Exchange the roles in your household. Put on your mother’s and father’s clothes for one day and do their jobs! Have your mother and father sit in your seats after you prepare dinner for them!
Early Elementary Books
Theme: Mistakes
Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping - (ISBN: 978-0060511067)
by Peggy Parish
Everything about what Amelia Bedelia thinks she hears is a mistake! She throws the tent into the woods instead of pitching it. She tries to catch a fish like you catch a ball. Enjoy her other errors in this fun book about adventures with a literalist! Does Amelia ever learn from her mistakes?
Author: A True Story - (ISBN: 978-0618260102)
by Helen Lester
Lester, the celebrated author of Tacky the Penguin, shares her writing history in this book in which she recognizes that writing “fizzles” often result in great works. Problems become great creations, and errors result in a new way of looking at something! With great tenderness and humor, she encourages aspiring writers to chortle at their mistakes and use their problems as ladders to greatness. What are some other benefits of making mistakes?
Gershon’s Monster - (ISBN: 978-0439108393)
by Eric Kimmel
Gershon the baker sweeps his baking mistakes into the cellar. He has no regrets about the errors he has made or the dough he has wasted. He packs the “mistakes” up on Rosh Hashanah and dumps the entire bag into the seas. After a monster emerges from his discards, he learns to face what has been done and atone. Think of a time when you have swept something under the rug or torn up a bad school paper into little pieces. Has anything come back to haunt you?
The Case of the Mixed-Up Mutts - (ISBN: 978-0807509333)
by Dori Hillestad Butler
While Buddy the dog is searching for his lost family, he comes across a pair of dogs who have been mistakenly switched. Although they closely resembled each other, they both miss their original families, and Buddy helps them out! How do you imagine Buddy feels when he sees them happily reunited? Is he still missing his own far away home?
The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes - (ISBN: 9781402255441)
by Mark Pett
Beatrice has quite a wide fan base because of her near-perfectionism. But what happened on the day of her school’s talent show? Are there any problems with always trying to be perfect?
The Quiet Woman and the Noisy Dog - (ISBN: 978-1842709399)
by Sue Eves
Two women with opposite personalities mistakenly exchange dogs after they go to the park for a walk. The women realize their mistakes when their pets at home do not seem to be themselves! The quieter woman ends up with a quiet dog and the reverse is true of the other woman. Why do noisy people prefer quiet pets? How do they get their real companions back?