How to Coach Girls written by Allison Foley (head coach of Boston College Women’s Soccer) and Mia Wenjen (volunteer coach and soccer mom) is a concise and practical guide that outlines an effective way to coach girls. Decades of experience
In Kiss Good Night by Amy Hest and illustrated by Anita Jeram invites readers to peek in on one little bear’s resistance to falling asleep. It’s a scenario familiar to every child and parent so kids will readily respond to it.
Books helps kids handle grief and loss which are inevitable parts of loving others. Books that both validate the depth of a child’s feelings and ease them over life’s rough patches can help children process their powerful emotions. Their world is small, their life experiences limited,
Some essential life lessons we must teach kids:
Treat others with respect, compassion, empathy.
Disagree without hate
Advocate without demonizing other points of view.
As adults, we must work to ensure our country lives up to its promise to provide “liberty and justice for all.” We must ensure our kids understand they are part of the solution and then we show them how to stand up for themselves without stepping on others. We must encourage them to be a force for good and to speak up for others instead of sitting in silence,or even worse–bullying or intimidating others.
Kids recognize the signal phrase, “Once upon a time” & will intuitively prepare for a magical story. Iillustrations capture a dreamy, time-traveling mood, expand the spare text to invite further expansion of the thematic ideas.
Simple rhymes lilt softly on the ear, enhance the mood & encourage readers to explore their own personal experiences. Colored font highlights key words to spotlight connection between the item in its current state back through time to a former state. For example:”Does a feather remember it once was …a bird?” Each page offers a chance to delve deeper & discuss how change occurs in people/places/things. One could simply enjoy this wonderful chance to ride the magic carpet of imagination and fantasy. Or one could use it as a path to some simple STEM activities—science, technology, engineering and mathematics. AQ Lens: For adopted children this book can offer a path to conversations about their past. For example, the final pairing, “Will you remember you once were … a child?” could naturally evolve into discussing their thoughts about their life story before they were adopted. Older children might wish to express any what if thoughts about how their lives might have been different had they never been adopted, or if they’d been adopted by other parents.
As the saying goes, if it weren’t for bad luck, Billy would have no luck at all. The world views Billy as “trouble”, an inconvenient and annoying thorn that pricks and frustrates others. He has few friends. What he does have is a constant companion: Gobber–an imaginary but very powerful companion embodied as a wild dog. Tyrannized by Gobber, Billy “wonders why no one else can see him, or hear him, or feel him.” The malevolent Gobber “scares [Billy] half to death” actually. With heart-breaking honesty, Billy asserts, “I think that Gobber is my life sentence.”
It is easy to get lost in the habit of waiting to be happy…We must teach kids to enjoy the blessings of what & who are in their lives in the present moment. We must teach our children to take the time to enjoy the blessings of what and who are in their lives in the present moment. This is not to invalidate their losses, yearnings and unfulfilled needs. Rather it is to teach them to hold a both/and mentality.
As adults, we understand that the truly valuable things in life bear no pr$ce tag. Their value is intangible and immeasurable.
How do we help our kids balance the present moment reality and attraction of material things and help them learn to appreciate the intangible blessings of their lives?
Table where Rich people sit The Table Where Rich People Sit by Byrd Baylor and illustrated by Peter Parnall offers a gentle and appealing reminder that real wealth lies not in our possessions but in the relationships and experiences that fill our world. Like beauty, being rich, is in the eye of the beholder.
Written from the child’s point of view, the story focuses on her frustration with her parents.
Animals and insects, clouds and rainbows, all quivered with joyful anticipation. And what could ignite such wonder and excitement? The arrival of a new child of course! The story concludes creatures, great and small “somehow, they knew about you!”
I believe this book transmits an important message for kids who were adopted. Because information is frequently missing, they may have to struggle harder to recognize and appreciate their talents. The belief which others have in our ability fuels one’s own courage, willingness to try and persist through to success. This is especially true for children. They need our focused attention and thrive under the positive expectations of parents and teachers. (Equally true, kids who constantly hear negative, discouraging or demeaning messages, absorb those as well. They soon learn to expect little of themselves.) The self-fulfilling power of expectations is well documented.