Did you know that this Thursday is International Dot Day?! What does that mean? Several years ago, one teacher decided to share Peter Reynolds' book The Dot and celebrate the themes of bravery, creativity and self expression. And now people all over the world celebrate International Dot Day in many different ways! So how should we celebrate Dot Day? Well, if you ask Peter himself, he says, "“Spread the word… On International Dot Day, read The Dot, wear dots, eat dots, draw dots, frame dots, connect the dots, splurge on art supplies, try a new medium — a new instrument, write a poem, rearrange your furniture, reconnect the dots with an old friend, make something, or make something with a friend. Share your creativity with the world.” You can also visit this site to learn more about Dot Day as well as find links to so many other ideas and ways to celebrate creativity: https://www.internationaldotday.org/ This year, on Thursday at 1:00 Peter Reynolds and his twin brother will be hosting a special livestream event with Flip. Your classrooms can virtually join in the celebration that will be taking place live from The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. You will get to see live performances of songs from the upcoming new musical that is based on several of Peter Reynold's books about creativity. Being a reading fan and a Peter Reynolds fan, I do love that Dot Day happens during one of the first weeks of school. But more than just appreciating his book and his creativity, I think it's extremely important for us to think about the message of this day. Over the last several years, our students' development took a hit, especially in the areas of collaboration and creativity and play. Our kids spent a lot of time at home, isolated, not able to create or work together with peers. Dot Day is the perfect reminder that we need to be creating all sorts of opportunities for students to design, build, collaborate, create, make their mark! I would also say that over the past several years, our development as educators took a hit. We were forced backwards to the time of desks in rows, no collaboration, more going through the teacher motions with whoever was in front of us behind a mask. We as educators need Dot Day to remind us to get creative in our teaching. We need to take advantage of the ability to collaborate with our peers again, to design lessons and activities that push us and our students to think out of the box. It's time for us to step forward and away from the pandemic teaching of the last several years. It's time for us as educators to make our mark and see where it takes us! Yes, Dot Day is just one day and we could simply read Peter's book and make some colorful dots and wear our dots with pride, but I challenge you to let Dot Day be the catalyst for a full year of collaboration and creativity. How will you make your mark this year as an educator? I can't wait to see! I started a new book this weekend called The Boy At the Back of the Class. It takes place in England and tells the story of a refugee from a child's perspective, focusing on the importance of friendship and kindness. I also read a new picture book called Paletero Man. It's a book about ice pops and kindness and the true meaning of being part of a community. There is also a song that goes along with it! I am starting a new graphic novel called Swim Team, looking forward to reading this one and sharing it with students.
Lara will be sharing The Dot during library time this week, and I hope to pop in and read it to some classes with her. You can also find many versions of this book being read aloud online. Here is one reading done in Spanish.
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