Letters from a Guinea Pig

I ordered some new Gerald and Piggie books for the library a couple of months ago. 

I was excited about sharing the books with my students, and I knew the Kindergartners were my perfect audience. I planned on spreading the books out over a couple of weeks as we focused on our skill of learning what titles, authors, and illustrators were. What started out as a multi-week lesson turned into week after week after week after week of reading Gerald and Piggie books. The Kindergartners couldn't get enough of the hilarious adventures of these two characters, and I didn't have the heart to read them anything else. 

When the Kindergartners got two pet guinea pigs a little while back, guess what they named them? You got it, Gerald and Piggie. One of them died a couple of weeks ago, but Gerald is still around, putting smiles on the students' faces. Then the wonderful Kinder teacher, Kelly, got a brilliant idea, and shared it with me. I loved what happened in the library next:

During library story time, after reading a book about the adventures of a class guinea pig, the students and I talked about Gerald the guinea pig, and wondered what kind of adventures he might go on after school, over the weekend, and when the students weren't looking. We figured the only way we would know about Gerald's secret life was to ask him. So the students spread out at the tables and asked Gerald using words and pictures. 

We put the letters in envelopes and sent them to Gerald the guinea pig. The following week, this package randomly got delivered to the library, conveniently at the same time the Kindergartners we sitting down for story time. 

I had no idea who it was from, but the students knew immediately that it must be from Gerald! We opened it up, and inside were letters from Gerald. He even sent them bookmarks! The students squealed with excitement. 

We split up into groups, and the helpers read Gerald's letters to each individual student. They beamed and giggled when they heard their letters, and rushed over to tell me what they learned about Gerald. It turns out he likes to play soccer after school, and he even sneaks out of his cage to read books in the reading loft!

Students gathered around Miss Speigle to hear their letters being read aloud

Sabina waited patiently for her letter 

Showing off his new bookmark and letter

Lots of smiles in the library lately. I'm thankful for fictional characters and pet guinea pigs that spark imaginations and fill students with wonder.