The Jolly Postman

We had so much fun writing in my classroom this afternoon, we could still be there writing now!  How do I NOT own the book, The Jolly Postman? 

 

 

My fabulous friend Amy, across the hall, lent me this book.  I knew right away what we would be doing for Writer's Workshop for the rest of the week.  I am sure everyone has seen this book (but me- I must have been living in a hole!  I thought I had seen every single kids' book out there!).  Here is a synopsis from Amazon in case you aren't familiar with the story:

 

The Jolly Postman goes from home to home in a fairy-tale kingdom, delivering letters to such familiar addresses as "Mr. and Mrs. Bear, Three Bears Cottage, The Woods." Every other page is an actual envelope, with a letter tucked inside. The letter to the three bears, for instance, is from Goldilocks, who apologizes for the trouble she's caused and invites Baby Bear to her birthday party. Some authors would stop with this cute concept, but the Ahlbergs have given this book their all. The story of the postman's travels is told in charming verse; the pictures are delightful, full of clever detail; and the results are frequently hilarious. (The wicked witch of "Hansel and Gretel" fame, for instance, receives a circular from Hobgoblin Supplies Ltd. which advertises such appealing products as Little Boy Pie Mix.)

 

The children loved the story, but most of all, they were taken with  the envelopes and real letters tucked inside.  I did condense the story a bit, because some of it was a little wordy for my kids- and in one part someone gives the postman champagne which I left out, too... :)  but the book is just a clever, charming idea.

 

Reading this story was my entire mini lesson- no need for anything else but this on each table (along with scissors to cut tiny note size papers for the envelopes and glue sticks to stick on envelopes):

  

and LOTS of this:

The children were so busy and so focused, I didn't even interfere today. I just let them go so they could get their ideas down and create.

There will be plenty of time for conferencing all week to tweak this and that, but today was amazing: quiet, busy, joyful, creative, messy, and productive!  Perfect! Today I just listened to enthusiastic ideas and watched the magic! :)

Here are some of the works-in-progress:

This boy loves Nerf Guns!  I love how many of the children used a tiny note in an envelope for the dedication.  He added a mini book called "Nerf Guns With My Dad." This may need to be saved for a Father's Day present...

 

 

 

 

 

She LOVES punctuation marks almost as much as I do. :)

 

 ("It's always line, dot - and 'and, and, and' " ( for the ellipsis below)



 

 

(An exclamation point was her surprise in the envelope!)

Kayla is going to make this and leave it in her mailbox at home for her real mailman! :) 

 

 

Shannon got very busy right away, making a story similar to The Jolly Postman, but calling it  The Busy Post Girl. She even made a cut-out  Post Girl that we can use to retell her story in class!

 

 

("To Goldilocks,  You should tell the bears you are sorry for what you did.  Love, The Post Girl")

 

I'm sure tomorrow I will get to see what this next letter says!  That post girl is busy on her bike!

 

our "prop" for retelling the story

 

These are just some fun samples from day one. I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!

 

You can check out   my Kindergarten Writing Prezi at my TPT Store. I have this up on my Smartboard every day during Writer's Workshop. It is great for quick reminders or lessons along the way!

 

 

Thank you for visiting and sharing my Jolly day!  :) 
Happy Teaching,

Carolyn