Second graders ask "What is the best part of me?" at The Learning Community, a public school in Central Falls, RI. www.thelearningcommunity.com

1. The Best Part of Me

3. Jaquelin The best part of me is my hair. I love my hair because it’s dark brown and long and feels good when my ponytail swings. I feel proud.

6. Dalyner The best part of me is my face because when my Mom looks at it she says it makes her smile. Everybody says, “Hi Cutie!”

9. Ruben The best part of me is my brain because if I didn’t have a brain, I wouldn’t know what to do. My brain is special to me.

12. Jovany The best part of me is my feet because they help me play basketball. I can jump high and land on them.

15. Niya The best parts of me are my eyebrows and my nose because when I move my nose my eyebrows go up too!

18. Walter The best part of me is my arms. I love my arms because they help me swing in baseball. “Homerun!”

21. Jordy The best part of me is my hands because they help me play football and do Science.

24. Patricia The best part of me is my hair. I love my hair because of the way it moves and it’s short.

27. Elisha The best part of me is my hands because I like to make pictures for my family, friends and my teachers, too.

30. Nehemias The best part of me is my hair. I love my hair because of the way it moves and it’s short.

33. Michelle The best part of me are my hands and my legs because they help me climb and catch. They help me run. Walk, skip and jump rope.

36. Christian The best part of me is my hands because they are quick and fast and I like to play with my toys.

39. Manuela The best part of me is my ears. I love my ears because they help me to hear music and birds.

42. Jolie The best part of me is my hands because they help me pray, they help me hold things, and they help me almost all the time.

45. Mashyra The best part of me is my cheeks. I love my cheeks because they are smooth and I can play with them.

48. Rodrigo The best part of me is my arms. My arms are great because they help me tackle.

51. Esterlyn The best parts of me are my legs and my arms because they help me climb trees and mountains. I can go hiking and climb the space ball.

54. Yacine The best part of me is my feet because they help me run and kick and play soccer and basketball too.

57. Lesley The best parts of me are my eyes. My mom says they look like a rainbow.

60. Zion The best parts of me are my legs and hands because they help me to play and move and to climb up the spaceball.

62. The Best Part of Me As part of our classroom community building in September we read The Best Part of Me: Children Talk about Their Bodies in Pictures and in Words by Wendy Ewald. We talked about what we like about ourselves. We discussed that sometimes we compare ourselves to other people and focus too much on what we want to change. Sometimes we think, “I wish my legs were taller” instead of noticing our unique strengths. After our conversation, we picked a part of our bodies that made us feel proud and we wrote why we felt that way. We hope you are inspired to ask yourself “What is the best part of me?” - Leslie Richardson’s Second Grade Class