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Here's a little bit of what we've been up to lately.



What you see above are the last two "guys" I've made for my boys. They're guys, not dolls. "Dolls are for girls" apparently. I've made about four of these guys and some outfits and hats based on patterns that Josh designed. My mom made a hat for one, then I used her idea and made another. This is Indiana Jones awaiting his own hat. He has a satchel and a whip, too.




These are some goodies I've been collecting this last year. Aaron Brothers had a 1¢ sale, so I rushed over and with Josh's help, picked out the perfect frames for each piece. In the top picture is a beautiful bird print by the fascinating artist, Genine Zlatkis. It's part of her 20 birds series. The small pix is a gift enclosure by Becky Kelly.

The bottom photo shows an exquisite drawing by Marsha Robinett. It was a free gift for signing up for her email newsletter. We gave it to my golf-loving husband for Father's Day. The small print is by Diane Duda. It's so cute! The big print is of a collage by Cori Dantini. I love it!!!!



Josh is learning to embroider with the help of Gramma and her "Quilt Ladies". He went to quilting with them and got lots of help. He's making his first quilt top for a pillow for his new surfer bedroom.




I just had to have a vegetable garden this year. Our yard has gotten pretty shady now that our trees are teenagers, so we had to squeeze them into the little bits of full sunlight. I'm so excited. We'll be able to make our own home grown salsa. We also have butternut squash, watermelon, beets, and a cool looking squash/pumpkin whose name escapes me.

by Jen McVeity

Writing a story is hard work, even for authors. There are characters to create, dialogue to deliver, plots to plan, tension scenes to capture, endings to invent and starts that have to sizzle align=”left”so much they superglue your reader onto a chair.

Then you have to put it all into interesting sentences that flow smoothly. Whew! Breaking the complex process of writing into chunks makes helping kids with their writing more effective - and far more fun too.

Here are two ‘chunks’ you could try to help your child write with more impact.

Show, Don’t Tell

As we read words, pictures form in our mind. See what happens when you slowly read the lines below:-

• Snow glistens, thick and white on a mountain top.

• Orange and yellow poppies stand tall and cheerful in a vase.

Our job as writers is to create these pictures in the brains of our readers. That’s what Show, Don’t Tell is all about.

However, how can we do this when the idea is more abstract - like emotions? That’s much harder for kids to write as there is no picture. Therefore we need to show them how to create one. For instance:-

TELL: My brother is lazy.

SHOW: ‘Your turn for the dishes Tank,’ said Mum. ‘Yeah, later,’ he said, yawning, and turned up the TV louder.

‘No, now,’ said Mum. She stood in the doorway, arms crossed. She knew later in Tank’s mind meant somewhere between the year 2012 and infinity. Once, as punishment, Mum put all the dishes and saucepans Tank had forgotten on top of his bed. He just dumped them on the floor. A week later they were still there, a shoe in the spaghetti sauce, sweaty socks on the plates and a really bad smell wafting out the door.

Ah, now we have the picture for our minds. It takes much longer to write - but as readers we are far more convinced.

How to Write Tension Scenes

Imagine a birthday party, a top restaurant, friends and family - and a massive earthquake that ends in disaster.

Here’s the starting point by a 9 year old boy:

We were having fun in the restaurant when suddenly the ground started to shake. I didn’t believe it. Then glasses started to break all over my plate. My sister tried to stand up, she was afraid. The ground was trembling, there was noise everywhere…

Tension scenes are one of the hardest parts of a story to write. Kids often make them too basic and short. Why? Well, we say ‘write what you know’, but children often don’t have enough ‘emotional experience’ to imagine this sort of thing.

However, other people do - and their words are all in a dictionary or thesaurus.

So try this: Get your child to underline key words in the story - and then use a thesaurus to help bring the scene alive. You can actually do this BEFORE they write as well. Just ask, ‘what are some things which will happen?’ and make a list for them to use.

e.g.

fun - delight, enjoyment, amused, teasing, laughing, happy

shake - shudder, shiver, quake, quiver, buzzing, tremor,

break - crumble, disintegrate, collapse, crush, shatter

afraid - scared, fearful, terrified, panicked

tremble - quiver, shudder, beat, vibrate, grind

The idea is NOT to merely substitute one word for another. It is to give a greater variety of words/inspiration/ideas to the writer - and let their subconscious do the melding.

After:

The waiter smiled as he put down a hot chocolate pudding right in front of me.

‘You’re not going to eat all that!’ said my Dad. ‘Here, I’ll help!’ He reached across with his spoon, teasing me. I pulled my plate away fast. Everyone laughed.

‘Just a little bit,’ Dad begged.

I shook my head. It was weird, but there was a strange buzzing sound as if everything was not quite real. I lifted my spoon, my hands felt like they were shivering. Or was it really the floor shaking? It wasn’t possible, but now all the glasses were starting to clink. Suddenly one fell, shattering glass across my plate and into the dark chocolate. Then the noise hit me, harsh, grinding, vibrating right into my brain…

Get the idea? See how the word ‘fun’ has turned into something more specific - teasing and Dad trying to steal chocolate pudding. A simple ’shake’ now has triggered ’shivering’ and a ‘buzzing’ in the head. Best of all look at that last line; the words suggested from ‘tremble’ have now made this incredibly evocative and powerful.

If you want rich writing, give kids plenty of rich ingredients to work with.

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© Jen McVeity, National Literacy Champion

Try our FREE Creative Chatterbox to find over 500 story ideas.

The Seven Steps to Writing Success program, designed by successful author, Jen McVeity, is used in over 900 Schools. Suitable for the home school curriculum and gifted children, it has been shown to rapidly advance children’s writing skills and enjoyment.

Visit our website at http://sevenstepswriting.com/ to learn about all the Seven Steps to Writing Success and to find more free writing resources.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jen_McVeity

by Hazel Booth

As a kid today, you’re usually so busy with school and other activities that sometimes when the action stops, and you’re stuck indoors on a “snow day” from school, you’re at a loss for what to do.

But don’t settle for dull and boring.

Next time the snow piles up outside and you’re stuck indoors, pull out your creative stops and see how much fun a snowy day can be.

Here are five activities to try:

1. Write a play. When I think about snowy or rainy day activities, I think of Jo and her sisters in Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, and the delightful afternoons they passed in making plays.

Gather your friends and family and act out a well-known story or, like Jo, write some of your own. Laughter will draw you closer, and you may discover a hidden talent. With the advent of handheld video recorders, you can record your antics for future entertainment.

2. Devise a treasure hunt. Conceal a prize (it can be as simple as a chocolate bar) in an unlikely spot and write a series of clues to lead the treasure-seekers to the booty.

To extend the activity, wrap the prize in multiple layers of paper and string before hiding it, and when it is found, play the Hat Game: Sit around a table and attempt to unwrap the prize using only a knife and fork. The person wielding the knife and fork must don a hat, scarf, and gloves before beginning. All the while, the person to his right is rolling a die, hoping for a six. As soon as he rolls a six, the knife, fork, hat, scarf, gloves, as well as the die, pass to the next person on the left.

Continue in this fashion until the chocolate bar is unwrapped. Then share it.

3. Create an inspirational collage. Gather some old magazines and catalogs, a pair of scissors, and glue. Look for words, sayings, and pictures that speak to you in some way. Choose a theme, like sports, animals, or furnishings you’d like for your bedroom. Include inspirational quotes and words of encouragement.

Feel free to use your computer to scan and print items you don’t want to cut, or play with different fonts to emphasize or change the look of printed words. Compose your collage and embellish with lace, ribbon, feathers, stickers, buttons, etc. Hang it where you’ll see it and smile.

4. Plan a meal. Pull out the cookbooks, especially ones with pictures, and look for some tasty new recipes. Scan the list of ingredients to make sure it sounds as good as it looks. Bookmark it or make a list of recipe titles and page numbers for each book. Choose a recipe, make a shopping list, and schedule a time to help make it.

5. Make crayon rubbings. Gather an assortment of textured objects from around the house. Examples might be a cheese grater, a piece of screen, a comb, string glued to a piece of paper, corrugated cardboard, or a crumpled piece of foil.

Choose one item at a time, lay a fresh sheet of paper on top, and rub over the surface with the side of a crayon. Try not to shift the item, and watch the pattern emerge. Rub over each textured surface with two colors of crayon.

Try to fill the entire sheet of paper with different textures and colors. Then, take a fat paint brush and a set of watercolors and paint colors of your choice over each rubbing. Use your finished paper for cards or wrapping paper, or cut it up to include in a picture or collage.

Armed with creative ideas like these, you might find yourself looking forward to your next snowy day when you’re stuck indoors.

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Hazel Booth is a freelance writer and a student of the Institute for Children’s Literature. She reviews picture books for the National Writing for Children Center and is currently working on nonfiction articles for kids.