Children's Lit Book Club End of Year Post

There are many good reasons to join a book club. Some reasons are...

• It stretches you to read books you might not otherwise. 
• You form some great friendships. 
• Great learning happens. 
• The discussions after the book are often keys to greater appreciation of the writing as well. 

There was plenty to discuss this year with the great books we read in our Children's Literature Book Club. CS Lewis said we use stories to make sense of our world. We had opportunity to do that together as we discussed our reading selections.

Book banning has happened for decades. It moved to the front of many political news stories in 2023. When we read Ban This Book (Alan Gratz) early in the school year, we didn't realize how timely this pick was. The author did a great job of bringing thinking behind book bans to the forefront and the importance of intellectual freedom as well as the right to access different ideas and perspectives. Empathy and understanding were important themes in this book.

We all know that connection, friendship and healthy family relationships are all key to a good life. In Beatrice and Croc Harry (Lawrence Hill), we read the heartwarming story of a young girl who forms an unlikely friendship with a crocodile. There is a lot to be learned in any relationship, but especially in one with a crocodile! This book's foundation was rooted in the author's relationship with his own daughter. 

The magic of story captured our attention in A Boy Called Christmas (Matt Haig). We can all change the world for good  if we only believe strong enough. 

Resilience and determination were lessons taught by a little bear in Ollie's Odyssey (William Joyce). Challenges are meant to be overcome! 

Fifty Four Things Wrong With Gwendolyn Rogers (Caela Carter) reminded us of the importance of inclusion in the classroom. The author brought perspectives on this for not only students but teachers and parents as well. 

Mascot (Antony John) tackled the challenges of identity when life takes an unexpected turn. The main character ends up in a wheelchair and this forces him to redefine who he is. Family relationships, inclusion and emotional as well as physical healing were themes we discussed.

Children's books hold a remarkable ability to entertain, enlighten and inspire not only young readers, but adults as well. By exploring these themes, children and adults both learn, grow and navigate the world with a greater sense of compassion and curiosity. 

Do you have a goal to read more in 2024? If you'd like to join us in this journey this year, you are certainly welcome! 

Calgary Opera: Cinderella

Totally enthralled by @CalgaryOpera 's Cinderella #ffcaedu pic.twitter.com/nP9dey3jr3

— 3AFFCA_NWE (@3AFFCA_NWE) March 3, 2017

I really like you guys' voice.
-Arwin
I liked the show you put on.
-Swara
I really like your high singing.
-Daxton

Calgary Opera came to our school today and performed  Cinderella. I love watching students during these performances because they become entranced! A play is way better than TV, for sure.

I loved our music teacher's lesson shared after the story: kindness matters. Cinderella could have been nasty to the step sisters after she ended up marrying the prince. Many would say they didn't deserve any kindness...but she was kind anyway. We should all be a little more like that.



What is behind the black curtain?
- Cooper
How did you change dresses by dumping the sparkles?
-Austin
I saw the prince behind the stage.
-Joshua

Theatre is like a live magician. Everyone wants to know how the tricks work! I especially like watching these kinds of things with kids because they ask the questions I want answers to too. Cinderella changed from her work clothes to her ball gown in a flash, right in front of us. Although, after the play, when the kids asked about it, Cinderella really didn't divulge the secret. She just added to the mystery by saying they dumped sprinkles on her to make it happen.

I liked the piano.
The apple you threw, was it real?
- Raheem

The pianist was amazing. I was enthralled with his skills as well!

Why didn't you kiss?
-Aleah
Did you kiss Cinderella's hand or not?
-Areej

I was a little worried this would happen in the play. I can see chaos totally erupting if anyone kissed on stage at school! Kissing someone's hand is enough for us!

How long have you done this?
- Ethan
Are you guys in school?
-Noah
Are you guys an adult?
-Evelyn

Kids always seem to want to know how old the actors are. I have a theory that they are so amazed by people older than them doing what seems like imaginative play so well that they get fixed on the question or whether or not these are adults.

Why did you pick our gym teacher as the step mother?
- Kaeleigh

They dressed him up in a big hat and a hugs fancy scarf swung across his shoulders. He'd stomp out and point his finger at the badly behaving step sisters. Roars would erupt from the students!

Ski Days

We have just spent two days at Canada Olympic Park. It is quite an undertaking to take 250+ students skiing. Our gym teacher is amazing at organizing these things. Each year we have done it it seems to get smoother and smoother.

What I love best about those skiing days is seeing what kids say and write about it. For some of them these two days are the only days in the year that they ski. So many of them learn that they can do hard things. It is awesome.

I Am.....

Our character committee came up with a brilliant idea. They wanted the children to focus on their many strengths. We made lists of our strengths, and helped each other with adding a few more. Now we are making I Am t-shirts to wear on one of our fun days next week.

Can't wait!

We had some interesting conversations when we started this project. Some of the children were worried it would look like they were bragging to put some of the words on their t-shirts. They eventually did come around to the idea that it is okay to be proud of what we are good at.

 

Censorship

Today, during Reading Buddies, a censorship momentum started. Guinesses Book of World Records has always been a popular read in my classroom. This year my kids think they are inappropriate though. I told them I wasn't entirely sure I agreed that they were inappropriate and asked them to sticky the inappropriate pages. A frenzy of stickie use began!!

Not even sure how to go about teaching a lesson on censorship in Gr. 3!!

Connections to Reading

The power of story!! I love it when kids make connections to stories we have read.

This week we have been reflecting on our experiences with Rachel's Challenge. One of my students wrote about how Rachel's Challenge is similar to the book that we read called The Ant and the Elephant. I was surprised to read his entry because we read the book a long time ago and really haven't talked about it since.

I also love that he underlined the title. This week I mentioned to them that when you write the title of a book in a sentence, we usually underline it.