Nurturing – Suggested Readings
Nurture—to further the development of, also training, upbringing, fostering (Merriam Webster’s Dictionary)
Easy Books for Everybody
" Thank You Mr. Falker" - Patricia Polacco Mr. Falker, a stylish, fun-loving new teacher, recognizes Trisha's learning disability and takes the time to lead her finally and happily to the magic of reading. (autobiographical) "
Velveteen Rabbit - Williams, Margery A stuffed toy rabbit (with real thread whiskers) comes to life in this timeless tale of the transformative power of love
Thundercake – Patricia Polacco In Thunder Cake , a grandmother helps her granddaughter overcome her fear of thunder by baking a special cake while a storm threatens.
The Bee Tree- Patricia Polacco-- another charming picture book featuring a child learning from a grandparent in an idyllic pastoral setting.
Fiction
Secret Life of Bees —Sue Monk Kidd 14-year-old Lily Owen, neglected by her father and isolated on their Georgia peach farm, spends hours imagining a blissful infancy when she was loved and nurtured by her mother, Deborah, whom she barely remembers.
The Giver – Lois Lowry In the Giver, no one questions the how or why society runs the way it does, not even the elders who run it. But one character, Jonas, begins to receive new ideas from the Giver.
Any Lurlene McDaniel Books
Nonfiction -- numerous biographies (here are just a few—read excerpts if time doesn’t allow for reading the full book)
Tuesdays with Morrie – Mitch Abom This true story is about a terminally ill professor and his pupil who spends Tuesdays with him in his final days.
The Thread that Runs so True – Jesse Stuart A teacher’s experiences in rural Kentucky.
My Life for the Poor – Mother Teresa
The book of Virtues by William J. Bennett – includes chapters on compassion and friendship which have stories/poems that may tie in with nurturing:
Poetry: If I can stop one heart from breaking – Emily Dickinson
O Captain! My Captain! Walt Whitman
Song of Life – Charles MacKay
The sin of omission – Margaret Sangster
Time to Talk – Robert Frost
Friendship
Stories: Echo and Narcisssus –retold by Bulfinch
As Rich as Croesus –retold by James Baldwin
The Gift of the Magi – O.Henry
The Angel of the Battlefield – Joanna Strong
Childhood and Poetry – Pablo Neruda
Damon and Pythias
Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan
The Bear and the Travelers -- Aesop
Quotes (for discussion)
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. ~ Leo Buscaglia
If I ran a school, I'd give the average grade to the ones who gave me all the right answers,
for being good parrots. I'd give the top grades to those who made a lot of mistakes
and told me about them, and then told me what they learned from them. ~Buckminster Fuller
Education's responsibility is to replace an empty mind with an open one. ~Malcolm Forbes
The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. - Nelson Henderson
A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations. ~Patricia Neal
I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework. ~Lily Tomlin
A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary. ~Thomas Carruthers
Teaching should be full of ideas instead of stuffed with facts. ~Author Unknown
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