Books That Heal Kids: kindergarten

Showing posts with label kindergarten. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kindergarten. Show all posts

Book Review: Lena's Shoes Are Nervous - A First-Day-of-School Dilemma


Author: Keith Calabrese
Illustrator: Juana Medina

From the Book Jacket: Today is a big day! Today, Lena starts kindergarten. She is very excited. But there's just one problem...Lena's shoes are nervous. Lena doesn't want to miss out on her first day of school, but she can't go without her favorite shoes! How can she convince them to be brave?

Why It's On My Bookshelf: I love this humorous and creative take on anxiety. It took the intensity out of being fearful of the first day of school. The author uses her clothing to express different feelings. Lena says her dress is very outgoing and it can't wait for kindergarten. Her socks feel the same as her shoes - nervous. Her headband represents her bravery and overcoming being scared of school. This was a great description of how we might have many different feelings about a situation. But we need to remember to listen to our brave side because it always gets us through. 

A Link to This Book: 
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Book Review: Kindness is Cooler, Mrs Ruler


Author: Margery Cuyler
Illustrator: Sachiko Yoshikawa
Interest Level: Ages 5-8

From the Book Jacket: When Mrs. Ruler asks five of her kindergarteners to miss recess, she's got a special plan up her sleeve. She's about to teach a new golden rule: Kindness Is Cool! Soon the entire class is doing so many good deeds that their kindness bulletin board barely fits their classroom!

By clearing the table after dinner to helping the elderly, one kindergarten class is proving that kids really can make a difference. Count along with Mrs. Ruler's class. Can all their good deeds really add up to 100 acts of kindness?

Why It's On My Bookshelf: Love this book so much! It starts out with a teacher being frustrated with her students being unkind to one another and her way of dealing with them is by teaching them about acts of kindness. She asks each student to go home and do five acts of kindness for their families. Then in show-and-tell they will share what they did. Their experiences inspire the rest of the class to also try acts of kindness. Soon it becomes a class project. 

I feel this should be a staple in a classroom teacher's library when it comes to building community and managing behaviors. As a school counselor this is a wonderful addition to my bucket filling books and working on school kindness projects. I'm also excited to read this to my daughter because she would love to learn about acts of kindness and this is such a perfect resource. 

A Link to This Book:
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Book Review: School's First Day of School

Author: Adam Rex
Illustrator: Christian Robinson
Interest Level: Ages 4 and Up


About This Book: It's the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone's just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself. What will the children do once they come? Will they like the school? Will they be nice to him? The school has a rough start, but as the day goes on, he soon recovers when he sees that he's not the only one going through first-day jitters.








Why It's On My Bookshelf: I've been emailing all of the teachers at my school and telling them to GET THIS BOOK! Such a creative way to talk to kids about how they might be feeling those first few days of school. Books help normalize behaviors and this one will be a great ally to your discussion. It's also kind of funny to think it's the school that is feeling so nervous. I can see kids giggling about this - a great way to minimize fears. The book ends focusing on the positive and kind things that happened throughout the day. Love.

A Link to This Book and Others You Might Find Helpful:




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I See I Learn Series

Author: Stuart J Murphy
Website: I See I Learn
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Interest Level: Kindergarten/Preschool

Percy Gets Upset
Sometimes Percy gets upset. He scowls and stamps his feet. But when he learns to take a deep breath, count to ten, and talk about his feelings, he can calm down. When Percy's not upset, he can have fun again!




Percy Plays It Safe
When Percy plays at the park, he's a monster! Roaring and growling, he climbs up the slide, stomps in the sandbox, and jumps off the swing. Will he ever learn how to be a safe monster?




Freda Plans a Picnic
Freda's mom says that she can invite her friends to a picnic in her backyard. There is so much to do, from packing the picnic basket to cleaning up. Will Freda's plan be a success?





Freda Is Found
Freda is excited to be on a class field trip. But after she stops to look in a store window, she can't find her group.






Emma's Friendwich
Emma has just moved to a new city where she doesn't know anyone. When she sees a a girl her age next door, she wonders what she can do to get to know her. What if she smiles, asks to play, and shares her toys?




Camille's Team
Camille loves to build sand forts at the beach. But it's hard to build a big fort alone. Camille and her friends make a plan. They find that they can get more done--and have more fun--when they work together.




Write On, Carlos!
Carlos wants to write his name like some of his friends can. After he practices over and over again, Carlos is proud to show his friends what he can do.





Good Job, Ajay!
Ajay wants to throw a ball strait and far like his big sister, Meera. He tries, but he just can't do it. then his friends remind Ajay how he learned to do other things that seemed hard at the time.




Why They Are On My Bookshelf: Here's what this series covers: making friends, building confidence, playground safety, sequencing, cooperation, dealing with frustration, getting help when lost, and writing your name. These are some of the social/life issues our kids need to master. What better way to learn them then through a concrete series.

Growing up I remember my mom had a set of books similar to these. Granted it was the 70's so they might not have been so vividly illustrated with cool characters. But I read those books OVER and OVER again. They had an impact on me and I remember feeling like a little adult as I gained knowledge about important life skills. I'll be loaning these out to teachers and parents for sure next year. You might want a set of your own to sneak into book boxes in your classrooms. Oh, and of course I'll be reading them to my daughter!

Also, the author talks/previews each book on YouTube. I'm a huge fan of being able to peek at a book before I buy it. Here's a trailer of Emma's Friendwich:



If you check out the series website there are posters you can print out for each book as a teaching tool. It's under the link resources. LOVE!



Enjoy this new series!
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Book Reviews: School Readiness Kindergarten

Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready for School?
Author: Barney Saltzberg
Interest Level: Ages 4-8

From the Book Jacket: It's time for school. Is Cornelius P. Mud up? SURE HE IS! He has even made his bed, put on his clothes, and eaten his breakfast. But this is Cornelius, so things are not always what they seem. Despite the clowning around, he makes his way through his morning routine and out to the bus stop, where readers - especially those who loved Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready for Bed? - are in for a big surprise.


Why It's On My Bookshelf: At the beginning of the year I really look forward to working with kindergartners. It's a whole new world as a student and being in a classroom all day long. Just getting up in the morning and getting to school might be a challenge. And wouldn't you know it, I found a good one on morning routine! After I read through this one I knew exactly how I wanted to use it. I want to tell them GOOD JOB for getting to school! GOOD JOB for following mom and dad's directions! GOOD JOB for getting ready to be a student! This is a neat way to introduce responsibility, following directions, and completing tasks. Hey, in my opinion they did that the moment they got out of bed and got going! This will be a quick read but I found it enjoyable and relatable for kids. I'm also looking forward to adding this to my parent recommendations for incoming kindergarten kiddos who are having difficulty getting to school. Maybe this could help!



It's Hard to Be Five: Learning How to Work My Control Panel
Author: Jamie Lee Curtis
Interest Level: Ages 4-8

From the Book Jacket: Learning not to hit? Having to wait your turn? Sitting still? It's definitely hard to be five, but Jamie Lee Curtis's encouraging text and Laura Cornell's illustrations make the struggles of self-control a little bit easier, and a lot more fun!


Why It's On My Bookshelf: This is a book some of our kindergarten teachers use along with a writing and art project. Over the years I've noticed the cute drawings up on the walls and the cover of It's Hard to be Five sitting on their bookshelves. Soooo, of course I finally had to pick it up and see what all the fuss is about. And now I totally get it! This book is ADORABLE and validates all the five year olds!


It's hard to be five.

Just yelled at my brother.
My mind says do one thing.
My mouth says another.

It's fun to be five!
Big changes are here!
My body's my car,
and I'm licensed to steer.

This would be wonderful to read not only in the beginning of the year but also the end. Sort of a - WOW. Look at how far you've come! You've been learning responsibility, friendship, how to be a student, dealing with challenges, and accomplishing them. I know it's important to have academic success but it's also important to recognize the aspects of the social and emotional growth kids go through. Try this one out, I think you'll like it! Oh, and here is a link for lesson plan ideas.
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Book Review: Panda Kindergarten

Author: Joanne Ryder
Photos by Dr Katherine Feng
Interest Level: Kindergarten or younger

From the Book Jacket: School is in session! But this is no ordinary kindergarten class. Meet sixteen young giant panda cubs at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda at the Wolong Nature Preserve. The cubs are raised together form infancy in a protected setting, where they grow strong. Under the watchful eyes of the scientists and workers, the cubs learn skills that will help prepare them to be released into the wild. Follow a day in the life of the cubs with Joanne Ryder's spare and simple text and full-color photographs.

Why It's On My Bookshelf: O.M.G. Adorable. I was waltzing through my local library last spring returning my books, like the good citizen that I am, when I spotted a potential gem titled.....Panda Kindergarten!!!! Don't you just love when a possible AMAZING read is just staring you down off the shelf! First, kids love pandas(or any animal for that matter). And second, I totally heart kindies! I only wish I had found it in the fall to share at the beginning of the year. Panda Kindergarten was definitely a hit. The kids thought it was so cute that a bunch of pandas were also having a kindergarten experience. Lots of ooohs, awes, and giggles were going on as we read about the panda cubs going about their daily school routine. If you are looking for a fun beginning of the year theme or a way to ease kindergarten anxiety....check this one out!

I had to include this picture of one of the panda cub's playing on the playground because it busted me up laughing and the kids loved it!

Recess at Panda Kindergarten!
A Link to This Book:
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