What do the History Channel and a man named Draco from Switzerland have in common? Two really important things:
1. They both send us mail.
2. They are both awesome.
Not only is the History Channel flying me to Nashville to judge their most awesome PICK and TELL contest, but they also sent my students mail. Yeah, that's right every student in my class got a gift from the History Channel (and they even gave me a CIVIL WAR teaching kit....that is a double score!). So here is one SUPER-MEGA-TRON THANK YOU from ONE MAGIC CLASSROOM!
History Channel = Happiness
MAIL FROM SWITZERLAND:
DRACO STYLE!
This is for you Draco Szathmary. Since starting our blog only a few short months ago, we now have readers from over 30 countries, that's right 30! And we're not stopping there. We are dedicated to spreading happiness around the world, and we really love when people read and respond to our blog. Draco has not only commented on almost all of our blog posts, but he has also sent us mail on several different occasions. So here is another big thank you, for reminding my students that what they are doing is important and to YOU for taking the time to write us (p.s. tell your mom I said hi).
REALLY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR YOU DRACO
The great thing about kids, is if you put a camera in front of their face, they'll turn boring into magical in about 2.3 seconds.
Colton insisted on making the "chipmunk" face. So there you have it (and yeah this totally cracks your teacher up Colton, especially since the postcard is upside down).
Even though e-mails are convenient, real mail is twenty million times more special and exciting. A hand written letter is a simple reminder of how wonderful it is to be YOU. For after all, you have your own unique handwriting, and your own special way of picking out just the right card.
"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."
I once wrote a children's book called The Wonder Box several years ago while in college. My professor thought I should try and publish it, and so began my many failed attempts at publishing it (rejection letters as they call it in the publishing world). Yet, as fate would have it this rejected book ended up in the hands of Mike Wolfe. Wolfe liked it so much that he thought we should do a book together. So here is another tribute to failures that will eventually lead somewhere. Do what you believe in, and somewhere along the way someone will believe in you. Yes Mike Wolfe, thank you for believing in me.
Can't say I ever thought I'd have an advantage growing up in my dad's eclectic (and yes, a bit disorganized) antique store La Belle Epoque in Galena, IL, where Mike Wolfe has frequented since I was a child (or lil' picker as he calls me). But, I've come to realize going to auctions and being stuck in the back of a rusty van filled with antiques my entire life has actually been one of the best blessings I could ask for. I love the hunt for finding something under a junk heap, and yeah Mike has the same fascination. So when he decided that he wanted to do a book about kids who also love "picking", why wouldn't he choose the third grade teacher who grew up in an antique store? Oh yeah, and who also loves collecting old bikes? That's what I thought. Good choice Mike.
So fast forward to the release of our book Kid Pickers, which just so happened to be in New York City; where I end up eating at fancy restaurants, of which I can't make sense of 90% of the menu items (I couldn't find "cheeseburger" anywhere!), hanging out with Billy Leroy from the show Baggage Battles (yeah, he's Awesome with a capital "A"), following Mike to Fox News where I ate a doughnut, and hanging out at the headquarters for the History Channel. The History Channel should be your favorite network, because they are now flying me out to Nashville to judge the Pick and Tell contest, and more importantly sending my class free stuff in the mail.
When our book was pitched to publishers, we got several rejections. But eventually Kid Pickers ended up in the hands of an awesome group of people who believed in us. Without the greatest publishing company of all time Feiwel and Friends (MacMillan), this entire journey would not have been possible. So being able to meet up with Jean, Liz, and my now New York bestie Molly "McAwesome" (yeah, we got some good pictures with the Abraham Lincoln statue, that's when I knew we were really going to be friends), was probably the best part of my trip. Why? Because YOU believed in our book.
THE GREATEST SPEECH OF ALL TIME
Here is Mike Wolfe giving the greatest speech of all time in a cab in New York City.
THE BEST GIFT
When I arrived back to my classroom on Friday morning, I got the best gift of all, a note from my students that said "We Love You Ms. Sprengelmeyer" and another note from Dylan that said "I missed you". This stuff really means a lot to me, and that's why I hang stuff like this on my fridge. To remind me that I am one very lucky teacher, with one very loving group of third graders.
SLEEPING ON FLOORS IN AIRPORTS
MY RETURN TRIP TO EAST DUBUQUE
After six hours of layovers at the airport in New York, I arrived at the Chicago O'Hare airport only to find that all the flights were delayed due to severe weather. I also came to find that they ran out of cots to sleep on, and that I would be sleeping on the floor. I decided that in situations like these you simply have to make the best of them, and when you do so, great things can happen. I ended up meeting some really wonderful people, and probably kept a few of them awake around me from my squeal laugh (sorry about that, but they woke us up at 4a.m. anyways). I couldn't help but think what kind of adventure I would have had if all of my third graders were with me. We could have made blanket forts and told ghost stories.
WHAT YOU LEARNED FROM TODAY'S LESSON:
1. You're never too old to have an adventure on the Chicago O'Hare airport floor.
2. Feiwel and Friends (MacMillan) make dreams happen.
3. The History Channel is the best television network of all time because they care about teachers.
4. It's really not a bad thing to grow up in an antique store.
5. My students are the greatest students of all time.
Let's take another magical visit back in time, when the only worries you had were whether or not you had enough blankets to build a fort. When your free time was spent dreaming, and creating fantasy forts with dinosaur books and colored sheets. When you would have contests to see who could stay up the latest, eating sour gummy worms in your ice-cream and telling ghost stories with a flashlight. Why does the fun have to end when you become an adult? I'm here to tell you it doesn't, and in the spirit of winning money to build a "reading fort" for my classroom, here's a blog dedicated to my love of forts.
Deep thoughts...where do we hang the next blanket?
Every few months or so, my students earn a party for their "class good behavior points". Rather than just having an extra recess, I thought we would get creative and build forts in our pajamas instead. So, give kids thirty minutes, some chairs, desks, blankets, books, and flashlights, and let the fort building begin! I'm hoping this was the inspirational seed that inspired my kids to want a "reading fort" in the class. I love that one dream can turn into another dream, that can lead you down a new path in life.
HAPPY FORT BUILDERS!
Adults, take note here. Sometimes you can be a little boring. You might think, "hey fort making is for kids". Well, I'm here to tell you that you're wrong. In fact, I have a newfound appreciation for fort building. Kids remind me to be SPONTANEOUS. They are not building forts to get a raise from their boss, or even to earn a grade. We are born curious observers of the world. We are born to create, and unfortunately somewhere along the way, most often an ADULT tells you to stop thinking creatively (yeah, no dreaming aloud), and to pay attention to practical ways of life. That's all fine and dandy if you want to work for Mr. Robot-man in an office someday (and that's okay if you do!), but if you're like us dreamers, begin your spontaneous journey today. Take a walk in the woods, and make your own path. You have the ability to reinvent yourself everyday.
