Beginning the Year with Cy Makes a Friend

Can you believe it’s Back to School time already? Our summers flew by but don’t they always? Erin and I have been thinking about ideas to use in our classroom, especially for the first few weeks of school. We try to create activities based on books with universal themes like sharing, friendship, or kindness. Some of our favorites include Chrysanthemum, Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Friends, and First Grade Dropout. We incorporate ways for our students to interact with the book from as many angles as possible. My book, Cy Makes a Friend, came out in March. Our students really related to the whole friendship theme and the obstacles we sometimes face when trying to make a friend.

Since then, Erin and I have been working on an activity packet that allows our students to go a little deeper into the story while also having fun! My amazing illustrator, Tracy Subisak, added some color pages. We want to share it with you! Let us know what you end up using. We’d love to see your pictures! Here are some covers of books my students made after reading Cy Makes a Friend.

I love how grumpy Mama Cyclops and her purple baby look!