Mr. McDonald Is Reading "The Grinch"

Please note for the record that I firmly believe reading "The Grinch" is much better than watching "The Grinch".   I'm a big Dr. Seuss fan and love getting into the rhyming rythms of his books!!    I'm also a sucker for the message behind this story.   If the Grinch can make a turn around and see the value in giving and being nice then anyone can.     That's what our Character Education efforts are all about at Victory P.S.!    I love watching the Grinch take responsibilty for his actions, show respect to the Whos, and demonstrate sincere compassion which was sorely missing for most of his life.    ( even his heart grows!!!) .  

Demonstrating "Character Education" does not require massive changes or a "grinch like transformation".    There are many small things you can do too....    Think about ways this holiday season that you can show respect, responsibility, compassion, fairness and honesty.     Have a wonderful holiday with family and friends and Merry Christmas to all! 

Mr. McDonald

Mr. McDonald is Reading Fall 2011

RABBIT AND BEAR PAWS ..."SACRED SEVEN - RESPECT" 

Welcome to another wonderful fall season of reading!   I am very excited to be reading a great series of books by Chad Solomon.   Many of you may remember Chad who visitied our school last year with his puppet characters and spoke about his graphic novels that highlight aboriginal cultures with a great message in every story.    The most recent book I' m reading is part of the Rabbit and Bear Paws series called Respect.     The author uses the basis of the seven Grandfather's Teachings as a character education teaching tool.   In this story both Rabitt, Bear Paws and their friend Strawberry learn the importance of respecting the environment and the animals that are all around them.    It is filled with great illustrations and centres around an exciting adventure for all three of the friends.     Come to our library to check it out!  

Mr. McDonald is reading....Scaredy Squirrel!

Are you planning an upcoming birthday party?  Or perhaps you are trying to figure out how to avoid things you do not like....if so.....then this book is for you!   Scaredy Squirrel is back and he is looking to celebrate his birthday.   But...as you can imagine all of Scaredy's fears, concerns and worries make this a much harder task than it needs to be.  Scaredy Squirrel is the master of making lists and of planning ahead.    I always appreciate how organized Scaredy is and if you are a fan of lists, charts, and schedules then you will appreciate Scaredy Squirrel's approach to life and the story he tells through the engaging pages of this book. 

The best part is that this book, like so many of his others, has a surprise ending and Scaredy is forced to deal with a change in plans.     This is an excellent message as so many times in our days things happen over which we have no control.   The snow storm that I am looking at right now out our school window in the first week of spring would be a great example of how sometimes the unexpected just happens.     This latest book by Melanie Watts is a wonderful read not just for the story of Scaredy's birthday party but for the mini life-lessons we can learn from his adventures.    Let me know what you think and if you can make any connections between this story and some of your own personal experiences. 

Don't forget to visit our library to check out the other great books Mrs. Taylor has on display.   Happy Reading!  

Geronimo Stilton, The Kingdom of Fantasy

Hi everyone...  Thank you to everyone who has come to see "Jungle Bullies", the book from my last blog, in the office.     I have quite a few great titles you can come and read at any time.    The latest book I wanted to share with you is one that I have been reading at home with my son Thomas.   It is from the Geronimo Stilton series and is called "The Kingdom of Fantasy".    What an adventure!   If you have never picked up a Geronimo Stilton story this would be a great one to start with.   It is a very interactive story with lots of secret codes, puzzles and maps that are fun to explore.   The plot is fascinating and sees Geronimo having to overcome many challenges in a fantasy world including giant scorpions and sea serpents in order to save the Queen of the Fairies. 

What I really like about this series is the way the author highlights text features and uses different fonts to express how the character may be feeling or to highlight important words.    This is a great story to read with a parent at home.   And...if you like dragons.....  well .....you are in for a treat!  

Happy Reading!

Welcome to the Blog!!!

Thanks for visiting my blog!    I am very excited to share some of my favourite books and the ones that I am currently reading.    Today I want to share a book that I just recently read to Madame Cantin's grade 2 class.  It is called Jungle Bullies  and the author is Steven Kroll.    I love reading this book as it has a great message about how important it is to share and consider the feelings of others.     The pictures are wonderful and you can really see the change in the jungle characters as they realize that sharing and getting along with each other is far more enjoyable than arguing and excluding. 

I found this book particularly relevant to our discussions about snow forts on our yard.   We have done such a good job of sharing our forts and the great snow we have had this year!  

Take a look in my office for the copy I have if you'd ever like to read it....or even better....read it to me! 

See you soon!