Wishtree: A Fidget to Focus Bookclub

Join us for a heartwarming tale of community, uniquely told from the perspective of a tree and the animals that call the tree home. 

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! 

In each class, we will listen to the story for around 20 minutes, take a short wiggle break, and come back to discuss what we heard. 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:

Trees can't tell jokes, but they can certainly tell stories. . . .
Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree"―people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red's branches. Along with a crow named Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red's hollows, this wishtree watches over the neighborhood.
You might say Red has seen it all. 
Until a new family moves in. Not everyone is welcoming, and Red's experience as a wishtree is more important than ever.
Funny, deep, warm, and nuanced, this is Katherine Applegate at her very best―writing from the heart, and from a completely unexpected point of view.

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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.