This book has a great meaning for friendship, forgiveness, and kindness. The little girls grandfather always reminded her to "treat people the way you want to be treated." This saying stuck with her while she was getting bullied in school. Having that reminder helped her to befriend the bully and help him when he needed it. This book will help create lots of group discussion throughout the classroom. Having this book to read before asking the students to write about a time where they can help someone who may need it rather than ignoring them. Having the students share their response to the class to encourage kindness all around. 

Lexile Level: 610L

An awkward duckling does not fit in with his brothers and sisters. This little bird is made fun of and has to struggle through life without a great support system. However, the ugly duckling continues to push forward from the bullying of his fellow ducklings, the hunters, and cruel seasons. He survives and becomes a grateful swan. Students can create a story board to show the transformation of an ugly duckling to a graceful swan. 

 

Reading Level: Lexile AD820L

 

Grades: PreK-5th

You know how there are crafty blogs that make you feel like you'll never get half the stuff done in a year that the blogger does in a week?

And you know how some of those blogs are written by moms and their kids are always adorable and well-behaved and whimsical and only CUTELY mischievous and the blogger does all these lovely creative projects and has the PERFECT organizational system (held in a gorgeous "found" piece of furniture, of course) for craft supplies and whips up princess or pirate outfits for the kids at night while those little elfin children sleep, cuddling their acorn dolls and dreaming about the fairy houses they built that afternoon?

If those blogs make you feel inferior or miserable, you probably shouldn't read this book! If you can console yourself with the thought that the magazine-perfect blog you're reading is only one part of the whole story and right now one of those kids is probably cranky and tired and unphotographed, and you've learned to pick what you can use and leave the rest, The Creative Family might work for you. Maybe.

I enjoyed browsing through most of the projects -- a lot of them were things I've seen online before, but it's always nice to have them in a format that's easy to flip through -- and the pics of Soule's kids' projects were cute, but honestly, I ended up skimming most of the text; Soule's writing tic seems to be using scare quotes EVERYWHERE and they started to make me twitch after the first chapter.

There are some good ideas in The Creative Family regarding cultivating gratitude and an appreciation of nature, like the notion of having an outdoor spot that you think of as YOURS. There were a handful of ideas that would be impractical for my family to implement as-is, but with a little tweaking they'll work for us, and I think that was Soule's intention when she wrote the book, that it would be used as a jumping-off point. Then there were things like the little nature tables and baby clothes made out of adult shirts and over-complicated notions of nature appreciation -- those things just aren't going to happen for us.

In the end, I wasn't as enchanted by it as I expected to be. I guess I was looking for something more inclusive, while The Creative Family actually covers one family's experience in exploring creativity, and that family has a lot of time to do their exploring. Although my family lives smack-dab in the middle of nature, I work outside the home and I have an older child who attends school outside the home; when it comes down to it, I just don't feel like this book was MEANT for me. I'll take what I can use and move on.


(two-and-a-half stars)

I am a big fan of Amanda Soule and her wonderful blog SouleMama (http://soulemama.typepad.com/). She really amazes me in how she raises her now four(!) children and keeps her house so lively and creative and filled with inspiration for everyone. I read this as part of my "Good Mother Research." What makes a good mother? I think Amanda Soule is one. This is a really sweet read for anyone that wants to bring more creativity and authenticity to their homes and lives.

This book has lots of great ideas for family activities. The concept of "bad art night" sold me, but the first project we actually did was creating a "banging wall" in the yard. Getting the old pots and pans to hang up and utensils to hit them with was the most fun part! There's nothing like wandering Goodwill with a 5-year-old vigorously testing the bangability of various kitchen items. I read through the book and then reread it and took notes (it was a library book). It's nicely written even if it does make me feel just a teeny bit substandard as a mother. I bought supersize embroidery supplies and can't wait for the cold weather so we can see what cool abstract pillow covers my son can make!