Start Somewhere

Stop Waiting for Perfect

Blogging is one (but certainly not the only) area of my life that I put off getting started because I want to be sure I do it “just right.” The scrapbook stalled several years ago… the recipe binder needing organizing… the child’s closet needing cleaning… the craft… the repair… the garden… you get the picture. Fear of mistakes is a paralyzing feeling for adults and children alike, but the truth is, there are few situations that can’t be overcome by just getting started. Errors are rarely earthshattering and can often be creatively converted to masterpieces, but they’re hard on the ego.

A Gentle Push

Sometimes what we need is someone we trust to give us a gentle push (or a swift kick) to get us going. Knowing someone believes in you helps when you’re having trouble believing in yourself. Last week I was helping in B’s kindergarten class. The classroom next door had an incubator of chicken eggs just hatching and I got to take over a few students at a time to see the chicks. When they returned to the classroom, the teacher asked them to draw what they saw. They draw people and animals and objects every day on their reading papers, but for some reason, drawing the chicks they just saw was mighty intimidating. I walked between the tables to choruses of “I don’t know how to draw a chick!” and “Can you help me?” While my first instinct was to respond with, “Just try,” I knew that wasn’t going to get them past the artistic roadblock of trying to accurately capture a newborn chick in pencil and crayon. So I appealed to their sense of humor and reminded them that they did possess some expertise:

“Well, let’s see – chicks have a body and a head, and six legs, right?” [grumpy “no”s]“Oh no? Well I know they have long tails.” [annoyed “no”s with a few giggles]“And they also have big sharp teeth I think.” [exasperated “no”s and eye rolling]

Not baby chick day art, but art,
nonetheless.

Once they had to tell me what the chicks looked like (wings, beaks, feet, eyes) drawing them wasn’t such an enormous task. Were the drawings perfect portrayals of hours-old chicks? Not really. But they were sure adorable.

Start Simple

In Peter Reynolds’ The Dot, young Vashti experiences the same art paralysis. She doesn’t know how to begin. Her encouraging teacher advises her to make any mark on the paper. In a characteristically immature move typical of an uncertain artist of any age, she jabs angrily at the paper. Rather than responding with frustration, the teacher directs her to sign her mark and proceeds to frame and display it. Inspired by her teacher’s demonstrative show of confidence, Vashti creates a whole gallery of very creative dots that become part of a school show. The teacher’s lesson is not lost on Vashti – she repeats it to a peer who is awestruck at the show. This book is a lovely story to share with your own child when he or she is feeling fearful of a new undertaking, to read for yourself when you’re stuck before you’ve started, or to give as a gift to a special teacher or inspiring person in your life. We’ll be sharing it with B’s kindergarten teacher for Teacher Appreciation Week. 

Appropriate for preschoolers, primary grades, everyone!

By the way - Teacher Appreciation Week happens to coincide with Children's Book Week this year - hoping to share lots more about the books we're enjoying as the week goes on, but if I don't get the posts up, it's because I'm "perfecting" teacher appreciation gifts - check out the LittleSproutBooks Facebook Page.

Linking up with a massive Children's Book Week Linky - hosted by Reading Confetti, among others (Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas, Smiling Like Sunshine, Carrots Are Orange, Teach Preschool, and Toddler Approved)

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Feed Me Books Friday: On Importance

Big Day, Big Things Ahead

This week we met B’s kindergarten teacher at a “meet and greet” and he officially started school the next day. On the wings of blog-reading inspiration we started a tradition last year of presenting B’s teacher with a book that serves as both back-to-school gift and introduction. The book we chose has a dual value: it creatively demonstrates some of the cognitive skills developed in kindergarten while showcasing a universal moral truth. My own classroom experience convinced me that the first day of school would be too harried for thoughtful gift-giving, so we chose to deliver it at the “meet and greet” activity.

Getting Acquainted

I am so grateful that our district continues to preserve the day-early meet and greet for the sake of 5 year-old social emotional development (and 30 something year old social emotional health). Visiting the classroom, exploring on our own terms, and having a quick conversation with the teacher made both of us rest easier the night before the official start. In addition to exploring the room, each child colored his or her own birthday candle and chose a car or shoe to color and represent their chosen method of transportation. Each child was able to pick a few books from the bin of gently used books the teacher had decided to thin from her shelves. After B showed her the books he chose, he handed her the book we brought as a gift.

Building Blocks of Reading

A little blog/wishlist/review browsing led me to discover Leo Lionni’s The Alphabet Tree. Like many of Lionni’s books, the illustrations are whimsical and the morals are evident without being heavy handed. The story opens by explaining that some letters who enjoyed sitting among the outer leaves of a tree are blown away when the wind is strong. With the help of a word bug and a very intelligent caterpillar, the letters learn to make words, and to make meaning from the words by arranging sentences. B has enjoyed a lot of alphabet play and practice this summer, so he was excited to share some of his knowledge with his teacher. She was surprised and gracious, and B swelled with pride when she chose to read it aloud to the class on their first official day!

Appropriate for preschool, primary grades

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Feed Me Books Friday: Feeling Full

And Not from Dinner… This may sound like a riddle, but it’s no joke: What do you possess that multiplies every time you give it away? The answer: love, gratitude, and joy. It reminds me of a song called the Magic Penny that lingers in my brain from somewhere in childhood:

I’m full of gratitude for the amazing people in my life and the blessings they bring. Recently B “graduated” from preschool. While “graduating” did not require a whole lot of determination or perseverance on B’s part, it is an important milestone because he feels emotionally prepared to enter kindergarten in the fall (even if I’m not). The sense of completion and accomplishment he possesses is thanks to a fantastic teacher, a caring assistant teacher, and all the committed parents that make the class successful. So how does one acknowledge such a deep sense of gratitude with a token end-of-year gift? I’ll bet you know my answer: with a book!


Be a Filler, not a Dipper

If you are not already familiar with the concept of bucket filling, you may want to check out How Full is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, or the associated strenths-based website. If you are familiar, you know that a bucket-filler is someone who uses their words or actions to make others feel good, and doing so makes the filler feel good as well. A dipper is someone who spreads negativity or unkindness. It’s one of those concepts that’s so simple it’s profound. While I think the depth of the grown-up version is worthwhile, the idea is soundly presented in picture book format by Carol McCloud in Have You Filled a Bucket Today? McCloud explains the bucket filling and dipping metaphors in terms that kids can understand and contexts they can relate to. Her message is straightforward and upbeat. It is in fact the source of whole behavior programs in schools around the country!


Fill and Be Filled

Have You Filled a Bucket Today? made a great gift for B’s teacher because it exemplifies the way she teaches and leads her life and also provided her a tool for sharing that attitude with future students. I found a printable bookplate to include, and we personalized the book by tracing B’s hand and including a photo. I designed my own card to accompany the gift, and I was so happy with it I’m going to keep a few printed and ready for acknowledging other bucket-fillers in my life – there are lots! I'm including a linke to download the card - it's a MS Publisher file. I am not yet saavy at converting to a PDF, but if you are and want to teach me, I'm happy to share it in any format that works for you!
Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades
Who fills your bucket? Have you done any bucket-filling today?

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Feed Me Books Friday: Library Appreciation Week

A Little Goes a Long Way

As a former public school teacher, and as a mom, I can attest to the fact that it only takes a few words of gratitude to make someone’s day. At our public library branch, National Library Week comes and goes without much hoopla. I have to imagine the drastic budget cuts and short-staffing don’t leave much room for celebration, but I don’t want the caring staffers who entertain, motivate, and instruct to go unnoticed. Last year, we made a poster with a short “thank-you” verse highlighted by some strategically placed candies. (If you’re interested in the full text of the verse, leave me a comment and I’ll email it to you.) This time, our project is a combination of this year’s theme (Create Your Own Story @ Your Library) and an extension of a library-themed book we recently found – where else? – at the library!

An Alphabetic Introduction:

When I came across L is for Library during one of our weekly visits, my first thought was “yikes! I hope I didn’t miss library appreciation week!” My second thought was, “If I didn’t, I’ve got to do something fun with this book!” Sonya Terry’s rhyming tour of the library functions both as a review of the letters of the alphabet and a introduction to library vocabulary for young listeners. A is for author, D is for Dewey decimal system, F is for fiction, and while the couplet on for each letter gives a brief explanation, opportunities abound for extended explanation of the vocabulary presented. The illustrations include lots of humorous details that invite close and repeated readings. While the bouncy rhymes (April is poetry month, after all) and funny illustrations are enough to keep listeners entertained, the language begs for expansion and cognitive development.
Appropriate for: Toddlers, Preschoolers, Primary Grades


Our Story:

Letters and beginning sounds are the topic of conversations, questions, and games more and more often lately. So I decided to use L is for Library as a jumping off point for our appreciation project. We are actively building our list of alphabetic words that B associates with the library and his activities there. So far, we have B is for book, F is for friends, and S is for songs, among others. My plan is to have B illustrate each word on a square of paper, then assemble the squares quilt-style for presentation to our children’s library staff. I’ll add a picture once we complete the project this weekend.


A Couple Worthwhile Links:

• Use this page from the American Library Association to find out current political issues facing libraries and how you can become involved.
  
  
• This interesting compilation of 85 reasons to be thankful for librarians is sometimes serious, sometimes tongue in cheek.
  
  1. You can find a bunch of lesson resources if you want to expand on library appreciation with your little on at home. There’s even a playlist of library songs, including: "The Story of My Feelings" by Laurie Berkner, "Tell Me Another Story" by Barney Saltzberg, "When You Start to Read" by Russ, "Go Wild - READ" by Lucas Miller, "Seven Nights to Read" by The Good Rockin' Daddies, "Hangin' Out with Heroes at the Library" and "Take Me to Your Library" by Monty Harper, "At the Library" by Hap Palmer, "Library" by Meeka and her Cool Cousins, "The Library Boogie" by Tom Knight, and "The Library" by Barney.If you’d enjoy another great library-themed book, check out my Comin’ Down to Storytime post from last year’s Love My Library link-up at Little Page Turners.
     
  
  
  Give your library a shout-out in the comments!
   
  
  
  
  
  
  

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Wrapping Up the Holidays

Two Special Traditions

I love so many things about the holidays that they always go by too quickly for me. This year, I didn’t even get my cards sent till after New Year’s and I’m still trying to plan a day for the last of my holiday baking. (At this point I think I should just put away the Christmas cookie cutters and get out the Valentine hearts!) Putting away the decorations is always a little sad and the living room always looks a little lonely for the first days after the tree is gone. We’ve adopted two traditions to make the end of the holiday season a little more bearable.

Define “Over”

For some, the tree is out on the curb the day after Christmas as they breathe sighs of relief that the radio station has returned to its regular play-list. Many continue to indulge in holiday celebrations through New Year’s, often starting the new year by cleaning up holiday messes or resolving to lose those holiday pounds. Some of us aren’t ready to bid the joy of the holidays farewell on the first, so we decided to choose a more historical date to mark the end of our season: January 6, or Epiphany. Traditionally celebrated to commemorate the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem, Epiphany is significant in the symbolism of holiday gift-giving.


A Gift from the Heart

I received a copy of The King’s Christmas List, by Eldon Johnson, to review courtesy of Booksneeze. Emma is a little girl who finds herself magically transported with her dog on a magical adventure to a birthday party for the King. They take along a Christmas cake as a present, but before they reach the party, they meet fellow travelers in need. Emma shares not only her cake, but her warm cape and her treasured teddy bear. Arriving at the party empty handed, Emma and her dog are surprised that the guests exchange gifts with one another. The King explains that while many people show their love at Christmas by giving one another gifts, some have forgotten that he, too, wishes for a gift from the heart. When Emma begins to apologize for arriving without a gift, the King reveals that the families she met along the way are in fact his angels, and that her kindness has demonstrated the true spirit of gift-giving to his people. The King proclaims that any gift to the needy is a gift to Him, and the final page of the book has suggestions for charitable gifts as well as a link to explore gift and prayer connections at TheKingsAdventure.com. The symbolism and allegory is quite transparent to the adult reader, but is potentially useful to make the cognitive concepts of charity and gift-giving more understandable for little ones. The generosity and self-sacrifice demonstrated by Emma are traits we could all learn from, but Emma makes it seem easy. The text is a little self-aware (pointing out Emma’s surprise that her dog can suddenly talk with her) but generally smooth and appropriate for preschoolers or younger elementary children. Expressions in the illustrations are cartoonish, but the details and colors are rich. I decided to revisit the book in honor of Epiphany as we talked about the gifts bestowed upon Jesus. We decided to pass on some of our good fortune and make a gift to the needy by sorting through some outgrown clothes and unused toys for a donation.


Saving a Little Christmas

Our second tradition was inspired by a book discovered at our library, The Tree that Came to Stay, by Anna Quindlen. Immediately appealing to my fondness for Christmas tree decorating, I was even more engaged by the heartwarming way the family in the story manages to hold on to the warm Christmas feelings even as they deposit the drying tree on the snowy curbside. The story begins with the family’s selection of the tree, describes careful decorating, and briefly captures the glow of Christmas morning. The emphasis of the story comes after Christmas, as the decorations are removed and each member of the family feels a twinge of sadness seeing the tree stripped down and prepared for disposal. The resourceful mother devises a way to bolster spirits and create a Christmas keepsake: she collects dried needles from the tree in a basket. Decorated with Christmas ribbons, the basket is kept all year as a fragrant reminder of their happy Christmas memories. B and I decided a basket of Christmas sounded like a brilliant idea, so we’ve already collected our needles and now just have to find a place to keep them safely out of T’s way.

I allowed myself a holiday break, but I hope I still have some faithful readers with some book suggestions to link-up and share! I’ll also be linking up at Read.Explore.Learn with JDaniel4’s mom to spread the word that Feed Me Books Friday is back and meet some new friends!

If you have ideas to make Christmas clean-up a little more fun, I’d love to hear about them!



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received The King’s Christmas List free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

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Must See Monday (November 29, 2010)

Weekends are catch-up time for me: I catch up on my writing, I catch up on my laundry, I catch up with my husband, and if I have any time left over, I catch up on all the fabulous posts that accumulate in my reader during the week. Every week I find awesome crafts, fun books, and super giveaways! Last week was my inaugural edition of Must See Monday, and this week I have more to share with you after my holiday weekend catching up! (This weekend most of my catching-up was with family and friends – chores will have to wait!)
Enjoy!
Crafts:
Welcome to our Wonderland has a Christmas Book and Activity a Day project going on. I haven’t committed to following along every day, but there are some great ideas so far and coming up!
Teach Mama has a fun advent craft/activity to make and do. We’ll be adding the activity slips to our purchased felt calendar, but you could start from scratch if you’re feeling extra crafty! Or add these ideas to one of the calendars featured at the giveaway below! (We’re still counting down with our candy-surprise calendar as well!)
The always creative Vanessa at Silly Eagle Books shared a host of ideas for gifts kids can take part in making. Not only are they personal and inexpensive, but sure to be treasured by those who love your kiddos!

Ideas/Recommendations:
Get great ideas for making gift baskets inexpensively from An Oregon Cottage. I discovered it via Feels Like Home and added it to my bookmarks – great for the holidays, or birthdays and occasions throughout the year.
This Thanksgiving made me really want to focus on gratitude throughout the year, rather than just for the holiday. I’m very intrigued by the book In Every Tiny Grain of Sand, shared by the children’s book blog at About.com.
On a similar note, I am looking for ways to foster my attitude of gratitude. The Happiness Project suggests “measuring” the things we want more or less of in our lives.


Giveaways:
At 12 Crafts till Christmas, you can enter to win do-it-yourself advent calendar kits. There are four, but my favorite is the cone garland!
Science-at-Home has a giveaway for a kids’ Collector’s Kit. There are several other great suggestions of “presents for geeks” too!
Reading to Know has a Christmas book giveaway that could score you 3 Christmas stories! I know I can never have enough!
Also from Teach Mama, a magnetic poetry giveaway! I had magnetic poetry on my fridge in college – did you? I can’t wait to try it out with my boys!


Last week’s Feed Me Books Friday is still open if you want to add a book you enjoyed over your holiday. Time to put away the Thanksgiving crafts and get ready for Christmas!Come back tomorrow for a super easy (and inexpensive) Christmas card idea!

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Apples, Apples, Everywhere

Two Apple Projects, One Apple Book, and a Gift
Between Back-to-School season and the arrival of harvest time, it seems apples are in abundance in the stores as well as the blogosphere. See in particular, Little Page Turners and Welcome to our Wonderland. B had an apple project to complete for his first day of preschool, so, inspired by all the apple reading and crafting going on in my Google reader, I pulled out a story I’d been holding on to for fall to get us in an apple-y mood.


Reading about Apples, Cooking, Geography

I am a baking hobbyist, so when I saw the title of How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, I was intrigued. The story begins with the premise that baking an apple pie is quite easy and requires just a few simple ingredients. However, an adventure ensues when the local market is closed and ingredients must be found elsewhere. The narrator advises the reader (who is represented in the illustrations by a young lady) that she should travel to Italy, Sri Lanka, and France, among other places to procure the best of each item required for baking. The last stop is Vermont for apples, followed by milling flour, churning butter, evaporating seawater for salt, and other not so simple tasks. Finally the pie is baked and ready to share with friends. A recipe for apple pie is included at the end, and maps of the journey decorate the front and back interior pages. There are so many opportunities for cognitive development in this book – following directions in a recipe, learning about food production, (wheat to flour, milk to butter, etc.) and learning about the world around us and local specialties. I’m excited to go find the sister book, How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A.!


Apple Project #1


Using the super-simple and kid friendly recipe from How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, B and I started on our pie project.

We measured and mixed the pastry (with our fingers – fun!).

Using pre-sliced organic apples from Costco was a shortcut – I peeled the slices, then he used his plastic “knife” to chop them into bite size pieces before mixing with cinnamon-sugar.

The pie was filled and baked, and we shared it with our friends: Grandma, Papa, and Great-Grandma (on grandparents’ day)!


Apple Project #2


Feeling apple-y, we moved on to our second apple project, which was to be completed prior to B’s first day of preschool. At summer registration, each child was given an apple to decorate and bring to school to add to the class tree. The apples were about 6”x8” printed on glossy cardstock. B chose to use stickers to put his name on his apple, then added 4 red felt circles with brown stems and green leaves a la glitter glue. He also gave the apple a face with googley eyes and a yarn mouth.


The Gift

I’d seen mention of meet-the-teacher gifts on a couple blogs. I have to point out, I was never the recipient of a first-day gift in my teaching days, but I know middle school is different than preschool, so I did a little searching. I found plenty of crafts – some cheesy, some adorable, but few I had the time or energy for on the day before school started. (Yes, this was a last minute thought.) Then I found a post on 2CleverBlog about gifting a book to your teacher – right up our alley! The suggestion is that the child gives his teacher a book that connects to something he did over the summer, thereby introducing himself and connecting with the teacher. Perfect! I had recently picked up a copy of Planting a Rainbow after being introduced to it over at Red Ted Art! We checked it out from the library and enjoyed it enough to purchase, so it turned into our teacher gift and I’ll purchase another copy for B and T to remember our summer garden. B’s teacher was pleased by the gift (and his note) and B had a fantastic first day.

How To Make an Apple Pie and See the World is appropriate for preschoolers, primary grades.


Come Play at the We Play link up!

I’m also linking up with the Book Lover’s Blog Hop at Story Time Under the Stars and

The Back to School Link Party at ABC and 123


Come back to Little Sprout Books on Friday for Feed Me Books Friday!

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