Taking A Break

Super-busy this time of year!

So, I’m taking a break from blogging until January 1st. But, then I will roll out all-new monthly blogs (instead of weekly) with great content. Until then, enjoy your Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays and see you next year!

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

IMAGINATION AND FREE PLAY IS ESSENTIAL TO CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

A child without phones, TV’s, video games, etc. to fill up their time, will most likely develop a better thinking brain AND a healthy body: spiritually, physically, and emotionally. There’s only a certain amount of time before this open period comes to a close. Yes, everyone can still increase in learning new things, but the ability to think critically, to problem-solve, to know right from wrong, to be able to effectively talk to a variety of people (boys, girls, adults, younger children) and develop healthy relationships and leadership roles.

Here are the basic stages as given by Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Ed.D., author of Taking Back Childhood.

1) Birth to 2 years: Sensory-Motor Learning

Our youngest children begin learning by listening, and learning about their world with their body and senses. “At two…moving from pure action to symbolic thought - and from thinking they are the center of the world to realizing they are not."

2) A Prelogical View of the World: 3-6 years: Social skills are built during this time, as well as much exploration. It is during these years that we can encourage our children to “see other points of view by building new ideas onto how they already see things.”

3) A Shift Begins: 6-7 years

Children in this age group start thinking more logically and seeing that there’s more that meets the eye in many cases. REASONING. They also notice the impact they can make on others’ feelings - just to get a reaction. “We can use our children’s budding understanding of causality and underlying motives and feelings to help them make new and important connections, especially in the social arena. Doing this will support them as they play, help them consolidate a strong sense of inner security, and encourage them to build more positive relationships with us and with their peers.”

4. The World Opens Up: 8-10 years

Now they’re looking at and taking on the world with great energy. They still have their own views, but are more open to others now. They have deep conversations with us, learn the art of negotiation, etc. It is important that we support them at this stage by LISTENING to them when they want to talk about what matters to them. PRAISE them for accomplishments. INTERACT with them. It is important that kids this age feel confident and secure which will in turn create stronger relationships with family and friends.

So, for most of this time, it is best if both you and your children UNPLUG from too many activities, too much TV, video games, and even the cell phone. These things can (and often do) impact child development negatively. Grandparents: You are not doing your 7-year old grandchild any favors by buying them a cell phone. Yes, they’ll love you for it. But they would love interaction with you even more.

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What Do You Believe?

God Bless Our Children

Do you believe kids are like sponges and absorb as much as they can from the world around them? I believe they are smart, quick, and wonderful! How important is it, then, to teach kids the value of having good character?

What about at work? Do you believe the best and happiest employees are just gifted? Or is there something else? What makes an employee great? What makes him feel good about his job?

Are you passionate about improving the general condition of our country? I know it’s too much to hope for Utopia, but I believe we can lessen hate, violence, foul language, and selfishness, among other things.

I hope you’ll join me in this effort with your kids and grandkids. God bless the children and those who instruct them in the way they should go.

SEPTEMBER 26TH - GLOBAL DAY OF CHARACTER

CHARACTER - THE REASON I WRITE

Take a moment to reflect on this. What does having character even mean?

To me, it means who you really are on the inside, even when no one is watching or listening. The choices we make every day show our character. I personally am writing for young people in an effort to encourage good character qualities in friendships and families. But that’s not the only place character can be impacted.

The workplace is another. By making sound choices, everyone can impact their workplace for the better. It’s never too late for someone to change, if they want. Many times, when people see others who are solidly happy and at peace with the world, they will befriend that person in an attempt to gain the same from them. We are all ambassadors of some kind of character. Even if we don’t intend to, we DO influence people around us. Our speech, actions, and attitudes, are always on display.

So, think about it tomorrow. Ask yourself these questions:

• Can good people do bad things? (Of course! Learning from our mistakes and moving on is important.)

• Who am I? (Don’t let someone else tell you. Answer for yourself.)

• Who do I want to be? (If you really want, you can change bad habits.)

• How can I improve? (Talk to a trusted friend or family member about an area you are working on and ask them to remind you if you start to slip.)

Character. It’s something we always need to work on. Set good examples for your kids. They are our future!

THE FIVE ELEMENTS OF STORY

POWERFUL STORIES

An introduction to the excellent writing program for middle school and high school students by Daniel Schwabauer of Clear Water Press, this presentation is a brief, simplified version for the elementary student. We will discuss his “Five Elements of Story” with an interactive bean-bag activity showing examples from the students’ favorite stories, plus one of the Bandana Acres books. The five elements are: someone to care about, something to want, something to dread, the struggle, and something to learn. Contact me for a school visit in the great KC area!

(Photo courtesy of Annie Spratt on Unsplash)

School Visits!

The main reason I became an author, illustrator, publisher was to impact kids with fun stories that speak to kids about character - AND - that provide a transition between picture and chapter books. So, I’m very excited about interacting with K-3rd graders in their classrooms in the greater Kansas City area. I have prepared three presentations (workshops): “Powerful Sentences”, “Powerful Stories”, and “Inspire”. Please click here to learn more or contact me for a wonderful visit with your class.

Kit's New Home - Almost ready for design

Almost finished with the illustrations for the fifth book of the Bandana Acres series: Kit's New Home. Here's a picture taken with my phone of one of the illustrations from the first chapter. This book has more characters: Ollie the wise farm dog, of course, Kit (the fox), Nellie (a Jersey cow), Zartie (a red-eared slider turtle), and Ellis & Molly (a pair of mules) - oh, and a mean coyote who has no name. Here's a sample from the story as well:

Kit's New Home (Part of Chapter 1)

“We give everyone a chance,” Ollie said. “But remember this: if you ever lie to us, hurt us, talk badly about us behind our backs, or betray any secrets, you will lose our trust - and our friendship. You’ll have to prove you are trustworthy to earn our friendship and loyalty.”

“Understood. I promise to be a good friend,” Kit said. I’ll really have to be careful of what I do and say around these animals, she thought. Kit stepped forward for a long, cool drink from the pond. It was comforting to know exactly what she needed to do to gain their friendship.

Later, Kit frequently visited the farm and made friends with all of the animals that lived there. She kept her promise and was a good friend to all, except for one day.

Family!

Last week on the Chickadee Cheer Newsletter we talked about family traditions with the first day of school. (Sign up to join.) A warm batch of cookies at the end of the first day is a wonderful welcome and an expression of love. And, also last week, I met a gentleman at a library event who is a historian and presenter at schools. Suffice it to say, I am now hooked on finding out more about our family...

I knew my sister still had most of dad's photos and letters, so I met with her last week and we looked over them for hours. Isn't it frustrating looking at photos with no names on them? Who were these people? And, are we any different today? I know I have a box on the top shelf of my closet with photos (nicely organized by my daughter) with no names or dates on them either. I can safely assume that today most folks have digital files for photos. Will our future generations have access to those? Will they be labeled? It's something to think about.

I've become very interested in the history of our family. In fact, I started with one of the templates out there, MyHeritage.com, and started entering our immediate family. Surprisingly, this was difficult for me. I need to check with everyone just to obtain dates: birthdays (with years), wedding dates (with years), and for those loved ones who have passed, date of death. So busy living this life, I haven't made keeping up with this any kind of priority. 

I selected just one family line to research: my dad's grandfather on his mother's side. I am telling you, it is fascinating. I actually traced his lineage all the way back to Adam!! It took the better part of 3 days to do it, and I really must get back to this life, but I'm glad that I did. I've even done a little bit of research here and there to confirm things are accurate, and they have been.

These days, it seems we are becoming more tribal. Are we just groups of people doing our own things without really thinking of the country as a whole; or our family as a whole. Loyalty, honor, trust, sacrifice, love, faith. While we're busy making our futures, let's not forget our past. And don't let our lives be forever forgotten either.

~ Kathy

Art - I Love It!

I know, I know. My books are for kids, so how hard could that be to illustrate? There are many ways to add images to kid's books. Most of the current works use digital artwork, drawn, edited, and colored with great technology. For me, though, there's nothing better than traditional watercolor. Let me share...

After struggling with the initial sketches, I hired Mark Baral to design characters for me. We met, discussed the stories and their stars, and he provided just the look I wanted. After buying supplies, I practiced with on-line class on watercolor and watched creative Youtube artists. Now, it works seamlessly.

• The story is completed, professionally edited and sent to Mark, along with a list of desired scenes.
• Mark does a great job creating just the characters - as they would appear in the story moments.
• He gives me the raw characters (line drawings only). I put them on watercolor paper, add background, and begin painting. Pinterest helps me with great photos for color reference. Layers, layers, and more layers are applied. Sometimes I do a painting over and over before I'm satisfied.
• After all the originals are complete, I take them to Staples for scanning and storage on a flash drive in two formats: TIFF and JPEG. Also, I take pictures of them with a camera or phone. Sometimes the colors fade or change during scanning. Those colors can be manipulated by my designer with computer software. Because Rachel lives in London, she doesn't see the originals. The best color representations I can give her are the camera photos.
• The most exciting part (besides holding the printed book), is when I receive the designed copy from Rachel. I love seeing things come together at last!

Here's a sneak preview of an illustration from Kit's New Home (book 5). (Note: the paper is really white. This photo was taken at night with incandescent lighting overhead, but the colors look like the original.) Kit is a fox and the main star of the book, but Zartie, the turtle, has an important part too.

Praising Kids

Boost a Kid's Self-Image

It is so easy to find fault with kids, isn't it? I'm writing this post for myself, as well as for other parents, teachers, and grandparents - anyone who is working with kids. How many times a day do we correct versus praise? Do you remember what it's like to be a kid? I'd like to share a little of a post about this from the blog of Character First. I'll give you the link to the whole article too.

As a kid, I remember my mother being very critical about the way things were done. I did learn, but it was hard on her, and me sometimes. My dad was always encouraging and worked with me in creative and inventive ways. But enough of me. It's important to note that everything we say, including HOW we say it, is important and will impact the hearer. That could be a kid, a spouse, a friend, or anyone.

What will a little girl think about herself if she hears her dad say, "she's ugly" about an actress on TV? Yes, that's right. He wasn't even talking to her. But she will think to herself, "what does that make me?"

What will a little boy think if he's trying to help in the kitchen and mom says, "just let me do it." He will think, "I guess I'm not good at this." Chances are he won't offer to help anymore. And, maybe he won't help - even after he's married!!

"If we want to help our children develop and grow their creative selves, we need to provide them with a sense of security so that they have the courage to try something new. They need our reassurance that even if they fail that we love and support them. When we focus on reinforcing their positive attempts to become more creative, we actually encourage them to step out a little further the next time; and see things and do things in new and interesting ways." Dr. Virginia Smith, EdD

Use specific words when you praise. Just saying "good job" isn't enough. Say why you like it, and how you know how much time and effort they must have spent to accomplish their goal. This leads to growth in their self-confidence and gives them courage to try more new things down the road.

"As parents, teachers, and care-givers it is our privilege to encourage our children’s growth and development, not only in competence and doing things well, but especially in character. It is the character component that will help them reach their full potential and live happy and fulfilling lives." Dr. Virginia Smith, EdD

Character First is well worth checking out. They have an excellent curriculum for the development of character. I wish I would have had this resource years ago. Click this link to read the whole article.

Vacation - 2018

Short & Sweet

We took 3 days (two were driving) to visit the lovely city of Bowling Green, Kentucky. The people there were all so friendly and nice, patriotic, and God-fearing. We visited the Corvette Museum and then attended the Tri-Five Nationals. There were literally thousands of 1955, 56, and 57 Chevys driving all over the place. So cool!

Check out this peaceful setting in the backyard of the AirB&B where we stayed:

Teaching Kids to Read, con't.

So, I'm reading to my kids. Now what?

Ask Questions!

When you're reading aloud, ask questions like "Do you see the dog?" Comprehension is much more important than learning to sound out or decode words. Your questions will develop their vocabulary as well as cause interaction with the book. As they get older, ask them to point out things themselves and add appropriate noises to the story too. (i.e. sounds of animals)

Between the ages of 2-3 years, start asking questions before, during, and after reading the book. Ask them if they can tell what might happen when you point to the cover image or other illustrations. If the image is emotionally- charged, ask if they can tell what the character might be feeling. Even ask if they've ever felt that way too. Then, read the story to see if they were right! Finally, ask them if they remember what happened in the book. This really helps develop understanding.

Read for yourself...

Read for yourself! When your kids, especially active boys, see you reading, they are more likely to read too. It doesn't matter what you read. It can be a cookbook, your Bible, or a car magazine. Just let them see you read for a few minutes a day.

Find letters or words with your child.

Find letters and words in the real world. Look together for letters and words in the store, on signs, at the library, at school, in restaurants, in homework, on toys, in the kitchen, on clothes. Anywhere! Post their name on a plaque or the wall, using words as artwork or decor.

Get crafty!

Ages 2-4 love this. Utilize as many senses as possible with letters. Write them in sand, pudding, or finger-paints. Decorate letter shapes withrice, beans, noodles, or paint, glitter, or sequins. Hands-on learning increases retention.

When crafting, talk about the letter's sound, rather than its name. Sounds are much more important to understand than names.

Play games...

A version of BINGO where the card has letters or words in the squares, is a fun, interactive way to learn. There are lots of words games to be found. For older kids (around 7), you can even have easy word search puzzles.

Talk about different kinds of books.

Talk about different types of books. Ages 5-8 will begin to learn the difference between non-fiction (true stories such as a book about reptiles), and fantasy. And, they will learn to discern the difference between complete fantasy and fiction that isn't true, but could be because of the believability of the characters and their actions. Start sorting books by genres (types) so they will understand these variations.

Rhyming games...

Word family games are a lot of fun and they introduce decoding to your child.
CAT, PAT, BAT, MAT, SAT, etc. Ask them so sound them out. Of course, not all words will be phonetically sounded out. There are those pesky "sight" words. Creatively post sight words around so they will be memorized. Just a few words at a time will do. You can Google "sight words" and get tons of information and materials to help.

Contact me...

Please contact me and share what you've done with your kids with the world of words. I'd like to make this blog personally relevant to my fans. If it works, and is fun, we'd all love to hear about it. Just go to the Contact tab on my site. 

~ Thank you,

Kathy J Perry

First Step to Teaching Kids to Read

READ TO THEM! SEEMS SIMPLE, DOESN'T IT?

Hello Parents,

As a fellow parent, former teacher, and author, one of my passions is to help kids become successful adults: capable of achieving whatever they can dream. To have healthy bodies, sound minds, and be grounded in spiritual truths are the best of goals for today's children.

Even when a child is a newborn, playing music, singing to them, play, and reading aloud are important ways to bond and introduce them to their world. You aren't teaching them to read at this point, but you are certainly giving them a love for reading. Stories are powerful. And, this love will go far when education begins in earnest. The best books will teach them great character qualities as well. That is one of the goals of my early chapter book series: Bandana Acres.

Try to read to your kids about 20 minutes a day. As they get older, they may be able to listen even longer. Bedtime stories are the best! Up until about 10 years old, my kids loved my reading to them anytime, but the bedtime story was never forgotten. Then, they started reading for themselves and still read regularly as adults.

Here are some suggestions for what to read to certain ages. But, read anything they enjoy!

• From birth to 1 year: lullabies, song books, cloth books (with textures), and board books (with real pictures)
• From 1-3 years: Rhyming books (i.e. Dr. Seuss), song books, short story board books
• From 3-5 years: Books with the alphabet, color, shapes, song books, picture books, more rhyming books
• From 5-8 years: Non-fiction and fiction picture books (discovering the difference between real and fantasy), still rhyming books, early chapter books (with illustrations) like the Bandana Acres series, and chapter books (fewer illustrations)