What is one of the best ways to teach? It is to do what I just did: ask a question. When we ask a question, we invite our student to think. We are not asking to memorize facts, but rather to draw upon facts and experience to reach a conclusion. This is especially true for teaching values. While the best way to teach values is to model the value, it should be supplemented and enforced in other ways. I’m an advocate of reading to children AND asking them questions to teach valuable lessons. The story There’s Something Pokey in my Shoe by Kelly Jean Lietaeret provides us with an opportunity for both. Not only does the story have a lesson, but the author also provides questions to ask to enforce the lesson.
Little Lizzie has something stuck in her shoe. She has plans with her family to bike and hike in the woods. Something in her shoe requires her to pause her plan to figure out what’s poking her. To make matters worse, she’s also lost her earring. Rather than whine and complain as many children would do, she makes the mature decision to solve the problem. It means delaying her fun to take off shoes and socks.
This wonderfully illustrated story is told from Lizzie’s perspective in a fun sing-song rhyme. I think young kids will enjoy the rhymes and the simple story. All kids can relate to having something pokey in their shoe. I know my little daughters often get wood chips, rocks, and sand in their shoes. They must delay their fun while Daddy removes the irritating items.
The best part of this books is the questions at the end. This gives parents a wonderful opportunity to discuss the valuable lessons of the simple story. I would recommend not only using these questions but ask some of your own from your child’s experience. I would ask, “How do you feel when you have wood chips in your shoe?”
I recommend this book to any parent, grandparent or caregiver of young children.
Author Bio:
Kelly Jean is a mom of 4 with a degree in Early Childhood Education. Married for 20+ years to my Prince Charming. Loves hot coffee, loud music, and fuzzy socks. This is her second book released. Her first book, I Wish I Was Big, was released in October, 2014.
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From the Author:
This little book has a big lesson. We all encounter problems every day, but do we handle them the correct way? The book contains discussion questions in the back that encourage starting with a story and ending with a conversation. There is also a word scramble and word search containing key vocabulary from the book.