Talking About Tolerance
With all the curriculum, standards, and assessments teachers have to fit in on a daily basis, character education and teaching about tolerance sometimes takes a backseat. BUT - what if you could teach some of those important life lessons at the SAME TIME as you are working on the standards you are already required to teach? Just maybe, you will be able to fit it in.
For those of you that are new to this blog, you might not know about Maria Dismondy. I actually interviewed her on my former radio show last year when I was introduced to her book Pink Tiara Cookies for Three. Maria is so sweet and her books (amongst them is The Juicebox Bully which you may have also heard of) all have great lessons about making the right choices. Maria is a former teacher who has walked in a teacher's shoes. She was an elementary teacher and a reading interventionist for 10 years, so she has a clue about what children are doing - and saying - in the real classroom and out on the playground.
In December I received a package in the mail: Maria's newest book, The Potato Chip Champ! I wasn't even aware she had a new one coming out! There was no note, no "please review this for me" letter (which I get a lot of, so to be honest it was a breath of fresh air). It was simply the book and it was even autographed!
Of course, I immediately read it to see what it was about and loved it! While Pink Tiara Cookies for Three seemed more fitting for girls, I adored that in this one, the main characters were boys, and using baseball to tie it all in would surely resonate with several boys I know I have had in years past.
Check out the video book trailer from Maria's website:
On the book page, she also has an accompanying Reader's Guide, so make sure to see what other goodies you can find!
If you have boys in your class (ummmm, I am guessing that would be most - lol!), I encourage you to go take a peek at The Potato Chip Champ, as well as Maria's other children's books on her website!
She is so sweet, she even offered to give a copy away for one lucky OCB Reader! if you get a chance, stop on over to her Facebook page to say thanks, so her generosity does not go unnoticed.
Enjoy and good luck from Maria Dismondy and The Organized Classroom Blog,
