Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun!

Did I just say spaghetti in a hot dog bun?! Oh, yes I did!!! It's the new favorite snack of every first grader at my school thanks to this wonderful book by Maria Dismondy - BTW - she has a whole line of amazing character education titles! As part of my mission this year - first graders showing kindness - we read this book during our fiction study this week. It tied in perfectly with our other book study this week, A Bad Case of Stripes - always a favorite! In "Spaghetti..." Lucy learns to have the courage to be who she is no matter what others around her may think. She also learns that kindness has a way of spreading to the people around you when she is faced with the dilemma of helping the same person who was mean to her. I LOVED the way this got my classroom talking about kindness. I even heard "spaghetti in a hot dog bun" used as a verb. Seriously! Someone was being far from kind about sharing a fancy pencil and another student looked him right in the face and said, "Hey! Spaghetti in a hot dog bun!" The kid handed over the fancy pencil and said, "Okay, you use it to write one word, then I'll use it to write one word". WOAH! Sharing the fancy pencil? I was impressed.
After reading, doing a 5 finger re-tell, and comparing and contrasting Ralph and Lucy (the main characters) using this freebie - it was time to tie it all together with a fun snack! This kids loved it! I tried it, too. Let me tell ya, Lucy might be on to something!

I can't wait to continue using literacy to teach the act of kindness in my classroom. Which book should I share with my firsties next?


If you'd like to use this book in your classroom, too you can grab a copy here --->

A rainbow after the storm

I have started first grade twice this year. Twice. Once on August 16th. Then again, post Harvey, on September 11th. Hurricane Harvey was a beast. A beast that brought devastation to the Houston area. A monster that left some of my kiddos and a few of my fellow teachers with flooded homes and heavy hearts. But they always say that after every storm is a rainbow. After the storm the Houston area came together like I have never seen before. Neighbors were helping neighbors, strangers offered helping hands - it was truly a beautiful thing to see. After the storm, I felt helpless. I wanted to be out there - giving a hand to those in need. I'm not exactly a skilled handyman  woman, but I knew I needed to help. I got out and volunteered at a local shelter. It felt good to do something. But my heart still ached, I felt as if I should be doing more. Weeks have passed and the city of Houston has gone back to normal. School has resumed, business are open, and the roads are busy again. Yet, there are still thousands of families who can't go back home and my heart still hurts. Those first few post-Harvey days were filled with stories of strangers showering kindness on each other but now, somehow that sense of camaraderie has started to fade. That's when I realized how to help. My goal this year is to show my first graders how to be kind. My mission will be to help these kiddos understand that above else kindness is the most important thing we can do for one another. So, this year I challenge you - teach kindness. Show kindness. Just, be kind. Be the rainbow after the storm for someone.