I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree

Begin by reading the book aloud and having your child or student(s) react to the text and illustrations. Let them ask questions and makes comments without judgement, recognizing that there are no right or wrong ways to respond. Allow the story-poem to speak to them individually and their learning to happen organically.

For very young children, point out the cat in the illustrations and have them follow it through the images of the story.

Ask your child(ren) how the story makes them feel.

Pause at various points throughout the story (while the child is waiting for their shadow to return, when the wind howls like wolves, when the snowflakes feel prickly and sharp) and ask them how that page makes them feel.

Emotional literacy includes the development of empathy, which is the ability to understand how someone else is feeling. Ask your child(ren) how they think the child in the story feels? Remember there are no right or wrong answers.

Possible responses:

• confused, anxious, angry – why do shadows disappear?
• impatient, bored, lonely, sad – when will the shadows come back?
• disappointed, curious, frustrated – why are some answers. snowflakes soft and some sharp?
• worried, nervous, scared – why is the wind howling?
• calm, excited, happy, hopeful – seeing the flowers bloom

How does the child respond to adversity in this story (when the shadows disappear, when the wind howls like wolves and when the snowflakes become icy and sharp)? What choices does the child make to overcome that adversity?

1. Look at the pages that show the child playing with their shadow.
2. Can you find the source of light?
3. What is blocking the light to make the shadow?
4. Is the shadow short? Long?
5. Where else do you see shadows in the book? (wolves)

Focus on the section about wind. Notice that sometimes the wind is gentle (tells stories making the trees laugh) and sometimes it is strong (howls like wolves.) The author is using metaphor to show that wind is changeable and has different effects on its environment. The child in the story learns to respond to those differences, even when they make them feel scared.

Remind your child(ren) that we all feel scared at times. When we do, we can acknowledge how we feel, tell people who care about us, and find ways to focus on being present (see section on mindfulness, above). Sometimes, like the child in the book, it is helpful to change the story. What story do you think the child told to the wind wolves?

1. When you read the story-poem focus on the section that talks about snowflakes. Notice that some snowflakes are soft and large, and others arrive “icy and sharp.” Why is this?
2. The narrator in the story likes to catch snowflakes on their tongue and comments that they all “taste like clouds.” Why do you think that is? (Because they all came from the same place even though each one is unique).
3. Point out that differences do not make one better than the other – they are just different. The child in the story accepts those differences by noticing that they are all “perfect and beautiful and special” and noticing what they have in common – they all come from the clouds. People are a lot like snowflakes – they come in all shapes and sizes and no two are the same.

Poetry is a type of writing that uses techniques to stir the reader’s imagination. The poet does this by carefully choosing words for their meaning, sound, and rhythm. Some poems are stories, some poems rhyme, some are humorous and others are like prayers. One thing that makes poems different from other types of writing is their structure. The words of a poem are arranged in lines and groups of lines called stanzas.

I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree is a poem. It is a style of poem called free verse because it does not follow a set form. It is lyrical because it shows the writer’s emotions in a beautiful, imaginative and flowing way. The poet, Jean E. Pendziwol, uses “literary devices” to do this.

Can you find where the poet uses the following literary devices?

1. onomatopoeia – words that describe a sound and also sound like that sound (hush and hiss, whisper, sigh)
2. alliteration – words that start with the same sound are repeated in a phrase or sentence (mischievous monkey, shadow shrinks, hush and hiss, large and long, toss and tumble)
3. imagery – descriptive language that appeals to the senses (tastes like clouds)
4. personification – giving nonliving objects characteristics of people (the wind tells stories, the shadows play, the wind dances, the cherry tree places buds on its branches)
5. metaphor – where two things that are normally unrelated are compared to each other (hope/blossoms on a cherry tree)
6. simile (a type of metaphor) – a comparison using “like” or “as” (like a sweet dream, taste like clouds)
7. repetition – when words or phrases repeat (sometimes a few minutes, sometimes a few hours…)

mischievous – a playful desire to cause trouble

tumble – to fall down suddenly and quickly

prickle – the feeling of having lots of sharp points on your skin

Develop a list of vocabulary for various feelings. Refer to Appendix E for ideas.

1. Make different emotion faces and have children guess how you’re feeling.
2. Find pictures of people with different expressions and have children label the emotions.
3. Create a resource of “faces” with different emotions and talk about what they mean. Ask children to choose the picture that most reflects how they feel that day. (A number of excellent resources in downloadable PDF format can be found online. Here is an example: hope4hurtingkids.com)
4. Using the “faces” you’ve compiled or printed out, provide examples of situations and ask your child(ren) to select a face that reflects “how you feel  when…” (there’s a snow day, there’s ice cream for dessert, hockey practice is  cancelled, etc.)

Depending on the age/ability of the child(ren), discuss the concept of hope. Point out that hope involves acting, moving forward even when the future is unknown, like the cherry tree growing buds in the fall that will not bloom until spring.

Anxiety and fear are worries about what may happen in the future, so bringing the mind back to the present is a good way to develop resilience. Mindfulness is simply paying attention, and the best way to pay attention is by using your breath. Mindful meditation helps to manage stress, increase self-control, and sustain attention.

Plan to have mindfulness breaks on a daily basis (15 minutes right after nutrition break can work really well). Take mini-breathing or meditation breaks throughout the day to bring the mind back to the present. For some children, adding in an active component (mindful walking or yoga) can help with restlessness. There are a lot of excellent resources online as well as pre-recorded guided meditations to use. Find one that is age-appropriate and works well for your child(ren).

Here’s a recommended guided meditation for young children who are new to mindfulness from Shambhala called “Sitting Still Like a Frog”. https://www.shambhala.com/activities-download-sitting-still-activity-book/

To help your child(ren) ground themselves or focus, engage them in this simple activity. Begin with a grounding exercise. This can include standing up or sitting tall, noticing their feet firmly on the ground, and then putting their focus into their feet and feeling how they are firmly rooted to the ground. You can add some movement here or get them to pretend they are as still as a mountain or swaying gently like a tree.

Once they are grounded, add an orienting exercise. This could include looking around the room and naming 5 things they can see, 4 things they can hear, 3 things they can touch, 2 things they can smell, and 1 thing they can taste.

Then direct them to a short breathing exercise, inhaling for a count of 5 and exhaling for a count of 5. To count this, have them hold up their hand and squeeze each finger one at a time as they inhale in, and then do the same for exhale. This brings a tactile component to the activity and aids with calming.

Create a “Hope Tree” for your class or home. Using the template provided in Appendix A, cut out cherry blossoms. Paint or color them. Have children write a word or phrase on the blossoms describing what brings them hope. Create a tree from construction paper, pipe cleaners or cardboard and fasten the blossoms to the tree with glue or tape.

Find materials that are suitable for the age/ability of your child(ren) and allow freedom for creativity of expression. Materials can include paint, crayons, paper/scissors/glue, clay, bread dough, or even building blocks. Suggested prompts:

• Create a painting/sculpture to show how you are feeling today.
• Using “hope” or “gratitude” as a theme, create a three-dimensional piece of art

Therapeutic writing is a very powerful tool; studies have shown that writing about trauma helps release it. While it’s good to encourage children and young adults to write to a specific topic or in a specific style (see the language arts section for more ideas and prompts) try to make space and time for writing as an outlet without a specified outcome in mind. The writing can be kept, if desired, or ceremoniously disposed of (shredded, placed in a bonfire, etc.) at the end of the activity.

1. Using pen/pencil on paper (if possible) do a timed write every day for a week, taking 5 minutes or longer depending on the age/ability of the child(ren). Have them write whatever comes to mind. Keep the hand moving the whole time. If no words or sentences immediately present themselves, repeat the shapes of the alphabet until words begin to form.
2. If you have large sheets of paper (like reams of old dot-matrix printer paper) tape them to a wall and use a crayon for this activity. Remember that before there are sentences, there are words, before there are words, there are letters, and letters start as shapes – as visual images. Start with the shapes and letters and see where it takes you.
3. Provide your child/student(s) with a topic sentence or theme word to write about, such as:
   • Last week I…
   • When I heard about [blank] I felt…
   • To me, hope means…

Make your own shadows.

1. Set up a light source (use a lamp or even the flashlight from a cellphone) and project it against a wall (the lighter the wall color, the better) then turn out the lights in the room.
2. Put objects between the light source and the wall. What do you see? Is the shape of the shadow the same or different from the object?
3. Move the object further away from the light source. What happens? What if it’s closer?
4. Move the light source to a higher angle. What happens?
5. What happens if you use a larger light source? A smaller one?

Create shadow shapes of different animals using the instruction sheet included in Appendix C.

What you need:

• a sunny day
• sidewalk chalk
• a safe paved street, sidewalk, driveway or parking lot

How to:

1. Working in pairs, have one person stand with their back to the sun so that they cast a shadow while the other person draws with the sidewalk chalk around the shadow, tracing the outline. Mark the time on the shadow.
2. Return to the same place after an hour and repeat the activity. What’s changed? Why?

Extend this:

If you have access to large sheets of paper, create shapes in shadows and trace them onto the paper. Use paint, crayon or marker to fill in the patterns.

What you need:

• light source (lamp)
• cardboard/construction paper
• pencil
• scissors
• glue/tape
• sticks (straws, unsharpened pencils, dowelling, or wooden skewers) a light-coloured wall to project onto
• cat templates from Appendix B

How to:

1. Trace the shapes of the cats from Appendix C onto the cardboard or construction paper and cut them out.
2. Use tape or glue to attach a stick to the back of each of your cats.
3. Put the lamp on the floor or on a table. Point it at the wall and turn it on. Turn off other lights and close the curtains.
4. Hold your puppets between the light and the wall. Can you make up a story for your cats?

This poem about shadows was written by Robert Louis Stevenson who lived from 1850-1894. Stevenson wrote a lot of poetry for children as well as novels including Treasure Island. Can you memorize this poem? Can you use your cat shadow puppets to act out the poem?

My Shadow

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India-rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.
He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an errant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

~ Robert Louis Stevenson
(Public Domain)

While we can’t see the wind, we can see what it does. Observe the wind for several days. What are some things that we can see the wind do? (Move the branches of the trees, makes waves on a lake, chase clouds across the sky…)

1. When have you enjoyed feeling the wind? (A cool breeze on a hot day, flying a kite, when it keeps the mosquitoes away…)
2. When have you been afraid or frustrated by the wind? (When it blows smoke from a campfire in your eyes, when there’s a storm, when it blows the garbage can down the street…)
3. Some excellent YouTube options that add to the conversation:
   1. What is Wind? by SciShow
   2. Bill Nye the Science Guy

What you need:

• empty bottle
• balloon
• bowl of hot water

How to:

1. Notice that there is only air in the bottle. Now put the balloon on top of the bottle.
2. Set the bottle in a bowl of hot water.
3. What happens to the balloon? Why?

Extend this: For older students, talk about how climate change is causing an overall increase in global temperatures. How will this lead to more severe weather patterns?

What you need:

• A square of paper (colored or not, patterned or not, you decide! Maybe use white paper and cover it with cherry blossoms?)
• ruler
• scissors
• pencil
• push pin or straight pin
• small beads (optional)
• an unsharpened pencil with a rubber eraser OR a straw OR thin dowel

How to:

1. Fold your square piece of paper corner to corner and corner to corner. Unfold. It will now have an “X” where you folded.
2. Make a pencil mark about 1/3 of the distance between the centre and each corner along your fold lines.
3. Cut along the fold lines, stopping at your pencil marks.
4. Bring every other corner into the centre and stick a pin through all four points and the middle.
5. Roll the pin around in little circles to enlarge the hole so that your pinwheel will turn more freely.
6. Stick the pin into your pencil eraser, straw or dowel. (Optional: add a couple of small beads between your pinwheel and the stick so that it has some space to turn more easily.)
7. Blow on your pinwheel. Which way does it turn? Does it work better if you blow it from the front or side?

Extend this: Use paper that is different colours on each side. What colours do you see when the pinwheel is moving very quickly?

Snow is precipitation (water that falls back to earth) that happens when water vapors in the air freeze. This happens when the temperature in the clouds is very cold. Snowflakes are made up of ice crystals that form around a small particle, like dust. Snowflakes start out very small and grow. As they do, they take on different shapes. Each snowflake is unique and might contain up to 200 crystals.

A man named Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley, who lived in Vermont between 1865 and 1931, studied snowflakes and was the first to be credited with photographing them. From a very young age, Bentley was fascinated by the natural world. He loved to study butterflies, leaves and spider webs, and kept records of the daily weather. He was also fascinated by raindrops. On his 15th birthday, Bentley received a microscope and developed an interest in snow crystals. After equipping his microscope with a camera, he made the first successful photograph of a snowflake. In his photographs, you can see the different shapes of snowflakes.

While every snowflake is unique, there are seven identified shape structures:

1. Star Crystal
2. Dendrite Star
3. Columns
4. Plates
5. Capped Columns
6. Needles
7. Irregular Forms

Learn more about snowflake shapes:

• Thoughtco
• Caltech

Extend this:

1. On a snowy day, go outside and catch snowflakes on a piece of black construction paper or dark felt. (This works better if the felt is cold when you start.) Bring a magnifying glass and look at the shapes of the snowflakes. Can you identify which shape family they belong to?
2. Learn more about Wilson Bentley by reading Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

What you need:

• paper
• scissors

How to:

1. Start by cutting your paper into a square. (If you are using a piece of copy paper, fold the top right corner down so that the top edge is lined up with the side edge. Trim off the extra part on the bottom.)
2. Fold the paper in half diagonally to make a triangle.
3. Fold it in half again.
4. Place your triangle in front of you so that the long side is at the bottom. Fold the left side in to the middle, then fold the right side into the middle so that it is folded in thirds. It should now be shaped like an arrow. Trim the bottom so that it is a triangle again.
5. Shape it! Cut and shape the points of the triangle, trim curves into the sides, cut out slits, making wiggly slits… have fun!
6. Open up your snowflake. What kind of snowflake did you make?

While trees blossom and leaf out in the spring after being dormant during the winter, they actually form their buds during the previous summer or fall. In the winter, they don’t have the energy to grow structures that are small and complex. Sometimes it’s hard to see them, but if you look carefully in the fall, you will notice small buds on the branches of trees that will become flowers and leaves in the spring. Trees do all their growing in early summer. In late summer, they store up reserves to begin the growing process again the following spring.

Additional Resources: The Forest Academy

It is possible to force flowering trees and shrubs to bloom early by bringing them inside where it’s warm. On a mild day in late winter/early spring, prune a 30-60 cm (1-2 feet) length of branch from a flowering shrub (look for one where the buds are starting to fill out.) Cut slits in the stems so it’s easier for the branch to take in water and put the branches in a vase full of water. After a day, trim the stem at an angle and put it back in the vase. Keep the branches in a bright room (not in direct sunlight) changing the water frequently. Blossoms should appear in a few weeks, but it depends on the type of flowering shrub or tree. Forsythia tend to be quicker and easier to force.

Most people are not aware that authors of traditionally published children’s picture books don’t usually choose who illustrates their book nor do they decide what goes in the illustrations. Illustrators work with the text (the words of the story), not the author, and interpret those words with images. They add to what is written to create something new. Both the images AND the text are needed to work together to tell the whole story. And this is MAGICAL!

With I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree, the character of the cat doesn’t appear at all in the text; illustrator Nathalie Dion chose to add it in. Ms. Dion says that she was looking for a way to bring more life to the illustrations and have someone for the child to interact with.

What do you think the cat’s name is? (Hint: what goes in and out with the child in Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem? Did you guess “Shadow”? You’re right!)

Some tools an illustrator can use:

1. Color: Different colors can be used to create emotion and feeling. Read the book again, looking at the colors used in the story. How do they make you feel?
2. Movement: How does an illustrator show wind and create movement? Look at the pictures in the book and find examples of movement (blowing scarf, etc.)
3. Picture books are designed to lead the reader’s eye across the page and on to the next page. Look at how the cat is used throughout the book to move the story forward. Follow the cat with your finger. What direction is the cat travelling? To the front of the book, or through the book?

Did you know…?

Almost all illustrated picture books include a note on the copyright page that says how the illustrator created the images and what media (paint, pencil crayon, etc.) they used. Can you find that note in I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree? How did Nathalie Dion create the images?

Choose two literary devices and write your own poem about snowflakes.

Write a poem about your favorite season. Can you use description so that the reader can see, hear, taste, smell and feel your words?

Write a story about a cat that lost its shadow.

Write a poem about what hope means to you.

Poets develop their ability to describe and use imagery by observing the world through their senses. Go for a walk around your neighbourhood. Write down seven things that you notice, paying attention to things like cracks in the sidewalk, the shape of clouds, what people you pass are wearing, plants or trees that are growing (and what they look like). Now write down five things you can hear: planes, cars, wind, birds singing, people talking…? Sit still for three minutes and just listen. (Maybe you hear your tummy grumbling for a snack!)

Do this activity every day for a week and you will start to notice more! (Actually, keep up this habit for a lifetime and you will become VERY observant.)

Notice the section in the story where the child waits for their shadow to return. Point out the measurements of time used; a few minutes, a few hours, a few days. Explore the concept of time, how time passes and how we keep track of time.

Introduce your child(ren) to clocks and how we keep track of time. Sit for one minute (this is a great way to tie in a mindful meditation – deep breathing). Ask them if it felt long or short. Have a conversation about when it feels like time is going by slowly (waiting for something) and when it feels like it’s going quickly (playing with friends), allowing them to respond without judgment. Depending on the age of your child(ren), talk about how we measure time using:

• 60 seconds in a minute
• 60 minutes in an hour
• 24 hours in a day
• 7 days in a week
• 52 weeks in a year

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHING ABOUT TIME

https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/time/

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/sponsored-content/timex/2017/show-me-time/

https://www.weareteachers.com/5-hands-on-ways-to-teach-telling-time/