My Best Friend - Fun with Henry and Mudge!

Best friends are one of a kind! It doesn't matter how old you are, a good friend is a treasure worth more than gold! We were made and wired for friendship and community. No one likes being alone or left out. I think that is why my first graders love asking, "So who is your best friend?" to each other. Of course we all talk about the importance of being a team and treating each friend in our class with respect, but there is no denying that we each long for a best friend. We want that one special person to have adventures with, know will be there for us in the good times and hard times, and just to enjoy doing life with! I think that is part of the reason that our hearts are drawn to stories of friendship! And if you have a story about friendship and a dog, by george you can't beat that! First graders LOVE pets--dogs especially, so it is no wonder that the Henry and Mudge series is such a hit!

Isn't he just so darn cute!! Little side note, I had to search long and hard for a Mudge stuffed animal! I'm talking hours of internet time my friends. Apparently English Mastiffs (the type of dog that Mudge is) isn't a popular toy choice unless you want to pay $60+ from a special online toy store. Thanks, but no thanks. SO, I was so pumped to find this Mudge look alike stuffed animal on Amazon for a much more affordable price! No piggy banks broken for this one! Click HERE or on the picture below to snag one for yourself!

I love exposing my students to great series, because when they get hooked on the first book:

Click HERE are on the book to grab a copy for under $4! or there is value pack of the first 6 books for $12 HERE! #bargaingirl

There are LOTS more for them to keep reading!! 

And getting to students hooked on reading is right up my alley! :)

Which is also why I LOVE sending my students home with Literature bags!! What a great way to get students excited about reading and writing at home! I had many requests for a Henry and Mudge take-home bag and decided to focus this bag around one of the main themes in the series: friendship!

Can you imagine how excited your kids will be when they hear that Mudge wants to go home with them and be their new best friend?! #bestillmyheart

After reading the book, you can read this letter to your students from Mudge:

It explains how important friendship is and how Mudge wants to not only learn about their best friend but also become their new best friend! Students will get to write in the journal about their best friend on one page and about their new best friend, Mudge, on the second page:

Students can draw or glue in pictures, list qualities/characteristics of what makes a good friend, write an opinion about if Mudge is a good friend, and write about their old (current best friend) and new (Mudge) best friends!

Students get to take this journal home, along with Mudge (either used a stuffed animal or send the a laminated version of printed Mudge included in my packet) and I like to throw in a copy of the book too for them to read with their family in this bag or you could include multiple Henry and Mudge books for them to choose. You could use any bag but I just use the $0.50 reusable bags from Wal-Mart! Told ya I was a bargain girl! I buy these babies in bulk and use them for everything! :)

Students bring everything back the next day (or two...) and share their journal pages with the class! What a great listening and speaking activity! Then the highly anticipated part comes when they reach into a bag with name cards and pick the next student who will get to take Mudge home (with drum rolls, of course!):

Some of the best authors can be found right in our own classroom, so when everyone has had a turn with Mudge, I LOVE putting the completed journal into our classroom library! And the students LOVE reading each others pages too!

If you would like to add this fun "My Best Friend" Literature Take-Home Bag to your friendship unit, Cynthia Rylant study, or classroom activities, I have put everything in a packet for you!

Altogether this packet includes:

-Instructions on making and using the take-home bag

-Journal Cover (in color & black and white)

-Instruction Letter from Mudge (in color & black and white)

-Journal Pages

-name cards (for choosing a student each day-in color & black and white)

-a printable Mudge (incase you don't have a stuffed animal dog-in color & black and white)

AND I'm putting it on sale for the next 24 hours!!

If you are looking for other Literature Take-Home Bags, you can check out these two in my store by clicking on the pictures:

What is your favorite series to introduce your students to? I'd love to hear!!