Heidi E.Y. Stemple found a love for birds early in her childhood through her owling experiences. Today, Heidi has brought the beautiful world of backyard birds to the pages of her picture books capturing the diverse species of birds that grace our skies and terrains. Heidi shares tips for teaching supporting young children as they "watch the skies" and learn how to notice and care for their feathered neighbors. She shares her beautiful owling experiences with her father, which led her to create books we love to share with children today. Heidi's books are full of rich language and bird facts but packaged in vibrant illustrations and early childhood formats. Look for her newest release, Whose Nest is Best? in June 2022! Who doesn't love a durable board book, bedtime story, or lift the flap book?! 

You don't have to be an expert to take that first step with your students to inspire future birders and help support local citizen science projects! Heidi shares technology resources, tips for getting started, and free guides for teachers to support them along the way! We discuss some simple first steps for using apps, picture books, and guides to teach young children bird identification and, more importantly, bird appreciation. It's time for you and your students to "find your bird"!

Mentor Texts Featured In This Episode:

Whose Nest is Best? by Heidi E.Y. Stemple (release date June 2022 ... I already reserved my copy...this book has flaps!)

You Nest Here with Me by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple

Fly with Me: A Celebration of Birds through Pictures, Poems, and Stories by Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Adam Stemple, and Jason Stemple

Counting Birds: The Idea That Helped Save Our Feathered Friends by Heidi E.Y. Stemple

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Find out more about Heidi E.Y. Stemple and the resources mentioned in this episode by visiting:

Heidi E.Y. Stemple's website   https://www.heidieystemple.com/

Heidi's teacher guide for Counting the Birds  https://www.heidieystemple.com/downloadables/tg-counting-birds.pdf

Heidi's owling Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Owl-Count-527332320703345/

Heidi's professional Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/heidieystemple/

Heidi's Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/heidieys/?hl=en

Heidi's Twitter account  https://twitter.com/heidieys

Looking to launch a Dr. Seuss author study? Sight words, themes, lessons, character studies, phonemic awareness... Dr. Seuss has books to support almost any reading goal! However, there is more to the man behind the Cat in the Hat than is popularly known. He led a complicated life with dueling sides to him which often came out in his characters' traits and plots. In many ways, Dr. Seuss was a paradox who created not only an imaginative world through his storytelling but also a world where his two sides could coexist. His plots helped him solve the issues he cared about in his world. He found art and storytelling as his way to let people know him, without them really being aware of it. This podcast talks about sensitive material from events in his life and is not for young children. While all the parts of his story may not yet be suitable for young ears, one huge part of his life is...your worries, troubles, problems, and complications can be the fuel for your passion and through writing, you can create a world where all these aspects can live together. Enjoy!

Get your free Dr. Seuss poem and resource sheet that are available now on TPT.

How many names did Theodor Geisel write under and why? Where did he get his ideas? What tragedies shaped and played a role in his life and possibly his writing? This week we take a deeper look at the man behind so many stories we have come to love and talk a little bit more about the mysterious life of our beloved Dr. Seuss.