BOOK BLOG: Top 5 Children's Books to Teach Your Students to Stay True to Themselves
These are my go-to stories to help support kids with being confident in themselves and accepting themselves for who they are. These are always my absolute favorite stories to read to students. Having children connect to the characters, draw or write about how they are similar or different, and then sharing with others is such an incredible way to open their minds, connect with their peers, and accept themselves.
From the moment I saw DEAR GIRL, I knew that another incredible book by Paris and Jason Rosenthal was coming...and let me just tell you...it is EVERYTHING and MORE than what I thought it would be.
Being a mama of a young boy, a boy who is shaping and molding into who HE truly is, is difficult. There are days when I know I’ve been too hard on him. Days when my expectations have been too high, and then I got mad. Days when I didn’t sit back and let him be little. My son is turning into a perfectionist...a people pleaser...and sometimes he’s too hard on himself. THIS book came into our lives at the most perfect moment. We bought it at his school’s book fair, took it home, and snuggled on the couch. And when I closed the book after turning the last page, he looked up at me with the sweetest smile and said, “Thank You. I really liked that one.”
It touched his heart, and I know that your students, kiddos, and clients will LOVE it too! My heart is still bursting. Get your copy here or at my Amazon Storefront!
How do we teach our kids and students HOW to say no?!
When there’s pressure from peers, when they disagree with a friend, when they have negative thoughts running through their head.
It takes practice to say NO with firmness and respect. And it takes courage and bravery to stand up for what you know is right.
Bullying, invading your personal space, and understanding it’s OK to want some time for yourself…These situations can be tricky for our young ones to navigate. So thankful for this book to help guide our littles, and help them to understand HOW to say NO.
Order your copy on my Amazon Storefront!
Sometimes we spend so much of our time and energy hiding who we REALLY are. We’re embarrassed, we’re upset, and our days are gloomy because of a secret we’re keeping inside.
But when we realize that we’re not alone, and that there are other people just like us who are hiding, conforming, upset because they’re worried what other people will think... and we find the courage to unveil our differences, we find people who are just like us! They will embrace our differences, and we will lift each other up, accepting each other for who we’re meant to be.
{PERFECTLY NORMAN} is the perfect book to help our kiddos dare to be different, as well as to embrace and CELEBRATE what makes you... YOU!
If you’re looking for a way to bring these lessons into your classroom, then this is just the book for you. This story is beautifully written, and the pictures are great for reinforcing the Zones of Regulation, how your actions affects the thoughts and feelings of others, being kind to your peers, and overcoming your fears of being “different.” So many uses for such a wonderful story.
Click here to get of copy of Perfectly Norman!
Now I ONLY put books here on my book blog because I TRULY love them, I TRULY believe in their power, and I TRULY read and re-read them over and over....And THIS my friends is a book that does ALL of that...and more!
So many authors have a series of books that are incredible, and Peter H. Reynolds is definitely one of those authors, but Say Something! is my favorite.
We are living in a world where it is important to stand up for what we know is right, what we know is just, and what we know is good.
Teaching our children how to stand up and SAY SOMETHING is a skill that will take them far into their future, and will mold and shape them into the human beings that we need more of in our world.
You'll love this one...I promise!
{Sweety} is just the SWEETEST story. If you are struggling to find a way to have those hard conversations with your kiddos and students about being different, having a brain that works differently from their peers, and being true to who they are...then this book is for YOU!
I was a GEN ED teacher who was trying to figure out how to teach in a classroom with full inclusion students. Autism, visually impaired, Spina Bifida, ADD, ADHD, emotionally disturbed, jumping on top of tables, tearing down the walls, eloping, outbursts...I was trying to figure all of this out ON TOP OF my first grade curriculum. My students’ brains were all different...some more different than others...but it was MY JOB to ensure that EVERY child felt love and support from not only ME as their teacher, but from their PEERS as well.
Picture books are the PERFECT way to connect and share our experiences, thoughts, and feelings. And asking the right questions is part of it. What Zone do you think Sweety is in? How do the behaviors and actions of her peers affect how Sweety feels about herself? Who is in Sweety’s brain? What kinds of thoughts and feelings do her peers have when she behaves that way?
This book is truly incredible. If you have students who were born with a brain that makes living in the social world difficult for them... then you have GOT to read this book! It will change their world! Check out my Amazon Storefront to find Sweety and all of my other favorites!
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