Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Lesson Plan for the book and movie)

     No such thing as a bad day?  Doubtful.

     I guarantee you that everyone has been there.  We've all had bad days.  No, no.  Not just bad days.  Horrendous, awful, don't want to remember days.  The days where everything goes wrong.  I have them at least once month.  But once it's over, I look back and laugh at it.  And I definitely value my good days so much more.
     That is why one of my favorite movies is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

I seriously love this movie!  I loved the book as a child.  It is a classic and I highly recommend all children to read this one.

     I was so excited when I heard about the movie.  We bought it when it first came out and so far, my kids and I have watched it once a week.  It is hilarious!  I laugh out loud every time.
     Alexander is an 11 year old boy who has terrible days all the time, while the rest of his family has awesome days.  But Alexander gets fed up and wishes that for just one day, his family could understand what it's like to have a very bad day.  And as they say, be careful what you wish for. ;)

     The sweet message the movie delivers is that bad days are there for a reason.  They allow us to learn and progress.  Alexander learns that we have to have the bad days in order to appreciate the good ones.  And even when we do have bad days, they are so much easier to endure when we have a strong supportive and loving family by our side.  The movie is touching, memorable, and 100% right on.
     Since my kids enjoy both the book and the movie, I decided to do a lesson plan based on them.  The following resources are available and make up a fun week on the book and movie.

Picture Book


YouTube Video
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

The Movie


Worksheets
- Alexander Activity Pages
- Alexander Writing Project
- Alexander Events Sequencing Activity
- Alexander Cause & Effect Printable
- Compare & Contrast Vend Diagram (We used this one to compare and contrast the book and the movie.)

     My kids really enjoyed this lesson plan.  My favorite part was that at the end of the week, Marley asked me, "Mommy, can we have a terrible, very bad day today?" Haha!
     I am grateful that even in the middle of a terrible day, I have fleeting seconds of happiness.  When I'm cleaning my toddler sitting in globs of yogurt, or when I'm wishing for a shower because I haven't had time to brush my hair and put on makeup, or when I'm changing a nasty blowout diaper... I look down at my babies or look up at my husband and catch them smiling at me with unconditional love.  I get a couple seconds of absolute bliss and remember that "even terrible days aren't so bad, when you're surrounded by the people you love."