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Read - Reading for homework is a no-brainer, and EVERYTHING and ANYTHING should count. How can we ever hope to build stamina if kids don't sit and read? Kids should be read to and read on their own. Please don't tell me that wordless picture books and graphic novels don't count. You won't convince me that reading David Wiesner's wordless book Flotsam is any less challenging or engaging than a "traditional" picture book with words. Or that the graphic novel The Great American Dust Bowl by Don Brown isn't a masterpiece of history and science, weaving together sourced facts in an accurate historical narrative. 

Play - Kids weren't meant to sit in a chair all day long. They need time to run, play, imagine, create, and do all kinds of things the curriculum doesn't allow them to do. When kids get home from school the first order of business shouldn't be homework. They should be allowed to run and play outside, ride a bike, walk the dog, catch frogs (if they do that sort of thing), climb trees, and more. They should build with LEGO and GoldiBlox, draw pictures, build train track, topple dominoes, play board games, and more. Play is just as important as structured learning, and kids don't get enough of it today.  

Puzzle - When was the last time you sat down to solve a puzzle and did it for fun? I do this all the time. Sudoku, crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, logic problems, tangrams ... I could go on. Puzzles are good for the brain. They develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. They teach kids to persevere, guess and check, collaborate with others, and try a whole host of new strategies. Can you think of a better training ground for mathematical thinking than puzzling? Now imagine if your teacher encouraged you to do this for homework. 

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After your students decorate their writer’s notebooks and you review your expectations, the notebooks go home.  This is exciting!  Who doesn’t love writing in a new notebook?!!? I’ll tell ya, there are plenty of… Continue reading →

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At the Houston SCBWI conference, we were given a homework assignment. A choice of one of two prompts that we as attendees could choose from. One was a double page spread from a picture book and the other was a YA cover.  I started both prompts and then went with the one that appealed to me the most.  The sketches were sent to the Art Director for comments and direction, then we all brought back a full color illustration with the changes suggested. Above is  my sketch and  then my finished illustration.  Later, I was decided to finish the other prompt on my own. Below you see  a “Mock” cover for a young adult novel that is currently out. This is just a mock cover.

Mock cover

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Cathy Dreyer - a student on Oxford University’s Undergraduate Diploma in Creative Writing - posted her suggestion here in a LOL short story that won a £50 prize. Students do not copy! (the story or the way the protagonist handed in homework).

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The conclusion to the debut story of Small World Protection Agency is now available from Trestle Press!

Josh and Madison are two elementary school students that have been recruited by a secret organization known as the Small World Global Protection Agency.

In the first issue, they headed to Australia to investigate a record producer that seemed to have some unusual plans. In the conclusion, Down Under Thunder, the junior agents confront the producer with the fate of the world in the balance.

Having the stories in this two-part format helps to not overload our young readers, but it also heightens the suspense. In my grandparents' days, they used to see cliffhanger serials in the cinemas and bookstores. Small World Global Protection Agency brings back that thrill to a new audience.

Also, at the end of Down Under Thunder is a set of questions, or Points to Ponder. This is a great opportunity for parents and teachers to interact with the kids who loved the story.

Both issues are ONLY 99 Cents each on Kindle or Nook! Click the title to get them now!

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For those of us who aren't taking multiple classes there were some optional assignments to choose from.  I choose this option:

Option 2:

Step 1. Choose your top ten paintings of all time. Do one thumbnail of each that studies the shapes, linear design, and tonal pattern. Pay close attention to the principles of design. Pay close attention to where and how symbols are used in the pieces.

Step 2. Choose one of the most personally moving memories of your life that you are comfortable exploring visually and symbolically. Create four thumbnails which compose your ideas into a scene using what you learned from Step 1. (*for me personally, this type of work helps me work through my own inner experiences and situations to a healthy resolution. It is personal art therapy through composition and symbolism. Explore your inner realm and moods in value and tone.)

Great assignment, isn't it?

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Nuture vs. Homework
After rushing around all day, many parents face dreading homework almost as much as their children. How much is homework a help and when does it become too much?

First Book Charity Concert!
A hip-hop group named Tanya Morgan is holding a concert in New York City to benefit First Book! If you’re in the area, check them out on April 30th at the Crash Mansion.

Children’s Book in 3-D on the iPad
See Here Studies releases the first 3-D storybook application for the iPad and iPhone, “The Wrong Side of the Bed” is a book about a little boy who wakes up on the wrong side of the bed in the morning.

“Arthur Author Animates Kids”
Author of the famous children’s books series based on Arthur the Aardvark and his friends has teamed up with others for an event at Kreft Primary School. Marc Brown is an avid literacy proponent and encourages kids to write stories of their own as well.

Hope to Close the Reading Gap
While the reading gap between girls and boys has always been a problem, some say that this gap can begin to close with the implementation of certain initiatives and by paying attention to boys’ and girls’ individual needs.

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I haven't posted since January 11th, when I was stressing about returning to school. I am happy to say that college is going great! I am really enjoying my classes. I love reading things I probably wouldn't read on my own and writing and hearing others' writings. It's all been so cool, and I don't feel weird back among the "college kids" at all. Thanks to everyone who commented, emailed, and Twittered their encouragement!

I have had almost no time for my own writing because, along with homework, I did every cover story for January's Westside Courier. Wow, that was a whirlwind of interviews, picture-taking, picture-sending, and, of course, writing. I had an interesting array of articles, too--a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana; a local woman who self-published a book about her mother; a woman whose sewing and embroidery hobby turned into a booming west-side business; and a west-sider who moved to bush Alaska to teach special education kids! What can I say--that job is never boring.

I have no assigned article this week, so I have been concentrating on homework. I expect I'll receive article work any day now, so I'm just hoping to end my birthday week with a little of my own writing. Yep, Friday is my birthday, which means fun with the family and, of course, a few presents!

Happy writing, everyone!

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Is procrastination a learned or innate behavior?  Well I’m not sure. But I can tell you this – My Mom was the most diligent worker, and all 3 of her kids are as well.

When my daughter was in kindergarten and started to bring home simple worksheets, I explained to her that if she takes a short break and has a snack, then completes her work, she will have a lot more fun playing all afternoon without having to worry about getting it done. So the habit of getting work done and then rewarding herself was quickly established. To this day she generally follows the same routine with her high school work and everything else she does.

The truth is that people who are “professional procrastinators” are also self-punishers. Whether you realize it or not, they always have their unfinished work on their minds in one way or another, weighing them down. And most will tell you they remember always being that way from a very young age.

So how can you get off to a good start this school year? As long as your child is old enough to have homework, there are steps you can take to help them succeed with his or her study habits:

• Make sure your child has a comfortable, efficient place to do his homework. Whether that is a desk in his room or a special spot at the dining room table, there should be a set place.
• Keep school supplies well organized in bins and readily available.
• Establish a routine of taking a short break after getting home and then getting down to business.
• Keep distractions at bay (such as other kids running around, loud music or TVs, etc.)
• Offer help with work only if needed. When the child is very young, it is okay to go over the work with them to make sure it is done well. Check with your child’s teacher to see what she recommends.
• If a child is struggling with a subject or lesson, she may procrastinate. So find some help for her if you are unable to do it. This may require some tutoring after school from the teacher or just another family member or friend helping out who is strong in that subject.
• Show your children that you are well disciplined as well.
• Reward your young student with positive reinforcement when work gets done efficiently.

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Kate at I Think Therefore I Blog hits the nail on the head about The New York Times's misguided and insufficiently researched article today about the tragic deaths in Washington, DC, of four children. Kate has also done her research, something that can't be said for Times reporter Jane Gross. Read Kate's post here. And this thorough account at The Washington Post; here is only the tip of the iceberg,

A single parent at 16, eventually dependent on public assistance, she spent years tangled in court cases, seeking financial support from the fathers of two of her girls. She lifted herself up for a time -- learned a skill, cosmetology. With a new boyfriend, and two more daughters, she seemed happy, doting on her girls. Then she plunged into poverty and homelessness.

After her boyfriend succumbed to cancer last winter, acquaintances said, she lost her grip entirely.

As for the claims by The Times's "experts" --

Clive R. Belfield, a professor of economics at Queens College and formerly a researcher at the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education at Columbia Teachers College, said that “limited compliance and follow-up” [of home schoolers] gave abusive families “an excuse to get out of being observed.”

Mitchell L. Stevens, an associate professor of education and sociology at New York University, said school officials, who are required by law to report suspicion of child abuse, were society’s best watchdogs of how parents treat children.

“Home schooling removes children from a lot of that surveillance,” Mr. Stevens said, adding that the vast majority of home schooling families are “overwhelmingly trustworthy people who place a very high value on parental autonomy.” And thanks to the advocacy of the legal defense fund, he continued, “they have been largely successful since the late 1980s in getting the law to favor parental rights.”

-- the most cursory search of GoogleNews turns up the following:

from CNN, January 11, 2008: "It's happened again. A teacher is accused of having sex with a student and, like many times before, cell phone calls and texting reportedly had a role in sexually abusing a minor."

from a Florida CBS affiliate, January 8, 2008: "Broward County School Superintendent James Notter has issued a memo reminding all teachers and principals on the district's policy for reporting abuse. This comes after a parent, whose child attends ... Middle School, was outraged after her daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted during the time in which she was supposed to be in constant supervision by school staff. To make matters worse, no one informed the mother of what happened until two days later."

another Florida TV news station, December 27, 2007: "The state attorney's office recently announced child abuse and child neglect charges against a Paxon Middle School physical education teacher have been dropped. Aaron Jackson was arrested earlier this month after investigators said he encouraged a father to come to the school to whip his son with a belt. They said Jackson also gave the dad a room near the gym, where he could whip the boy. Earlier this month, authorities said Jackson called 41-year-old Henry Crimes and told him to come to the school with a belt to discipline his 13-year-old son."

from The Arizona Republic, December 20, 2007: "A... High School guidance counselor accused of twice failing to report child abuse is on administrative leave and could face criminal charges. Deborah Ray is the second southwest Valley educator removed from a campus for disciplinary issues in recent months. ... According to police:
* A 16-year-old girl reported in March that an unidentified person had attempted to molest her.
* A 17-year-old girl reported in April that she had suffered physical abuse."

And this past week marked the second anniversary of the murder of Nixzmary Brown, age 7, of Brooklyn, New York, as covered by The New York Times, January 12, 2008

And what of the infants and children too young for school? More from a quick survey of GoogleNews:

from The Florida Sun-Sentinel, January 10, 2008: "A grandmother pleaded no contest today to aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse for the death of a 3-year-old boy who was dipped in scalding water as punishment and left to suffer for a week until dying."

from the Rochester, Minnesota Post-Bulletin, January 12, 2008: "Ty'Shay Staten was still in diapers when she became a victim of violence. She died this week at age 4, nearly three years after being shaken and thrown down a flight of stairs by her father. Timothy Lee Staten is serving more than 16 years in prison for nearly killing his daughter in March 2005. Police officers responding to Staten's Red Wing home for a domestic disturbance witnessed Staten shaking Ty'Shay, who had also been bitten in the cheek and torso, before he threw her down the stairs. At his sentencing in 2006 for second-degree attempted intentional homicide, Staten said he was under the influence of drugs at the time. Ty'Shay suffered a fractured skull among other injuries from the assault. She was at Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester for several months, and eventually placed in foster care."

from The Baltimore Sun, January 9, 2008: "Child Protective Services had already taken two of her daughters, but Vernice Harris was raising her third girl amid squalor and boarded-up rowhouses on East 25th Street. Apparently frustrated that the crying 2-year-old was disturbing her and her drug-addicted friends, Harris began giving the girl methadone to keep her quiet, according to police charging documents. Harris told authorities that she found the girl unresponsive in an upstairs bedroom about 3 a.m. June 5. She carried the toddler downstairs, where friends and paramedics were unable to revive her. Two months later, medical examiners ruled that Bryanna Ashley Harris' death was the result of a methadone overdose and a beating to her stomach."

Whether or not you home school, you should decide the best use of your tax dollars to help children -- to supervise home schooling parents, the majority of whom are law abiding and mentally and physically healthy; or to unburden already overburdened Family Court judges, as in New York, and to relieve overworked and train undertrained staff in child welfare systems throughout North America. You choose. This is not about home schooling, but putting scarce dollars, time, and people where they will best be used to save children's lives.

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So I’ve been reading, working on a marketing ad thingie (I’m all sorts of good with the technical type wording, yup), and trying to find book bindery that will let me tour their facilities and ask all sorts of nosy questions (pesky kid!). I’ve got all sorts of interesting (in my mind anyway), half-finished columns on each of these topics, but that doesn’t do anyone any good for the here in now, so instead go follow some links and some news.

Chris! You've won a copy of Stephanie Gayle's novel, so please email me your address at the email to the right of this post.

John Lustig of Last Kiss fame became Unshelved enough to contribute to their Sunday bookclub with Summer Moonshine by P.G. Wodehouse gone comic retro. Someone alert Bully!

Ms. Marta Acosta interviews Ms. HelenKay Dimon (whose Paperback Reader I’m an infrequent contributor to, and to whom I owe one review of Bad Kitty), divorce lawyer who writes romance. Marta, it should be noted, will be hosting a bad classic book trailer contest where the top price will be a copy of Adobe Creative Suite 3. Unfortunately being a judge precludes me from entering.

Kassia Krozser of Booksquare (and Paperback Reader as well) posted a column entitled, “Virtual Worlds for Fun and Writers, Or How to Make the Most Out of Second Life,” on Romancing the Blog about the use of Second Life in helping to build a believable world for your novel. I’ve never played in Second Life, nor (gasp) read Neal Stephenson, but the whole concept sounds worth checking out. Again, this is one of columns that could apply to any writing that requires world building, not just romance.

Are book clubs ruining the reading experience? I certainly heard a lot of people complain about their book club’s choices back when I was a bookseller, but I had just as many people gush madly. To avoid the homogeneity that the Guardian alleges, my friends and I had our own way of doing book club. Specifically everyone brought one or two books that they thought someone else should read. We would then sit around in a circle and “hand sell” the book to the group. After everyone took their turn we’d then trade, so there would be at least one other person in the group that you could discuss the book with next time. This also meant that a lot of different types of books got introduced.

Meanwhile Bookselling This Week offers up its own thoughts on the keys to book club success.

New blog Novelish had a great post a ways back on the dangers of

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It was always my favorite color.... but then there was that awful RED LETTER Day! I guess there's going to be a lot of homework from now on!

©GingerPixels2007

And I think I might lose my cool!

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