Bullies and Buddies

Buddies and Bullies - Neither buddies or bullies come with instruction manuals  (Library Sparks Vol. 11, No. 2  )

Buddies and Bullies Resources

1. And to Think that We thought that We'd never be Friends, My Mary Hoberman.  Dragonfly, 2003 K-3. From a sibling battle to a worldwide parade, this riotous rhyming picture book show sharing and inclusiveness can overcome obstacles and make friends of strangers.
2.  Billy Bully: A School-yard Counting Tale, by Alvaro and Ana Galan.  Cartwheel Books, 2009 PK-2  Count along as a schoolyard bully loses friends through bullying behavior, then regains them as he realizes his errors and mend his ways.
3.  Blue Cheese Breath and Stinky Feet:  How to Deal with Bullies, by Catherine DePino.  Magination Press, 2004.  3-6  In this transitional chapter book, Steve is targeted by a school bully.  With his parents, Steve develops strategies that neutralize the bully and build his confidence. A good too for empowering kids to stand up to bullies around them.

Read-aloud Stories... Enjoy these titles aloud:
The Recess Queen; Katie Woo; No More Teasing, and to think that we Thought That We'd never Be Friends; and Mr. Lincoln's Way

Hot Topic Questions:
What Are Words For?  Read Words Are Not for Hurting with young students and explore the power of works to hurt and heal:

*  What kinds of words can hurt?  (name calling, gossip, betrayed confidences, put-downs.  "The silent treatment" can also wound.)
*  What kinds of words can heal?  (Praise, reassurance, truth telling, keeping confidences, apologies, invitations.)
*  How can nicknames hurt?  How can they heal?
*  What goals can we set to use words in a healing way?

BOOKS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."  I have had this experience and I love this quote.  Here are a few books about friendship.  My all time favorite is "Friends" by Helme Heine.  A great one for all ages!!!  Best suited for ages 4-8

   Craft>>>>

 

www.brighthubeducation.com

 

Here's a cute and simple friendship wreath that could go along with your books.  Draw each child's hand, cut it out have the kids glue their hand into a wreath.  Trade off pictures of the kids in the middle each week or when it their spotlight week.  Make a huge wreath or make them by tables,.....

THURSDAY'S Picture Book and Lesson Plan for: "I Miss You Every Day" by Simms Taback

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2007 | Age Level: 5 and up

What do you do when you miss someone every day? If you live in the magical
world of Simms Taback, you wrap yourself in paper, close yourself up in a box
(don't forget the air holes!) and mail yourself to the one you love. From the
creator of the Caldecott Medal-winning Joseph Had a Little Overcoat comes
 this tale about what a little girl will do to reach the person she just can't live without.
Filled with Taback's signature vibrant colors and dynamic characters, with a lyrical
text that's as silly as it is moving, this gesture of love will resonate with anyone who's
ever missed someone.

Lesson Plan:  Have the children write a letter inside a card to someone they
miss, everyday!  Then draw a window frame on the front of the card, similar to the
cover, with a picture of themselves inside.  Give each child a stamp, show them
where it goes and how to put their return address on it.  Have them take it home
to address to the person "They Miss Every Day".

Cherished Picture Book of the Week

I went to DI again today, (the second hand stores in Utah), and I found another of my favorite books, by one of my favorite authors ever, Kevin Henkes!  "Wemberly Worried"!  It's a must have, especially for Pre-K/Kinders or to read to any child who is nervous about starting school.

Wemberly worries about everything.  Big things, little things and things in between.  She worries that she may shrink and go down the drain in the bath tub, that the big tree in the front yard will fall on her house and that something might find its way out of the crack in her wall!  She especially worries about her doll "Petals".  Soon however, Wemberly has a new worry:  school!

"What if no one else has spots?  What if the teacher is mean?  What if I can't find the bathroom?"  Wemberly learns that making friends helps alot and it's not as hard as it may seem.  At the end of the first day of school she turns to her teacher and tells her not to worry, because she will be back tomorrow!

I wish I had had a copy of this book when I was 5, because I had a bad case of homesickness when I started school and I was a worry wart, just like Wemberly!  What a great book to help young children see that we all have worries and worries can be fixed!