This giveaway is now closed. Rate and review a Free Spirit product to enter to win a $200 Free Spirit shopping spree!
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To Enter: Leave a comment below with a rating (from 1–5 stars) and a review of a Free Spirit book or product you have used.
Entries must be received by midnight, June 21, 2019. Your review may be selected for publication on freespirit.com at our discretion and edited for clarity. The winner will be selected at random and contacted via email after June 24, 2019, and will need to respond within one week to claim his or her prize or another winner will be chosen. Winner must be a US resident, 18 years of age or older.
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Children LOVE the Weird Series. The ingenious collaboration between author and illustrator is unique and uniquely powerful. Kids can make their own connections and draw parallels that strengthen messages of self-discovery, respect and empathy.
I give the series 5 stars.
I use the Learning to Get Along® Series Interactive Software with my students to help them learn important social and emotional skills. It comes loaded with 15 talking books that refer to feelings, respecting others, being a good friend, etc. I also really like that each book has a summary page and check-for-understanding questions at the end. 5 stars!
Love Free Spirit’s books on character. I teach Manners to 3rd graders and use the book Dude, That’s Rude! (Get Some Manners) for the lessons. There is just enough humor to keep the children interested without being too silly. Four stars.
How Rude! In a Jar. – 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This jar has quite a few awesome ideas for discussion starters with students during our SEL period this year! They can discuss everything from the difference between a conversation and a lecture to what behaviors are appropriate and inappropriate in situations!
Five enthusiastic stars! I work for Healthy Teeth, Healthy Children, a program with the American Academy of Pediatrics, PA Chapter, and we LOVE Teeth Are Not for Biting! As an oral health non-profit advocating for pediatric dental care, we love the simple messages for kids on what to do when they feel like biting. In fact, my program director, Kristin Haegele Hill, contacted the author to inquire about the idea of adding healthy teeth tips to the book. And she agreed! The newest editions now include teeth tips for kids and parents in the back of the book, and we would love to be able to supply this book to all of our dental collaborators.
I recently took a class on teaching gifted students and purchased the book Teaching Gifted Kids in Today’s Classroom by Susan Winebrenner. I have been able to present some ideas to teachers to work with those students that need a ‘little more’ than the general education student as well as the students I work with in an intervention capacity. This book has many useful strategies and printables that can easily be implemented and applied within the classroom. It is comprehensive and easily understood!
Mindful Classrooms™ by James Butler, M. Ed. was a disappointment. It is simply yoga without the word yoga. I spent money I didn’t need to as I have many yoga resources. If you are in a school where you’re not allowed to say the word yoga, then I would recommend this.
5 Stars for I’m Happy Sad Today we read this book everyday as there is always one child that wants me to read it to them everyday.
I am happy sad today is a book we read everyday as there is one child that wants me to read it to them everyday.
The Survival Guide for Gifted Kids first helped me understand my son. Then it became one of his favorite resources. Now the book has become a gem in my classroom. Five stars!
I have used the “Learning to Get Along” series and the “Being the Best Me” series in my kindergarten classroom for many years. I highly recommend these books! They make the various topics easier to understand for kids at this age. 5 stars all around! I want to get more books, this time on mindfulness, but I need to wait until funds may become available. Thank you for having such great resources for teachers!
Whoot! Whoot! Free Spirit Publishing is great!
So happy to support a local businees (in my home of MN).
Zach Rules Series — Used this with my own children. It helped them put words to their feelings. Thank you.
I love the resource “A Practical Guide to Mental Health & Learning Disorders for Every Educator.” I think it is extremely helpful and I purchased one for my counselor. I think every educator should have a copy. Five stars!
I frequently use Teaching Gifted Kids in Today’s Classroom and the Gifted Kids Survival Guide. They are great for ideas, discussions, and insight. I highly recommend them!!
I frequently use “Teaching Gifted Kids in Today’s Classroom” and “The Survival Guide for Gifted Kids.” They are both very helpful for ideas and discussions. I highly recommend them!! 5 STARS
5 Stars and beyond for “I’m Happy- Sad Today” by Lory Britain!!!
This story was brilliant. At first glance, just by reading the title of the story, I was wondering how it would make sense for someone to feel both happy and sad?
My 3 kids however, felt an immediate connection to the story:
Child 1: ” I’m sad when I have to leave my teacher because I love her, but I’m happy to be home with you.”
Child 2: ” I’m sad when I have to go to school because I miss you, but I’m happy because my friends help me feel better.”
Child 3: ” I’m sad when daddy goes to work, but I’m happy to be home with you.”
They were so happy they finally realized their true feelings. They were relieved that the feelings in which they felt confused about initially, finally became clear to them. The feelings they were feeling, were mixed up feelings! Now they know, and now, I’ve learned too!
This book is a must have for every classroom and home. Teachers and parents may find this extremely helpful in helping kids learn there are more feelings than just the one feeling we often ask kids to share.
. I truly appreciate that the author gives children hope though the illustrations in the story.
Join in and Play by Cheri Meiners is another 5 stars book! It gives relatable and specific, almost step by step
examples and clear illustrations of HOW kids can join in and play with friends. I gifted this to everyone of my children’s teacher last year as part of the teacher’s first day of school gift and I plan to do the same with this book next year!
I say “ditto” to Nini’s comment above… I wish we could make them duplicate whenever they are shared! Favorites are the Calm Down Time, Hands are not for HItting, Teeth are not for Biting, and Taking the Grrr out of Anger!
I use the Weird series to asst my primary aged students in understanding peer mistreatment and all the nuances that go with the three positions: victim, by stander and bully.
I love the Weird series and so do my fourth graders. I use all three books annually.
As a Gifted and Talented Early Childhood/Primary Grade Teacher the book: Teaching Gifted Children in Today’s Preschool and Primary Classrooms is not only my “go-to” it is my “must have”. The usefulness of this book and its contents are beyond critical. I enjoy the behavior checklists broken down by academics, social/emotional and milestones. The content is presented in a way that GT teachers at this grade level can use it as a reference tool for conferences, grading/reporting, and grade level discussions along with everyday use within planning. I highly recommend this text!
I enjoy reading the Free Spirit’s monthly e-newsletter with the practical tips, free downloads, and special offers.
I have been using “Mindful Classrooms” and “Mindfulness in a Jar” with the students that I work with in our Reset Room (where students come when they are dysregulated and/or exhibiting escalated behaviors) in our Pre-K through Grade 4 public school. I am thrilled with the effective and easily-implemented suggestions in these two products…and the students seem to really benefit from, and enjoy, using them! My plan is to introduce the products to all of our classroom teachers so that they can be used school-wide next year. THANK YOU for the wonderful products!!
I love Free Spirit books and email updates. It helps me to stay engaged and aware of upcoming issues and the materials that are available to me.
I’ve used the 3 book series by Erin Frankel, “Weird,” “Dare,” and “Tough” in a small group of 4th grade girls. This series looks at bullying behaviors from three different perspectives, the target of bullying, a bystander and the person who bullies. The students went away with an understanding of bullying behaviors and what they can do about them.
I love the Elizabeth Verdick series for toddlers. My favorite is Teeth are Not for Biting which is 5 stars for me. Not only is it simple and colorful, I love the teacher and parent tips in the back. I love that Free Spirit has a section for infant and toddlers, which is a category that sadly gets overlooked at times.
I use End Peer Cruelty and Build Empathy, full of resources. 4 stars
Love the SEL resources, especially the Think Twice and Choices jars – I also like the What You Stand for materials!
I am a school psychologist and I rate my free spirit books very highly I have the entire collection of everyday feelings and learning to get along series. I recommend them to many parents and also use them for my own child. Excellent books that are highly needed.
The webinar Understanding and Supporting Students with Mental Health and Learning Disorders was one of the best I have attended. It highlighted the different aspects of learning disorders and how to identify and address them. It was so important to hear the mental health issues that go along with LDs so often. I give the webinar 4 stars, not for what was presented, but only because there wasn’t time to go into more of the practical ideas and get more questions answered.
I am a school counselor and I often use No Kidding About Bullying to create classroom and small group counseling lessons focused on Conflict Resolution, Bullying Prevention, Empathy, Emotion Regulation and others. I especially appreciate the resources on Upstanders, as I teach and Everyday Hero unit (which focuses on being an upstander) every October for Bullying Prevention Month. The lessons are ready-to-use and work well in upper elementary. 5 stars!
I ordered Teach for Attention and had a group of teachers review it. I plan on ordering it for all teachers. It is teacher-friendly and reminds teachers of all the little tricks they can use to help struggling kids.
Just read “Teeth are Not for Biting” with two kiddos who are learning to express themselves and possibly dealing with some sensory issues. The 3-year-old listened intently and said “bad” or “timeout” when the child got bit in the story. The 2-year-old said “no.” The books are written so children can understand and learn from examples. Wish we had the entire set here at the center.
I am currently reading “A Practical Guide to Mental Health & Learning Disorders for Every Educator” and am loving it. Five stars! I can’t wait to share this book with the staff I work with.
Recently I used “From A to Z with Energy.” The students and I both loved all the movement and learning that took place. I would rate it a 5-star book and I recommend it to anyone working with young students.
I work with young adults on the Autism Spectrum and find the discussion starters in a jar, as Attitude in a Jar – 101 Positive Attitudes, are thought provoking and conversation promoting.
I would rate them 5 stars. :~)
Loved both Hands are Not for Hitting as well as the Survival Guide for Kids with Behavior Challenges. 5 Stars each! As both a teacher and parent of a child on the autism spectrum, would highly recommend.
I LOVE Mindful Classrooms! I have so, so many students that struggle emotionally and also with sensory things. I have found this book to be incredibly helpful in implementing strategies to reach all of my students and help them to better succeed academically. Highly recommend! Definitely 5 stars!
I work in a public school and my absolute favorite resource is the following book: https://www.freespirit.com/gifted-and-special-education/practical-guide-to-mental-health-and-learning-disorders-for-every-educator-myles-cooley
I use this book to provide information about different mental health disorders and help me and my team come up with strategies that we can use in the classroom. This book has been so useful and eye-opening in my current practice.
This past school year, I purchased the book Create a Culture of Kindness in Middle School by Naomi Drew and Christa Tinari. I had a chance to use several activities from this book for a school-wide “behavior bootcamp” we organized this past spring. The activities were easy to use/modify and are relevant for today’s youth. My students enjoyed the day and I got lots of good feedback from students on the activities. I would rate this book 5 stars.
I’ve been relying on Free Spirit’s books since my son was a toddler. He’s now a middle-schooler and we’ve expanded our library again. The information is reliable and presented in a way that appeals to kids. Thank you! You’ve made parenting through the hard times much easier!
I’m an art teacher that runs an afternoon STEAM Club for our school and adding a MINDFULNESS MONDAY club next year….we had over 200 members (2/3 or our school) stay back for our club.
I can’t leave a comment on your awesome products because I spend all my extra money on the children in our TItle I school. I would love to purchase all your mindfulness products https://www.freespirit.com/series/everyday-mindfulness/
I just bought How (and Why) to Get Students Talking! As a school counselor, this is going to be an amazing resource for me in the years to come!
I recently purchased, “How to take the ache out of Mistakes.” It looked like a great book I could utilize at work (school). I brought it home with me to review before I used it at work (I’m a School Counselor) and my son started reading it. I haven’t gotten it back yet! When I ordered the book, it was discounted and free shipping. I really appreciated the great deal.
I use free spirit books for my Change your mindset group. I love these books.
I love the Zach books with the printouts. The Frustration Triangle, the Four-part Apology, etc. I need to collect them all. Excellent for my second graders. I also just bought the Happy/Sad book and that’s a great one too! I give these books 5 stars!
I lend out my Free Spirit books and they don’t always get returned! I could use more, please.