Archive for March 2017
Even More Books About Belonging
Here’s my final list of books about belonging. These continue, in a different way, to address questions like: Do I belong? Where? Does being different matter? Does location define me? Am I acceptable as I am? Tough questions from highly readable books. The Other Boy written by M. G. Hennessey; illustrated by Sfe R. Monster;…
Read MoreThe Power of a Smile
“I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish.” – Mother Teresa I just read The 43 Habits of Absolutely Happy People by Brendan Baker and I found myself actively participating in habit #2 – smiling. Then I came across an article in Psychology Today by Sarah Stevenson that reports smiling activates the “feel…
Read MoreGive Them a Purpose
My youngest child has developed a love for horses. This love has grown exponentially over the last few years and honestly, as a busy mom, I have provided the minimum amount of support for this hobby. Despite this, I am becoming a barn mom. Because she is young and inexperienced, I have stayed at the…
Read MoreCreating Community
A few weekends back I went on my first women’s retreat. Even though it was to be held in Pinehurst on a gorgeous weekend, I felt quite a bit of anxiety before I left. Out of 60 women I would know 1 well, 3 sort of, and 56 little to none at all. This wasn’t…
Read MoreThe Ugly Duckling Syndrome
The story of the Ugly Duckling has always broken my heart. As a child, I just couldn’t bear to read how that poor little fledgling was teased and mistreated – and being one who cries at Hallmark commercials – I still have a hard time reading it to my students. Now I prefer to…
Read MoreYou Are One Person
From the desk of Alice… There is research that suggests students only need to be connected to one person in the school in order to be successful in high school. One person. That one person could be the secretary, the teacher, the housekeeper or an administrator. After spending time in a high school recently, I…
Read MoreBelonging: Books for Middle Schoolers
Coming to terms with your heritage, learning to love and trust someone else, and accepting others for who they are form the core themes of the middle school books listed below. You’ll learn to love these characters by looking at them through their eyes and the eyes of those around them. These books are a…
Read MoreOpening the Box
While attending a workshop recently I had a striking realization – you know – an educational epiphany. As I took part in a dyslexia simulation, I felt that terrible feeling in my gut that so many of our children feel every single day in our classrooms. My head was down and I was sneakily surveying…
Read MoreFake News is Not New
From the desk of Alice, I was consuming my daily dose of social media and came across this post from the Washington Post. The general gist of the article is that kids are having a hard time understanding what is real and what is not real in the news. This is one of many pieces…
Read MoreBooks About Belonging For Young Children
From home and family to school and peers, everyone needs to feel a sense of belonging. It’s a basic human need. The picture books and activities listed below help young children make sense of their worlds and see that we’re all different and that’s okay. All the World written by Liz Garten Scanlon; illustrated by…
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