22nd August Be an Angel Day

The school reception area has had a display about compassion (one of our school values) encouraging us to share and make a difference in each other's lives and to let our light shine beyond our walls and out into the community.

The school's teacher of religious studies (who is an angel in disguise) has been working with the students to help each other and spot acts of compassion in action. With Book Week happening this week she even used a quote about compassion from Winnie the Pooh, “A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”

Being an angel means that you are practising acts of kindness and compassion without a second thought and with young children Circle Time and picture books are an ideal way to spark a discussion.

Aesop's fables are renowned for featuring some fundamental morals such as "no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." The Lion and the Mouse

Looking for more books about compassion. Try

• I Walk With Vanessa and I Forgive Alex by Kerascoët

• How to Mend a Friend  by Karl Newson and Clara Anganuzzi

• Come With Me  by Holly McGhee

• A Small Act of Kindness  by Stacy McAnulty and Wendy Leach

 

Read Grow Inspire Book Week Slogan 2023 (Part 6) IMAGERY and SYMBOLISM continued

 

Now for more of the ways the word 'seed' is used figuratively...

What do we mean when we say 'he sowed a seed of doubt' ? The Seed of Doubt  by Irene Brugnill and Richard Jones illustrates this adage very well. A little boy dreams of a world beyond the farm where he lives – a world full of mountain ranges, oceans and cities, where he could do anything. But one day he plants a seed from which doubts start to grow. Instead of thinking of all that he could do, he thinks more of what he could not. Can he overcome his fears and chase his dreams?

What are 'seeds of compassion'? In the book by His Holiness the Dalai Lama,  The Seed of Compassion he shares stories of his own childhood which highlight this concept. Once an ordinary child named Lhamo Thondup he grew up in a small village in Tibet where his mother taught him about compassion.

What are 'seeds of change'? We hear the saying 'Be the seed. Be the Change' and two books that demonstrate this are  Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson and Sonia Lynn Sadler which tells the story of Nigerian Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai and next year Nina Laden's new book set in Madagascar, also called Seeds of Change  will look at this metaphor less figuratively as it is not about planting trees, but rather about having the courage and resilience to plant "seeds" that will improve ourselves and our community. It is very poetic

Sow seeds of strength

Ride out the storm.

Sow seeds of compassion 

Make hearts warm.

What about 'seeds of promise'? Teachers hear themselves saying this about a student or situation. In Little Seeds of Promise by Dana Raft and Reina Metallinou, Maya feels very lonely and lost when she moves to new country. Her grandmother has given her some seeds to plant when she gets there, but she wonders about whether to plant them and whether she will ever fit in. Can she risk planting them? 

The Seeds of Friendship  by Michael Foreman explores a similar situation through the eyes of a boy called Adam, yet the title likens seeds to friendship rather than promise.

Can a seed be personified? Read A Seed is Sleepy  by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long; The Bad Seed by Jory John and Pete Oswald or Seed School  by Joan Holub  and Sakshi Mangal and your students will know that it can be.

You can teach figurative language without having to use the books suggested in the English K-2 units online! Their lists are only suggestions.

13th November World Kindness Day

Is kindness your superpower? Should it be? Kindness continues to be a much-discussed topic in classrooms, at assembly and staff meetings... I find this difficult to comprehend and continue to buy resources to help with this. There are so many books to choose from and our shelf in the non-fiction is 'groaning' so we need to move some other books to make space. Here's some of the newer additions.

When one act of kindness sparks another, anything is possible! As a girl searches for her lost dog, a simple act of generosity ripples into a wave of good deeds. In the course of a single day, each considerate action weaves lives together and transforms a neighbourhood for the better.

Being kind is super important, but it isn't always easy. Using a goodhearted, enthusiastic little boy's perspective, a lot of sensitivity and a little gentle humour, this story explores the potential pitfalls of trying to be kind, and what being kind really means. To be truly kind, it turns out, you have to try to look at things from other people's points of view. 

Meet kids - just like you - whose small acts of kindness are changing the lives of others. Learn about the work they do and discover how the future of our world starts here... with you. 

Kindness comes in all shapes and sizes and in this uplifting and inspiring book, it starts out as a dot and morphs into all sorts of different forms as it spreads joy wherever it goes. The power of kindness is explored in a distinctive and deceptively simple way as we witness kindness overcoming anger and sadness.  

Spread loving kindness wherever you go! Lyrical and poignant, Loving Kindness encourages us to be kind to ourselves, to others, and to the world we live in. It celebrates kindness, compassion, and the connection shared by every living thing on earth. We all live under the same sun, we all breathe the same air, and touch the same earth that connects us all. 

Featuring a cheerful rhyming text that guides readers through all the ways to be kind, Tomorrow I'll Be Kind is the perfect book for celebrating compassion, humanity and generosity. This uplifting book is a reminder to all readers, young and old, that the smallest kind gesture can make the biggest difference.