Books for Adults and Children

Our classrooms are using a new behavioral assessment this year. The big difference I see between this one and others which I have used, is that it looks at the positive attributes more than the negative ones. We all know that resilient children can survive through challenging situations, but what makes one child able to do this and another not? The new program we are using asks teachers to look at these strengths in a child. One of these strengths is initiative. I couldn't help but think of this when I read the book, Bad Boys Get Henpecked by Margie Palatni and Henry Cole. Willy and Wally, the wolves, sure have plenty of initiative as they work to gain the trust of Mrs. Hen, all in the hopes of delicious chicken dinner. I'm not sure about the lesson for children in this book, but I do think adults could do well to think about the strengths of the wolves in the story. They are able to come up with a plan to get a dinner by becoming handymen and working in the hen house. They are also hard workers as they do laundry, mop, vacuum, and more. As a teacher or parent it is good to find a way to recognize positive attributes and put them to work for good. So I urge you to check out this funny book, but more importantly to look at the strengths of your most challenging children. Yes, they may be persistent or demanding, but that may be just the skill that keeps them working at figuring out a math problem or applying for jobs. They may be constantly on the go, but that may be the characteristic which allows them to work a full time job and go to college as an adult. Take time to see how to appreciate and direct the those challenging behaviors!

Another book that would be just as good to read with adults as the children is Hurry Up and Slow Down by Layn Marlow Tortoise likes to take his time through the day and Hare is always telling him to, "Hurry up!" That is until bedtime when the Hare is ready to slow down and listen to the bedtime story, but Tortoise just wants to get through the story. Children can learn to appreciate others who move at different speeds, but it is the adults who often need to step back and see how they rush children through the day and don't always take time to enjoy being with the children. So I remind you, just as Hare reminds Tortoise, "Hurry up and slow down! We need to take our time Tortoise. We need to look at the pictures!"