May I please have a cookie

ABOUT THE BOOK
FAMILY ACTIVITIES

May I please have a cookie

Text & Illustrations : Jennifer Morris/ Translation:Muna Abu Baker / Publisher: Hakim Publishing

Alfie loves his mommy’s cookies, and he wants one more than anything! But grabbing for one, fishing for one, and dressing up as a cookie inspector don’t seem to work. His mommy says there is a better way. What is it? Beginning readers will learn proper manners with Alfie as his mommy teaches him to say the magic words.

Family Activities

This is a beautiful story in which a lovely relationship, based on conscious parenting, emerged between a mother and her child. The story smoothly deals with modelling methods for developing life skills and promoting social and emotional development, in addition to problem solving skills. Social ...

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Social skills need daily practice and mediation so that the child can acquire and internalize them; The child needs clarifications about the methods of proper communication, first in the family social context, so that he can utilize them during his social communication outside the house. This can be done by using gentle language and by explaining proper behaviour and appropriate verbal communication of children in social contexts. This language refers to the use of social vocabulary, such as “please” and “thank you,” and its use at home, so that the child can later make it accessible and use it outside the house. Social behaviours and social skills should be part of our daily practice as it takes some time to acquire them.

The book also provides us with a model to create an opportunity for our children to deal with problems, motivate them to think of solutions and support them in finding them. The skill of problem solving is an important skill, and we, as parents, must support our children in practicing it, by creating opportunities, as Alfie’s mother did when she asked him to think of a way to get the cake, and thus she motivated him to use his creativity and thinking. When he couldn't find the solution himself, she gave him a hint by modelling the desired behaviour and without underestimating the child’s attempts. And so, the child finally found the solution on his own and got the cake.

Family Activities

Let’s talk

• About the problem: in our first reading, and before we reach the solution, we should ask our child the following: the mother asked Alfie to find the solution to his problem, “How could he get the cake in a better way?” What do you suggest he should do? We can continue reading and ask our child again, what are the solutions suggested by Alfie? And what is the appropriate solution?

• About our feelings: We can trace the drawings and talk about Alfie’s feelings. We can ask our children: How did Alfie feel when he saw his mother making cakes? How did he feel when she refused to give him the cake and asked him to think of a way to get it? How did he feel when he couldn’t find the solution? How did he feel at the end of the story?

• About our attempts: Alfie tried several times and various ways to reach the solution. We can ask our children: Have you ever tried to get something or do something numerous times? How many times have you tried? When do we feel discouraged? how many trials does it take before we give up? What do we do when we are frustrated?

• About problem solving: We can have a conversation with our child about similar situations in which they must find solutions to situations or problems. We can ask them: Did you encounter a problem? what is it? How did you feel? How many times have you tried? How did you find the solution? Who helped you? If you didn't find a solution, how did you feel? How did you deal with the feeling of frustration?

• Interaction between mother and child: The mother prepares cakes for Alfie and the rest of the family. We can talk with our child about what is happening in our home: What are the things that the mother and father do for us? What are the things you like to do together?

• Life and social situations: Alfie’s mother portrayed an advanced model for dialogue and for giving and taking, by demonstrating it in her behaviour. We can have a conversation with our child about what is happening in our home. We can ask them: What happens when you do something different from what our mother or father wants? How do you behave? How would you like them to talk to you?
Let’s communicate

• We can spend quality time together with our child, preparing a cake, or preparing a communal meal.
Let’s enrich our language

• Our story contains emotional, mental, and social words, such as: to love; to desire; frustrated; thought; an idea occurred to him; an idea popped into his head; thanks; please; sorry. We should use these words in everyday context.
Let’s act and create

• We can choose different social situations, and with our children, we can familiarize ourselves with mild expressions that are appropriate for these situations. Together, we can act out the appropriate behaviour and use the appropriate social expressions - for example: a birthday party; visit to a patient; an apology; entertaining a guest; being a guest; when we need help...