March Newsletter

The March CMC Newsletter is now online.

Free Materials

There are a number of free materials available on one of the tables in the CMC. There are a few copies of teacher's guides for some children's books (e.g., the Mo Willems' Pigeon books, Crispin, etc.) and also some science curriculum materials. Help yourselves!

Award Books

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom - Carole Boston Weatherford
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award book; Caldecott Honor book
Describes Tubman's spiritual journey as she hears the voice of God guiding her north to freedom on that very first trip to escape the brutal practice of forced servitude. Tubman would make nineteen subsequent trips back south, never being caught, but none as profound as this first one.


The Pull of the Ocean - Jean-Claude Mourlevat
Mildred L. Batchelder Award book
Loosely based on Charles Perrault's "Tom Thumb," seven brothers in modern-day France flee their poor parents' farm, led by the youngest who, although mute and unusually small, is exceptionally wise.

Children's Book

Waynetta and the Cornstalk: a Texas Fairy Tale - Helen Ketteman
A retelling of "Jack and the Beanstalk" which features a Texas cowgirl, a magic cornstalk, and a giant cowboy in the clouds.

History Alive

Ancient Egypt and the Near East
This is a supplemental program from Teacher's Curriculum Institute's Ancient World History series for grades 6 to 12. The kit includes a lesson guide, a CD, transparencies, and teaching pictures.

Christian Education Resources from Gospel Light

Really Big Book of Cool Crafts for Kids
More than 200 craft projects for ages 4-12. Includes reproducibles and CD.

Really Big Book of Bible Games
More than 250 games for ages 6 to 12. Includes CD and reproducibles.

Big Book of Captivating Skits
Bible-based teaching skits, indexed by Bible verse, Bible character, and topic. Includes reproducibles and CD.

Holiday Skits
25 easy-to-produce skits for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc., for ages 6 to adult. Includes reproducibles.

Nursery Smart Pages
A guide for nursery directors and caregivers. Includes reproducibles.

Early Childhood Smart Pages
Organizational ideas for education directors, teachers, and leaders. Includes reproducibles.

Children's Ministry Smart Pages
Organizational ideas for children's ministries, grades 1 to 6. Includes reproducibles and CD.

Preteen Ministry Smart Pages
Organizational ideas for pastors and ministry leaders working with ages 10 to 14. Includes reproducibles.

Spring Break hours

Just a reminder that the library will be staying open a little longer than usual during spring break to help accomodate our student teachers. The hours for the library during spring break:

Friday, March 2 - close at 5:00
Saturday, March 3 - closed
Monday, March 5, through Thursday, March 8 - 8:00-6:00
Friday, March 9, and Saturday, March 10 - closed
Monday, March 12 - 8:00-6:00
Tuesday, March 13 - resume regular hours

Have a great spring break!

Award Book

Received today:

American Born Chinese - Gene Luen Yang
2007 Michael L. Printz Award Book
Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in graphic novel format.

New Mathematics Books

New books from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics:

Mission Mathematics II: Linking Aerospace and the NCTM Standards, Grades 6-8

Mission Mathematics II: Linking Aerospace and the NCTM Standards, Grades 9-12

Exploring Mathematics through Literature: Articles and Lessons for Prekindergarten through Grade 8

Mathematics in the Early Years

Mathematical History: Activities, Puzzles, Stories, Games

Award Books

Rules - Cynthia Lord
Newbery Honor Book
Frustrated at life with an autistic brother, twelve-year-old Catherine longs for a normal existence but her world is further complicated by a friendship with a young paraplegic.





Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas - Cheryl Bardoe
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Honor book
The story of genetics pioneer Gregor Mendel and his experiments with peas.

Christian Education Resources

Boys Life Application Study Bible - Tyndale House Publishers (New Living Translation)

New Professional Resources

250+ Activities and Ideas for Developing Literacy Skills - M. Ellen Jay and Hilda L. Jay
Success in the information age means that children learn not only to read - but also to interpret a wide range of symbols: letters, musical tones, numbers, computer icons and the like. This unique sourcebook offers literacy activities and ideas to teach young children more than 72 literacy skills. It covers listening, sound recognition, parts of the book, top to bottom, left to right, letter/sound connections, using picture and context clues, sequencing, measurement, telling time, street addresses, coordinates, money, mouse skills, and keyboarding.


Reading, Writing, and Gender: Instructional Strategies and Classroom Activities that Work for Girls and Boys - Gail Lynn Goldberg and Barbara Sherr Rosewell
This book is for classroom teachers in grades 3 - 8 as well as for reading specialists, instructional leaders and other educators. It provides detailed descriptions of instructional activities, reproducible tools and materials, illustrative examples of student work, concise summaries of state-of-the-art research, and ideas for action research projects.

Christian Education Resources

Devotional books:

Devotions for Preschoolers - Crystal Bowman


God's Little Devotional Book for Girls





One Year Book of Devotions for Girls



Children's Bibles:

Treasure Study Bible (NIV) - Thompson Topical System

Candle Bible for Toddlers

The Preschoolers Bible

Award Book

Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement - Ann Bausum
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal Honor Book
Recounts the freedom ride of John Lewis and Jim Zwerg into the South in 1961 as part of the Civil Rights Movement.

New Graphic Novels

From the Bone series by Jeff Smith:

Out from Boneville
In Out From Boneville, volume 1 of this 9-book epic, the three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone, are separated and lost in a vast, uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures. Eventually, the cousins are reunited at a farmstead run by tough Gran'ma Ben and her spirited granddaughter Thorn.

The Great Cow Race
Now that they are reunited, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone plan to return home, but Phoney Bone risks everything on a get-rich-quick scheme and it all goes wrong. Plus, a war is brewing and Fone Bone helps his new friends to defend their idyllic valley from a formidable enemy.

Eyes of the Storm
Life in the valley isn't getting any easier for the Bones and their newfound friends. Lucius, Smiley, and Phoney are attacked by the rat creatures and barely make it back to Lucius's tavern. Then it doesn't take long before Phoney is back to his old tricks. Back at the farm, Fone Bone and Thorn are troubled by strange dreams, and gran'ma Ben's reaction is stranger still: She reveals long-kept secrets and unexpected dangers. In fact, they may have to leave the farm forever.

The Dragonslayer
The adventure starts when cousins Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone are run out of Boneville and later get separated and lost in the wilderness, meeting monsters and making friends as they attempt to return home.

Lacrosse Curriculum

U.S. Lacrosse Physical Education Curriculum
Includes the curriculum and a binder of reproducible material.

New Trade Books

Happy Kid! - Gail Gauthier
After his mother bribes him into reading a self-help book on how to form satisfying relationships and enjoy a happy life, cynical eighth-grader Kyle finds there may be more to the book than he realized.

Pirates - John Matthews
An introduction to the world of pirates, reviewing the history of pirating, looking at ships and flags, life on board, pirate attacks, and treasure, profiling some of the most notorious pirates, and discussing their lives on land, their capture and trials, and punishment. Includes a look at pirate fiction, a time line, and numerous pull-out maps, letters, and other movable parts.

Alzheimer's Disease: A Forgotten Life - Elaine Landau
Presents a comprehensive examination of alzheimer's disease, and explores the causes, symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment.

The Adventures of Odysseus - Hugh Lupton
Setting sail for Ithaca after the long and brutal Trojan War, Odysseus imagines the grand welcome he will receive when at last he arrives home. But Poseidon, god of the ocean, has good reason to be angry with the Greek hero. As he fights to find his way back home across unfamiliar seas, Odysseus has to endure harrowing ordeals and adventures and come to terms with devastating losses. On the way, he learns that this is truly the quest of a lifetime - and even when he does reach his beloved homeland, his work is far from over.

1607: A New Look at Jamestown - Karen E. Lange
Explores the history of Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in America, established in 1607, looking at what researchers and archaeologists have learned since 1994 through the Jamestown Rediscovery project.

New Video

Eric Carle: Picture Writer
Eric invites you into his own studio where he reads from three of his most popular books and shows how, step by step, he prepares his colorful tissue papers and creates brilliant collage pictures.

New Award Book

Copper Sun - Sharon Draper
Winner of this year's Coretta Scott King Author Award
Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured servant--escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves.

New Teaching Aids

Received in the CMC today:

Shells - two boxes of various small sea shells. They will be on a shelf in the Teaching Aids area of the CMC.

The United States: History of the Land - One side is a current political map of the United States, and the reverse explains the geological history of the land. It will be in the poster file cabinet.