wonder, are these mangrove roots?

 

Are those STRAW fish?

Nope! They're cornetfish!

Horseshoe crabs!

But they don't look like shoes to me!

Cute little sharkie!

I'm so lucky I was able to meet this little guy!

Hey! No escaping, Mister!

These stars look like they are made of spaghetti!

Hi!

These fish like to hide using their sandy colored camouflage!

 

A striped Sea Robin!

Though it looks a lot like Miss Melanie's old Pleco fish!

Somebody feeling blue?

Wow, he's so colorful compared to his neighbor!

Snapping turtle, please don't bite!

A tortoise!

He is faster than I expected him to be!

That was such a neat little tour! Now I want to know: When are we going again??? Hee hee! I will let you know when we do!

Until then, see you around and around!
-LR