Julie & Bucky Educator Resources: Lesson Plans and Classroom Activities

Free teaching resources for ages 3 and up, with preschool activities and kindergarten to grade 2 extensions. Explore friendship, kindness, friendly competition, winning and losing, and not giving up through Julie & Bucky and the Big Dream Race.

Free printable downloads

Teacher edition and classroom guide: 24-page PDF

Classroom activity booklet: 20-page PDF

Be a Kind Friend: printable classroom poster. Invite. Listen. Help. There is room for you.

Play Fair. Care Always.: printable classroom poster. Win or lose, be kind. Take turns. Cheer each other on.

Keep Trying!: printable classroom poster. Little steps. Big dreams. Ask for help. Take a break. Try again.

Six classroom lesson plans

1. A place for every friend

Children practice one way to invite someone to join and one way to respect a friend's answer. A friend listens, makes room, and cares. We can invite someone to play. They can say yes, no, or later. Suggested time: 20 minutes.

2. Kindness has many voices

Children identify a possible feeling and choose a helpful action without assuming everyone feels the same. Being kind means caring about people. We can ask, Are you okay? We can help, listen, or give someone space. Suggested time: 20 minutes.

3. Play fair, cheer together

Children follow one agreed game rule, take turns with support, and use an encouraging phrase. We can try our best and care about others. Fair play means knowing the rules, taking turns, and keeping everyone safe. Suggested time: 25 minutes.

4. Big feelings, kind choices

Children identify disappointment as an acceptable feeling and rehearse one calming or help-seeking response after a game. It is okay to feel glad, proud, sad, or disappointed. Winning or losing does not change how much we matter. We can have big feelings and use safe actions. Suggested time: 20 minutes.

5. Little steps, big dreams

Children try a manageable challenge and identify a next step: help, rest, practice, or a different strategy. Not giving up can mean trying a little step, asking for help, taking a break, and coming back. We can change our plan. Suggested time: 25 minutes.

6. The journey we share

Children retell a beginning, middle, and ending with support and connect a story theme to one real-life choice. A story can help us think about our own choices. We can be a friend, play kindly, and keep learning, wherever we finish. Suggested time: 25 minutes.

Bulk books for classrooms

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Learning for everyone

Adults read prompts aloud. Children may speak, point, draw, act, use AAC, or dictate. Writing is optional. Offer seated play, familiar home-language words, quiet space, and adult support. Kindness includes boundaries; perseverance includes help, rest, and stopping unsafe tasks.

The teacher edition is a teaching companion to the picture book, which is sold separately. It does not reproduce the complete story. Print companion resources for your classroom or home and keep the Julie & Bucky attribution.