Excitement and joy are in the air as children charge through classroom doors for another year of learning. Here we are with our brightly colored bulletin boards, sharpened pencils, new dry erase markers, and (we hope) an amazing assortment of quality picture books for the classroom library.
In September, as Core Virtues classrooms across the country focus on respect, responsibility, and friendship, literary recommendations are numerous, but don't miss our "New and Noteworthy" selection, We Don't Eat Our Classmates, the hilarious tale of a T-Rex's first day at school. After all, what Kindergartner hasn't fantasized about having dinosaurs for classmates? (OK, maybe not...)
To keep your Morning Gathering current and lively, we post new literary selections almost daily. We invite you to help us. If there are virtue-themed books you love, that you don't find here, please send your suggestions to us at [email protected].
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Many Core Virtues schools employ the gold standard Core Knowledge Sequence as the heart of their academic program. These two initiatives (Core Virtues and Core Knowledge) are independent ventures, but produce rich synergy when employed together. In the last two months we have developed the "Core Virtues-Core Knowledge Connections" section for our website. Here we list on a grade-by-grade level Core Knowledge stories, poems, and biographies that might be used for Morning Gatherings. So for example, in September, when we focus on respect and friendship, first grade teachers (who introduce Ancient Mesopotamia in Core Knowledge) might introduce your students to the oldest literary model for human friendship: Gilgamesh and Enkidu (as told by Ludmila Zeman in Gilgamesh the King). The tale from ancient Mesopotamia tells a timeless story of how an enemy becomes a friend. For more information on the Core Knowledge Sequence, see: https://www.coreknowledge.org/
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We loved our recent professional development visits to two new North Carolina charter schools: Bonnie Cone Classical Academy in Huntersville, North Carolina (K-6: principal Joan Roman) and Community Public Charter School in Stanley, North Carolina (K-5; principal Sherry Reynolds). Both schools will both be employing the Core Virtues program along with the Core Knowledge Sequence, and do they ever have some great, committed teachers! | |
