"Ruby in Her Own Time" and "D.W. The Big Boss"

Some of us just take a little longer to master different skills. Ruby in Her Own Time" by Jonathan Emmett and Rebecca Harry is the reassuring story of a duck named Ruby, who takes her time learning to eat and swim.
Spring is the perfect time to read this story. Children are outside playing with others. Some of them are learning to hit a ball, ride a bike. and others will soon be learning to swim. Not everyone will be good at these things and Ruby in Her Own Time will help 4 and 5 year be a little more accepting of themselves as they work to learn a new skill.
In the classroom, children can discuss the things they want to learn to do. Some of the older students may be able to share stories of how they learned those same skills. Children need to hear that it takes practice to master a skill and that others had trouble learning too. Knowing that your best friend fell off her bike before learning to ride may be just what is needed to give you the confidence to keep trying.
On the other hand, if you know a child who is just a tad over confident and likes to tell others how things should be done, you might want to read, D.W. The Big Boss by Marc Brown. Family members don't like having D.W. boss them around and D.W. soon learns that bossing them does not work in her favor. It is often a fine line between being helpful and being bossy and children don't always realize the difference. Come up with a few scenarios for the children to act out. Let them decide if the person is bossy or helpful. While they may not be able to agree on one right answer, it might just get them thinking.