Hello friends and family of Ms. Kehoe’s Third Graders! I am so excited you have decided to take a look at our new classroom blog! The blog is full of information about the story we will be reading. The book we focused on this week was about special needs. Throughout the blog, information about the story and different activities you can do at home will be included! Feel free to contact me with any and all comments, concerns, or questions that you may have!
This week we will be reading Keeping Up With Roo, written by Sharlee Glenn and illustrated by Dan Andreasen. This story is about a little girl who experiences a family member that is mentally challenged. It is important for the students to understand people that may live with or someone they may know that lives with a developing disability each day. Also, it is important to know ways of how to treat a person with a disability.
Keeping Up With Roo is a heartwarming story about a little girl, Gracie, who has an unbelievable relationship with her Aunt Roo. Gracie considers Aunt Roo to be her best friend, even though Aunt Roo is mentally challenged. Aunt Roo has a mind of a child, but always has found a way to have fun. As Gracie grows older, she doesn’t have much time to play with Aunt Roo anymore. Gracie becomes worried as to what her new friends will think of her Aunt. She wonders if she will have to leave her best friend behind as she grows older.
At Home:
You may want to discuss with your child that all people of all ages can have a disability. Give them examples of what a disability is and what kinds there are. (We have listed some disabilities in class)
Ask your child how you are suppose to treat a person or another student that may have a disability.
It is important that your child understands that some students in class may live with a disability. They should know these students are just like them, but need some extra attention or a little more help to learn.
Talk to your child about possible friends or family members that may be disabled in any way.
Keeping Up With Roo is a winner of the 2006 Dolly Grey Children’s Award. This award was created in 2000 to give recognition to authors and illustrators that create stories that portray individuals with disabilities throughout a book.
Thank you for taking a look at our classroom’s reading blog for the week. Remind your children that it is very important to be accepting of all people, even those that may have a disability. Please take the poll below as well.
Happy Reading! 🙂
–Ms. Kehoe
Glenn, Sharlee. Keeping up with Roo. Dan Andreasen. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2004. Print.
Glenn, Sharlee. “Sharlee Glenn: Children’s Book Author.” Sharlee Glenn: Children’s Book Author. N.p., 2014. Web. Mar. 2014.
Ms. Kehoe's Classroom 