You may have read a previous post of mine when I mentioned how much I enjoyed when Patricia Polacco came to visit my school. She spoke about two of her books, the first book was the very first book she published, Meteor, the second book was The Keeping Quilt, which happens to be one of my personal favorites, so I was thrilled.
If you have never read this book, it is the true story of a very special family quilt. “We will make a quilt to help us always remember home,” Anna’s mother said. “It will be like having the family back home in Russia dance around us at night.” And so it was. From a basket of old clothes, Anna’s babushka, Uncle Vladimir’s shirt, Aunt Havalah’s nightdress, and an apron of Aunt Natasha’s become The Keeping Quilt, passed along from mother to daughter for almost a century. For four generations the quilt is a Sabbath tablecloth, a wedding canopy, and a blanket that welcomes babies warmly into the world.
Patricia Polacco brought the actual quilt with her! She shared with us how as a child she pretended to be superman with it and a bullfighter. Then as an adult she stood under the quilt when she got married and then brought her daughter home from the hospital wrapped in it. I honestly got tingles as I sat there listening to her reminisce about this quilt that I have been reading about with my students for over 15 years. Meeting her and listening to her speak was an unforgettable experience. Her visit inspired me to share my The Keeping Quilt Activities.
Use The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco to foster a classroom community and discuss traditions. Use my Interactive Read Aloud Lesson to read The Keeping Quilt as a class and then have students complete one of the activities below.
Using the stationary template below, have your students draw a picture of a special clothing item that they would include on a quilt and explain why they selected that article of clothing. These activities are great for the start of the school year so students can get to know their classmates better.
Example: I would include a swatch from my softball Little League All-Star jersey. This jersey would help me never forget the softball game in which I stole second base and scored the only and winning run for our team. Winning this game allowed our team to move on to the next round of the softball tournament!
Using the stationary template below, have your students write an acrostic poem using the letters in their name.
Example: Energetic, Rational, Insightful, Neat
Once your students have completed The Keeping Quilt Activity, use a hole punch to punch out the circles in the corner of the stationary template. Then tie the papers together with yarn to make a classroom quilt. Hang the finished quilt on a classroom wall for all to admire!