Journaling According to Humphrey

One of the highlights of any day is my read aloud time. I love gathering the kids on the carpet and sharing an adventure together. The group I have this year loves story time which makes it all the better. We finished reading The World According to Humphrey earlier this week which is a terrific read aloud for third graders. 

My kids LOVED the book and they were so sad when it was over which meant they begged and begged for me to read another one. However, I had something else in store. I happened upon this idea over the summer at one of my favorite blogs, 4th Grade Frolics and couldn't wait to tell the kids. I had a stuffed hamster (which I bought from Amazon) and journal (made from a composition book) inside a small backpack and I explained that they would take turns taking the hamster home. Their reaction to this news was the most adorable thing I have seen in a long time (and I spend my day with adorable!). They were so cute! You would have thought I had introduced a penguin as a class pet! I asked what they wanted to name the hamster and they decided he had to be Humphrey. My first kid brought back Humphrey and the journal yesterday and sat in the Author's Chair to read his journal entry. Again, so cute! I loved the way he wrote from Humphrey's perspective. I have a feeling this will be one of the highlights of our year and I want to thank Tara from 4th Grade Frolic for sharing this wonderful idea!