February: Lanterns ‘n Tigers and Mandarin…Oh My!

Valentine’s Day is Feb. 14, but did you know it’s the first day of the Chinese New Year, too?  Yup – the  Year of the Tiger is upon us! Maybe your child or class would have fun with some global fusion  –  half hearts, half dragons.

 Kids like quirky, well, most of them anyway. Hang Chinese lanterns from the ceiling and cut and paste valentines. Mix in talk of tigers, dragons and firecrackers and you are sure to engage the boys, as well.

I figure most of you have the Valentine’s Day theme down pat, so I’ll give you a few hints on how to use the Chinese New Year celebration as a spring board for learning.

Get to Know and Appreciate China

• Make Chinese paper lanterns to string in a doorway or from the ceiling. Very festive.
• Read “China” by Gisela Lee, who writes about this influential country’s rich history and vibrant modern-day culture. The book posted online by Big Universe has a map, colorful pictures and a good vocabulary list aimed at sixth-graders. (Teacher Created Materials Publishing)
• Fly a kite, bring collapsible umbrellas to school or play dominoes. They were all invented by the Chinese.
• Use “Kingka,” an award-winning board game, as a class supplement. Created by New Jersey educator, mom and children’s book author Sholeen Lou-Hsaio, the Mandarin-language matching game resembles bingo and introduces the 54 basic Chinese characters. It uses “the spirited nature of a memory game to encourage effective learning. It takes away the fear students have of learning Chinese,” said Lou-Hsiao.
• Learn more about giant pandas by clicking on this link, or read “Pandas’ Earthquake Escape” at Big Universe. (Sylvan Dell)
• “Confucius, Chinese Philosopher”  is another Big Universe book by Gisela Lee, who collaborated with Wendy Conklin to write this biography. (Teacher Created Materials Publishing)
• Look at “Holidays”  by author Dona Herweck Rice. It’s aimed at younger children with simple text and great pictures. Keep an eye out for the Chinese New Year street parade picture. (Teacher Created Materials Publishing)
• Go to Page 33 in the book “Animal World,” published by Saddleback Educational Publishing.  It offers a little zoology on the tiger – with colorful photographs and a fun “factoscope” box. Or read “What Tigers Do,” a beginner book written by Kris Bonnell and published by Reading Reading Books, LLC.
• Print out this coloring page of a tiger, a boy in traditional holiday clothing, or one of men dressed to do the Chinese New Year lion dance.

Tips for Getting More Books in 2010

In my hometown, there is an annual adult literacy fund-raiser called the “Really Good, Really Big, Really Cheap Book Sale.” It took place a few months ago and more than 17,000 shoppers attended to purchase books and support the Greenville Literacy Association in South Carolina. A total of $150,000 was raised.

I don’t know about you, but my heart rate quickens at the sight of large quantities of books. Oh, the reading possibilities!

I even get a little rush when I go to my mother’s house – and not because she makes the best cappuccino east of Rome and north of Cuba! No, there’s inevitably a small pile of books waiting for me on a side counter near her kitchen door. My mom is an avid reader, and we share similar tastes in books. She has minimal space for storing extra books, so they get to come home with me to live. Yip!

For those of you who have a crush on books like I do, I offer a list of ways to feast your eyes on a few more this year, keeping frugality in mind. The library is a given, of course.

Merger & Acquisition

• Check out thrift shops. I’ve found some classics there.
• Visit BookMooch.com, a point-based book-swapping website that “lets you give away books you no longer need in exchange for books you really want.” There is no fee to join. Mailing your books is the only cost.
• Post a book wish list in your classroom if you are a teacher (Parents Night) and include the list in your “Note from the Teacher” for each child’s take-home folder.
• Subscribe to Big Universe’s free weekly newsletter, which includes links in each issue for complimentary access to selected children’s books offered online. Follow Big Universe on Facebook and receive alerts for the website’s free book of the day.
• Scout  out local yard or moving sales. There’s always a crate of mix-n-match volumes under a table somewhere.
• Read literacy blogs and other social media, keeping an eye out for book giveaways or contests.
• Give the right answer when someone asks you for birthday gift ideas for your kids. “Anything would be lovely, but books are always a hit” works nicely.
• Start an exchange at the gym. Ask management if you can add a box by the door at the childcare room.
• Swap one of the duplicate books you got for Christmas with a friend.
• Look for post-holiday closeout deals at the book shop or big box stores.
• Do your research. Many reading incentive programs (especially in summer) offer book rewards for reaching goals.
• Get your techie to surf the Net for some deals – Affordabook.com,  Half.com or Powells.com for instance.
• Inquire at churches. Some offer lending libraries.
• Ask to collect books not claimed from Lost & Found bins.

* Let me know if you have any other ideas. I’d love to add to this list, so please submit a comment.

12 Ways to Help a Kid Conquer Writer’s Block

If you’ve been writing for any length of time, you know what it’s like to have the words dry up. It’s like you’re dying of thirst, and the rusty ol’ spigot just won’t give up a drop.

I probably felt that most intensely as a newspaper reporter and editor with a daily deadline. Writing facts in an orderly fashion was easy enough, but I worked in the Feature Department, so creativity was in high demand. Clever headlines. Intriguing lead sentences. Weekly humor columns. (Funny can’t be forced.)

It wasn’t long before I learned the merits of a “slush file” – also known as a backlog. I kept a file with random ideas, outlines of columns, and puns to prompt creative headlines when I was in a pinch.

I also made a habit of reading the news feeds and other literature resources, jotting down interesting facts and thought-provoking quotes – all stored away to use like one of those yeast bread “starters” that periodically get passed around the office and among friends.

You can do the same for children, who claim they can’t think of anything to write about. Here are a few ideas to get those creative juices flowing.

1. Provide physical prompts. Place a dog collar on a stool or a deflated football, a heart-shaped box of chocolates with one candy missing or a gift-wrapped box. Ask “How did this get here?” or “Tell me the story behind this item.” Or, use an intriguing photo.
2. Make it safe. While I think spelling and grammar are important, it is crucial to avoid striking fear of failure in the young writer. It is more important to nurture the joy of storytelling and the beauty of words. The mechanics will follow.
3. Give a fun situational prompt.    a.) “If you could have three wishes, what would they be?”     b.) “If I were invisible, I….”    c.) “If you had to live on an island by yourself for a year, what 5 things would you take with you?”
4. Use words to connect to others. Encourage kids to make cards for friends and grandparents – visual and language arts rolled into one. Plus, it teaches them to think of others: thank you notes, get well cards, holiday greetings. (My kids loved getting to add their two cents to the Christmas letter.)
5. Mimic a book character. Give a verbal prompt and ask your child to write something in the voice of a book character with whom they are familiar – the Cat in the Hat or Junie B. Jones, for example. “It’s fun, I tell you.”
6. Allow a little fun. Make writing notes in class “legal” on Thursday afternoons or turn on some music for 10 minutes and have kids take part in a written “Word Spill.”
7. Ask kids to be convincing. Encourage children to write a persuasive paragraph about a trip they would like to take or why they would like a particular toy.
8. Keep a family meeting notebook. I knew one family with five girls who kept notebooks in which their children could write anything: Why they got mad. How they broke the vase in the den. A prayer request. A thank you note. A joke.
9. Tap humor. Kids get spelling and vocabulary words for school and often are required to use them in sentences. When my girls dragged their feet, I encouraged them to have fun with their words. Anything was legal as long as it wasn’t mean-spirited. They ended up laughing and liked to read their favorite sentences to me. “Mom grumbled when I ate her last piece of delicious dark chocolate.”
10.  Gravitate toward superlatives. Kids love them. “Blank is the worst food in the entire world.” Tell them to write three sentences explaining why. Or, “My cat is the best pet because….”
11.  Let kids lock up secrets. Diaries don’t entice all children to write, but a book with a lock and key hints at secrets and treasure. Write a secret. Lock it up. Hide the key! Or, have children write clues for a big treasure hunt.
12.  Read books.  What can I say? I saved the best for last. Good books breed active imaginations. Books expand the mind until the words must flow somewhere. (Grab pencil and paper, a recording device or the easy-to-use authoring tool at BigUniverse.com to record the creative stories that result.)

I’m sure there are a gazillion other great ideas out there. Please share how you encouraged the children in your life to write!

Dogs Can Boost Confidence of Reluctant Readers

“D-O-G, Dog!” It was one of the first words I learned to recognize and to spell. “Cat, cow, pig” soon followed. Before long I was toting home books about anything with four legs and fur.

Most children have an affinity for animals, so they are a natural catalyst for promoting reading, believes the BARK literacy group. Based in Long Beach, Calif., Beach Animals Read with Kids currently has 42 certified therapy dogs, which visit libraries and elementary schools in the region.

Students are invited to read to the dogs – even cuddle on the floor with them as they turn pages together. Not only is it fun for the kids, but it also gives them confidence and helps them improve their reading skills, say the group’s advocates.

According to BARK’s website, “Students read to dogs 15-20 minutes once per week for eight weeks.  They are given a bookmark with photos and information about the dog they are reading with. Pictures are taken and given to the student on a subsequent visit.  At the end of the eight-week session, each student is given a brand new book to take home and the dog stamps and signs the book with his paw.  They are also given a small stuffed dog.”

Fifteen of the dogs participated in the Christmas parade in Seal Beach, Calif., a few days ago. They and their handlers gave out 750 books to those in the crowd to encourage reading over the upcoming holiday break. A little holiday magic, I think!

Encouraging a child to read audibly with a pet is an awesome idea, and it’s easy to implement at home. Simply, put your own four-pawed wonder to work. If your dog is the nervous type, go with Goldie, the goldfish. She may not be easy to snuggle, but she is a captive audience for your new or reluctant reader.

Of course, if your child has pet allergies or fears, he or she can use a stuffed animal, favorite doll or other comfort item.

To learn more about BARK, go to their website. To volunteer or request a visit at your school or event, drop an email to barkreadingdogs@aol. There are many other similar programs around the country, as well.

For dog stories or holiday picture books, go online to BigUniverse.com and click the “Read Books” tab. Then browse by category.

Loved the Fur Off Any Books Lately?

Gasp! The headline from the news feed grabbed my attention. “Copy of Poe’s First Book Sells for $662K in NYC,” it read.

 During the Christmas season, it takes an intriguing headline to get me to slow down long enough to read something for fun. This one jumped out for three reasons.

First of all, it was about a book, and a bibliophile can’t pass by such a juicy hook. Second, it was about Edgar Allan Poe – a literary friend of mine from way back. And finally, $662,000 is a huge sum of money in New York – let alone Greenville, S.C.

The rare copy of Poe’s “Tamerlane and Other Poems” just sold at Christie’s auction house, “smashing the previous record price for American literature,” reported the Associated Press. “The previous record is believed to be $250,000 for a copy of the same book sold nearly two decades ago.”

The collection of poems was published in 1827, but only about four dozen were printed. So, it’s understandable why the 12 that still exist are highly valued. It mattered little that the auctioned 40-page volume was stained and tattered – traits that typically lower the value of antique and rare books.

I have some old children’s books that show distinct signs of wear and tear. They were from my childhood…and my mother’s and my grandmother’s before that. I have since shared them with my children. They include “Through a Looking Glass” by Lewis Carroll, “Hans Brinker” by Mary Mapes Dodge, “Heidi” by Johanna Spyri, “Pinocchio” by Carlo Collodi and umpteen fairytale books.

The page corners are dog-eared, and the spines are broken. The fonts are uneven, and the tape over the tears (a big no-no among collectors) is quite yellowed. But those books are dear to me. The inscriptions in the front link me to other book lovers in my family, women who gave them as special gifts to the girls in their lives more than a century ago.

While my books probably wouldn’t warrant a second glance by anyone at Christie’s, they are precious to me. Like Skin Horse told the Velveteen Rabbit, “Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off.”

“‘Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse.

 ’It’s a thing that happens to you.

 When a child loves you for a long, long time,

 not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’ ”

10 Tips to Inspire Young Readers

Reading with children from a young age encourages early literacy. My mother made it a nightly ritual, and it made bedtime something to look forward to instead of something to dread.

Once my brother, sister and I had our pajamas on and our last drink of water, we would climb in bed and Mom would read. If we dawdled, we got half a page. If we were prompt with bedtime rituals, we would get to hear a half hour of an ongoing “chapter book.”

This family tradition enabled us to enjoy the whole “Little House on the Prairie” series, the adventures of “Robinson Crusoe” and the humor of “Charlotte’s Web.” My siblings and I fell in love with words, stories and books and were soon reading on our own. Story time had a lasting effect on us all.

So, it was a joy to carry on this tradition when I had my own children. Here are 10 of my favorite ways to mentor little language lovers.

10 Tips to Nurture a Love for Reading

1. Use different voices when you read to children, changing accents, inflection and cadence. Try whispering a sentence or two. It gets their attention!
2. Kids like to laugh. Find humorous stories and poems with great rhymes and silly characters. Soon your children will be reciting the best lines with you. Try “Fun is a Feeling,”a rhyming picture book by Chara Curtis, the classic “Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle,” or “Grandma’s Feather Bed,” an award-winning Dawn Publications book featuring the funny lyrics from folk singing icon John Denver and illustrations by Christopher Canyon.
3. Read aloud to children every day, putting it on par with getting dressed, eating dinner and brushing teeth. Like breathing, it wasn’t an option in my house. It was a natural facet of daily life – a fun part! I found that even babies like the sound of a reading voice. I remember my infant daughter settling contentedly in the crook of my arm each afternoon as I read to her older sibling – who would perch next to me on the armchair for our daily dose of books.
4. Get books on tape for car rides. Take advantage of your captive audience. I found these books were a miracle cure for tired, whine-prone little ones.
5. Find a topic that lights the fire under your child. If your son loves baseball, read a baseball story together. Try the “Jackie Robinson Graphic Biography.” You read a page, and he reads a page. Then go out and play catch with him for 20 minutes or plan an outing to a pro ballgame.
6. Find unusual places to read. One beloved fourth grade teacher I knew took his classes to stairwells to read books. The kids enjoyed the change in scenery, and their teacher’s voice echoed in all the right parts when he read. Other great spots to enjoy a book? Try a hammock, a tree fort or a refrigerator box with a doorway cut into it and stocked with a flashlight. Or, pack a picnic and a book such as “On One Flower: Butterflies, Ticks and a Few More Icks.” Then drive to a nearby park to read, explore and have lunch.
7. Use large print books for early readers. Use your finger to point out words or a 3×5 card to help train eyes to read. Cut a notch in the corner or use the straight edge and slide as needed.
8. Good illustrations capture the imagination. Pick out books with wonderful pictures – ones like those in “Little Yellow Pear Tomatoes.” Point out details in the illustrations to get kids more involved in the story.
9. A trip to the book store – whether virtual or on a local street corner – is a great way to reward a good report card or some other goal…and it doesn’t involve sugar. Give your child a gift card and let her pick out her own book and “pay” for it on her own. My two daughters loved this holiday and end-of-school-year ritual.
10.  Help children write the stories in their heads. Supply paper, pencils, markers and tape and let them go to town. Better yet, go digital. Help your child use the Big Universe Author Tool – a wonderful way to write a book while enhancing computer and reading skills. The website has printing and publishing options too, so your child can become a “published author.”

This list only scratches the surface. I’d love to hear what other parents, reading teachers, homeschoolers and library media specialists have devised over the years to make reading fun. Go ahead, spill your secrets. Inquiring minds want to know.

 Please take a moment to offer a comment and share the love!

* Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com

Booking a Flight: An Island Saga

Seven years ago, my husband came home with a grin on his face.

“What is it?” I asked.

“We’re going to Barbados!” he shouted.

Silence. Admittedly slow on the uptake, I asked, “Is this for our anniversary?”

“No, we’re going for a year!” he squeaked.

My husband doesn’t usually squeak.

Soon I was jumping and hooting, too! My spouse had received a Fulbright Grant to teach and do research at the University of the West Indies in Barbados, an island in the Caribbean.

Our excitement was soon tempered with the massive scope of preparation required to move out of the country with two children for a year. Do research. Make a list. Rent the house. Make another list. Schedule doctor visits, farm out the animals AND figure out the best way to handle our schooling dilemma!

Our arrival would coincide with the beginning of the school term in Barbados, but the red tape was daunting. The education system was decidedly British and the Common Entrance Exam would have loomed large for my oldest daughter. Because we were to be on the island for one school year only, we decided to forge our own way.

While my girls would eventually slide into the public school system in the States for high school, their elementary and middle school years were spent in the warm embrace of Mitchell Road Academy, a private school of about 400 students in Greenville, S.C.

If we officially left the academy’s enrollment roster, we risked losing our spots there. We hated that idea since the teachers were fabulous and the environment nurturing. After a meeting with administrators, we were given permission to use the academy’s curriculum, including their books and lesson plans. It was official! I would be an island mama, juggling homeschooling along with the mangos and bottles of sunscreen.

I also consulted with a few local matriarchs of homeschooling and ended up ordering a crate of books from Sonlight, a literature-based curriculum company, to supplement our resources. Another literary friend let me borrow a box of her chapter books.

My sixth- and fourth-graders craved books, and I confess that the book issue was my BIGGEST fear about the whole adventure ahead of us. Not knowing what resources would be available, I was afraid of running out. There would have been mutiny on my hands! (Note: One child read 35,000 pages on her summer vacation the following year, and my other daughter was not far behind.)

What I would have given to have a resource like Big Universe’s website with its 1,000-plus children’s books from top publishers and the thousands of member-created books. It would have made life so much easier and our extra luggage much lighter.

We took eight large – meticulously weighed – pieces of book-laced luggage, plus four book-stuffed carry-ons and our backpacks. (A shipping container had been our initial instinct, but we had been advised otherwise by a connection at the U.S. Embassy.)

Getting us, our books, clothes and other items to the airport before our early morning flight was a major feat. We sighed in relief when each bag was weighed, tagged and checked.

Our initial flight was late getting into Miami, so the dash through the airport to catch our second plane was quite spectacular. Shoes on, shoes off, unpack the two laptops, pack ‘em back up, metal detectors, specialized attention from a wand-bearing security guard, etc. We were the last to board our jet to the Caribbean – beet red and drenched from running with books and computers. Once we took off, I was too exhausted to care that I had a phobia about flying over water.

When we arrived at Grantley Adams Airport, imagine this ordeal in reverse. We had to retrieve all that luggage, while not losing our children. Despite the mayhem in Miami, every one of those heavy monsters made the transfer! It was a miracle – no doubt about it.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists travel to Barbados each year; however, we made quite a spectacle. The “red caps” gathered, eyeing our stash like vultures circling carrion. (No pun intended.) Fingers pointed, comments were made, and then one brave soul dashed up with his luggage wagon and asked to carry our things.

His trolley was woefully small, but he soon subcontracted a buddy to pile our luggage on his cart, too. The looks on their faces were priceless when they tried to heave the bags into place. Towels, bikinis and sandals don’t usually weigh that much! They earned their tips that day.

After a lot of explanation at Customs, document waving, and the prayers of a desperate mother, we were suddenly waved through. We’d made it!

Big Universe would have saved many backs a lot of grief that day. Volumes could have remained in the States, and vertebrae could have stayed in alignment.

This website is such a great option for families, missionaries and teachers, who travel and live overseas. As long as they can wangle Internet access, they have a 24/7 virtual library at their fingertips and the benefits of the website’s Author tool. My children could have used it to write their essays about coral reefs, tropical storms, sea turtles, island churches and other cross-cultural observations.

To be fair, Barbados did have library resources, but access was limited because we weren’t permanent residents. The girls could check out only one or two books each time we visited – which is like telling an elephant that he is getting a plum for his dinner.

In the end, we had a fabulous year of adventure and cross-cultural exchange. The schooling – books and otherwise – went better than I ever dreamed. The memories are priceless.

Let Them Eat Books

New York Times columnist Anna Quindlen wrote something 18 years ago – about the time I was elbow deep in diapers with my newborn. She could have taken the words right out of my mouth:

“I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.”

I did not voice this self-same wish audibly, but I did spoon-feed my children books from the time they were babies. My oldest gravitated to newspapers and books before she could walk, and I happily encouraged it…that is until I noticed she had quite an appetite for the written word – literally. She loved to eat paper and her Pampers proved it!

My firstborn never showed any interest in getting into cupboards or cabinets or anything else that we had baby-proofed within an inch of our lives. No… she wanted books, the Lifestyle section and the Opinion Page.

My husband and I quickly stocked up on sturdy inedible cardboard books that could withstand a fair quantity of drool and frequent page turning. She loved all books, but her favorite was “I Am a Bunny,” written by Ole Risom and illustrated by Richard Scarry. She and her sister can still quote this whole book  – “I am bunny. My name is Nicholas. I live in a hollow tree…”

Her favorite tub book was Bert and Ernie’s Bath Book, a canary-colored volume that floated like a beacon amid the soap suds. Ironically, I don’t think she ever so much as splashed her yellow rubber ducky.

Some of my girls’ fondest memories with their dad involved trips to the library, where they would drag a laundry basket along the carpeted floor, filling it with enough books to last them two weeks. Fortunately, the librarians printed out a list of checked-out books, which allowed us a relative amount of success when it came time to round them up. We would get the occasional late fee, when a book slid behind the bed or under the car seat, but my husband and I decided it was a small price to pay over the long haul.

Books were prized in our house as was reading time. Birthday wish lists always included a title or two, and soon “Papa,” their grandfather, was enlisted to build a new bookshelf for the girls’ room – one that went from floor to ceiling. (Another similar shelf was filled to capacity.)

One of the book-related memories that makes me smile was a conversation about the houses my girls imagined living in when they were grown-ups. I asked my daughters to describe their “some day” house.

“Oh, it will have a great big ladder,” one of them said.

Puzzled, I asked her if she was going to live in a tree house.

 “No, silly,” she said. “I’ll need it to reach the books on the top shelf in my library!”

 Anna Quindlen would have been so tickled to hear her say that. I know I was.

In the few short years since the publication of Ms. Quindlen’s column “Enough Bookshelves,”technology has taken off. While I am still drawn to libraries and paper books like a starving silverfish, there are New Age ways to possess and devour books. Computer technology has ushered in the age of downloadable ebooks, interactive whiteboards, hand-held Kindle book readers, reading applications for smart phones, and websites such as Big Universe, where thousands of children’s picture books are available to read wherever you have Internet access.

Virtual bookshelves! Who would have thunk it?