The theme throughout Room 116 and Fuller Meadow for the month of September is friendship. As a class we read Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. This popular tale of a mouse whose name just doesn't fit in, allowed our classroom to discuss character's feelings, author's message and ways to be a good friend. Each time Chrysanthemum was teased, we crumpled up a giant heart. Every time someone did something nice to her, we smoothed the heart out. By the end of the story, the heart was a wrinkled mess that couldn't be completely smoothed out.
The students made the connection that our own hearts can feel wrinkled and crumpled when someone says unkind words to us. After completing the story, students paired up to give each other compliments. We discussed how giving compliments and using kind words are ways to be show friendship.1st graders then signed their names to a band-aid as a way to show that we will all think before we speak because wrinkled hearts are hard to heal.
Before you speak, think and be smart. It's hard to fix a wrinkled heart!
