Shannon Olsen

I read Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen to my students on the first day of school, and it was the perfect way to start the year. The message about creating a caring, supportive classroom community really hit home—for me and for my kids. The illustrations are sweet and engaging, and the language is simple but meaningful.

It opened the door to great discussions about kindness, respect, and what it means to be part of a classroom "family." Several students referred back to it later in show more the week, which told me it truly stuck with them.

This is a book I’ll read every first day from now on. A must-have for elementary teachers! show less

book for primary students. Great book for inclusive classrooms talks and teaching. Great for discussing with kids how at school we all come from different backgrounds to learn together and grow together. This book talks about both of these things and has great illustrations of kids off all backgrounds, and abilities. This book also recognizes most faculty at a school.

Our Class is a Family: Shannon Olsen
This book is great to remind children that a family can be seen in many different ways and doesn't only have to be the people you are related to. It is helpful to have children better understand that not all children live with the same people or have the same lifestyles. It helps children see that the students in their class can be family to them. Also that the students and classroom can be a safe place for them. This book shows that it is important to show more treat everyone equally, with kindness, and have respect for your classmates. I think this book would be great to read to children of all ages because every age group would understand it and have different views on it. show less

This book shows that family doesn’t have to be just at home. It can be in places like school and in the classroom. Many people in school like teachers, office workers, janitors, etc, can contribute to the school family. This book is inclusive of disabilities, skin color, gender, etc. I think books like these are very important to show in a classroom setting so students can learn to be diverse and learn about their classmates as well. I think this book would be a powerful read aloud to show more elementary level students to teach diversity and how they should treat people in schools. show less