One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey

It has been ages since I’ve written a post for Boy Mama Teacher Mama — life this year was a little hectic, to say the least! But summer is finally here, I have a bit more time, and I have the most amazing book to share with you today!

My mom loves children’s literature just as much as I do and is always on the lookout for wonderful books to share with my first graders. A few weeks ago a package arrived from her, and inside was one of the most beautiful and meaningful books I have seen in quite a long time.

About the Book

One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey by Henry Cole

“From a tall tree growing in the forest to the checkout counter at a grocery store, one little bag finds its way into the hands of a young boy on the eve of his very first day of school. And so begins an incredible journey of one little bag that is used — and reused — and reused again

In a three-generation family, the bag becomes a transporter of objects and a keeper of precious memories. And when Grandfather comes to the end of his life, the family finds a beautiful and meaningful new way for their battered but much-loved little bag to continue its journey in the circle of life.” (Amazon)

This book is absolutely stunning — both in its message and its illustrations. I cannot recommend it highly enough!

Before the Big Day

After reading this book, I knew immediately that I had to find a way to use it in my classroom before the school year ended — I had about 4 days to make it happen! I decided to lean into the book’s memories theme as we wrapped up our year together. Here is how I prepared:

I purchased brown paper lunch bags and added a heart to each one — just like in the book!
I wrote a special poem to go with the bag, printed it out, and glued it onto each bag
I wrote one of my favorite personal memories for each student from our year together
I completed the My Favorite Memory: An End of the School Year Writing Activity activity with my whole class

The Big Day

Finally, the day arrived! I gathered my students together and read One Little Bag aloud. They were absolutely mesmerized by the story, the stunning illustrations, and the tiny details hidden throughout the pages. Many details I hadn’t even noticed myself, but my students were quick to point them out!

After the reading, we had a beautiful conversation about memories and how people collect them. We talked about how the boy in the book collected memories in so many different ways throughout the story — the hearts, the graffiti, the homework assignments, the photos, the treasures collected with Grandpa — and how they all centered around that one little bag.

We then talked about the memories WE had collected together throughout our school year. I gave each student their own bag with the personal memory I had written for them, the memory they had written earlier in the week, and I read them the poem I had written just for them.

The Challenge

I challenged my students to use their memory bag over and over again — to continue filling it with memories from home, from school, and from all the amazing places life will take them. And just like the bag in the book, we wrote on them too — every student signed each other’s bag, just like signing a yearbook at the end of the school year.

After this activity was done, bags were signed and put into backpacks to take home. I was delighted to hear my students’ responses–

“I am going to use this to take my lunch to camp every day this summer!“

“I am adding hearts for my mom, my dad, and my baby brother.”

“I will put seashells in it from my trip to Hawaii this summer.”

But my absolute favorite response came from a parent who told me that the very first thing her daughter did when she got home on the last day of school was hang her little paper bag — with its heart and her special memory — on the wall right beside her bed.

This was the most perfect and unexpected way to end our school year. I cannot wait until fall when my students return to start second grade, and I get to hear all of their stories about their very own One Little Bag.