This year the entire school is placing more emphasis on virtues. The early childhood division has selected 9 virtues that they will emphasize throughout the school year. With kindness being the first virtue, National Read a Book Day provided the perfect opportunity to read a book and play a game about kindness. I chose the book "The Golden Rule" by Ilene Cooper. This book is about a young boy and his grandfather who explains what the Golden Rule is (simply, "treat others the way you would like to be treated"). He mentions that some form of the rule is generally present in every culture. They also discuss ways that people can practice the Golden Rule and how, as grandfather puts it, it begins with YOU.
We played a game using various locomotor movements to travel around the room to music. Polyspots were laid out on the floor with two spots hiding the words KINDNESS and GOLDEN RULE under them. When the music stopped, each person stood on a spot. Students then checked their spots to see if they had one of the hidden words. Before receiving a point, however, each student with the word had to explain what it meant. There was much repetition, but kindness is a virtue that warrants constant emphasis.
Mrs. Wagner reads the book, "The Golden Rule."
Students move to the music. They moved in many different ways throughout the game.
These two students found words under their polyspots. Each had to explain the meaning of their word(s).
