Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!

The book I am writing about is Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come! This book is about a little boy named Henry who is about to enter his first day of kindergarten. I addresses his excitement and also his fears of the first day like many children experience. He starts out excited to get to his first day and then the fear he has of the unknown.

I think that this book can be used as a book read to kindergartners on their first day of school to spark discussion of how the kids are feeling. I think that it could be a helpful tool in getting the children to realize that the feelings they have about their first day are not just their own but shared with their peers. I think that It will also been good for the emotional development of the children. It can get the children working on skills like awareness of one's emotional states and detecting other's emotional states by asking questions like, "How do you think Henry is feeling?" and "Do you think that Henry is the only one who feels this way?"

There is also a page in the book that says, ".... and almost tied his shoes." (Carlson, NP) I think that this can be used to spark a discussion with the children that they do not need to know everything when entering their first day, that we as teachers will help them learn the things they do not. There is also a page later in the book that can solidify this concept.

I think while having these discussions there is a page where the teacher can also facilitate a discussion about making new friends. Some of the students may be friends already but many will not. Having this discussion can help ease the anxiety children may have about not knowing the each other.