My Hair Is a Garden

How to Teach This Book

Hairstyles and how hair is cared for and adorned can convey powerful messages about a person’s identity, beliefs, and lifestyle. How you wear your hair can tell a lot about you as a person—and there are a lot of different ways to wear your hair! It’s important to celebrate one another for those differences and appreciate the person for who they are whether they have straight hair, curly hair, wear a hijab, or dreadlocks. Invite local hairstylists and barbers with experience with all types of hair to read My Hair Is a Garden and related titles then discuss with students how to care for different types of hair. Celebrate everyone’s hair with:

• photographs of the diverse hairstyles in your class/school made into a collage
• a book created by students that defines and illustrates the hairstyles worn in your school/community
• a Wacky Hair Day that encourages students to express themselves creatively.

Questions for Discussion or Reflective Writing

1. What do you find beautiful?
2. Mack wants to get better at taking care of her hair. What is one thing you would like to get better at? Share your plan and timeframe for doing it.
3. What does it mean to be a neighbor? Share ideas for things people can do to get to know each other.
4. Have you or anyone you know ever experienced bullying based on how you look?

Additional Resources for Teaching Self Esteem

• BrainPOP Education Resources for Hair
• Caring for Hair lesson plan from Teaching Tolerance
• Read Aloud Guide for My Hair Is a Garden from Oakland READS
• Self-esteem and Body Image lesson from Health Powered Kids