Introduction

With a healthy sense of humor and a lot of heart, Jamie Lee Curtis addresses the big life questions every kid and adult must face. Why am I racing? Do some of us win and some of us lose? Shouldn’t it be that I just try my best? This book has a universal message: that there is an art to how we “race” through life, that the journey matters, that our main job as humans is to make good choices and realize that we can change the world one small step at a time.

Show-and-Tell

Use one of the classic classroom activities to teach students about self-awareness. Ask each child to bring something that is important to them to class. This can be a favorite book, a stuffed animal, a picture, etc. Then have a Show-and-Tell afternoon. Each student should explain to their classmates why the item is important to them. If your students are slightly older, ask them to think about why they chose this item and to write a paragraph about what this says about them.

Who’s Afraid?

Distribute small pieces of paper with the sentence “When I come to class, I am most afraid of _________________” to the class. Then ask each student to write one of their fears on the paper. Collect all papers, fold them, and put them into a hat or bag. Then, at random, ask each student to pick a piece of paper from the hat and explain how the person who wrote this fear might feel. What makes them feel this way? Is there something others can do to help make this fear go away?

Draw a Picture

It’s time to get creative! Ask students to draw a picture of a person with whom they would like to have a closer relationship. This can be a family member, friend, classmate, etc. Encourage students to be creative by giving them a variety of materials to use: crayons, paints, colored pencils, and glitter.