Friendship lasts a lifetime! Being a good friend means that you are kind and caring and trustworthy. A good friend shows concern for the feelings of others and is helpful and generous.

Here are some books that you might want to read:

Are You Empathetic Today? by Kris Yankee and Marian Nelson	Millie Fierce by Jane Manning	Chester’s Way by Kevin Henkes
The Potato Chip Champ by Maria Dismondy	South by Patrick McDonnell	Pirates and Princesses by Jill Kargman and Christine Davenier
How to Lose All of Your Friends by Nancy Carlson	Giddeon and Otto by Oliver Dunrea	Friends Always by Tanja Wenisch

Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler by Margery Cuyler

When Mrs. Ruler asks five of her kindergarteners to miss recess, she’s got a special plan up her sleeve. She’s about to teach a new golden rule:
KINDNESS IS COOL!

How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham

In a city full of hurried people, only young Will notices the bird lying hurt on the ground. With the help of his sympathetic mother, he gently wraps the injured bird and takes it home.

How to Fill Your Bucket by Carol McCloud and David Messing

Through the story of a little boy named Felix, this book explains to children how being kind not only helps others, it helps him, too. As he goes about his day, Felix interacts with different people — his sister Anna, his grandfather, other family and friends. Some people are happy, but others are grumpy or sad. Using the metaphor of a bucket and dipper, Felix’ grandfather explains why the happy people make Felix feel good, while the others leave him feeling bad — and how Felix himself is affecting others, whether he means to or not.

Do You Want to be My Friend? by Eric Carle

In a 2009 Newsweek article, Eric Carle was asked which of his books were his favorite. He named this book, stating that it was an autobiographical story of his search for friendship as an immigrant 5-year-old. He finally found a close friend just before he moved back to Germany, which was soon war-torn.

How Kind by Mary Murphy

Read by Mrs. Berube’s and Mrs. Narciso’s 2014-2015 Classes.

Jack Johnson: We Are Gonna Be Friends

Bruno Mars: Count On Me

June is here and everyone is ready for summer break. Just because the school year is ending, doesn’t mean the learning has to stop. Students who do not continue reading over the summer are likely to lose ground. Encourage your child to keep reading! This blog post is filled with recommendations, activities, tips, and resources to help you motivate your child all summer long! If you want to receive tweets about “Summer Reading” subscribe to @WOSNews! Don’t have a twitter account? Sign up HERE.

Don’t Miss the Summer Reading “Kick Off” Celebration, Tuesday, June 23, at St. Catharine’s with Chip Bryant! Pick up a flyer at the event which will include summer programs from all 5 public libraries. Your child can visit and participate in any or all of the “Mighty 5 Libraries!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please Note: Your child will NOT be receiving a Summer Reading log from William O. Schaefer (WOS). The children can visit any of the Mighty 5 Libraries in our district to register for summer reading and pick up a reading log. Please have your child bring their Summer Reading log to school with them in September.

Check out all of the available “Summer Reading Events” at the Mighty 5 Libraries of South Orangetown!

• Blauvelt Public Library
• Palisades Free Library
• Piermont Public Library
• Orangeburg Public LIbrary
• Tappan Public Library

Did you know the Mighty 5 Libraries of South Orangetown have eBooks and audiobooks? Listen to a book alone or with your family and add it to your reading log. Talk to the librarians and tell them about the books you have read!

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children and offers a Summer Reading list for Grades K-2.

Caldecott Medal and Honor Books, 1938-Present

 

Below are a few book trailers of Barnes and Nobile recommended top picks for grades 1 & 2.

 

Audiobooks are the perfect companion for a family road trip! Visit tryaudiobooks.com for FREE DOWNLOADS and suggested ways you can listen to audiobooks.

 

Booklists from the Brooklyn Public Library: Books for Kindergarten & Grade 1 AND Books for Grades 2 & 3

 

NY Public Libraries 100 Great Children’s books.

Incoming 3rd graders can access the Cottage Lane “Summer Reading” page HERE.

The word of the month for June is self-acceptance. Self-acceptance is acceptance of self in spite of deficiencies.
In the video below, Lupita Nyong’o helps Elmo deliver a message to kids about why they should love their skin. This message of self-acceptance and an informative lecture: Our skin protects us, it helps us touch and feel things, and – perhaps most importantly – it allows us to be tickled! “Skin comes in lots of beautiful shades and colors”! It’s important to love the skin you’re in.

Sing along as Will.i.am sings “What I Am” as part of Sesame Street’s 41st season.

Read: I Don’t Want To Be a Frog by Dev Petty, illustrated by Mike Boldt

Frog wants to be anything but a slimy, wet frog. A cat, perhaps. Or a rabbit. An owl? But when a hungry wolf arrives—a wolf who HATES eating frogs—our hero decides that maybe being himself isn’t so bad after all.

Make an Origami “Jumping Frog”. Follow the step-by-step instructions.

Do YOU want to be a frog? NO?! Well, WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL do you want to be?Write about the animal you want to be below or think of your favorite part of several different kinds of animals (wings, beak, furry tail) to create your own special creature!

In Social Studies, we have been learning about communities and what they need to provide for the people who live there. We also have been learning about maps. We made our own little town, combining what we learned about communities with what we learned about maps. Enjoy the pictures!

National Poetry Month is a celebration of poetry introduced in 1996 and organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States.
In honor of National Poetry Month, students created “Book Spine” poetry during their library lesson. Students arranged book titles to make a poem. Just like regular poetry, they created a poem that was serious or funny.
To make a “Book Spine” poem the students started by moving books around with their spines together so that the titles were like lines of a poem. Students moved books around into different stacks until they found lines that worked best together to create a poem.

Below are some of the “Book Spine” poems our class created.