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".

THURSDAY'S Cherished Picture Book of the Week & Lesson Plan

City Dog, Country Frog, by Mo Willems Ill. by Jon N Muth 

Publication date: June 8, 2010, ages 3 and up.

This is one of my favorite books, both because of the message and the gorgeous watercolor pictures.  I could eat the dog and the frog up, they are so cute!

The front cover flap tells part of the story!  City Dog needs a friend and in the Spring he meets Country Frog and they play country games.  In the Summer, they play City Dog games, but in the Fall, they only play "remembering" games, because Frog is tired.  In the winter, the frog is not there.  (Thus the sad doggy face above.)  In the Spring though, he meets a chipmunk and a brand new, different sort of friendship forms.

This is such a lovely book.  The story is so simple but it speaks volumes about love, friendship, loss, and change ... and living a life full of memories.  To view a delightful video of Mo Willems talking about his inspiration for writing this book, visit the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/v5co8FZXz0o

HERE IS A SIMPLE LESSON PLAN IDEA: 

TOPIC:  Seasons
Text-to-Text Connections: City Mouse, Country Mouse

Life Cycle of a Frog:
This book is a great one to show the seasons. During the season of winter, frog does not come out to play. He could be hibernating since frogs hibernate. I think the reader can read this book on many levels. For the youngest child, the focus on the seasons, hibernation, and playing is enough. For the older reader, a discussion about meeting new friends, coping with change, and enjoying life as it comes to us can happen. Maybe the frog did diec but the reader is not told. I choose to think he is just hibernating and will join dog and chipmunk later.

Books that Teach Character Development

 

RESPECT:
Stellaluna, Cannon
Smoky Night, Bunting
Inch by Inch, Lionni
Chrysanthemum, Henkes
Frederick, Lionni
Arthur's Nose, Brown
Big Al, Yoshi
Loop the Loop, Dugan
Miss Rumphius, Cooney

HONESTY:
Too Many Tamales, Soto
A Day's Work, Bunting
The Empty Pot, Demi
A Birthday for Frances, Hoban
The Berenstain Bears and the Truth, Berenstain
Tyrone, the Double Dirty, Rotten Cheater, Wilhelm
A Big, Fat, Enormous Lie, Sharmat
Freya's Fantastic Surprise, Hathorn
Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire, Cohen
Pinocchio, Collodi

COMPASSION:
Now One Foot, Now the Other, de Paola
Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs, de Paola
Be Good to Eddie Lee, Fleming
Through Grandpa's Eyes, Machlachlan
Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge, Fox
Knots on a Counting Rope, Martin and Archambault
The Mountain That Loved a Bird, McLerran

GENEROSITY:
The Giving Tree, Silverstein
The Doorbell Rang, Hutchins
The Wednesday Surprise, Williams
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear, Wood
Alejandro's Gift, Albert
A Letter to Santa Claus, Impey
Angel Child, Dragon Child, Surat

ACCEPTANCE:
The Berenstain Bears' New Neighbors, Berenstain
The Big Orange Splot, Pinkwater
The Story of Ruby Bridges, Coles
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr., Marzollo
Arnie and the New Kid, Carlson
How My Parents Learned To Eat, Friedman
The Araboolies of Liberty Street, Swope
What is the Sign for Friend?, Greenberg
We Are All Alike, We Are All Different, Cheltenham Elementary School
Arthur's Tooth, Brown

FRIENDSHIP:
George and Martha, Marshall
The Berenstain Bears Get In A Fight, Berenstain
Best Friends, Kellogg
Arthur's Birthday, Brown
Chicken Sunday, Polacco
Arthur's Baby, Brown
Frog and Toad Are Friends, Lobel
Koko's Kitten, Patterson
Little Blue and Little Yellow, Lionni
Peach and Blue, Kilborne
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, Lionni
Ira Sleeps Over, Waber
Mrs. Katz and Tush, Polacco
The First Strawberries, Bruchac

COOPERATION:
A Chair for My Mother, Williams
Frederick, Lionni
The Seven Chinese Brothers, Mahy
Anansi the Spider: A Tale from Ashanti, McDermott
The Little Red Hen, Galdone
Big Pumpkin, Silverman
Swimmy, Lionni
The Enormous Turnip, Parkinson
Miss Nelson Is Missing, Allard

PERSERVERENCE:
Amazing Grace, Hoffman
The Carrot Seed, Krauss
The Little Engine That Could, Piper
Mirette on the High Wire, McCully
The Boy Who Held Back the Sea, Hort
Katy and the Big Snow, Burton
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Burton
Brave Irene, Steig

RESPONSIBILITY:
Arthur's Pet Business, Brown
Just Me and My Puppy, Mayer
Little Toot, Gramatky
The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room, Berenstain
Pigsty, Teague
Clean Your Room, Harvey Moon, Cummings
Just A Mess, Mayer
The Wump World, Peet
Zinnia and Dot, Campbell

SELF-DISCIPLINE:
Arthur's
Teacher Trouble, Brown
Babushka's Doll, Polacco
King Midas and the Golden Touch, Hewitt
Ronald Morgan Goes To Bat, Giff
Spinky Sulks, Steig
Don't Pop Your Cork on Mondays, Moser
The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Habit, Berenstain
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie, Roop
I Was So Mad, Mayer

OTHERS:
Aesop's Fables, Aesop
Children's Book of Virtues, Bennett

Compiled by Amy Braman