Front Desk: A Fidget to Focus Bookclub

Join us for the inspiring tale of an immigrant family trying to make it in the US against all odds, and see how their kindness during adversity is their greatest asset. 

We will listen to the story together alongside a variety of hands-on “fidgety” activities. No homework is required. No sitting still is required. In this book club, you are expected to fidget and wiggle and move as needed. 

Bring your favorite fidgets to class or try one of my totally optional suggestions:

Playdough or air dry clay: roll, squish, stretch, pound, and more! You can make something related to the story or indulge your imagination. 

Lacing beads: small to large, simple to intricate, lacing beads on string, yarn, a shoelace or even a pipe cleaner is a great way to keep your hands busy

Fabric scraps: twist, tie, stretch, and rub various textures with wriggly fingers

Or just bring some blank paper and doodle or sketch anything you can imagine

Do you have other ideas for fidgeting during the story? Feel free to share! 

We’ll aim for 30 minutes of listening, with breaks as needed, and a chance for discussion. During the story, if there is a word you don’t know, write it in the chat! We’ll learn about it together. Each discussion will have a different literary or story-related topic. If time allows, learners can choose to share what they made while fidgeting.

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Publisher’s description:
Winner of the Asian / Pacific American Award for Children's Literature!
Mia Tang has a lot of secrets.
Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests.
Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed.
Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language?
It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?

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Finances should never stand in the way of meeting a learner’s educational needs.
Check out my “Pay What You Can” policy in my teacher bio or message me for details.
“Pay What You Can” policy applies to classes with 3+ enrolled learners and you must make arrangements with me before enrolling. I cannot give refunds after the fact.

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Learners will need paper and pencils/pens/crayons/markers

Fidgets are recommended - bring your own or see suggestions above 

Visual learners may prefer to have a copy of the book and read along to the audio. This is optional, not required.