Having an ‘I can’ attitude, or confidence, is something I always encouraged in my children, whether I birthed them or taught them. Maybe because it was never encouraged in me and is definitely not a strong suit, I’ve always found it important to nourish. A story about confidence should have been easy to write. I’m sure I’ve written many stories about confidence before, but I just couldn’t get one to work. I finally realised that what I was trying to write was based on a true event. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t get the ending. I decided to go with an anecdote rather than fiction. I hope you enjoy it.
That’s Confidence
When Bec was little I ran play/educational sessions for children and their parents at home. I worked hard preparing the room, dedicated for that purpose, for our sessions. Finally, everything was arranged, with various art and craft materials organised in boxes and tubs.
Bec, 2½ years old, was excited. ‘Of course,’ I said when she asked if she could make something.
I’d only moved away for a moment when her excitement drew me back: ‘Look what I made!’ Her face beamed.
She’d upended nearly everything (exaggeration, only slight) and glued one cotton ball onto a piece of paper. Wow!
1. Select one of the images below and write about it.
It can be a poem, a story, a mood piece, or whatever comes to mind. Happy, scary, beautiful, grotesque, whatever suits your fancy for any kidlit age, board book through young adult. You can write about the picture in a literal or metaphorical way, or focus on a memory or emotion it elicits. Just let the photo inspire you and have fun!
I selected this photo #9 by Saliha Sevim on Pexels.com. (There were 14 to choose from.)
When I first looked at it, I got quite a sinister vibe from it, and that’s the way I started writing. However I decided that I didn’t want to go as grim as some of the fairy tales like Hansel and Gretal or Snow White, so toned it down in the end. I’m not sure how it works as a story for children, but since time to enter has run out, so has my time to revise.
Please pop over to Kaitlyn’s blog to read all the entries.
Bears in the Woods
“Where are we going? Mama?”
“Why are we going into the woods, Mama?”
Mama just smiled and sang, “If you go down to the woods today . . .”
“Are there bears, Mama?”
“Mama. Are there bears?”
“It’s dark, Mama. Can we go home now?”
“Don’t worry, Billy. You’re with Mama. Nothing will hurt you.”
“But it’s scary. There’s bears. And monsters.”
“There’s no monsters, and the bears—”
He pulled his hand from hers and ran.
“—are just teddy—. Billy!”
Blinded by tears and monstrous fears,
he ran willy-nilly,
kicking up dry autumn leaves,
head-first into spider webs,
through prickly bushes.
Mama ran after him. “Billy! Billy!’ His comfort doll hung limply over her arm.
He didn’t hear. He kept running, running, running. He wanted out of the deep dark terrifying bear-infested woods. Finally, he collapsed in a pile of leaves, no longer able to outrun the fears.
Rustle! Rustle! Something’s nearby. Shhh!
People’s voices? Children’s voices.
Billy peered around the tree. In a clearing, children were singing to teddy bears and toys. Adults were talking. In the middle, was Mama, crying.
“Mama! Mama!” Billy called.
She scooped him up. “Oh, silly Billy. They’re only teddy bears.”
Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.
She was a dutiful daughter and diligent student. She submerged herself in lessons, wiped her mind of childhood nonsense and got on with the serious business of being grownup, though she was not yet nine years old.
She went on to be dux at school and won the university medal but had no friends to celebrate with.
Sometimes, in night’s solitude, she’d hear a jangle of keys and a tiny voice crying, ‘Let me out!’
Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.
Note: The collection of stories made in response to the previous prompt Gloria can be read at the Carrot Ranch.
It’s a nice thought – a love letter to nature for Valentine’s Day.
Generally, when we think of nature, we think of its beauty and its generosity with wonder and gratitude. That’s a good thing. There is much to hold in awe and much for which we should give thanks.
However, nature isn’t always beautiful and generous. It can be destructive too, as we’ve seen this week with the devastating earthquake in Türkiye and Syria. So much heartbreak. And there are countless other places around the world where nature is not being so kind. If it’s not happening near you, it’s happening near someone else.
Why, when nature itself can be so destructive, are so many people hell-bent on finding other ways of harming each other, including creating weapons of mass destruction? It is something I’ll never understand. Why can’t we all just live in peace, accepting and appreciating each other and what we have in this wonderful world.
As a teacher and a parent, I always encourage children to be curious and creative. To seek answers to things they wonder about and solutions to problems. I believe it’s in our nature to ask questions.
I’ve combined our nature with Nature in my response to Charli’s prompt, inspired by a child’s point of view. I hope you like it.
A Letter to Nature
Why is the sky blue and the grass green?
Why do bees buzz and dogs bark?
How do birds fly and fish swim?
How does an apple grow?
Where do butterflies sleep?
Why does the earth quake and volcanos spew?
Why do storms rage and rivers flood?
Dad says I ask too many questions. Mum says it’s our nature to explore, discover and create, to solve problems, find new ways of doing things, and heal hurts.
But people also use their imaginations to create even more destructive ways to harm each other. Why? Is your nature our nature too?
Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.
Note: The collection of stories made in response to the previous prompt Dishes, including mine, can be read at the Carrot Ranch.
Next week, from 14th – 18th November, is World Nursery Rhyme Week. Why not celebrate by revisiting some of the children’s (and your) favourite nursey rhymes. Children in our F – 2 classrooms can explore language features and use them as a springboard for writing, recitation, and role play. Children in older classrooms may like to investigate their (often dark) origins and history.
The aim of World Nursery Rhyme Week is to promote the importance of nursery rhymes in early education. The five official nursery rhymes for this year’s celebration are:
The Big Ship Sails
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Once I Caught a Fish Alive
Five Little Speckled Frogs
B.I.N.G.O.
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
However, you are welcome to use any nursery rhymes you like, and here at readilearn we have some resources to assist your teaching.
readilearn nursery rhyme resources
Humpty Dumpty
Teach literacy skills and develop creative thinking and imagination with Humpty Dumpty.
The Humpty Dumpty suite of resources includes:
The Accident — Humpty Dumpty’s Fall is an original story that innovates on the nursery rhyme by providing a scenario that might lead to Humpty’s falling from the wall. It is a digital estory which can be displayed and read on the interactive whiteboard. It can be read as a story on its own or as part of the writing unit Humpty Dumpty — a story in five sittings. (Note: if you wish to implement the writing unit, do so before reading the story.)
Humpty Dumpty — a story in five sittings is a series of five lessons in writing based upon the nursery rhyme. Each lesson provides opportunities for children to think creatively and imaginatively and to write using a basic narrative structure. It presupposes children already have an idea of sentence structure and some experience writing stories of their own.
Of course, before attempting to read or write an alternative, it is important that children are familiar with the nursery rhyme. We have that covered too, with a printable copy of the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty to download.
In her post, Charli says ‘I guess this seems similar to balloons on a bumper. It differs, though. Mud is real. Balloons are temporary hopes and dreams susceptible to popping. Mud can stain. Mud can wash away. Mud says, “You’ve been places, Kiddo.”’
For my response, I have continued with my red convertible story with the girls Amy and Lucy playing imaginatively in their back yard with their toys and whatever else is available. (I have included the previous two stories at the end, in case you’d like to read them together.)
In the last episode, the girls had balloons on their bumper as they travelled to celebrate the wedding of their toys Teddy and Ollie. The balloons, as Charli says, were temporary. In this third episode, they have been replaced by empty cans. But the girls and their toys, including the tyres of their red convertible, have been covered with mud. The mud does say that they have been places. It also says they have had fun, used their imaginations and been creative — three things I consider to be very important in life. I hope this mud sticks, not only for them, but for everyone.
A note about tires. In Australia tires means to grow sleepy and tyres refers to the black rubber things on the wheels of a car. Hence the change in spelling.
I hope you enjoy my story.
Mud on the Tyres
After the wedding, Teddy and Ollie scrunched into the back of the little red convertible.
As Amy and Lucy drove them away from the faraway forest, the guests cheered and threw confetti. The empty cans, now replacing balloons on the bumper, clattered across the wooden bridge and scattered gravel along the mountain trail.
At the honeymoon resort, Teddy and Ollie splashed in the pool first, but they were overexcited, and the grounds were soon a mucky muddy mess.
When Mother called, ‘Dinnertime!’, the girls were mud-spattered, from the hair on their heads to their convertible’s tyres.
‘Coming!’ they replied.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.
Here are the two previous episodes of this story.
The Little Red Convertible (Episode 1)
“Where to today?” asked Amy.
“Over the mountains, across the river, and through the far-away forest,” said Lucy.
“Be home in time for dinner,” said Mother.
“We will!”
The little red convertible chugged to the peak of the highest mountain where the children danced in clouds. It rolled through misty valleys and onto the plain where the children played hide-and-seek in patchwork fields. It trundled across the wooden bridge over the river that led to the forest where they fluttered with fairies and pranced with unicorns.
Rumbling bellies told them to head for home.
“Just in time,” said Mother.
Balloons on the Bumper (Episode 2)
“Where to today?” asked Amy.
“A party,” said Lucy, tying balloons to the bumper of their little red convertible.
“Whose party?”
“Teddy’s. He’s getting married.”
“I didn’t know he had a girlfriend.”
“He doesn’t. He has a unicorn-friend. Mother said I can marry anyone I want. So, Teddy can too.”
“Right. Which way?”
“Over the mountains, across the river, and through the far-away forest.”
“Be home for dinner,” said Mother.
“We will!”
The balloons sailed above the little red car. At the party, the children fluttered with fairies and pranced with unicorns as Teddy and Ollie shared their vows.
Note: The collection of stories made in response to the previous prompt Balloons on a Bumper, including mine, can be read at the Carrot Ranch.
The goal of International Dot Day is to inspire people of all ages to embrace the power of personal creativity, to make their mark on the world, making it a better place.
Creativity is important to me. I love being creative. I love inspiring creativity in children, and I acknowledge that it is only through creativity that we can innovate, advance and improve our world. For this reason, I am posting a day early to ensure you all know about International Dot Day in time to celebrate. However, any day is a good day to celebrate and promote creativity.
The Dot — the book
The Dot, written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds and published by Walker Books in 2003, tells of an art teacher who encouraged a young artist, who didn’t believe she could, to make her mark on a piece of paper. Although the story features an art teacher, Reynolds dedicated the book to his 7th grade math teacher who, he said, ‘dared me to “make my mark”.’
Like Reynolds, I believe there is a spark of creativity in everyone and that a dot is as good a place as any to start. What I really love about this book, is the way the teacher encourages the student Vashti, who then goes on to encourage others in a similar way. The ripples of a ‘you can do it’ philosophy spread. Who know where they will reach? Hopefully everywhere.
How International Dot Day began
(from the website)
International Dot Day began when Iowa teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Reynolds’ book, and noticed the original publishing date of The Dot was Sept. 15, 2003. Shay and his students decided to celebrate the book’s birthday – and, little did they know, launched what would become a worldwide celebration of creativity and courage to “make your mark.”
“The Dot, is an invitation to students to be creative, and experience a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, said Shay, a public school teacher for over two decades “Every great teacher works for those transformational moments.”
Exploring the themes of creativity, bravery and self-expression, The Dot is a story of a perceptive and caring teacher who reaches a reluctant student who thinks she can’t draw by encouraging her to be brave enough to “just make a mark and see where it takes you.” The Dot has been translated into many languages (including Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Hebrew, Spanish and even Braille) and the animated film of The Dot (produced by Reynolds’ multimedia design and development firm FableVision Studios and co-producer Scholastic) earned the Carnegie Medal of Excellence.
I’m always pleased that Charli says to ‘Go where the prompt leads!’ because that’s just where I go. It’s especially important to me this week as I have a few other distractions and thought I wouldn’t have time to respond, especially when I don’t know anything about puppy’s ears, let alone floppy ones. Anyway, it made me think of other comparisons, and that’s where I went — some familiar, some silly, some fun, and some special. I hope.
My other distractions will be keeping me away from your blogs for a while, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. See you then!
As floppy as puppy ears
As floppy as puppy ears
As cute as a button
As happy as Larry
As cranky as a hippopotamus
As ripe as a banana
As silly as a sausage on a stick
As weird as a walrus (but don’t tell it I said so)
As tall as a giraffe
As small as a flea
As funny as a giggle
As rude as a fart
As crazy as a top hat on a donkey
As scary as the dark unknown
As awesome as a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis
As amazing as children’s imaginations
And, as wonderful …
As you!
Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.
Note: The collection of stories made in response to the previous prompt The One Who Left the Dress, including mine, can be read at the Carrot Ranch.
Book Week is almost upon us. It runs from 20 – 26 August. The theme for Book Week this year is Dreaming with Eyes Open.
The beautiful artwork in the poster for this year was created by author-illustrator Jasmine Seymour. You can hear her speak briefly about the artwork and what the theme means to her in this video in which the theme was announced. I think you’ll agree that the artwork is beautiful.
Book Week is an annual event organised by the Children’s Book Council of Australia and has been held every year since 1945. It is a celebration of Australian children’s books, their authors and illustrators. Celebrations take place in schools and libraries across Australia with displays, story telling and reading, competitions and parades. I think the favourite activity for many is dressing up as storybook characters.
Shortlisted books
All the books shortlisted for the awards are listed on the website. A ‘read more’ button beside each book takes you to teaching notes, critiques by the judges, reviews and other activities where available.
The books are organised into different categories for the awards:
Book of the Year: Older Readers
Book of the Year: Younger Readers
Book of the Year: Early Childhood
The Picture Book of the Year
Eve Pownall Award (a focus on factual material)
CBCA Award for New Illustrator
We eagerly await the announcement of the winners.
Australian School Library Day
This year, to coincide with Book Week, the first annual Australian School Library Day will held on 24 August 2022 (the Wednesday of Book Week). The purpose of the day is to highlight and celebrate school libraries. What a great combination of celebrations of children’s literature, reading and libraries. The Australian School Library Day (ASLD) website has suggestions of how you can join in the celebration.
The School Library Association of Victoria first developed School Libraries Day as far back as 1994. It was an official day for lobbying for school libraries by targeting principals and politicians. By 1999, School Libraries Day went International and was adopted by the International Association of School Librarianship. It now exists as International School Library Month (ISLM), where each nation is encouraged to select their own day in October to celebrate school libraries. This year’s ISLM theme is Reading for Global Peace and Harmony. How fantastic to see our Aussie school library staff having a global impact!”
You see, I’ve visited remote places, I’ve holidayed in remote places, I’ve even lived in remote places. But none of these were the remote wilderness places that make wonderful settings for the excitement of adrenalin-pumping adventure stories. But maybe they could be if I wanted to set a story there?
Anyway, this is a combination of places I’ve been and teenagers I’ve known. I also tried to throw in a bit about names. I find it amusing when names fit the person’s personality or role in some way. I’ve also been amused (but only slightly) to see so many country boys named Angus (including cousins, so, sorry cus). I guess if Sandy was named after the soil where her mother grew up, then Angus could be named after the cattle his parents breed. I hope it works. See what you think.
The End of the Road
Sandy coughed, gagged, groaned, and complained in the unbearable heat as the car slewed along the track with air-con and windows locked to keep out the dust, failing as miserably as Sandy’s attempts to convince her stupid parents to go home. No phone. No internet. No nothing.Might as well be dead.
“When I was your age, there were no mobile phones or internet. You’ll survive. We did.”
Norah Colvin 