Personal Space Camp!

I've already posted about this amazing author before, but yet again, I'm already posting about another Julia Cook book!  This book is called Personal Space Camp and it's a fun way to talk to kids about respecting others' space.  In the story, we meet Luis again (same character from My Mouth is a Volcano).  He thinks he is a space expert! "Zoom Zoom, Zip Zip, Buzz the planets, Tickle the sun, Back to Earth, Now that was fun!!"  Luis is told by his teachers that he has a problem with personal space, which is very confusing to Luis since he thinks he is a space expert!  Luis attends Personal Space Camp in the principal's office where he finally learns the difference between outer space and personal space. 

I love this book because it covers all of the bases of personal space:  walking in line, sitting on the rug (instead of laying on the rug), etc.  I also love it because you can easily bring up conversations about touching people, pushing, hitting, etc.  We talk about how everyone has a different amount of personal space that makes them feel comfortable (our personal space bubble, or personal space ship).  Sometimes, we feel OK with someone getting in our personal space (parents, friends who we give permission to), but most of the time, we don't like for our personal space bubble to be broken.  We talk about how part of respect means asking permission to enter someone's personal space (for a hug or whatever the reason might be).  This can also lead to a discussion on personal safety and good touch/bad touch.  I use this book in 2nd grade classrooms, in my social skills small groups, and of course, with individual students as well.  Teachers are always asking to borrow this one.

What could make this any better?  Of course!  There is the activity & guide book which is also available for purchase! Oh Julia, you make life so easy for us!  There are all kinds of activites in the book, such as clumping all of the desks together (to show how impossible it would be for us to work this way), creating personal space place mats, a space freeze game, and many more!  I feel like an advertisemet, but I just can't say enough good things for these books.  Enjoy, Personal Space campers!