9th October Ageism Awareness Day

 ' Children’s books that dismiss ageism and portray loving and fun intergenerational relationships between children and a modern older adult, whether a grandparent or someone outside the family, are powerful in developing a child’s worldview of aging and longevity. At the same time, we have an obligation to children to educate them on the realities of aging diseases and disabilities without connecting disease to ageism.' Holly Lawrence 

Many of the children I teach have very little interaction with older people. They live away from their extended family and the number of grandparents even at Grandparents Day at school is dwindling. Unless they interact with an elderly neighbour or relative they have little context of what it means to be aging.

For this reason, it is more necessary than ever to share experiences with young children that allow for some interaction. When our school interacts with residents who live in an aged care facility that is nearby, both sets of ages benefit greatly. I try too to share books with my classes that show very positive interactions between young and old. Books such as

• Grace and Mr Milligan  by Cat Goodwin

• The Truth About Old People  by Elina Ellis

• Amelia Ellicott's Garden  by Liliana Stafford

• Wilfrid Gordon Mc Donald Partridge  by Mem Fox

• Rose Meets Mr Wintergarten by Bob Graham 

• No Hat Brigade  by Miriam Airey

• That's Not a Daffodil! by Elizabeth Honey

•  Mr George Baker  by Amy Hest

• The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read by Rita Lorraine Hubbard

• The Tide  by Clare Helen Walsh

• The Wednesday Surprise  by Eve Bunting

• Nobody's Granny  by Tess Brady

• Leaves for Mr Walter by Janeen Brian

• A Morning With Grandpa  by Sylvia Liu

• Grandpa Grumps  by Katrina Moore

https://www.doinggoodtogether.org/dgt-reflection-activity/help-the-elderly

8th October World Octopus Day

Octopuses are one of the earth’s great survivors. Indeed, despite their relatively short lifespan, octopus fossils date back more than 300 million years, meaning that they pre-date even dinosaurs. 

Perhaps one of the reasons that these unique creatures have survived so long under the sea is because they are also believed to be highly intelligent. With around 500 million neurons located in their brains and arms, they are able to bypass their instincts, learn lessons and solve problems in a way that not very many other sea life creatures are able to. 

Children are fascinated by octopuses and any display of octopus books in the library is always popular, especially any that tell 'real-life' tales of octopus and their feats. Inky, a common New Zealand octopus who escaped from his tank at an aquarium would probably be the most popular and luckily he is well written about.

See:

• Inky the Octopus by Erin Guendelsberger and David Leonard

• Inky's Great Escape by Casey Lyell and Sebastian Serra

• Inky's Amazing Escape by Sy Montgomery and Amy Schiller-Safford

 

or there's these generic escape stories

• Octopus Escapes  by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer and Frank Dormer

• The Octopus Escapes by Maile Meloy and Felicita Sala

• Octopus Escapes Again! by Laurie Ellen Angus

These beautifully illustrated picture books will allow your students to learn about these amazing creatures:

Some new stories:

And a serial:

I have written about Cephalopod Awareness Days before in 2016 here which goes for the whole week from the 8th to 12th with a different focus each day. More books to look for here.

7th October World Architecture Day

Think about all of those amazing buildings around the world. You can celebrate World Architecture Day by taking the time to learn about some of the world’s most brilliant examples of architecture. Another way to observe World Architecture Day is to pay tribute to the incredible work that has been done by architects.

Books about famous buildings:

• From Mud Huts to Skyscrapers: Architecture for Children  by Christine Paxmann

• See Inside Famous Buildings by Rob Lloyd Jones

• Architecture According to Pigeons by Speck Lee Tailfeather

• Atlas of Amazing Architecture by Peter Allen

• How Was That Built? The Stories Behind Awesome Structures by Roma Agrawal

• 13 Buildings Children Should Know by Annette Reeder

• Look Up!  by Antonia Presenti

• 100 Things to Know About Architecture by Louise O'Brien

• Wild Buildings and Bridges: Architecture Inspired by Nature by Etta Kaner

• The Stories of Famous Buildings  by Stepanka Sekaninova

• Buildings Inspired by Nature  by Mary Boone

• Look at That Building! A First Book of  Structures by Scot Ritchie

Books about architects:

• 13 Architects Children Should Know  by Florian Heide

There are three biographies about Zaha Hadid

•  The World is Not  a Rectangle  by Jeanette Winter

• Building Zaha  by Victoria Tentler-Krylov

• Zaha Hadid  by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara

• Maya Lin: artist-architect of light and lines  by Jeanne Walker Harvey

• Jorn's Magnificent Imagination  by Coral Bass

• Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon by Kelly Starling Lyon

• Gaudi Architect of Imagination by Susan B. Katz

 • Building on Nature: The Life of Antoni Gaudi by Rachel Rodriguez

• Shape of the World: A Portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright  by K.L.Going

And of course, there's some general picture books, especially for a more general view of architecture.

• Eugene the Architect by Thibaut Rissat

• Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty

• Puffin the Architect  by Kimberly Andrews

• Mini Architects  by Robert Sae-Heng

• Young Frank  by Frank Viva

• Maybe I'll Be An Architect  by Tenille Bettenhausen

• Dreaming Up  by Christy Hale

• Brick:Who Found Herself in Architecture by Joshua David Stein

1st October Hair Day

Today is a day to express your love for your hair. This day celebrates the beauty, diversity and importance of hair. It's a time to recognise how it can be an expression of our personal style, unique personality and even cultural heritage.

Since ancient times women have been obsessed with their hair. Cleopatra washed her hair in donkey's milk!

The young girls I teach love Abie Longstaff's The Fairytale Hairdresser series of books. They are always on loan! I also hear them playing hairdressers in the library!

Besides this series there are many other titles in the library that celebrate hair...