Page 1 - Kind News, Jr. Sep/Oct 2022, Parent Guide

Parent Guide

SEPT/OCT 2022

Teaching kindness while
helping to instill good
reading habits in children.

BOOK NOOK
KIND TIME

Welcome to a new school year with Kind News! So, What's it Like to be a Cat?
In this month’s career feature, we’ll meet a man Written by Karla Kuskin
who combined his love of family with his
passion for pups to design a unique board Illustrated by Betsy Lewin
game. Find out what one girl did for people Recommended for ages 4 and up
who had pets but no home, and learn about What is it like to be a cat? A curious boy interviews his
one special opossum’s new wheels! gray cat in a playful rhyming story of the similarities and
differences between cats and people. The story shows that
SUPPLEMENTAL ACTIVITY the first step in taking care of a cat is taking the time to
Try this with your child at home: observe and listen to learn the cat’s likes and dislikes. Themes
of listening to a cat and responsible pet ownership are
CASEL* CORE COMPETENCIES: SELF- depicted. Part of the RedRover Readers program.
MANAGEMENT, SOCIAL AWARENESS,
SELF-AWARENESS About the Author: Poet, picture book author, and
illustrator Karla Kuskin waxed poetically about cats as
To go with “Careers with Animals: Board Game early as her 1975 Near the Window Tree collection. She
Designer”: After reading the article together, is perhaps most well known for The Philharmonic Gets
talk to your child about what Alex Lu’s dream Dressed and The Dallas Titans Get Ready for Bed, two stories that
was. What does it mean to invent something? capture the day-to-day lives of revered public figures. Her awards
Do they think it would be hard to create a board include the National Council of Teachers of English Award for
Excellence in Poetry for Children and the Children's Book Council's
game? Ask them what they would create with Lifetime Achievement Award.
the materials they have at home. Help them find
items such as empty paper towel rolls, plastic SO, WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A CAT? © 2008 BY ATHENEUM BOOKS FOR
bottles, egg cartons, string, or spare buttons. YOUNG READERS
Provide things to help build with, such as glue or
tape. Ask them to connect the materials of their
choice to make something, for use in real life or BACKGROUND INFORMATION
just pretend. Enjoy watching your child’s
imagination run wild! Helping Children with Grief
*Learn more about CASEL (the Collaborative for Academic, It is important to let children express their feelings to help
Social and Emotional Learning) at casel.org. them process. Children’s books about grieving can help you
have a conversation with your children about how the
characters in the story feel and how this is the same or
different from how they feel. For books about the loss of pets,
Where’s Raja? visit RedRover.org/books. Expressing your own sadness or

RAJA IS HIDING ON PAGE 7! other emotions over the loss of the pet can help model the
expression of feelings. Avoid using euphemisms like “put to
sleep.” Kids take things literally, and that phrase could be scary.
For more information about helping children with loss, visit:
griefrecoverymethod.com/our-programs/
A PUBLICATION OF
helping-children-loss.