Director's Column: Doing Good Together
Last week, we had a speaker in to talk about entitlement and how we can teach our children to be grateful and to think of others who may not be as fortunate. Our presenter, Dr. Rebecca Platt, passed along a great website to help families find ways to teach kindness at home, and practice kindness in their communities. If you are interested in learning more, go to www.doinggoodtogether.org. There are projects and tips to help children understand compassion and empathy, resources to find volunteer projects for the whole family as well as booklists about kindness, mindfulness, diversity, and much more. It is most definitely worth a look! We weave these themes into the curriculum at Bowen as well. Looking through the reading lists on the Doing Good Together website, I see many books we use in the classrooms at Bowen. Books are a great way to present difficult subjects in ways that children can understand and relate to. Here are some of our favorites: The Thankful Book by Todd Parr What if Everybody Did That by Ellen Javernick Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud
The Kindness Quilt by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
Enemy Pie by Derek Munson
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts Horton Hears a Who by Dr Seuss Most People by Michael Leannah There are so many more! Ask your teachers to share their favorites! Best, Nina