Happy new year and welcome to 2024! This year, GORUCK Tribe Kids' overarching theme is BELIEVE. In January, we are learning about how we can better support children in their journey toward self-efficacy. Both of our books this month are about characters who explore, discover, and believe that they are capable of great things. By reading these stories, children will encounter examples of people who believed in their missions and chased after elusive goals; they built their self-efficacy in their fields step by step.

BOOKS

• 8 & UNDER // The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish By: Chloe Savage
• 8 & OLDER // Across the Desert By: Dusti Bowling

WORKSHEETS

• 8 & UNDER // DOWNLOAD PDF
• 8 & OLDER // DOWNLOAD PDF

Welcome to February! This month, our theme is COLLABORATE. Teaching kids the skill of collaboration lays the foundation for a life of working well with others. Because much of our life lends itself to being able to brainstorm and work with other people, it is important that we begin scaffolding this skill early in a child's life. Allowing very young children to help with daily tasks around the house and at school is a great place to start teaching this skill. In addition to being helpers, you can ask children's opinions on how they will do these things to get them thinking about different scenarios in which they can lend a hand, and how they can get others to chip in as well. Knowing how to collaborate gives children more agency, or the ability to make good choices, in their own lives. As children get older, they can begin to extend this skill into problem-solving and decision-making. Eventually, children and teens can utilize their knowledge to collaborate with other groups, adults, and community members to solve bigger problems or execute projects on a larger scale.

BOOKS

• 8 & UNDER // Change Sings By: Amanda Gorman and Loren Long
• 8 & OLDER // Moraline By:Cintia Alfonso Fior

WORKSHEETS

• 8 & UNDER // DOWNLOAD PDF
• 8 & OLDER // DOWNLOAD PDF

Welcome to March and Happy Global Day of Unplugging! Since 2009, from March 1-2 sundown to sundown the world has been celebrating taking time to step away from screens. As such, this month our Tribe Kids theme is UNPLUG. Did you know that according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, "...kids ages 8-18 now spend, on average...7.5 hours in front of a screen for entertainment each day, 4.5 of which are spent watching TV?" Unfortunately, all of this time spent on a screen is limiting children's time engaging with real humans, with nature, and in doing other extracurricular activities like sports. The National Library of Medicine says that, "Screens can improve education and learning; however, too much time spent in front of a screen and multitasking with other media has been related to worse executive functioning and academic performance."

BOOKS

• 8 & UNDER // If you give a Mouse an iPhone By: Ann Droyd
• 8 & OLDER // Unplugged By: Gordon Korman

WORKSHEETS

• 8 & UNDER // DOWNLOAD PDF
• 8 & OLDER // DOWNLOAD PDF

It is April and the Tribe Kids theme is PROTECT. In honor of a friend of the community, Miles Del Castillo, who would have been 5 years old this year, we are learning about an animal that represents him, the bee! Bees are small, yet mighty. According to the Woodland Trust , "Bees pollinate our wild trees and wildflowers, which then support other insects, which then support birds, bats, mammals and everything up the food chain with food and shelter." They are such an integral part of our world, and so efficient at doing their job, that if bees did not exist, our ecosystem could collapse.

Explaining to our children how important bees are, regardless of their seemingly small size, gives them perspective on all living things and their importance to our planet. Teaching children about our ecosystem through the lens of bees helps them understand that protecting even the smallest of beings can make our world a better place.

BOOKS

• 8 & UNDER // Give Bees a Chance By: Bethany Barton
• 8 & OLDER // The Last Beekeeper By: Pablo Cartaya

WORKSHEETS

• 8 & UNDER // DOWNLOAD PDF
• 8 & OLDER // DOWNLOAD PDF

It is May and the Tribe Kids theme is REMEMBER. This month, we commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day during World War Two by learning about the American Indian Code Talkers. Though American Indians from many tribes served, we are specifically learning about the Navajo Code Talkers. Framing history for children by telling the stories of those who served gives them a unique perspective on what transpired. By sharing the story of the Navajo Code Talkers, children can understand how important our uniqueness is, as individuals. If the Navajo language wasn't so beautifully complex, the Allies would not have had the ability to communicate without others being able to crack an easier code. The world is better BECAUSE OF our differences and because of the Navajo Code Talkers and all American Indians who served.

BOOKS

• 8 & UNDER // The Unbreakable Code By: Sarah Hoagland and Julia Miner
• 8 & OLDER // Who Were the Navajo Code Talkers? By: James Buckley Jr. and Gregory Copeland

WORKSHEETS

• 8 & UNDER // DOWNLOAD PDF
• 8 & OLDER // DOWNLOAD PDF

It is June and the Tribe Kids theme is LEAD. This month, we continue to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day (June 6) by instilling a sense of responsibility and confidence, through leadership, in our children. The truth is, children are our future. In order to prevent the dark days that were WWII from happening again, everyday we must teach our children the skills, and build characteristics, that will allow them to be the leaders of tomorrow. This can start as early as infancy and we as adults have the power to shape children's lives for the better. In order to help your children lead, you can model leadership through your own actions. Your children's eyes are upon you, so setting an example in all that you do is important. In addition to setting an example, encouraging children in everyday tasks and asking them questions to build their problem-solving capacity is another small way that you can boost their confidence and give them the skills to lead in the future. Every small thing you do to help your child grow is important.

BOOKS

• 8 & UNDER // Be a Maker By: Katey Howes and Elizabet Vukovic
• 8 & OLDER // Making a Difference: An Inspirational Book about Kids Changing the World By: Stacy C. Bauer and Emanuela Ntamack

WORKSHEETS

• 8 & UNDER // DOWNLOAD PDF
• 8 & OLDER // DOWNLOAD PDF

It is July and the Tribe Kids theme is AMAZE. Children can do amazing things with the right plan, knowledge, and support. The truth is, setting long-term goals helps children develop perseverance through challenges, optimism about the future, and patience. Positive outcomes abound when children create and set goals of their own choosing, research reports. In allowing children to dream and to become architects of something they will not achieve until farther into the future, you are scaffolding a skill that will serve them their entire lives. Explore what is possible with your child by reading about the amazing things that other children have achieved. Allow them to set their own goals, then help them craft a road map to get there. Enjoy the journey with them as they learn how to do something that is really hard. You won't be disappointed!

BOOKS

• 8 & UNDER // Two At the Top: A Shared Dream of Everest By: Uma Krishnaswami and Christopher Corr
• 8 & OLDER // No Summit Out of Sight: The True Story of the Youngest Person to Climb the Seven Summits By: Jordan Romero and Linda Leblanc

WORKSHEETS

• 8 & UNDER // DOWNLOAD PDF
• 8 & OLDER // DOWNLOAD PDF

It is August and our Tribe Kids theme is ENCHANT. Many cultures are full of myths and legends that explain things unknown and unseen. This month our children get a chance to read about a legend and an incredible animal that becomes a superhero. As parents, teachers, and caretakers of children, it is important to allow children to be enthralled by, and interested in stories, myths and legends so that they can exercise their imaginations. It is ok for children to believe in things unseen, after all if adults only believed in things that they could see with their eyes and hold in their hands, many things that we believe in would no longer exist in our minds. This month, give your children the gift of things unseen and have a great time flexing your imagination along with them.

BOOKS

• 8 & UNDER // El Chupacabras By: Adam Rubin and Crash McCreery
• 8 & OLDER // Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures By: Kate DiCamillo

WORKSHEETS

• 8 & UNDER // DOWNLOAD PDF
• 8 & OLDER // DOWNLOAD PDF

It is September and our Tribe Kids theme is QUESTION. Teaching kids to ask in-depth questions about topics they are curious about enables them to be good researchers. By asking a lot of questions and trying to use all of the tools they can in order to find the answers, they learn more lessons than just digesting information that others give to them. Research shows that questioning things improves children's cognitive development by creating more synaptic connections in their brains related to the given topic. Modeling the way to ask questions with younger children helps them think through processes and allows them to copy the way grown-ups construct questions so that they themselves can do it more effectively over time.

BOOKS

• 8 & UNDER // The Man Who Walked Between the Towers By: Mordicai Gerstein
• 8 & OLDER // Hope and Other Punch Lines By: Julie Buxbaum (Ages 11+ mature)

WORKSHEETS

• 8 & UNDER // DOWNLOAD PDF
• 8 & OLDER // DOWNLOAD PDF

It is October and our Tribe Kids theme is BEWITCH. Our focus this month is the "good" type of bewitching; we explain to our children that feeling enchanted or delighted makes us happier. When we share stories that have bewitched us, or made us happy, those stories can make others feel happy too! The act of retelling a story helps our children comprehend a story better, remember the details, and also recall the feelings they had when they read it or had it read to them. Not only are our children practicing literacy skills by retelling a story, they are also sharing the joy they felt when they heard the story, with others and spreading the love. Encourage your children to bewitch a friend in a good way by sharing a story that delighted them.

BOOKS

• 8 & UNDER // The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale By: Jon Klassen
• 8 & OLDER // Coraline By: Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean

WORKSHEETS

• 8 & UNDER // DOWNLOAD PDF
• 8 & OLDER // DOWNLOAD PDF

It is November and our Tribe Kids theme is LISTEN. Listening is one of the hardest skills to perfect, both for adults and for children, but when you get the hang of it the rewards are endless! Listening to our friends, our family members, and the people around us gives us an abundance of information that we may not have gotten had we been talking more than listening. This is true in nature too! Unplug and listen to the glorious sounds that nature provides. You can do this by rucking or just sitting outside and relaxing in silence. This month, see what secrets you can uncover by simply listening.

BOOKS

• 8 & UNDER // 52 - A Tale of Lonliness By: Johnny DePalma and Kyle Brown
• 8 & OLDER // The Wild Robot By: Peter Brown

WORKSHEETS

• 8 & UNDER // DOWNLOAD PDF
• 8 & OLDER // DOWNLOAD PDF

It is December and our Tribe Kids theme is TEACH. Teaching someone is one of the best ways to learn, it turns out! When we teach others we are making new connections in our brains and reinforcing concepts that we already know, which makes those ideas stick with us longer. While you are teaching something, if you engage more of your body, like doing movements that match the concepts you are teaching, science tells us that those ideas will become more strongly encoded in your brain. Go ahead, TEACH something and see how much clearer that idea is in your mind! 

BOOKS

• 8 & UNDER // Noticing By: Kobi Yamada
• 8 & OLDER // Show Me a Sign By: Ann Clare LeZotte

WORKSHEETS

• 8 & UNDER // DOWNLOAD PDF
• 8 & OLDER // DOWNLOAD PDF