What do igloos, snow globes and Ann Bancroft have in common?  Book Festival week at MPA!  Last week was filled with wonderful activities as both children and adults got excited about reading and books.  It all started at the kick off on Friday the 22nd of February with the pairing assembly.  As Mike wrote about last week, the Lower School students paired with their older buddies and spent 40 minutes sharing books.  It was wonderful to experience the enthusiasm that all ages showed in sharing favorite books.

The following Monday, children arrived at school to find an igloo in their hallway.  It created the curiosity that the committee was looking for as children peeked inside and began discussing where igloos might be found.  Then at recess, the parents arrived to take the children outside to build snow sculptures.  Carrots, raisins, colored water and stocking hats helped each sculpture distinguish itself from others and surprisingly enough they stayed in tact all week.

 Tuesday began with a bit of hilarity as the Head of School greeted families dressed as a penguin.  "And why a penguin?" one might ask.  It just so happened that Como Zoo was arriving Wednesday afternoon with a live penguin to exhibit to the Pre-K and Kindergartners.  The children were told that they had to stay calm and quiet so the penguin would not get nervous.  I have never seen children so young respond so well.  You could hear a pin drop as they entered the atrium and quietly took a seat.  It was interesting to hear all they already knew about penguins as they had been prepped so well by their classroom teachers.  In celebration of the penguins, we all got to dress as penguins on Wednesday.  Black and white was the favorite outfit, but many children were very creative as they added webbed feet, beaks and even pajama bottoms with penguins adorning them.

During this week, the collection of snow globes also grew as children brought them in from home and were proud to show them to their classmates.  The February birthday board even sported each child's picture inside of a snow globe.  The most popular snow globe of all was the one that was inflated in the hall and had two snow people inside.  It even had snow showering down on the two.

 

One of the most intriguing part of the Book Festival Week had to be the Used Book Sale.  Every lunch hour, parents rolled out carts of donated books and the children arrived with their quarters.  They felt so independent as they were able to select books of their choice and spend as many quarters as they had brought.  Much of the discussion centered around how many books you could buy for $1.00 or perhaps you were lucky enough to have $1.50.  Some children bought more books than they could carry and that provided another problem to solve.

The fourth graders felt very special as they were able to have a peek at the Middle School Cafe.  The previous Saturday was spent creating an atmosphere in the Kreischer Gym that rivaled any prom decorations I have ever seen.  It is one of those things that the fourth graders look forward to but just peering in the gym gave them quite a thrill.

Finally, the Book Festival Night arrived.  New and old book festival T-shirts were worn, and families arrived in droves to enjoy the Book Festival together.  The gallery was very enticing as a huge snowflake hung from the ceiling and on it magically appeared a variety of phrases about MPA.  Books were exhibited by categories and the shopping was quite a frenzy.  In the hallways, the children could play miniature golf, make snowflake books, or have their faces painted, and the cafeteria held a nice easy meal for those who hadn't eaten.

Then as the evening wound down and the lights dimmed, everyone gathered in the Nicholson Center to hear the adventures of Ann Bancroft.  Even our Pre-Kindergarteners had been introduced to the idea of attempting an exhibition by dog sled, but I am not sure anyone realized how arduous some of these exhibitions were.  Ann was the first woman to arrive at the North Pole by dogsled, and later she became the first person to ski across Greenland and then the South Pole.  Like most of you, I can't even fathom traveling on skis or dogsled in that severe cold.  Minnesota winters are challenge enough for me.

A huge thank you goes out to all of the volunteers who helped with the Book Festival.  Jonathan Akers was the chair of the committee, and Jane Neumann the organizer of the Middle School Cafe.  The two of them, with about 50 volunteers, made this extraordinary event happen.  Helping every step of the way were our two librarians Nancy Lage and Shannon Horton.  Thanks to all of you.  It was a fine event that epitomizes the community spirit of Mounds park Academy.