“I like your buttons”
Simple read-aloud for Kindergarten students at the beginning of the year: I like Your Buttons by Sarah Marwil Lamstein. This is a very simple story of a little girl who complements her teacher, who then goes on to complement another, on and on until in the very end something nice happens to the original little girl. It is a cyclical story that enables me to show students how to flip back to the beginning to check for understanding. The simple lesson that doing one nice thing for someone else may eventually cause something nice to happen to them is essential when building the “team spirit” at the beginning of the school year. I also enjoy the page where a little boy teaches his younger brother the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” because we can set the book down and do a simple fingerplay in the middle of a story.
I can extend this lesson to other people’s feelings and demonstrate how to give and receive real complements. One effect that happens every year is that these children will make positive comments such as “I like your books. I like this lesson. I like the computers. I like being your partner.” I think I’ll take some didactic teaching every year. I have even noticed the positive effect when older students wander in to eavesdrop on this lesson. They will participate in the fingerplay and then share their positive comments as modeling while the kindergarten students locate and choose books.
We work hard at our school to foster the concept that the library belongs to everyone, all are responsible for our atmosphere, and everyone impacts others positively or negatively. May you have a positive day.
