Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman and Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton

Today's featured books, Katie Loves the Kittens (@JohnHimmelman) and Oh No, George! (@ChrisHaughton), are great read alouds for helping kids learn how to "take care of themselves!" Arthur Costa and Bena Kallick (Habits of Mind: A Developmental Series, Copyright © 2000) talk about 16 habits of mind that are essential for students to master in their lives and at school. One that we talk about often at our school is "managing impulsivity." Costa and Kallick define managing impulsivity as taking the time to consider options; thinking before speaking or acting; and remaining calm when stressed or challenged. How many kids do you know that do that well? Better yet...how many dogs do you know that do that well? 

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These two books are such great read alouds for teaching this concept. Katie is faced with new kittens in the house. She just couldn't resist. She wants so bad to run around an play with them.

It's so hard to manage impulses, isn't it!? But, Katie learns a hard lesson and realizes she can manage those impulses! 

"Katie was so happy she wanted to howl! She wanted to jump! She wanted to chase them all over the room and run around in circles and play with them!  But she.....didn't." 

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George is faced with similar temptations. Eat the whole cake? Chase Cat? Dig in the dirt? 

"What will George do?" 

Your students will laugh out loud with these books. We read the books and then did skits acting out different scenarios of either "managing our impulsivities" or not. This is a topic kids can really relate to. Adults too! After all....how many adults do you know that struggle with resisting that cake? lol 

The writing is fabulous and the illustrations are awesome! Pick up these two books for some great discussions with your kids about the importance of "taking care of ourselves!" Managing impulsivities is a hard one to master. Why not use George and Katie to help you!