Must Read Monday

I hope everyone had an amazing 4th of July weekend! I know that many of you have left for Vegas already or will be leaving soon! I hope all of you have an incredibly amazing time! I'll see you next year!!!

Monday means it's time for some of my very favorite link ups! The first one I want to blog about is my very favorite, Must Read Monday hosted by Kindergarten Planet and The Kindergarten Connection.

Each week of Must Read Monday we are given a new topic of books to discuss. You can read all about my previous Must Read Monday posts by following the links at the bottom of this post! 

This week's book choices are all about Cooperation!! It doesn't matter what grade level you teach, cooperation has to be one of the most important traits you teach! It will make the year go by so much easier!! I'm sharing some of my favorite books to use when teaching the littles about cooperation!

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper is such a great book to use when teaching about cooperation. We focus mainly on cooperation during the beginning of the year, and this book fits in well during that time!

In this story, three friends have lived together in a cabin in the woods for many, many years. Year after year, they make their pumpkin soup the exact same way. The Cat slices the pumpkin, Squirrel stirs the water, and Duck tips in the ingredients. One day Duck decides he wants to do Squirrels job, and the friends get into a huge argument. Eventually Duck storms off, leaving the cabin. Cat and Squirrel soon worry about their friend and begin to search the woods for him. The friends learn an important lesson about cooperation!

The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens is such an incredibly fun book! There are lots of giggles when we read this book!

A huge family of prairie dogs are living and working together in their underground town, until one day a mysterious green fuzzy something invades their home. They have never seen one before and don't know what to make of it, until they realize you can create fabulous fashions by pulling the green fuzz off. Soon they are fighting amongst themselves to see who can get the most fuzz. A huge frenzy erupts that threatens to destroy the entire town, until they all realize they must work together to save a friend. 

One of my favorite Janet Stevens books is The Little Red Pen. This is an incredibly adorable spin-off of the classic tale 'The Little Red Hen' and it a must-have for every teacher!!

It's the end of the day and time for the Little Red Pen to grade a massive stack of papers. She politely asks the other office supplies on the desk to help her out, including Senorita Chincheta (Pushpin), but not a single volunteer offers their help. So the Little Red Pen must do it all herself, and soon grows exhausted. Unable to stay awake, she tumbles into the Pit of No Return (trash can). The rest of the office supplies on the desk must work together with Tank the class hamster to save her, and they learn an important lesson about cooperation!

Finally, I have to share one of the books from my Dragon Bin! The Knight and the Dragon by Tomie de Paola is one of my favorites! This book provides a fundamental look at cooperation, teaching us that the best way to work together is to combine our own strengths and talents with those of others.

In this story, Knight knows he must fight a dragon. That is, after all, what knights do. Dragon knows he must fight a knight since that is, after all, what dragons do. However, neither one of them has a clue as to how to fight the other. Knight tries researching in the library while Dragon searches through his ancestors' belongings. Both are desperate to learn how to fight the other and each one practices their own unique fighting style. Finally they decide they are ready, and send each other invitations to battle. After disastrous results on the battle field, a passing book peddler shows them how they can use their individual talents to work together successfully. 

I hope you enjoyed reading about some of my favorite books to teach cooperation with! Don't forget to swing back over to Kindergarten Planet or The Kindergarten Connection to read about plenty of other amazing books about cooperation!!

Here are the links to my other Must Read Monday posts!
Must Read Monday Friendship Books
Must Read Monday Math Books

You can still link up for Spotlight Saturday! It's a Teachers Show and Tell, and I can't wait to read all about your favorite products, resources, activities, and ideas!