Nebraska Educators Preview Peter H. Reynolds SEL Program

When Nebraska educators joined together July 17-19, 2023 for the Nebraska State Education Association -University 2023 summer conference, they were joined by Peter H. Reynolds and his team to share his powerful message on resiliency and bravery. His team included his sister, Jane Reynolds, from England, Deanna Braunlin from Wyoming, and Sara Smith from North Carolina, who all enjoyed seeing Nebraska!

Earlier in the year, NSEA President Jenni Benson visited Nebraska elementary schools reading Peter’s book Be You! for Read Aloud America and was amazed at the impact of the book with students.  

Jane Reynolds, President, FableVision Learning with Jenni Benson, President, NSEA

Peter joined virtually from Paris projected on two enormous screens in the ballroom.  He reminisced about the time he was at NETA (2004) when he was asked to step in as keynote speaker.  He had an advance copy of the newly created animation of his book The Dot which he shared with the audience.  So they were the first to see the animation before it was released. 

Just as Nebraskan teachers were the first to see The Dot animated film back in 2004, this time they were the very first to see Connect & Thrive: Story-Powered Circles, launching this week.  Developed in conjunction with Partnerships in Education Resilience (PEAR), this new program provides off the shelf activities to use with elementary students in morning meetings or circles, using 4 of the books by Peter H. Reynolds to strengthen the students' sense of belonging. 

This time Peter read his book Say Something and shared his inspirational story of being invited to think differently about math by his 7th grade math teacher, which opened his eyes to a career in animation.  He emphasized that we often do not know the impact we make on students, even life changing impacts.

Following the keynote, Peter’s team delivered 3 sessions, each one with a different way to use storytelling to make a difference in student lives.  Teachers who attended received copies of Peter’s books as well as the chance to use FableVision Learning programs for the next academic year.  These included:  

• Start with a Story - storytelling, journaling, SEL and STEM cross-curricular activities linked to Peter’s books

• The North Star Classroom - help students discover their potential and map their personal journey using Peter’s first book The North Star

• Connect & Thrive: Story-Powered Circles - strengthen students’ sense of belonging within elementary school using Peter’s books, lessons and activities in morning circles

The FableVision Learning team enjoyed meeting the amazing teachers of Nebraska. We hope to soon be in a city near you!

FableVision Learning Launches After-School SEL/STEM Program with Norwood Public Schools

It may have started as a simple purchase of The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds and a stop to his bookstore The Blue Bunny in Dedham square, but Debbie Holzendorf, director of the Norwood Public Schools Extended Day Services, saw something more. 

A few phone calls and meetings later, FableVision Learning officially launched the after-school program with an educator PD on Saturday, Feb. 4. During this hands-on session, 40-ish teachers explored this unique after-school program that has been designed for K-5 students across Norwood’s six elementary schools: Balch, Callahan, Cleveland, Oldham, Prescott, and Willett (Kindergarten), Middle School and The Savage Center for school vacation programming. 

This custom program activates the works of New York Times Best-Selling author and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds through SEL/STEM projects. Through this program, students will engage with creative tools, including Animation-ish (a leveled animation program) and FabMaker Studio (a 3-D design and engineering tool) as they practice the skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. 

As a culminating event for this school year, Norwood Public Schools Extended Day Services will host a creativity celebration with Peter H. Reynolds. During this time students and families will meet the author and be able to share projects from the after-school program.

FableVision Learning partners with school districts across the country to develop custom programs. If you have any questions send us an email at info@fablevisionlearning.com.

Pennsylvania Fourth Graders “Go Places” with “Start with a Story” STEM Activities

The following blog post was written by Katie Hurwitz, an intern at FableVision Learning.

When it comes to teaching STEM literacy as educators, where do we start? Perhaps, it can be as simple as starting with a story. FableVision Learning’s “Start with a Story” program introduces students to the books of New York Times best-selling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, posing a set of activities that correspond to each story.

 Zooming into the Mifflin County Public School District in central Pennsylvania, fourth grade students embarked on a “Start with a Story” journey with Bailey Kibe at the helm. 

 Kibe is a fourth grade teacher who teaches Reading, Science, and Social Studies. She works as a team with another teacher—who teaches Math and Writing—as they both teach their respective homeroom classes of 25 and 21 students.

“For the past few years I have collaborated with the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11, specifically their Educational Technology department. Dr. Eric Yoder, Coordinator of Educational Technology, proposed the project of FabMaker Studio to me to pilot with my students,” Kibe said. “Since then, I have worked closely with Andrea Calvin from FableVision Learning to implement their ‘Start with a Story’ STEM Literacy unit.”

The specific book that Kibe used was Going Places by Peter H. and Paul A. Reynolds. In this story, the main character, Maya, inspires her friends to think outside the box even when a kit of instructions is provided. Encouraging her friend Rafael to realize all the possibilities that can be achieved through innovative thinking, Maya helps readers alike develop self-efficacy to transform ideas from their imagination into reality. 

The “Start with a Story” activities for Going Places relate to the book’s themes of challenging the status-quo through connectivity and encouragement.

We recently connected with Kibe to discuss her experience of “starting with a story” to teach STEM literacy to her Mifflin County Public School District fourth graders. The following is our Q&A with Kibe. Read on to see how the story and its activities led her students to really “go places!”

You've been using the “Start with a Story: Going Places” activities. What has been the overall response from the students? 

Kibe: Students have loved the activities! It has been a great experience overall. With each activity there is a problem-solving component that allows students to really collaborate and share perspectives to achieve their goal. Students also were able to work with peers that they may not typically work with, which allowed for team-building. The students especially enjoyed testing their “tables” to see if they held a book or even several books. Also, they loved turning the go-cart building activity into a friendly competition to see which cart went the fastest and the farthest.

What has been one aha moment?

Kibe: There have been several aha moments throughout the activities. The go-cart activity stands out the most. When we were building the carts, we first started with bottle cap wheels. The students experimented with the idea of friction and decided that the bottle caps created too much that it affected the performance of their carts. They then created wheels using the circle paper in the FabMaker document that was cut out using the Silhouette. After testing, the students had an aha moment that the paper wheels produced less friction and therefore increased the effectiveness of their creation.

Do you have any tips for teachers getting started?

Kibe: The key to success with STEM is collaboration. We want the students to collaborate effectively, and the same should be said for educators. This was a learning experience for all involved, and it was helpful to have extra teachers and staff supporting the project. So, don’t be afraid to invite others to join in on the activity!

What's next?

Kibe: My students will now start their projects using Animation-ish. I will also continue the “Start with a Story” unit next year with my next group of 4th graders. We will continue working through STEM-based and project-based activities in our classroom so the students can discover and explore all of the different components of the discipline.

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Want to learn more about Start with a Story? Email the team at info@fablevisionlearning.com