RULES, RULES, RULES

Some teachers call them rules. Some teachers call them norms. 

I don't really care what they are called, but basically I think every group/society has them, in some form or another.  Some kind of guidelines for how we treat each other or how we get along together.  I generally have about three, usually some variation on the theme- 

Be safe. Be respectful. Work hard. 

Here are some books that might initiate good discussions. 

Freddy and Frito are best friends. They play together every day. Freddy's house is big and full of space, but there are rules. Frito's house is noisy and crowded, but there are rules. One day Freddy and Frito decide to build a treehouse. With no rules, of course. But Freddy's yellow curtains give Frito a headache. And Frito's cooking pot takes up too much room. The two have to resolve their differences. They decide a clubhouse should have at least one rule.

THE STORY STARTS HERE by Caroline Merola is a backwards book about a backwards character. Little Wolf wants to do everything backwards. He wants his books to start at the back (it truly does open at the back and would be a great book handling lesson for little guys), play the piano with his toes, and wear his clothes on his head. Then his father decides to join in on the fun. This feels a little like WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.

IF EVERYBODY DID by JoAnn Stover is an old, old book, one I found in a library discard pile at the very beginning of my teaching career.  The copy I found was black and white, but a couple of years ago, the book was released in color. Each two page spread features a different "rule-breaking" situation. The next page is a predictable refrain, "This is what would happen if everybody did."

If everybody squeezed the cat!

Finally, THE GOLDEN RULE by Ilene Cooper- a beautiful, beautiful book I reviewed here several years ago.