Friday Reconnect - Week Two!

By Chloe Grant & Oliver Perry, Read to Them Staff

Happy Friday everyone! Today we’re finishing our second week of Fenway & Hattie! As we head off into the weekend we leave Fenway in a bit of a tough spot. He’s having some trouble adjusting to his new home, and is facing some uncertainty in his relationship with Hattie. His efforts to reconnect with his pal are getting lost in translation which leads him to be trapped behind the gate!

While Fenway is stuck in a room all by his lonesome, it made us wonder about how we can express our emotions in times of stress. Fenway wants so desperately to escape this room and to give all of his love to Hattie, but from Hattie’s perspective, Fenway is having some behavioral issues. Although our characters in this book can’t communicate with each other directly, we thought this situation would be a great opportunity for us to work on how we communicate! Sometimes our overarching emotions can’t fully articulate why we’re feeling the way we are. When this happens it can be helpful to think about how we’re feeling and figure out what’s causing it, so that we can decide what to do next. In today’s activity we’ll do just that!

Think about the big emotions we often feel: happy, sad, angry, excited! Pick one and think of a time you felt that way. Then try to remember what brought about that emotion, and name a few more specific feelings or thoughts that occurred in that moment. Once you get to the root of how you were feeling, write about how understanding your emotions more specifically can help to identify what you were truly feeling, rather than the general big emotion you originally thought of. Use this process in the future when your emotions get overwhelming and see if you can get to the bottom of how you’re feeling. Once you do, use that information to help you choose how to communicate what you’re feeling!

Or, if you’re looking for something to help wrap up your week of reading, check out these writing prompts:

• In our reading for this week, we are introduced to several new dogs, including Lance and Sadie. Come up with a new dog to add to the group. What kind of dog is it? What is their name? What do they look like, sound like, act like? Write a few sentences about your new dog.

• In Chapter 10, Fenway has The Best Meal Ever! What is your Best Meal Ever? What kind of food is it, and who makes it? When do you have the Best Meal Ever? What makes it so delicious? After writing a few sentences about your meal, draw a picture of it!

• Fenway and Hattie seem to have a bit of miscommunication going on. Fenway thinks one thing, and Hattie thinks the other! Can you define miscommunication? Once you do, write about a time you’ve experienced miscommunication. Who was it with, and what happened? How did you get through this miscommunication?

• Fenway is quite jealous of Hattie spending time with Angel. Can you define jealousy? Have you ever gotten jealous, or known someone to be jealous? Write a few sentences about a time you’ve experienced jealousy, and what we can do to avoid getting jealous.

• On an average day, Fenway is playing chase or fetch, Hattie is climbing a tree, and Angel is playing catch. Write about what kind of activity you engage in on an average day? Is it a sport, reading, writing, drawing, video games, or something else? Write about your average day activity, and what you like most about it.

We hope you have a safe & spooky weekend! We’ll see you next week for the rest of Fenway & Hattie by Victoria J. Coe.

Stay kind!