As Spring Break approaches, I find that my fifth graders are in need of some reminders as to what it means to be kind to each other. In general, they are sweet kids, but at times the words they use and actions they take, particularly on the playground, aren't the kindest. Our read aloud for the month is Wonder by RJ Palacio so the theme of kindness fit right into our room. It just so happens that a new book, We're All Wonders by RJ Palacio, a picture book intended for younger readers to access the story, came out this week as well. So the timing was perfect. (the two links above are my affiliate links and will take you to Amazon to buy the books.) I began by asking the students what kindness is. We brainstormed a list of ideas and created an anchor chart. Then I read the picture book to the students. Because we had just finished Wonder, they were so excited to read this new version. When we finished, I asked the kids to think of all the ways, in both the picture book and the novel, that people were not very kind to Auggie (the main character). The kids were able to fill our entire circle map in no time. It was easy to recall how people would scream in his face, recoiling at the way he looked. They remembered the names Auggie was called and the no-touching game that was played. The instantly told me about all the awful things that happened to him. I then asked the kids to brainstorm ways that, if they were in the novel with Auggie, they could be kinder to him. Again, they had no problem thinking of ways they could be kind to Auggie. Next, I asked the students to think about their own real life. I asked them to reflect upon how they personally treat others and how they personally could make better choices when speaking to others. Here is where things got a little challenging. You see, when students are talking about fictional characters, or reading news stories about OTHER kids they don't know being treated unfairly or unkindly, they know exactly what they would do if they were there. Because they aren't there. They know they never will be there. But when confronted with their own lives, and real possibilities for what they would have to do to step in or change situations, it is a bit harder for them. So I asked them to brainstorm 15 different ways they PERSONALLY could show kindness to our classmates. (I drew a lot of inspiration for this next part from Study All Knight's FREE Kindness unit, which you can grab here.) The students then used tempra paint and painted 15 (or so) rainbow sunshine rays. They also drew their own Wonder-Inspired portrait. (I have previously done this before, but had them focus on precepts and writing....if you would like to do that, click here. It is one of my fav lessons too!) The students then glued their Wonder portraits into the middle of the rays, used Sharpie to outline and write the 15 ways they could show real kindness in their lives (one way per ray) and were done. They came out amazing. (See the picture at the top of the post!) What is better though, is that the past two days, my students are actively trying to be kinder to each other. They are watching their words. I have seen people purposefully go up to those who tend to wander during group time and invite them into the group. I have seen students smile at others just a bit more. It truly has been a Wonder. Right now, for a limited time, Amazon has the book available for $3.99!!! Snag up to 4 copies at that price. Use my affiliate link here to get your copy ASAP before they are all gone!! SaveSave
Book vs. movie Which will win? Free printable to help students compare and contrast books and movies. Also, some fun learning ideas to go with Matilda!
17 Mary Poppins Books and Movie Lesson Plans and Activities for fun theme lesson unit studies and crafts
Look for the bare necessitiesThe simple bare necessitiesForget about your worries and your strifeI mean the bare necessitiesOld Mother Nature’s recipesThat brings the bare necessities of life…
How many times has your family watched a movie and read the book it was based off of? A bunch, right? This free, printable Book vs. Movie Worksheet will enable you to stretch your student's thinking a bit. The two worksheets ask questions that compare the story lines to each other. Your kids will love this!
Adventures on Life's Rollercoaster (parenting, parties, ideas and honesty)
This Toy Story Slinky dog craft is perfect for kids of all ages! It is a simple, easy dog slinky craft great for parties, while watching Toy Story, and more!
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Simon and I recently finished reading Charlotte’s Web together (meaning I read a bit of it to him every night before bed). We both really enjoyed it. My older
10+ лучших, на мой взгляд, фильмов уходящего года. Я не успела посмотреть такие, отмеченные критиками и зрителями картины, как «Оппенгеймер», «Убийцы цветочной луны», «Год рождения», «Опавшие листья», «Блондинка» и другие, иначе, …
UPDATE 02/11/2022: We now offer the movie version with recreation of 10 pages seen in the movie with the rest of it being blank. As seen in Trisha Paytas' ASMR Regina George video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qaWIXZT4S0 Here's where you can write all the hot gossip and the latest 411! Just make sure no one sees it, scans it, and pass it around at school. Great to use as a guestbook, journal, or whatever other use. 360 pages.
“Cars” is a famous 2006 Disney movie about car racing. The movie features different kinds of cars.Here we offer 10 free printable Disney cars coloring pages
So, your child wants a Hogwarts Birthday style party. It's ok if you are stuck for ideas because these Harry Potter Birthday Party Ideas will seriously help
To celebrate the release of Paddington Movie available on DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and Digital Download on April 28, 2015, here are eight free Paddington Bear Activities. These would be a perfect for addition to a party. Or if you are looking for something to keep the kids busy. Below is a list of 8 Free Paddington
As promised, here is a tutorial and all the images we found to use in our custom Disneyland autograph books! I did all the hard work for you (you're welcome!) and tracked down more than 70 characters, since you never know who you're going to see in the park. I found this darling idea on Dara's Not in Jersey blog to make custom pages for each Disney character to sign, and then to organize them into a 4x6 photo album. Then when you get home, print a picture of your child meeting that character, and put it into the sleeve next to their signature page. It is such a cute idea and it not only saves you money on an autograph book, but it also makes a great souvenir that you and your kids will cherish as much as any souvenir you buy at the park. Since it was my first trip to Disneyland, I didn't know which characters would be in the park so I printed out 2 copies of each page to make 2 autograph books, and it ended up costing me a ton in paper and printer ink. So in order to save you some dough, this is how I recommend you make your album... 1. Purchase a cheap photo album. This will be used as your autograph book, and make sure to buy one that has enough sleeves for at least 20 characters, plus sleeves to add a picture of your child with that character that you will add after you get home. I would recommend getting one that will fit 40-50 pictures. We purchased ours for .98 cents at Walmart, and it worked great. It wasn't too bulky or heavy so it was easy to carry around. Dara's blog recommended a 4x6 album, but we decided to do a 5x7 album because I wanted our pictures and character pages to be bigger. However, keep in mind that if you choose a 5x7 album, it costs more to have them printed than the smaller 4x6 size. 2. Find out which characters will be in the park when you visit. I printed out 70 pages of colored cardstock...yikes it was expensive...so call ahead and print them cheap! Call the Disneyland hotline a few days before your trip to the park, and ask the representative to give you a detailed list of which characters will be in the park that day. This way you won't have to print off all 70 character pages like I did...yikes it was a lot of cutting... If you have read my Disneyland for Dummies post, you will probably already be calling ahead so you can make a detailed plan for your day. Once you have a list of all the characters that will be available on the day you are visiting, save their corresponding signature cards (at the bottom of this post), and upload them to Walmart Photo, Costco photo, or Walgreen photo. They all offer 1 hour photo processing, and have pretty competitive pricing for prints. Have each character card printed in matte format so that it's fingerprint resistant. UPDATE!!! Disney had created a fabulous new app for your smart phone that will allow you to see which characters will be in the park that day, where you can find them, and at exactly what times they will be available. The only down side of this new system is that you can't look up this info ahead of time. So here's what I suggest...I have noticed that their schedule is pretty consistent from week to week. So if you check the app one week in advance, you can get a pretty good idea of what characters will be in the park. I wouldn't check the app any earlier than a week because depending on the season, a lot can change from one month to the next. For example, early May will be less slow and have less characters, shows. parades, activities, etc than the busy season at the end of May and beginning of June. But checking a few days in advance and up to a week before hand will give you the best guess of who you can find in the park that day. If you have a color printer at home and want to do them yourself, then print the character pages you want on white card stock and cut them out. But to be honest, I image that the pricing is about the same when you calculate how much ink you use. And when you print them at a photo center, you don't have to do any of the cutting, so you may want to go that route in order to save precious preparation time. 3. Organize each character card into alphabetical order. This will make it easy for you to find a character card while waiting in line to meet them. 4. Make if fun with colored pens or markers. We purchased some cheap off brand colored permanent markers, stored them in a ziploc bag, and stowed them with the autograph book in the kids' backpacks. This made waiting in line so much more fun for the kids, because as we got close to the character, my kids could help me pick which color marker they should use to sign their page. 5. Print your favorite images, and add them to your album. After your character has signed their character page, put it back into the sleeve of your album and make sure to snap a picture of your child with the character. Then when you get back home, order a print for each character they met, and add it to your album and it makes the cutest souvenir and memory album for your little ones. My kids absolutely love their albums! And whenever anyone asks about our Disneyland trip, my daughter runs to grab her autograph book to show them all the characters she got to meet. I also created this cute cover for each album and added my kid's names to the top in order to keep them organized. If you'd like to have me make a cover for your child, leave a comment below with your child's name, and I will add it to this post so you can have a custom cover too! I added a few blank signature cards in case you run into a character that you didn't have printed ahead of time. Also, for characters that don't give out signature (such as Sully, Lighting McQueen, Mater) ask the cast member who is working with them if they would mind signing the page instead. They won't always do it, but it never hurts to ask right!? Thanks for reading, and I hope your albums turn out cute for your little ones! UPDATE!!!! Here are some additional pages for the recent additions to the Disney character family, thank you for requesting them and keeping my page up to date!
