Creativity Flows at Hartland Elementary in Vermont

Peter H. Reynolds is often asked for advice on how to start drawing. His answer – put a pencil on a piece of paper and move it around. The same tip can be applied to animation as young animators at Hartland Elementary School in Vermont discovered during a recent program with FableVision.

The school launched its Create Bravely extravaganza with a Family Night filled with animated films and activities for all ages.

The following day students met Peter H. Reynolds virtually, setting the stage for the animation workshops that filled the rest of the day. Using Animation-ish, Peter’s leveled online animation-tool, students discovered how three frames with slight movements can create movement.

Check out some of their work:

Would you like to host a Create Bravely Family Night or animation workshops?
Send an email to Andrea Calvin at andrea@fablevision.com.

Dalton Schools Create Bravely with Peter H. Reynolds and FableVision Learning

Dalton Public Schools in Georgia opened its doors and arms to Peter H. Reynolds and the FableVision Learning team for three days of creativity starting with a family night.

Family Night with the Dalton Community

Hosted at the impressive Junior Achievement Discovery Center & The Hammond Creek Middle School Theater, the evening included a film festival, a reading of Peter’s new book “When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left,” and “dot and dots” of family activities. This unique evening brought together the entire community and inspired bursts of creativity.

School Visit: Westwood Elementary

Westwood Elementary IS a Peter H. Reynolds-inspired school! During the daylong visit that included two assemblies, student tour-guides led Peter through the hallways filled with projects based on his books. 

PD: The Creative Classroom

Rounding out the week in Georgia, Sara Smith, FableVision Learning’s Director of Creative Education, led 50 district teachers in a day of creativity. They dove into creativity research, played games, and explored their own creative strengths, leaving ready to ignite creativity in their classrooms.   

Educators also got a chance to explore FableVision Learning’s tools, FabMaker Studio & Animation-ish. 

The team was sad to leave the warmth of Georgia, but as we like to say - our dots are connected.

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Curious about how your school can host a family night and PD? Send an email to the team at info@fablevisionlearning.com, we would love to connect the dots.

Paul and Peter H. Reynolds Create Bravely with Hosmer Elementary School Students

The following blog post was written by Tyler Stott, an intern at FableVision Learning.

New York Times best-selling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, and his twin brother and creative counterpart, Paul, spent a special day with the students at Hosmer Elementary School in Watertown. During the assemblies and classroom visits, they encouraged students to use their creativity to make their mark on the world.

The students started by painting their own dot inspired by “The Dot” by Peter H. Reynolds.

As you can see, they’re already starting to create bravely. Check out some of their cool creations below!

Would you like to bring Peter H. Reynolds to your school? Click here to learn more about the different speaking engagement options.

Oak Lawn Middle Schoolers Create Digital Picture Books to Share Messages of Peter H. Reynolds

The following blog post was written by Tyler Stott, an intern at FableVision Learning.

Students from Oak Lawn Middle School create a painting activity for the book Sky Color.

At Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School in Oak Lawn, Illinois community service is at the center of everything they do. 

Heather McCarthy, a media specialist at the school works with over 1,100 middle school students and shares, “My library centers around empathy, inclusion, and service learning…Throughout the years, they have raised over $50,000 for clean water projects in Africa, have packaged over 250,000 meals for families in need, and host an annual walkathon to raise money for pediatric cancer patients. We even host a ‘Day of Service’ where the entire school spends the whole day completing community service projects. “

This passion for helping others didn’t slow down during the pandemic. McCarthy and her students kicked into high gear. As recipients of a Hershey's Heartwarming Action Grant, McCarthy and her students got to work creating interactive story books using the stories and messages of their favorite author Peter H. Reynolds. These books were then donated for children at Child Life at Hope Children’s Hospital.

“Peter H. Reynolds is one of our favorite authors since his books and illustrations encompass the themes of resilience, bravery, confidence, patience, and individuality,” McCarthy shared. “These are all qualities our middle school students strive for. We use Peter H. Reynolds’s books for our SEL work, STEM projects, and to read for enjoyment. When we wanted to send picture books over to the children’s hospital, we knew Peter’s books would be the perfect fit.” 

For this project, students selected books by Peter H. Reynolds, and filmed a reading of the book and a video of a project. By adding QR codes to each book, recipients could follow along from anywhere. 

We recently connected with McCarthy and her students to learn more about the project and school. Read on to learn more. 

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Abby Murphy reads Our Table

Your students created interactive story books for children in the hospital, how did that journey begin?

McCarthy: “The idea for this project came about when we were remote learning. We had a classmate whose little sister was in need of a heart transplant. The class of students really bonded over this experience. They showed great empathy and love for their classmate and her sister. We decided that as soon as we were back at school in person, we would put together a project to support the local children’s hospital. When we saw the Hershey’s Heartwarming Grant, everything fell into place.”

What has the response been from these children and their families when they were given the books, videos, and podcasts?

Angel Swiatek and Sophia Falcon read The Dot

McCarthy: “We delivered the books to the staff of Child Life at Hope Children’s Hospital. Then  they chose which patients would receive our books. They reported the patients absolutely loving the books, videos, and projects. Many of the children watched the videos over and over again. The parents and families were grateful that there were children outside of the hospital thinking about their child in the hospital.”

What has been your favorite part about this project?

McCarthy: “I love that this entire project was student led. The students came up with the idea, collaborated together, and did all the creating, filming, and editing. This project really showcases the power of allowing student voice and choice. I believe when you give students the freedom to design their own thinking, they can come up with amazing ideas. I loved how this project highlighted how empathic, kind, and caring our students are.” 

Isabel Bello, a 7th grade student at OLHMS: “My favorite part of this process was the filming. Me and my friends were all able to collaborate with each other and filming together. I also loved that it was for a good cause. It was amazing!”

Selena Garza Prieto, a 7th grader at OLHMS: “My favorite part of this process was imagining the smiles on the kids' faces as they listened to our videos of us reading to them.”

ZZ Cabanas and Selena Garcia create a STEM project to go with the book Going Places.

What advice would you give to other students wanting to do a similar project?

Sophia Falcon, a 7th grader at OLHMS: “If you want to do this, I would recommend talking to someone that could help you and pitching the idea to them. For example, maybe you should talk to your principal, librarian, or even someone on the school board. They could help you with getting together the community, and help you get the things you need to do something like this.”

Isabel Bello: “Whoever wants to get involved in this, if you're doing this for the "fame" don't. I was doing this only out of good spirit. All the attention this project has received was never the original intention. It was all done out of the kindness of our hearts.”

Angel Swiatek, a 7th grader at OLHMS: “If someone wanted to do this in their community or school I would tell them to have fun with it and to express themselves in any way they want. They should feel free to be open to enjoying this experience knowing how others will benefit.”

Selena Garza Prieto: “My advice to others working on a project like this would be - Don’t be nervous while you're reading. Instead just think of the smiles you are giving to kids who need an extra smile right now.”

Principal Dr. Sean McNichols, Aidan Zak, Kendall Phipps, and Grady Gilhooly do the Cow Pose for guided meditation and yoga for I Am Love.

What is your favorite Peter H. Reynolds book?

Angel Swiatek: “My favorite book by Peter H. Reynolds was 'The Dot' because to me the book was teaching about no matter what you think you can't do, you can always do it and it's a way to express yourself.”

Selena Garza Prieto: “My Favorite book by Peter H. Reynolds is ‘The North Star’. I enjoyed reading this book with my best friends because it really shows you that you experience difficulties but you should never let it pull you away from following your own path to happiness.”

What’s next?

McCarthy: “Our school motto is, ‘Create a dream; make it a reality.’ The students of OLHMS know that in the library, anything is possible. We strive to make the world a better place through our community service, creativity, and empathy. If they have an idea, we will do everything we can to help them bring their ideas to life. April 29th is our Day of Service and we will host our annual walkathon for Live Like Abby to raise money for pediatric cancer patients in May.” 

Classroom Spotlight: Dreaming with Peter H. Reynolds

Fourth Graders from the Rectory School in Pomfret, CT, recently spent a day with Peter H. Reynolds in his bookstore, The Blue Bunny. The following post was written by Maria Carpenter

Connecting our students with experts that extend their learning, and broaden their experience is a goal that we strive for, each day at Rectory School. On Friday, April 6th, Melissa Zahansky and I had the distinct pleasure of accompanying our grade four students to visit the children's book author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds in his bookstore, The Blue Bunny in Dedham, MA. The K-4 community used Peter's books to create art experiences for the children to explore for our school's first ever MELP, Jr. ES Artists in Residence. We knew that we were in for a treat, but as we left the bookstore that morning, we all felt that we had just participated in a once in a lifetime kind of experience! Peter H. (for Hamilton) Reynolds is an extraordinarily kind, creative and generous human being!

Peter grew up in Dedham, MA and told the children stories of how he always loved to collect words and draw, ever since he was a child. He has a twin brother, Paul, who is his friend and creative partner at FableVision Learning, a company located above the Children's Museum in Boston, MA. FableVision Learning provides support for educators around the world to nurture the 4 C's (plus 1): creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking - and compassion both in and out of the classroom. We heard detailed stories about Peter's own creative process, and he encouraged our children to collect words that are interesting to them, as well as their dreams and ideas in a journal.

We heard about the real girl who entered the book store one day selling carnations for her school, named Vashti, who quietly watched Peter sketch over his shoulder. She became the lead character in his award winning book, The Dot, which has received many honors, is translated into several languages, and has even traveled to the space station! The Dot reminds us all to "Make your mark, and see where it takes you."

Giving our students the opportunity to dream about the journeys that they may strive for in their lives is of great importance to all of us at Rectory School. Our morning with Peter, will linger in our minds for a long time. He taught us about goodness, reaching out to those around us who need a helping hand, and being our best selves. Thanks Peter, for being such a light for our students... and creating such magical picture books that make the world a more compassionate place!

These are the memories that our Grade 4 students would like to share about their visit:

• "I have never had an author read a book to me! I loved when he read The Word Collector!"  ~ Ashley

• "I loved when Peter Reynolds was talking about my future... maybe he will be right, and I will work in the White House!"  ~ Alexandra

• "I liked it when Peter Reynolds found out I was a good speller and loved words. He offered me a job when I get out of college... the funny thing is, he was serious!"  ~ Lilah

• "I loved that he listened to our ideas when he was drawing a picture of Vashti."  ~ Isabel

• "I liked it when he asked us to think about what the world needs more of or less of, so he could get ideas for his next book."  ~ Sean

• "I loved hearing him talk about himself. You don't get to hear an author do that everyday!"  ~ Anson

• "I love seeing The Dot book that actually went into space, and hearing the story about how the commander called him from the space station!"  ~ Peter

• "I like that he always has a twist that gets fixed in his books."  ~ William

Peter H. Reynolds and The Dot Rolls Into Dorchester on Sept. 15

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On Friday, Sept. 15, millions of people in 169 countries will celebrate International Dot Day, and among them will be students and faculty members at William E. Russell Elementary School in Dorchester, Massachusetts — a historic neighborhood of Boston known locally as “Dot.”

Inspired by Peter H. Reynolds’s acclaimed picture book The Dot, in 2009 Iowa educator Terry Shay and his students decided to celebrate creativity and courage on Sept. 15. The Dot is the heartwarming story of a perceptive and caring teacher and a reluctant student who thinks she can’t draw. Vashti’s teacher encourages her to trust in her own abilities and be brave enough to “just make a mark and see where it takes you.”

Exploring the themes of creativity, bravery, and self-expression, The Dot has been translated into many languages, including Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish, and even braille. Since International Dot Day’s founding, over 9.5 million educators, schoolchildren, celebrities, and everyday readers have spread Reynolds’s message by creating their own dots and sharing them via Pinterest, Twitter, and classroom walls, among other outlets.

This year, Reynolds himself will celebrate Dot Day at Russell Elementary School with 375 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

“Picture books can change lives, and The Dot is doing it around the world with children and adults who are being encouraged to make their mark. We’re proud to be able to take care of these awesome students right here in our own backyard,” said Karen Lotz, president of Candlewick Press, the publisher of The Dot.

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Reynolds is expected to be joined by Boston Public Schools Superintendent of Schools, Tommy Chang. The guests will tour the school and enjoy presentations of the students’ work.

"We are very grateful for the gift of literacy, which Peter is providing to our students," said Russell Elementary Principal Tamara Blake-Canty. "We are incredibly proud of the rigorous academic scholarship we pursue at the Russell, and celebrating International Dot Day here not only gives us another occasion to highlight our students’ pursuits, it also fuels our teachers’ and students’ ingenuity to reach further heights."

Reynolds says he is especially pleased to be sharing his message in Dorchester, Boston’s largest neighborhood, often locally referred to as “Dot.”

“I like to choose a significant physical location to celebrate Dot Day each year,” Reynolds explains. “Besides, its an awesome nickname. Dorchester is just minutes from my educational media studio based in Boston’s Innovation District, where I hope Russell Elementary School students will one day be using their creativity to make their mark as innovators in tomorrow’s workforce.”

The Dot Day Celebration Continues

Where: at the Blue Bunny Bookstore in Dedham, Massachusetts
When: 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.

Children and adults can stop by to create their own DOTS! (Paper and art supplies provided)

• Enter to win a Dot Day basket, drawing at 6 p.m. – you do not have to be present to win!

• The first 50 people who purchase The Dot book get an art supply goody bag.

• Dot cookies by Ginger Betty and Dot Chocolate will be available for sale.

• Peter H. Reynolds joins the festivities in the afternoon.

Make Your Mark

#DotDay is right around the diameter (because dots don’t have corners). Sept. 15th is the day to celebrate. If you haven’t done so yet, register, and join the growing community and share your mark using #MakeYourMark and #DotDay!

The Bouncing Dot Music Video

There are dozens of ways to conduct your Dot Day celebration! This September 15th-ish celebrate with "The Dot Song." Singer-songwriter Emily Dale collaborated with Peter H. Reynolds to create this beautiful melody inspired by The Dotand International Dot Day!

Listen and sing along to this uplifting tune about creativity! FableVision Studios developed this amazing animation to engage your students with this captivating song. Peter has created this free handwritten lyric sheet for you to share with your students and encourage them to Make Their Mark this Dot Day.

This animation brings to live the collaboration between singer-songwriter Emily Dale and Peter H. Reynolds, author and illustrator of The Dot. "The Dot Song"...

The Bouncing Dot Official Music Video for The Dot Song

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