tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38485104090607814122024-02-18T20:05:03.393-06:00TJ on a JourneyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger230125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-2830473745621021122019-06-13T09:38:00.003-05:002019-06-13T09:49:09.367-05:00International Dot Day Links to Share 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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New This Year -- </h3>
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PLEASE use the hashtag <b>#InternationalDotDay </b>when you post anything about Dot Day. This will replace #DotDay and the dated hashtags. Dot Day can be celebrated any day of the year. This year, Dot Day lands on a Sunday, many schools will celebrate before or after, but feel free to celebrate any day or all year long!</div>
<h3 style="font-size: 19.5px;">
Introduction</h3>
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International Dot Day started in a few classrooms in 2009 and has grown into a worldwide celebration. It's a celebration of creativity that can start small, like butcher paper and markers or big like a whole-school dot making in a variety of ways. The big idea is taking time out to celebrate creativity.<br />
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It all started with a book by Peter H. Reynolds and published by Candlewick. You can buy the book at your local bookstore, or online. If you'd like a signed copy, you can buy from Peter's bookstore, Blue Bunny Books and Toys (link below).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYlhjhTknDLA6rEdvzcv7EJ1OqjZxOaxIy1clH8FIQOTI_9tw3ekKgSbhzbwHqmQ4iLW3l5vZcdzaxKUhabjZRqAROuEd5b7M6W3Amru7incmTdle1T05prkb2bAx0JbBClSeHjfGOj02A/s1600/TheDot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="260" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYlhjhTknDLA6rEdvzcv7EJ1OqjZxOaxIy1clH8FIQOTI_9tw3ekKgSbhzbwHqmQ4iLW3l5vZcdzaxKUhabjZRqAROuEd5b7M6W3Amru7incmTdle1T05prkb2bAx0JbBClSeHjfGOj02A/s200/TheDot.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Official Page International Dot Day Page</h3>
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The official page and sign up are available at <a href="http://thedotclub.org/" style="color: purple; text-decoration-line: none;">thedotclub.org</a>. There is a yearly signup. Please consider signing up and sharing the day with friends and colleagues.<br />
<a href="https://www.fablevisionlearning.com/dot-day-posters" style="color: purple; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><br /></a><a href="https://www.reynoldstlc.org/dot-day-free-posters/" style="color: purple; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Dot Day posters (Free) including in different languages.</a></div>
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Start With a Dot Journal</h3>
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New last year was a guided journal from Abrams called, <i>Start With a Dot: A Journal for Making Your Mark. </i>Available where books are sold. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2qkPw3zeLkd_giUkxQuA0cT_ER9aKjX9rE2CKYh7ndDO3b6dIMcwhADH6-F8UhChNXaz0MrSqf542LEFDxyjT-7L1ezSnlgr3MvO80_fAgxeWNfUW8_Y-uBsHHKMN-IxDLWkHOtoAHf2X/s1600/Start+With+A+Dot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1107" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2qkPw3zeLkd_giUkxQuA0cT_ER9aKjX9rE2CKYh7ndDO3b6dIMcwhADH6-F8UhChNXaz0MrSqf542LEFDxyjT-7L1ezSnlgr3MvO80_fAgxeWNfUW8_Y-uBsHHKMN-IxDLWkHOtoAHf2X/s320/Start+With+A+Dot.jpg" width="221" /></a></div>
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Discovery Education in the Home of Dot Day</h3>
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In 2016, Peter H. Reynolds visited the school where Dot Day began and Discovery Education was there to capture it all! <a href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/Events/monthly-themes/dot-day-2016.cfm" style="color: purple; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">You can see an archive video here. </a></div>
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KidLitTV</h3>
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In 2017, KidLitTV gathered some Celebridot makers and LiveStreamed a great program. <a href="https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/international-dot-day-livestream-kidlit-tv-hq/" style="color: purple; text-decoration-line: none;">You can see the archive here. </a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Creativity Corner:</span></div>
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://kidlit.tv/2018/10/how-to-keep-dot-day-going-all-year-long/&source=gmail&ust=1560522278081000&usg=AFQjCNFjF8YwBoEjK_UWRy7wF2rxNz8POQ" href="https://kidlit.tv/2018/10/how-to-keep-dot-day-going-all-year-long/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">https://kidlit.tv/2018/10/how-<wbr></wbr>to-keep-dot-day-going-all-<wbr></wbr>year-long/</span></a></div>
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://kidlit.tv/2017/10/creativity-corner-a-special-dot-day-activity/&source=gmail&ust=1560522278081000&usg=AFQjCNHdctFHLv-mMyUVgKarT6qiNPCG9w" href="https://kidlit.tv/2017/10/creativity-corner-a-special-dot-day-activity/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">https://kidlit.tv/2017/10/<wbr></wbr>creativity-corner-a-special-<wbr></wbr>dot-day-activity/</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ready Set Draw!</span></div>
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/ready-set-draw-ish-peter-h-reynolds-the-dot/&source=gmail&ust=1560522278081000&usg=AFQjCNFNIdimlT96NA-UoedwdD3S3-_ang" href="https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/ready-set-draw-ish-peter-h-reynolds-the-dot/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/<wbr></wbr>ready-set-draw-ish-peter-h-<wbr></wbr>reynolds-the-dot/</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">StoryMakers with Peter H. Reynolds</span></div>
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/storymakers-peter-h-reynolds/&source=gmail&ust=1560522278081000&usg=AFQjCNF6iRxE6uTeF5GqdomU7NtTYg05qg" href="https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/storymakers-peter-h-reynolds/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/<wbr></wbr>storymakers-peter-h-reynolds/</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">KidLit RADIO Podcast with Peter H. Reynolds (StoryMakers)</span></div>
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://kidlit.tv/2016/09/kidlit-podcast-peter-h-reynolds/&source=gmail&ust=1560522278081000&usg=AFQjCNEAbLvVfxoaJDtXA8XfLCEVEBLvsQ" href="https://kidlit.tv/2016/09/kidlit-podcast-peter-h-reynolds/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">https://kidlit.tv/2016/09/<wbr></wbr>kidlit-podcast-peter-h-<wbr></wbr>reynolds/</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">International Dot Day Livestream at KidLit TV HQ</span></div>
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/international-dot-day-livestream-kidlit-tv-hq/&source=gmail&ust=1560522278081000&usg=AFQjCNGtMBQQVfJWSILRmmbjQcHa5iix0Q" href="https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/international-dot-day-livestream-kidlit-tv-hq/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/<wbr></wbr>international-dot-day-<wbr></wbr>livestream-kidlit-tv-hq/</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">How to write a Dot Day Poem</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: inherit;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/write-dot-day-poem/&source=gmail&ust=1560522278081000&usg=AFQjCNErWHyMkopWRDraPYYF3mIP9YBYYQ" href="https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/write-dot-day-poem/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/<wbr></wbr>write-dot-day-poem/</a></span></div>
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Celebridots</h3>
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The Celebridot site (<a href="http://www.celebridots.com/" style="color: purple; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.celebridots.com</a>) was inspired by Newbery Medal winner, Sharon Creech who sent me a dot on Dot Day 2011. I was so inspired by seeing what one of my favorite authors made for a dot, I asked others and this gallery is available to inspire kids to be creative. If you know an author/illustrator/actor/sports personality who is not on the list, please invite them to participate. Directions for submitting are on the site. </div>
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Ideas/Pinterest</h3>
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I have curated many Dot Day celebrations through Pinterest. You can find that <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/tjshay/international-dot-day" style="color: purple; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">board here. </a></div>
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Follow the Twitter hashtag #DotDay for the latest ideas and also be sure to tag your sharing!!</div>
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Shannon M. Miller Resources</h3>
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Super librarian, Shannon Miller, has an awesome blog about Dot Day 2019 that is full of resources. <a href="https://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/2019/05/celebrate-dot-day-by-connecting-here.html?fbclid=IwAR1R9MvKtpWeCD2XHObLpSyr_8z_rKcUk6WKoeLtCNB2hndWldoYcg6y9YQ" target="_blank">Check it out here. </a></div>
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Connecting with other Dotters and Classrooms</h3>
Shannon M. Miller, Matthew Winner, and Andy Plemmons have created a great Google Doc for help connecting with other schools on Dot Day. <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KZpuDCu_lJ9LXdjFN5Bj-ZYhPiW8Up78nv5I1YHK8RY/edit" target="_blank">You can find the 2019 document here. </a>Be sure to connect with Shannon, Matthew, and Andy because they are awesome!<br />
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Andy Plemmons @plemmonsa<br />
Matthew Winner @matthewwinner<br />
Shannon McClintock Miller @shannonmmiller<br />
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Shannon has a blog post with lots of great links <a href="https://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/2018/06/celebrate-dot-day-by-connecting-here.html" style="color: purple; text-decoration-line: none;">here. </a><br />
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Quivervision</h3>
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Quivervision has a great augmented reality app and a special Dot Day page. Make your dots come alive!! Find the information you need <a href="http://www.quivervision.com/dotday/" style="color: purple; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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<b>Dot Day Products</b></h3>
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<span style="background-color: #99c9ff; font-family: "georgia" , "times" , serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 10px;">Available from The Blue Bunny Books and Toys - Dot Central </span><a href="https://www.thedotcentral.com/" style="background-color: #99c9ff; color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; text-indent: 10px;" target="_blank">https://www.thedotcentral.com/</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-10213492582530821722018-07-05T21:21:00.005-05:002018-07-05T21:22:19.189-05:00International Dot Day Links to Share 2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Introduction</h3>
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International Dot Day started in a few classrooms in 2009 and has grown into a worldwide celebration. It's a celebration of creativity that can start small, like butcher paper and markers or big like a whole-school dot making in a variety of ways. The big idea is taking time out to celebrate creativity.</div>
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I am constantly sharing links on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/tjshay" target="_blank">Twitter </a>and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/tjshay" target="_blank">Facebook</a> to encourage more classes to participate, adults are welcome to find me at the above social media sites. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LH_xb23zXbF5G4lDlv55Jp9I_IbL72GDzrSMkMdRHkkTHQperpt-04iuZDst-ck_zmCji88D3BOQM-Nu1gNONDl70d1ofX_6F33yKPfcp6i-YNt4GsQO2eDXDYKYg8YJ2Ibl9ohW5vpS/s1600/amCharts.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="1120" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LH_xb23zXbF5G4lDlv55Jp9I_IbL72GDzrSMkMdRHkkTHQperpt-04iuZDst-ck_zmCji88D3BOQM-Nu1gNONDl70d1ofX_6F33yKPfcp6i-YNt4GsQO2eDXDYKYg8YJ2Ibl9ohW5vpS/s320/amCharts.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Countries in Orange have participants (Map as of July 2)</div>
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Discovery Education in the Home of Dot Day</h3>
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In 2016, Peter H. Reynolds visited the school where Dot Day began and Discovery Education was there to capture it all! <a href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/Events/monthly-themes/dot-day-2016.cfm" target="_blank">You can see an archive video here. </a></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
KidLitTV</h3>
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Last year KidLitTV gathered some Celebridot makers and LiveStreamed a great program. <a href="https://kidlit.tv/2017/09/international-dot-day-livestream-kidlit-tv-hq/">You can see the archive here. </a></div>
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<a href="https://kidlit.tv/2016/09/ready-set-draw-ish-peter-h-reynolds-the-dot/" target="_blank">Peter H. Reynolds appeared on KidLitTV's Ready Set Draw</a></div>
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<a href="https://kidlit.tv/2017/03/storymakers-peter-h-reynolds/" target="_blank">Peter H. Reynolds appeared on Storymakers with Rocco Staino of KidLitTV</a></div>
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I also write a column for KidLitTV to keep creativity going all year! <a href="https://kidlit.tv/?s=Creativity+Corner">Find links to the articles here.</a></div>
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Official Page International Dot Day Page</h3>
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The official page and sign up are available at <a href="http://thedotclub.org/">thedotclub.org</a>. There is a yearly signup. Please consider signing up and sharing the day with friends and colleagues.<br />
<a href="https://www.fablevisionlearning.com/dot-day-posters" target="_blank"><br /></a><a href="https://www.fablevisionlearning.com/dot-day-posters" target="_blank">Dot Day posters (Free) including in different languages.</a></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Celebridots</h3>
<div>
The Celebridot site (<a href="http://www.celebridots.com/">http://www.celebridots.com</a>) was inspired by Sharon Creech who sent me a dot on Dot Day 2011. I was so inspired by seeing what one of my favorite authors made for a dot, I asked others and this gallery is available to inspire kids to be creative. If you know an author/illustrator/actor/sports personality who is not on the list, please invite them to participate. Directions for submitting are on the site. </div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Ideas/Pinterest</h3>
<div>
I have curated many Dot Day celebrations through Pinterest. You can find that <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/tjshay/international-dot-day" target="_blank">board here. </a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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Follow the Twitter hashtag #DotDay for the latest ideas and also be sure to tag your sharing!!</div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Connecting with other Dotters</h3>
Shannon M. Miller, Matthew Winner, and Andy Plemmons have created a great Google Doc for help connecting with other schools on Dot Day. <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PgJlm6KvfWQ3P3o2Q5OrdctE5lsvXqJgfF0-LqMLo3k/edit" target="_blank">You can find the 2018 document here</a>. Be sure to connect to Shannon, Matthew, and Andy because they are awesome!<br />
<br />
Andy Plemmons @plemmonsa<br />
Matthew Winner @matthewwinner<br />
Shannon McClintock Miller @shannonmmiller<br />
<br />
Shannon has a blog post with lots of great links <a href="https://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/2018/06/celebrate-dot-day-by-connecting-here.html">here. </a><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Quivervision</h3>
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Quivervision has a great augmented reality app and a special Dot Day page. Make your dots come alive!! Find the information you need <a href="http://www.quivervision.com/dotday/" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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<b>Dot Day Products</b></h3>
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Available from The Blue Bunny Books and Toys - Dot Central <a href="https://www.thedotcentral.com/" target="_blank">https://www.thedotcentral.com/</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-79956134585815975902017-12-03T16:11:00.000-06:002017-12-07T19:41:01.801-06:00My Favorite Books of 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I often am asked what books I would recommend. Here is a list of my favorite books that I read this year, though they may have been published in a different year. I love a lot of books and not appearing on this list doesn't mean I didn't love it....this list is of the books that someone touched me or made me laugh. Inevitably I will inadvertently leave off a book that I love or read one that I need to add, so please check back.<br />
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<br /><b>Picture Books</b></h3>
<i>Starring Carmen</i> by Anika Denise and illustrated by Lorena Alvarez. This joyful book is highly entertaining. You will fall in love with Carmen and her brother.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrkeHatyj0DB_33jSdQQ245Zyqu4_e8yxjT1Cm0N2cAxoP2ZWCLIdGr7iOXYY17fHvQL7dccbV2HsWbEmztAOr1lYbh8gAGqSz_xnIOj9qf7egJreBlrgKBuTn_uihNH7g1uVzLwCnZfg/s1600/Carmen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrkeHatyj0DB_33jSdQQ245Zyqu4_e8yxjT1Cm0N2cAxoP2ZWCLIdGr7iOXYY17fHvQL7dccbV2HsWbEmztAOr1lYbh8gAGqSz_xnIOj9qf7egJreBlrgKBuTn_uihNH7g1uVzLwCnZfg/s1600/Carmen.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i>Back to School with Bigfoot </i>by Martha Brockenbrough and Samantha Berger and illustrated by Dave Pressler. You read who its by, right?? Of course it's super fun!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGR3SzcaEWMI59WKBeLvDsrx-L_u0yB1MNyaPz6XTjeDWR_vLUFUg2owvOG8PhA2CKd96kMUQ4bMvYtZnY_SXeq2xnan_Dqqj8HZOMB6wI53GuaUuAhnMv5-I6qVjXGLqk3xccfw0RMgk/s1600/Bigfoot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGR3SzcaEWMI59WKBeLvDsrx-L_u0yB1MNyaPz6XTjeDWR_vLUFUg2owvOG8PhA2CKd96kMUQ4bMvYtZnY_SXeq2xnan_Dqqj8HZOMB6wI53GuaUuAhnMv5-I6qVjXGLqk3xccfw0RMgk/s1600/Bigfoot.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i>Monster's New Undies</i> by Samantha Berger and illustrated by Tad Carpenter. This book is a finalist in my school's battle of the books for good reason. Although anything underwear related is highly popular with younger kids, there's a greater message in this book.<br />
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<i>Come With Me</i> by Holly McGhee and illustrated by Pascal Lamaître. Every single classroom in the world needs this book. I don't feel like it got the attention it deserves. How do you deal with a struggling world??? Come with me and I will show you.<br />
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<i>Red and Lulu </i>by Matt Tavares. Easily one of the most beautiful books I've ever seen. Again, in the middle of beautiful artwork (just look at that cover) is a sweet message about going home.<br />
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<i>Twelve Sleighs of Christmas</i> by Sherri Duskey Rinker and illustrated by Jake Parker. Super fun holiday book.<br />
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<i>The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors</i> by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Adam Rex. Drew makes me laugh so much and his sense of humor comes shining through. Adam's illustrations are also perfect.<br />
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<i>Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton</i> by Sherri Duskey Rinker and illustrated by John Rocco. This is a great biography/historical fiction picture book and the art is stunning. You almost feel like you're watching Virginia Lee Burton conjure up the pictures.<br />
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<i>Happy Dreamer </i>by Peter H. Reynolds. I've known Peter for many years. This book is the most perfect representation of Peter as a person and it's also a love-letter to every dreamer.<br />
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<i>Crown: Ode to a Fresh Cut</i> by Derrick Barnes and Gordon C James. This is not your normal picture book in the most amazing way. The art is great and the style is so fresh and so different.<br />
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<i>Draw the Line</i> by Kathryn Otoshi. I wordless picture book that says more than books with a thousand words. Beautiful.<br />
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<i>Snappsy the Alligator and His Best Friend (Probably)</i> by Julie Falatko and illustrated by Tim J. Miller. The original Snappsy made me laugh out loud while reading it in the Penguin booth at NCTE years ago. This next book does not disappoint. Snappsy is wonderful.<br />
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<i>After the Fall</i> by Dan Santat. Wow. Just Wow. An ode to moving on after a fall.<br />
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<i>Groundhug Day</i> by Anne Marie Pace and illustrated by Christopher Denise. Let's be honest, I would buy a book for Christopher's art only. The words make this book even better. A very sweet story.<br />
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<i>Sarabella's Thinking Cap</i> by Judy Schachner. This book would be a great companion to Peter's <i>Happy Dreamer. </i>Judy's art is stunning...so much so that I actually gasped when I turned a page. Another great book for anyone who marches to the beat of their own drummer.<br />
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<i>Claymates</i> by Dev Petty and illustrated by Lauren Eldridge. You have to see this book to believe it. Honestly it's so different and so cool. My students absolutely love this book and for good reason.<br />
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<i>Deck The Walls: A Wacky Christmas Carol</i> by Erin Dealey and illustrated by Nick Ward. F U N book. My students loved it so much because it's fun. You can't help but to sing along.<br />
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<i>This is Not a Normal Animal Book</i> by Julie Segal-Walters and illustrated by Brian Biggs. This book had both the morning book club and the second grade class I read it to laughing so hard. Such a great laugh!<br />
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<i>Love, Santa</i> by Martha Brockenbrough and illustrated by Lee White. Struggling with how to explain the magic of Santa?? Struggle no more. This book is beautiful and perfect. What you thought would be a difficult conversation will become a joyful one and Christmas will never be the same again....in a good way.<br />
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<i>Love, Triangle</i> by Marcie Colleen and illustrated by Bob Shea. What happens when a third person comes into a freindship?? Magically told by Marcie, you'll love this.</div>
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<i>Brave</i> by Stacy McAnulty and illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. "Like superheroes, brave kids can save the world, just by being brave." A wonderful message and an amazing book.<br />
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<i>Life </i>by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Brendan Wenzel. This book is stunning and has such an amazing message.<br />
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<h3>
<br /><b>Early Reader</b></h3>
Joe and Sparky Go To School by Jamie Michalak and Frank Remkiewicz. True story...I've been friends with Jamie for a long time. One day, I saw this book and just had to buy it. I read it in my office at school and found myself laughing out loud. This is such a great early reader series.<br />
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<h3>
<b><br /></b><b>Middle Grade or Young Adult</b></h3>
A Dog Like Daisy by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb. Sweetly told tale of a dog being adopted by a family, including someone with PTSD. A must read.<br />
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Wishtree by Katherine Applegate. I read this while waiting for a plane from NYC home. You might have heard about the flooding at LaGuardia last summer....that was me. This story is told by the tree and the tears were for something so beautiful, they just couldn't be helped. I love Katharine's writing and The Only and Only Ivan is my all-time favorite Middle Grade. This is very close to the all-time tops.<br />
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Matylda Bright and Tender by Holly McGhee. Holly and I have been friends a long time. I've known her in her job as an agent and for a few fun books. This book blew me away. Dealing with loss is a theme, but growing up is a larger theme. Absolutely stunning.<br />
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Patina by Jason Reynolds. A second book in the "Track" series, this is such an amazing book. Jason Reynolds is a master storyteller. Be sure to also grab <i>Ghost</i>, the first book in this series.<br />
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<i>The Hate You Give</i> by Angie Thomas. I am positive I have told you about this book if you know me at all. Perfect and soul crushing. There will be a movie, but books are always better than the movies. EVERY kid needs to read this book. The theme might be very tough for some kids, so I recommend an adult read it first. I recommended it to a special friend who is a grandmother of a voracious reader. I made the aforementioned recommendation. The stellar grandma and the girls mother also read it, an example of awesome parenting and grand-parenting. Everyone loved it.<br />
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A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold and illustrated by Charles Santoso. The most authentic depiction of a kid on the autism spectrum I have read along with a great story. Charles Santoso spins magic in everything he draws.<br />
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Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder. I remember Laurel talking about writing this thing that she thought would never sell. Well, here it is and it's thought-provoking and glorious.<br />
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The Incredible Magic of Being by Kathryn Erskine. Julian moves to Maine with his parents to start a B&B but their plans are nearly derailed by a neighbor. A wonderful book with a really hopeful message.<br />
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Miles Morales By Jason Reynolds. Spiderman and other superheroes are not my usual reading materials. BUT, when the story is by Jason Reynolds, I'm all in. SO great.<br />
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The Way to Bea by Kat Yeh. I almost don't want to write anything about this and potentially spoil the ride, but you should read this book. Sometimes we get lost....sometimes we get found.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-4108846919784762292017-09-19T09:43:00.003-05:002017-09-19T18:53:03.627-05:00Ten Thousand Thanks!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Now that the dots have settled on another wildly successful Dot Day, I want to extend some thanks to some very important people. Be sure to read to the end. I'm a little nervous that I've missed people in this list, so I may go back and add some.<br />
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<b>Peter H. Reynolds</b> - There would be no day without the perfect book. Your words and your art have captivated the world. When I suggested we "have a day to let kids make dots and be creative," you had the brilliance to call it "International" and made a logo. Your belief in my dream made all the difference. Thank you.<br />
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<b>Paul A Reynolds</b> - Every year, you are there behind the scenes, connecting people, making things happen, watching the totals, and dreaming of a more creative future. Thank you.<br />
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<b>Bill Norris</b> - In 2011 you had the idea to keep track of who was celebrating. It was truly a brilliant suggestion because the power of numbers both helps people feel connected and also to keep all of us reaching to inspire more and more kids. You are also behind the scenes working and making things happen. Thank you<br />
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<b>Julie Gribble</b> and <b>KidLitTV team- </b>When you jumped on board, you rocked the ship!! You have made such an amazing groundswell of love and support happen. Last year with the <i>Ready, Set, Draw,</i> and the <i>Storymakers</i> and this year with an amazing Livestream. You constantly support this amazing mission. Thank you for allowing me to write a monthly-ish column where I can share ways to keep being creative. Apple autocorrect keeps changing Livestream to LIFEstream and, this year it's not wrong. You brought new life. Thank you to the entire team.<br />
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<b>Shannon M. Miller,</b> <b>Andy Plemmons</b>, and <b>Matthew Winner </b>Before I even dreamed of how making connections would inspire classrooms to participate, you were at work making it all happen. I never have to wonder if you will create a new doc to share, it happens before I can even think of it. I will be forever grateful to all of you for your work. Thank you.<br />
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<b>Quivervision - </b>One of our Ambassadors contacted QuiverVision (then ColAr) and asked if they'd participate in Dot Day and before we knew it, there was a template and dozens of schools jumping on board. Having a new way to look at dots has been wonderful. Thank you! Thank you also for this amazing dot that you made out of submissions to Quivervision! WOW, I am blown away.<br />
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<b>FableVision Learning </b>- Andrea, Patrick, Patrick M, and Adrienne and all those that went before you have been instrumental in making Dot Day grow. From creating awesome blog posts and Maker Studio dots, to making sure that people are able to go to the website and find what they need, you all rock. Thank you!<br />
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<b>Blue Bunny Books - </b>Margie-the-Great, Melissa, and Diana worked wonders this year to get t-shirts, stickers, and books out to people celebrating. You will forever be my favorite bookstore. Thank you!<br />
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<b>Candlewick Press</b> - Thank you for supporting Dot Day by providing materials for celebrations and awesome book guides and ideas. Anne and company, you rock! Thank you!<br />
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<b>DoInk </b>- New this year! There were some really ingenious ways for teachers and kids to GreenScreen with their dots. Thank you for tweeting, sharing, and making a product that helps kids be creative.<br />
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<b>Buncee </b>encouraged many people to celebrate this year and for many years. This was, I think, the first year I've seen <b>FlipGrid </b>celebrations and they have been amazing and heartwarming. Thank you.<br />
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<b>Faber-Castell </b>- Thank you for being the sponsor of this year's KidLitTV Lifestream! That LiveStream was amazing and it happened through your generosity. Thank you also for creating stellar art supplies that help everyone be more creative.<br />
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<b>Holly McGhee and Pippin Properties- </b>To the super agent who first helped bring "The Dot" to the world, and a constant supporter of creativity, Peter, and me. Your love and kindness is truly appreciated.<br />
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<b>The Celebridots - </b>For those who don't know the story, in 2011 on Dot Day, I received an email from one of my favorite authors, <b>Sharon Creech</b>, and it inspired me to seek dots from other famous people to inspire kids to be creative. There are currently 260 dots from a huge variety of authors/illustrators/TV personalities which annually inspire kids. I never dreamed when we started the collection that people would use so many different mediums to create, and that has made the gallery an incredible source of inspiration. Thank you for taking time away from your own work to make your mark on kids.<br />
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<b>North Tama School and Teachers - </b>After celebrating for a few years in three of my classrooms, I asked if we could involve the entire elementary and the answer was yes. The teachers went so far above and beyond to dot the school, it was amazing. The next year, the entire secondary joined. What a testament to creativity and positivity. Many teachers have celebrated every year and I am always amazed by their creativity. Thank you.<br />
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<b>My students former and present - </b>In the past, people have asked me how I get older kids to participate and my answer is always, "put out art supplies." There is no trick. I think I've been blessed with amazing students who appreciate the time to be creative. In addition, many have gone on to celebrate in their own classrooms or, in the case of <b>Stefanie Kline</b>, in a daycare. I love my students and former students, they keep me going. Thank you for believing in this dream.<br />
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Every <b>administrator</b> who saw the importance of celebrating creativity and allowed or advocated for teachers and kids. I met a principal once who scowled at me when asked if her school participated. She said "if I take any more instructional time away from teachers, they will be very mad." This made me appreciate the ones who see practice creativity AS instructional time. Thank you, administrators.<br />
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Every <b>teacher</b>, <b>counselor</b>, <b>care-giver</b>, <b>librarian</b>, or <b>person</b> who celebrated and/or shared this day, I thank you. Much praise has been heaped on the founder, but it all belongs to YOU. YOU made this day what it is and even if I thanked you 10 million times, it wouldn't be enough. YOU are heroes.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-39981854759825436932017-09-05T17:57:00.001-05:002017-09-05T17:57:16.395-05:00Is creativity something you are born with or can it be cultivated over time?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It can be cultivated. Most importantly IMO it's important to be able to find something that you can do that makes you want to be creative. Does this make sense? Like reading--some people just need to find the right book? <b>Kate Sullivan</b><br /><br />I think that creativity is something that one can have an affinity for, the same as one might have for sports, dance or chess. However, it's a skill that has to be cultivated for it to become a profession. <b>Angie Jones</b><br /><br /><br />"Creative" is usually considered "artistic" but that is wrong. I truly believe everyone is "creative", it just manifests itself in different ways. And yes it needs to be watered like a flower or worked out like muscles you want to make stronger.<b> Lori Richmond</b><br /><div>
It can be cultivated, but it's something you have to have the desire to do. <b>Christina Barragan Forshay</b><br /><br />Creativity can be cultivated or squashed by your early upbringing. If someone gives you positive feedback about your art as a kid you want to do more and the more you do, the better you get at it. If someone forces you to color within the lines creativity is stifled. <b>Timothy Young</b><br /></div>
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Almost all 3-year-olds test at a genius level for creativity. By the time we reach 23, only about 3-percent retain the mental flexibility. Part is a helpful pruning--ultimately, seeing a sauce pan as a hat is only so useful. But part is trained out of us. So the challenge really is to keep creativity, and to keep practicing it in many contexts. It's sort of become synonymous with art and writing and such. But every aspect of our lives and all of our mental efforts are enriched with active creativity. What new ways can we solve problems? (That's one form of creativity.) What new things can we invent? (That's another.) <b>Martha Brockenbrough</b><br /><br />I think everyone is born with an ability to be creative, but you might need to find what form that actually takes. For instance, my child hates painting/drawing/coloring, but he creates the most amazing things with legos. My husband is not at all "artsy" or creative in a stereotypical sense, but his job is problem-solving, coming up with concrete solutions, and then implementing them. I do think that the ability to be creative can be squashed if a person isn't given the space or encouragement to be creative. <b>Piper Kroeze</b><br /><br />Yes, we are born creative. Conception, birth, growth, learning, change, life itself, are all one big creative process constantly unfolding. I don't think you need to necessarily cultivate it as much as keep it alive and protected from the forces that would tamper it. It is said of love that all we need to do to have it is to clear the obstacles that are keeping us from it. The same can be said of creativity. First step in being creative: release all fear of being “wrong” for if “right” is nothing more than what has been formerly and commonly agreed upon, then creativity and anything new and different by definition will at first be considered “wrong.” “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”<br /><br />― Jalaluddin Rumi<br />______<br />The same goes for creativity.<br /></div>
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There are many ways to define creativity. One of my favorites, as it applies so easily to design problems, is finding solutions within restrictions. The tighter the restrictions, potentially the more creative the solution. Just think of making a great meal out of 3 random things found right now in your fridge. Much more challenging than with a fully stocked chef's kitchen. This type of thinking can be applied to many more fields than we normally consider. I actually want my politicians and scientists and doctors to apply creative problem solving to their jobs just as much as I want designers, writers, and illustrators to.<br />______<br />Another way to foster creativity is to encourage lateral thinking and thinking in metaphors. Seeing things for their intrinsic reality vs their ascribed meaning. Hence a walk through a hardware store becomes a flurry of creative ideas of what these silver metal circles could be used for or those black rubber tubes. I cannot help but think that a well-rounded education that certainly encompasses music and art in addition to language, science, math, history, and physical education will foster this and lay the right contemporaneous neural pathways for cross pollination of concepts. <b>Michael Arndt</b><br /><br /><br />I think everyone is born with creativity to some degree. For creativity to thrive, it needs to be cultivated, and it needs to not be squashed or conformed. <b>Karen Kirschel</b><br /><br />Both. We are all artists. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/ashleybryanword?hc_location=ufi">#AshleyBryanWord</a> <b>Hazel G. Mitchell</b><br /></div>
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Both. But the encouragement of it is what brings it alive. Everybody has creating in their body. They must be encouraged to find it and share it. <b>Karla Altrogge Cruz</b><br /><br />Yes, you are born with creativity sometimes life's pressures pushes it deep down into the sandbank of our minds. If given the right tools or sunlight it can be cultivated in formed into something far beyond your imagination. Watch it come to surface, It will grow to the height of the biggest tower if given proper attention and the water flow is consistent. If you sit still long enough your mind will outline your thoughts like the lines on an etch sketch. Dream In Color And Do It Out loud as I say. Your creativity relatively may be different from mine, it is all well. "To Walk Close To The Edge And Not To Look Over Is Simply Unheard Of" <b>Nicole M. Stevenson Author</b><br /><br />Regardless of where you get it, if creativity is stifled or squelched so does happiness. We must find our creative outlet or as some refer to it , passion, and continue to nurture and grow it so that our souls are filled with true joy. That creative outlet, whatever it may be for each person, is the path to our heart's joy. That happiness is like a wake of creativity that ripples outward and can and will impact others in it's path. <b>Conni Mulligan</b><br /><br />I would say both are possible. People can have natural innate creative talents. This we understand more than the other in my opinion. My mother always felt that she didn't have the aptitude for any artistic (non-musical) talents. As a teacher to gifted students, she wanted to be able to help her students use different mediums to express their creativity. By taking sculpting, drawing, etc classes, she realized that through technique she could learn to bring her creative ideas into fruition. <b>Susan Shedenhelm Blake</b><br /><br />Humans are creative beings. We make, we improve, and we solve. We are born with few instincts compare to other animals, but our brains are tremendously capable. It has billions of neurons forming complex networks. If networks aren’t used, they go out. But new networks are created all the time, regardless of age. We are able to learn and create throughout our lives. The capacity to be creative is in us all. <b>Stacy McAnulty</b><br /><br />Creativity is given and received; cultivating open circuits is a life-time endeavor. talents and technique have to be practiced and tweaked. <b>Jeanne Poland</b><br /><br /><br />I think the answer is both. Everyone is born with creativity and curiosity. Kids are much more free to express their creativity in art, writing, music, etc. The older they get, the more creativity has to be cultivated to keep going and to continue to be important. It's so easy to get discouraged if something you create doesn't turn out how you hoped, or even worse, a friend, teacher, family member, or classmate doesn't like it or makes fun of it. To continue being creative, you need to nurture your art, and keep growing / learning to get to the next level. To continue to be creative, you have to realize that you will get better if you keep at it. Your art may never turn out the way you imagine it will, but if you keep making art, it will get better, and might turn out even more amazing than what you hoped it would be. <b>Stephanie Ruble</b><br /><br />Both. If you don't exercise it, like any other muscle, creativity will atrophy. I think we all start out as creative (watch any kindergarten class and you'll see that). But it's often squelched. <b>Marissa Moss</b><br /><br />"Some people are born as a vehicle of creative energy, and words or images pass through them to be shared with the world. The root word, create, means anyone is capable of creating; however, the 'ivity' suffix signals activity which requires you to actively allow your creations to flow outward. As an author, I do feel like words and ideas come to me (in dreams, while I'm driving or flying), but as an artist, I feel like I have a vision and have to actively work to create it into a piece of art. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me they had a great kid's book idea... Only a select few of us put pen to paper, persist and have patience and perseverance, to get published!" <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.SusanKatzBooks.com%2F&h=ATPubysML5emUdD51K-zlzUypSX86DemQQMIwIITbtwDcK7TERsIPtPGUiYjjEKcOWEVOeWVLoC0yoU-b7eX4vQo60-l8PlaCBOQ3Zu0S2RVVuZ03U85mGAYZfdTmgBoN4GHuPL50Bdb0NGx">www.SusanKatzBooks.com</a> <b>Susan Katz</b><br /><br />I think we all have creativity. We need INSPIRING questions, experiences and models. <b>Sally Isaacs</b></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-60439140740870352542017-07-02T20:29:00.002-05:002017-08-22T10:24:55.759-05:00International Dot Day Links to Share 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Introduction</h3>
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International Dot Day started in a few classrooms in 2009 and has grown into a worldwide celebration. It's a celebration of creativity that can start small, like butcher paper and markers or whole-school dot making in a variety of ways. The big idea is taking time out to be celebrate creativity.</div>
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I am constantly sharing links on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/tjshay" target="_blank">Twitter </a>and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/tjshay" target="_blank">Facebook</a> to encourage more classes to participate, adults are welcome to find me at the above social media sites. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LH_xb23zXbF5G4lDlv55Jp9I_IbL72GDzrSMkMdRHkkTHQperpt-04iuZDst-ck_zmCji88D3BOQM-Nu1gNONDl70d1ofX_6F33yKPfcp6i-YNt4GsQO2eDXDYKYg8YJ2Ibl9ohW5vpS/s1600/amCharts.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="1120" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LH_xb23zXbF5G4lDlv55Jp9I_IbL72GDzrSMkMdRHkkTHQperpt-04iuZDst-ck_zmCji88D3BOQM-Nu1gNONDl70d1ofX_6F33yKPfcp6i-YNt4GsQO2eDXDYKYg8YJ2Ibl9ohW5vpS/s320/amCharts.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Countries in Orange have participants (Map as of July 2)</div>
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Discovery Education in the Home of Dot Day</h3>
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Last year, Peter H. Reynolds visited the school where Dot Day began and Discovery Education was there to capture it all! <a href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/Events/monthly-themes/dot-day-2016.cfm" target="_blank">You can see an archive video here. </a></div>
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KidLitTV</h3>
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<a href="https://kidlit.tv/2016/09/ready-set-draw-ish-peter-h-reynolds-the-dot/" target="_blank">Peter H. Reynolds appeared on KidLitTV's Ready Set Draw</a></div>
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<a href="https://kidlit.tv/2017/03/storymakers-peter-h-reynolds/" target="_blank">Peter H. Reynolds appeared on Storymakers with Rocco Staino of KidLitTV</a></div>
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I also write a column for KidLitTV to keep creativity going all year! <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/tjshay/home/resume/kidlittv-posts" target="_blank">Find links to the articles here.</a></div>
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Official Page</h3>
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The official page and sign up are available at <a href="http://thedotclub.org/">thedotclub.org</a>. There is a yearly signup. Please consider signing up and sharing the day with friends and colleagues.<br />
<a href="https://www.fablevisionlearning.com/dot-day-posters" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="https://www.fablevisionlearning.com/dot-day-posters" target="_blank">Dot Day posters (Free) including in different languages.</a></div>
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Celebridots</h3>
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The Celebridot site (<a href="http://www.celebridots.com/">http://www.celebridots.com</a>) was inspired by Sharon Creech who sent me a dot on Dot Day 2011. I was so inspired by seeing what one of my favorite authors made for a dot, I asked others and this gallery is available to inspire kids to be creative. If you know an author/illustrator/actor/sports personality who is not on the list, please invite them to participate. Directions for submitting are on the site. </div>
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Ideas/Pinterest</h3>
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I have curated many Dot Day celebrations through Pinterest. You can find that <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/tjshay/international-dot-day" target="_blank">board here. </a></div>
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Follow the Twitter hashtag #DotDay for the latest ideas and also be sure to tag your sharing!!</div>
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Connecting with other Dotters</h3>
Shannon M. Miller, Matthew Winner, and Andy Plemmons have created a great Google Doc for help connecting with other schools on Dot Day. <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GKwLwmOAHPnkkFXG2Nrlb-25sZAPk-YF7C3gEIrN140/edit">You can find the 2017 document here</a>. Be sure to connect to Shannon, Matthew, and Andy because they are awesome! <br />
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Andy Plemmons @plemmonsa<br />
Matthew Winner @matthewwinner <br />
Shannon McClintock Miller @shannonmmiller<br />
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<b>Dot Day Products</b></h3>
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<a href="http://www.bluebunnybooks.com/shop/?category=DOT+DAY" target="_blank">Available from The Blue Bunny Books and Toys - Dot Central </a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBuWIatMzQ61Jvyz-vUjzH69ry2kaRIE4ZT2N3FuLJXr4mVMHH2WvKv_P1e5brOcR02AZrsSsEQPxyIkUvzrE8DFsMISZczO4ZD6MpDLZSreXSL4V2TqJR8arxJUzsrPis1MAHbpHawDL_/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-08-20+at+9.48.30+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="1174" height="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBuWIatMzQ61Jvyz-vUjzH69ry2kaRIE4ZT2N3FuLJXr4mVMHH2WvKv_P1e5brOcR02AZrsSsEQPxyIkUvzrE8DFsMISZczO4ZD6MpDLZSreXSL4V2TqJR8arxJUzsrPis1MAHbpHawDL_/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-08-20+at+9.48.30+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-60036565474511685992016-11-30T15:57:00.000-06:002016-12-30T21:00:43.678-06:00My Favorite Books from 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I am often asked for book suggestions, so I am making my suggestions here. These were some of the favorite books I read in 2016. They may not all be from this year, but that's when I read them. Some of these were from friends and some were given to my by publishers, however, that does not impact my recommendation. If I don't love a book, I don't talk about it. These are my very favorite from this year and will undoubtedly grow as I realize I forgot to include some books, so check back.<br />
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<b>Updated: December 11 </b><br />
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<b><u>Picture Books</u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyc9W5eWIuv4qrtXI45pVP2eMkCcIeWBHKw19vhNwOVoksl4oH6iiyU-8NsQkg43_1NuOEVhcDi6B4gejAFjxO945EUHPnJd-LY9dj8RYuocphHFA8lKCIQHwZnHB-DIHsJyKuQK3G5YD8/s1600/IdaAlways.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyc9W5eWIuv4qrtXI45pVP2eMkCcIeWBHKw19vhNwOVoksl4oH6iiyU-8NsQkg43_1NuOEVhcDi6B4gejAFjxO945EUHPnJd-LY9dj8RYuocphHFA8lKCIQHwZnHB-DIHsJyKuQK3G5YD8/s200/IdaAlways.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<i>Ida Always by Caron Levis and illustrated by Charles Santoro</i><br />
<i> </i>My friend Samantha told me to buy this book and she was so so so right. Beautiful illustrations and a very sweet (and sad) story.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLsR6MBWxAQ0Z7DzT4S_LoY5RL-3p7ZK-kuEO2TvylyfvoMF3xj6D3PaNTQWx4d4IVWdGSpQ9qhgRLi_hK2FLPpebhe-Wt7rCw2mnX2J7HttayP2DcP_Nz9bEXdxZVy1m5xZvbDubKIzwQ/s1600/DrumDreamGirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLsR6MBWxAQ0Z7DzT4S_LoY5RL-3p7ZK-kuEO2TvylyfvoMF3xj6D3PaNTQWx4d4IVWdGSpQ9qhgRLi_hK2FLPpebhe-Wt7rCw2mnX2J7HttayP2DcP_Nz9bEXdxZVy1m5xZvbDubKIzwQ/s200/DrumDreamGirl.jpg" width="160" /></a></div>
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<i>Drum Dream Girl </i>by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Rafael Lopez<br />
Another recommendation from Samantha and a perfect addition to my collection. That sticker on the front is not wrong!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8bhyZ1cOSDPnAzX80-d_WmSQPG7DUV5lOfieEXklyevGooIhBlT9hBSwDzQvhZRdtZXV73IHKqxgZlnIJz3kt8j9A_4hyHhrZGfz5b1sf8hha084fVePr871gMx3n6TSh2M8y8vgfxUU/s1600/Lucy%2527sLovey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8bhyZ1cOSDPnAzX80-d_WmSQPG7DUV5lOfieEXklyevGooIhBlT9hBSwDzQvhZRdtZXV73IHKqxgZlnIJz3kt8j9A_4hyHhrZGfz5b1sf8hha084fVePr871gMx3n6TSh2M8y8vgfxUU/s200/Lucy%2527sLovey.jpg" width="159" /></a></div>
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<i>Lucy's Lovey </i>by Betsy Devany and illustrated by Christopher Denise<br />
OK, it's true, Christopher Denise could illustrate the phone book and I'd buy copies, but this is a lovely story from Betsy that is sure to win over your lovey loving friends.<br />
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<i>Shy </i>by Deborah Freedman<br />
Deborah Freedman has a style. I call it amazing. This is a sweet gentle book that needs more attention. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrJma_AjpWJUNay0ReBW5Mfe6PjZYbY0-wInl1de4n_9gMg_GaLBnFqoD9BWMGvCrsmXcjjyqIl0OVOgSZJmgh8gQntRr-IJHMwLZcrKbQ4LNBGeCVTadO_W5otFxzhtwedU1TDunNYnr/s1600/FriendforMole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrJma_AjpWJUNay0ReBW5Mfe6PjZYbY0-wInl1de4n_9gMg_GaLBnFqoD9BWMGvCrsmXcjjyqIl0OVOgSZJmgh8gQntRr-IJHMwLZcrKbQ4LNBGeCVTadO_W5otFxzhtwedU1TDunNYnr/s200/FriendforMole.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i>A Friend for Mole </i>by Nancy Armo<br />
Nancy Armo is an amazingly kind person, so of course her book reflects that. I read this to a class and they absolutely loved it. It's a very sweet story about finding your way when you're lost. </div>
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<i>Monster Trucks </i>by Anika Denise and illustrated by Nate Wragg<br />
How many times do I have to tell you to buy this book???? It's super fun and the illustrations add to that. This is the first book that my Kindergarten class cheered, "Read it again, read it again" after I finished. My high school morning book club still mentions this book from reading it last year.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJquhQjB1D1-4RiwOA56McdjWobcSNSrfD0k8MAvVG2J4WHQKxSGAO3Cs_rtwi_ThJD76bIFJwsPH1F2qLndYz3FgrWUBZmbPyIPYqXnZ6L_MNJO2uW6_AwIrtDRBQr9PYQfwDmSTLbg0N/s1600/HelloMyNameIsTiger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJquhQjB1D1-4RiwOA56McdjWobcSNSrfD0k8MAvVG2J4WHQKxSGAO3Cs_rtwi_ThJD76bIFJwsPH1F2qLndYz3FgrWUBZmbPyIPYqXnZ6L_MNJO2uW6_AwIrtDRBQr9PYQfwDmSTLbg0N/s200/HelloMyNameIsTiger.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i>Hello, My Name is Tiger </i>by Jennifer Goldfinger<br />
I picked up this book because I loved the illustration on the cover. It's a super new perspective and I loved the inside too.<br />
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<i>Birdie's Happiest Halloween </i>by Sujean Rim</div>
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<i> </i>Yes, of course I love Sujean and Birdie, who doesn't. However, this is such a fun sweet book that needs many more readers. Check out all of Sujean's books.<br />
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<i>The Water Princess </i>by Susan Verde and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, inspired by Georgie Badiel<br />
Peter's illustrations in this book make it worth the price. The story is simply told and amazingly powerful. It's an important book to shed light on a problem (clean water) that is found around the world.</div>
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<i>Rude Cakes </i>by Rowboat Watkins<br />
Another recommendation from Samantha....this one literally made me laugh out loud.<br />
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<i>You're My Boo </i>by Kate Dopirak and illustrated by Lesley Breen Withrow<br />
We read this the other day in my morning book club and a girl said that this was the cutest book ever. She was right. It's sweet.</div>
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<i>Hotel Bruce </i>by Ryan T. Higgins<br />
I love Bruce. This is awesome and very funny.<br />
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<i>Snappsy the Alligator: Did Not Ask to Be in This Book </i>by Julie Falatko and illustrated by Tim Miller<br />
Snappsy is quite the character. I have a funny story about the first time I read this, but I'll give you the short version. I saw it at NCTE in the Penguin book last November. I literally laughed out loud. VERY funny book. </div>
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<i>Before I Leave </i>by Jessixa Bagley<br />
I loved <i>Boats for Papa</i>, so I was pretty sure this book would be something I really liked. It's totally different, but yet teaches a valuable lesson. Love love love!</div>
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<i>The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield</i><br />
<i> </i>A recommendation from my friend Samantha, this book is beautiful and perfect.<br />
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<i>A Hat for Mrs. Goldman: A Story About Knitting and Love </i>by Michelle Edwards and G. Brian Karas<br />
I loved this gentle and sweet story. I think you will love it as well.<br />
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<i>The Friend Ship </i>by Kat Yeh and illlustrated by Chuck Groenink<br />
A great story and really beautiful illustrations. When I read this to a first grade class, one kid said, "Awesome" another kid, looking very incredulous said, "Way better than awesome!"<br />
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<i>Toby</i> by Hazel Mitchell<br />
The story of Toby, a rescue dog and his relationship with his new family. A very sweet book.<br />
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<i>Playing From the Heart </i>by Peter H. Reynolds<br />
It is well known that I love Peter's books. This one is filled with heart and music....two great things.<br />
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<i>Beautiful </i>by Stacy McAnulty and illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff<br />
A wonderful book about what beautiful is.<br />
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<i>The Fix It Man</i> by Susan Hood and illustrated by Arree Chung<br />
Let's be honest, just Arree's illustration make it worth the purchase, but Susan's words put it over the top! A super fun book.<br />
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<i>101 Reasons Why I'm Not Taking a Bath </i>by Stacy McAnulty and illustrated by Joy Ang<br />
Hilarious book. I read it to a Kindergarten class and they loved every page!!<br />
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<i><b><u>Middle Grade and Above:</u></b></i><br />
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<i>Gertie's Leap to Greatness </i>by Kate Beasley<br />
I saw this book everywhere online. My friends raved, so I bought it. So good and worthy of the praise heaped on it.<br />
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<i>Ghost </i>by Jason Reynolds</div>
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<i> </i>I love Jason Reynolds' books. Pernille Ripp told me I HAD to buy this one, so I did. I loved it. Again, worthy of all the awards it has and will receive.<br />
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<i>Moo: a novel </i>by Sharon Creech<br />
There is something so warm and wonderful about the worlds that Sharon Creech spins out. Reading her books makes me happy and content. She truly is a master storyteller.</div>
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<i>Making Friends with Billy Wong </i>by Augusta Scattergood<br />
Augusta really created a beautiful story with this book. You can picture the people and the places. Just wonderful.</div>
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<i>The Thing About Leftovers </i>by C. C. Payne<br />
Nancy Paulsen sent me this book and it sat on a pile for a while. Something about the cover didn't really speak to me. LUCKY FOR ME, I picked it up and started reading it one day. It's one of my very favorite of all time. C.C. has a unique voice and this was an excellent book to show off her skills. I have recommended it to the elementary counselor for people with blended families, and also bought a copy for my school. Check this book out!!!</div>
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<i>Be Light Like a Bird </i>by Monika Schröder<br />
This is what I wrote on GoodReads,"So many great moments in this book. It will remind you of a few other books in concept, but a unique voice comes shining through that makes you forget the others. It's about the power of love and redemption and things not being as they seem. See? You've read other books like that. However, this one will captivate you and you won't want it to end."<br />
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<i>Wish </i>by Barbara O'Connor </div>
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The power of love and hope are woven through this story. It's an important book.<br />
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<i>Liberty </i>by Kirby Larson</div>
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<i> </i> I have to be honest, my students and I were lucky enough to be able to help name some characters in this book, however, I love it independent of that. Kirby is the queen of historical fiction and this book proves why. Amazing storytelling.<br />
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<i>Maxi's Secrets: or What you can Learn from a Dog </i>by Lynn Plourde<br />
I didn't cry at this book, YOU cried at this book. OK, no, really, a stray dust storm went through my house.... OK, fine, yes, it made me cry.....but it also made my heart swell. It totally is worth the tears. I loved this so much!<br />
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<i>Counting Thyme</i> by Melanie Conklin<br />
This book is a love letter to kids with illnesses and the families that surround them. Love! This one has honesty and heart.</div>
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<i>Somewhere Among </i>by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu </div>
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<i> </i>This is an exceptional book that unfolds on so many levels. I said on GoodReads, "Overcoming obstacles....overcoming fears....overcoming flawed families....it's all here. Told in verse and a very sweet style, you follow the story of a young girl forced to live with a demanding grandmother while waiting for her mother to give birth."</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-63553435546967495102016-07-26T20:38:00.002-05:002016-07-26T20:38:52.888-05:00International Dot Day Links to Share - 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
International Dot Day started in a few classrooms in 2009 and has grown into a celebration celebrated around the world. I am constantly sharing links on <a href="https://twitter.com/tjshay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TJShay" target="_blank">Facebook</a> to encourage more classes to participate, adults may feel free to connect with me.<br />
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Official Page and Signup: <a href="http://www.thedotclub.org/">http://www.thedotclub.org</a> is where to send people first. There is a yearly signup and lots of resources and ideas to make your day (week, month, school year) successful. Please encourage people to check out the site and sign up!!<br />
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The amazing Celebridot Site: <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/">http://www.celebridots.com </a> The site was inspired by Sharon Creech who sent me a dot on Dot Day 2011. I was so inspired by her graciousness that I decided to start asking other celebrities to make their mark. So many awesome dots are now on the site by the best people out there. If you know an author/illustrator/actor/sports personality, please invite them to participate. The determining factor on 'celebrity' status is if kids would recognize his/her name or work. There are now 220 dots up!<br />
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I have curated a group of Dot Day celebrations through Pinterest: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/tjshay/international-dot-day/"> http://www.pinterest.com/tjshay/international-dot-day/</a> I also encourage you to search Pinterest for International Dot Day as I may have missed some. Beautiful stuff there! I also have a newer board for Dot Day Ideas here: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/tjshay/international-dot-day-ideas/">http://www.pinterest.com/tjshay/international-dot-day-ideas/</a><br />
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Shannon M. Miller, Matthew Winner, and Andy Plemmons have created a great Google Doc for help connecting with other schools on Dot Day. <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/189TNrk2DeEr4CWgmv6FhYbjBqG9Nu4BeXis8v3QnFX0/edit" target="_blank">You can find the 2016 document here</a>. Be sure to connect to Shannon, Matthew, and Andy because they are awesome! <span id="docs-internal-guid-7b3d725d-29f9-b37d-612d-f310827ba8be"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7b3d725d-29f9-b37d-612d-f310827ba8be"><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Andy Plemmons </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">@plemmonsa</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-7b3d725d-29f9-b37d-612d-f310827ba8be"><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matthew Winner</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> @matthewwinner</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Shannon McClintock Miller </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">@shannonmmiller</span></div>
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This year people have wondered if 7-12 students can participate in Dot Day! I am very proud to share this site from my school: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/106506195@N07/sets/72157636908020134/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/106506195@N07/sets/72157636908020134/</a> In 2013, every kid in grades 7-12 (and the awesome teachers) created a dot on his/her tablet and we took a large picture in the gym and also created a Flickr online gallery of all the dots.<br />
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I also would encourage you to use and search the #DotDay hashtag on Twitter! The very best and most creative educators on the planet will be found there!<br />
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Another way to connect to the best people is to check and follow people from this great <a href="http://www.fablevisionlearning.com/blog/2014/08/superhero-educators-of-dot-day?rq=Superhero" target="_blank">Superheroes of Dot Day post on the FableVision Learning Blog. </a><br />
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Do high school kids want to make dots?? <a href="http://tjonajourney.blogspot.com/2015/08/what-do-high-school-kids-think-of-dot.html" target="_blank">Check out this blogpost</a> from last year where I asked my former high school kids what they liked about the day.<br />
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Happy Dot Day!!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-71763144398507551382015-11-15T17:04:00.002-06:002015-11-16T13:10:57.893-06:00My Favorite Books of 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I am sometimes asked for book recommendations so I am going to list some of my favorite books of 2015 (and two that come out in January). I will undoubtedly add to this post with books I read before the new year and also the ones that should be on here but I've forgotten to add. Check back!<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Picture Books</h2>
<i>Dewey Bob</i> by Judy Schachner<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This is a really sweet book with really cool art. I loved the sweet story and the storytelling.</span><br />
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<i>Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova</i> by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Julie Morstad<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">An amazing story told in perfect words by Laurel Snyder and absolutely stunning art by Julie Morstad. I can't say enough good things about this book. One particular spread literally made me stop and marvel for a long time. </span><br />
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<i>The Day the Crayons Came Home</i> by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">No one tells a humorous story like Drew Daywalt. This book does not disappoint. The sheer amount of weeks on the NYT list should tell you something about this book. I can also tell you, Drew is one of the nicest people in the world. Love to see the good guy get ahead!</span><br />
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<i>Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear</i> by Lindsay Mattick, illustrated by Sophie Blackall<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">There are times when there is so much talk about a book and you are disappointed... You will not be disappointed with this book. A great true story told with awesome art.</span><br />
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<i>Little Elliot, Big Family</i> by Mike Curato<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I love everything about Elliot. I have given this and it's predecessor away several times because it has a lot of heart. </span><br />
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<i>Wolfie The Bunny</i> by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Zachariah Ohora<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Ame Dyckman is a seriously funny person. You get to see that shine through in <i>Wolfie The Bunny</i>!</span><br />
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<i>Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast </i>by Joshua Funk, illustrated by Brendan Kearney<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This is a fun book to read and to read aloud. The quest of Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast is just plain fun.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAjR9ooeOlTjNDQRezWV5oF4o90mTJ3po6Zyq4fex0pQzXJobhsHEpFhfVM7ZVCwu90aDA0JnynFu8qr2jkKHN-aRXFOoUH3IS1DMn1lf4jNbBW2Tihf2dWyNmX_IVO9FtC4nKennooPS/s1600/Lady+Pancake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAjR9ooeOlTjNDQRezWV5oF4o90mTJ3po6Zyq4fex0pQzXJobhsHEpFhfVM7ZVCwu90aDA0JnynFu8qr2jkKHN-aRXFOoUH3IS1DMn1lf4jNbBW2Tihf2dWyNmX_IVO9FtC4nKennooPS/s200/Lady+Pancake.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i>Growing Up Pedro</i> by Matt Tavares</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Inspiring story with the most stunning art. Matt has truly made a masterpiece with this book. </span></div>
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<i>You and Me</i> by Susan Verde, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Looking for a book about friendship? This is it. A very sweet message with Peter's awesome illustrations.</span></div>
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<i>Birdie's First Day of School</i> by Sujean Rim<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Birdie is a handful and this book is the perfect companion to the first days of school. I gave a copy to the Kindergarten teacher because I thought it was important to get this in the hands of kids! As a bonus, I love Sujean!</span></div>
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Snoozefest by Samantha Berger, illustrated by Kristyna Litten<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Another read-aloud classic, you can't help but love everything Samantha Berger writes. Take a trip with a lovable sloth and you will feel sleepy in no time. </span></div>
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<i>The Whale in my Swimming Pool </i>by Joyce Wan<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Here is how I read every Joyce Wan book.... Open the book, look at every cute picture and wonder how art can be so cute, then go back and enjoy the story. This is a fun book and the Kindergarten class I read it to loved it!</span></div>
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(New Additions)<br />
<i>There Was An Old Dragon that Swallowed a Knight</i> by Penny Parker Klostermann, illustrated by Ben Mantle<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Fun read aloud that will inspire kids to think of ways to change old songs into fresh and fun new songs!</span><br />
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<i>Daylight, Starlight, Wildlife</i> by Wendell Minor<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I am the world's biggest Wendell Minor fan (except maybe for Florence). Absolutely stunning art work contrasting day and night creatures.</span><br />
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<i>Your Alien </i>by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Goro Fujita<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Super story and really different (and awesome) illustrations. </span><br />
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Middle Grade and YA</h2>
<i>Mosquitoland </i>by David Arnold<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">A really smart adventure book. This book has it all from laughs to heartache. </span><br />
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<i>The Game of Love and Death</i> by Martha Brockenbrough<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I've probably already recommended this book....to everyone. But just in case, I had a two week book hangover from this book. I didn't want to read another book, I wanted to remain in this world. Read this, you will love it.</span><br />
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<i>Circus Mirandus</i> by Cassie Beasley<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">So much heart packed into these pages. A great story that might help you find your sense of wonder again.</span><br />
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<i>Firefly Hollow</i> by Alison McGhee with art by Christopher Denise<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I would recommend this book based on the Christopher Denise magical artwork alone. However, Alison has written a great story about love, friendship and fitting in.</span><br />
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<i>The Truth about Twinkie Pie</i> by Kat Yeh</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">This book is a great story which is told in such a way that little bits are revealed and you can't help but wonder how someone could write such a sweet and wonderful story. Included in this book are recipes and, you might just run out and buy your wife some Cherries in the Snow lipstick!</span></div>
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<i>Fish In A Tree </i>by Lynda Mullaly Hunt</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">This book should be required reading for all teachers, administrators, and everyone who has struggled in school. This book is for the kids who struggle and everyone who helps the kids who struggle. I think of it as a love letter to teachers everywhere. I believe this book will change lives.</span></div>
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<br />Coming Soon: </h2>
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<i>Audacity Jones to the Rescue</i> by Kirby Larson (January 26, 2016)</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">This is such a fun adventure story. I wasn't really sure what to think when it arrived, but I loved every single word. Kirby Larson tells an amazing story. I don't know many people who can make historical fiction so fun to read.</span></div>
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<i>Peddles </i>by Elizabeth Rose Stanton (January 5, 2016)</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">If we have been friends for longer than ten minutes, you know I adore Elizabeth Rose Stanton. Part of the reason is because she is a generous and kind person. The major reason is because she writes unusual and extraordinary stories. I have read hundreds of books and sometimes they all blend together, but <i>Henny</i> and <i>Peddles</i> have both struck a chord in me as unique and important. The message kids get from these books is so important. I read Peddles to the Kindergarten class and they loved every minute. See their review below.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-77697516950654478082015-08-21T21:15:00.002-05:002015-08-22T19:25:05.103-05:00What Do High School Kids Think of Dot Day?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOpD_4nEDYFhqSi73h8WQ1JF4OWPwDi5YxcC8XmQT1ZngWjqG10g5Pq4jXwgsPQ36Hmm9CiWqR962sO3hKTpyiH6P6X4vR_pxWK2Z4gh03O_naH69Ozjsd21jjKUXWpYVuz4MhMOoGByB/s1600/DOT_DAY%2521_2012_peter+H+Reynolds_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOpD_4nEDYFhqSi73h8WQ1JF4OWPwDi5YxcC8XmQT1ZngWjqG10g5Pq4jXwgsPQ36Hmm9CiWqR962sO3hKTpyiH6P6X4vR_pxWK2Z4gh03O_naH69Ozjsd21jjKUXWpYVuz4MhMOoGByB/s200/DOT_DAY%2521_2012_peter+H+Reynolds_cropped.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Several people have asked on Twitter how to celebrate Dot Day with high school students. Since the very beginning, I've just set out art supplies and let them make dots. No special lesson. We do use canvas now and I hang the resulting dot art in my classroom for the remainder of the year. I decided to ask my beloved former students what they thought of Dot Day. At the risk of seeming immodest, I am quoting them exactly as they responded. I believe their responses show exactly how amazing my students are:<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">As a student I enjoyed dot day. I remember the first time I saw the video, I wasn't sure what to expect and it turned out to be something very eye opening, motivating, and encouraging. I loved the idea of dot day, not only because I got to create my own dot, but because it was a great message that we were helping send out world wide. - Molly<br /><br />I liked seeing the map showing all the countries that participated in Dot Day! I thought it was cool that my music teacher from Iowa had managed to reach kids that were hundreds of thousands of miles away.- Emma<br /><br />I liked Mr. Shay.. He was cool and everyone respected him.. Maybe if more of the teachers were like him they wouldn't need to pry their students to make a dot that could change a life.. Not only change a life, but show that there are people who care and want to help out all over the world...Taylor<br /><br />Dot day to me not only stimulates and shows the creative nature inside of everyone, but also being able to see a small group of people be able to reach out and affect thousands of lives for a day. It shows you can make a difference through hard work and inspiration.-Mitchell<br /><br />Nowadays, we are pushing students to do more and learn more to try and help them find out what the future may have in store for them, but it is ALWAYS necessary to take a step back for a day and bring out your inner feelings and creativity, and what better way is there to do so than a dot! Dot Day is one of my favorite times of the year because I can forget about everything, and just focus on making a dot of my own that would be hung on Mr. Shay's wall. Your eye is always drawn right to them when you walk into his room, and it is really awesome to see everyone's creativity come together to form such a beautiful piece of art. I cannot wait to one day have a classroom of my own and get to encourage my students to partake in this great event each year! -Landon<br /><br />To me. dot day is a day that not only celebrates creativity, but also emphasizes the significance that is held by each and every person on this Earth. It is a day that reminds us all that each and every one of us has talents to share, no matter how small we may think they are. It teaches that we never need to be anything more than ourselves; we are all great in our own ways. Just think, if a small town, Iowan, teacher can spread joy, creativity, and a sense of significance, to millions around the world, starting with something as small as a dot, what great things can you do? - Shannon</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">I always enjoyed dot day because I liked how it was something people from all parts of the world could share together. You were able to get creative with your dot and share a little bit of your personality with everyone that was able to see it. -Jackie</span><br />
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As I said, best kids in the world! Celebrate however you like, but don't think you need to do anything special. Watercolors, markers, crayons....whatever you have. High school kids just want to be creative...like all of us.<br />
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High School Canvas 2014</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-87271029478229197552015-07-07T14:15:00.002-05:002015-07-07T14:17:21.773-05:00Finding Beauty<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This summer has been one filled with travel. A few weeks ago I accompanied my wife to Florida as she attended a class for her school. The weather was so hot, it was hard to enjoy, but there were moments that were so incredible, it was hard not to be swept away. We walked on the beach near sundown every evening...feet in the water.<br />
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Currently, we are working our way back home from the longest trip we've ever taken. Our first night away from home, after a ten hour drive, was in Newark, Ohio. The city resembled Stars Hollow from the show <i>The Gilmore Girls</i>. Sweet and peaceful. There was a gazebo and a little band play in it. The stuff of TV shows. We fell in love s little.<br />
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Next we went to King of Prussia. Nothing beautiful to be seen. An outrageous mall. The people weren't friendly...and rain.....lots of rain...just a pretty unhappy time. However, by luck of the GPS, our trip into Philadelphia was outstanding. We somehow ended up on the scenic route. Beautiful old buildings and lovely colleges. (Plus "Insomnia Cookies" served warm)<br />
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Philadelphia is not a beautiful city. In fact, it ranks amongst my least favorite. But, if you know a little secret, you can find a stunningly breathtaking view. Floor 33 of the Loews after dark.<br />
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After the ISTE conference, we drove to New York City...where beauty abounds. The buildings, Central Park, Broadway theaters...a wonderful place to visit.<br />
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The final stop on our journey is Hannibal, MO. My wife is taking a class this week. Hannibal is a river town.....if you know what I mean. Somewhat dirty, gritty, and filled with the kind of places I don't usually go. Last night, I had to drive my wife out to the Tom Sawyer's Cave and on my way back, I was a mile or so away from the town and, from above and a ways a way, it's a beautiful town. Even a river town can look beautiful from the right vantage point. Which leads me to my point....<br />
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Students are a bit like cities....sometimes you have to find the right vantage point in order to see the beauty. Sometimes, it's easy. Like walking through the gates of Central Park. Open and friendly, awaiting your arrival.<br />
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Sometimes, however, the beauty is not as easy to find....like in Philly. You have to know the right time and the right place. You have to search. It's there, it's just waiting to unfold. Often, however, it's not as easy as a clandestine elevator ride. Sometimes there is a lot of searching involved. The thing is, with kids, most of the fortress around them was built through years of dealing with things you will<br />
never know about....but the searching is important.<br />
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Finally, changing perspective. There is a famous scene in Dead Poet's Society where Robin Willams' character asks students to climb onto a desk and say something to feel a different perspective. Shortly after watching that film, I took a trip with students. We went to this beautiful but icy waterfall. I fell and hit my head really hard, busting my glasses. Of the five kids that were with me, only one made the effort to come and make sure I was ok. It was the student that I knew the least....the student I was not that close to. Message received. I had to look at them through a different lens (no pun intended). Like my trip back into Hannibal....seeing things from a different vantage point is helpful....and sometimes painful,<br />
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The takeaway from all of this......If you look for beauty, you find beauty. The opposite is also true.<br />
What are you looking for?<br />
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Now, if you took all my words at face value, it would seem like I am the greatest teacher ever....like I have all the answers. I am not and I do not. This message is one that I continually work on. Last year, I had a student that was so difficult, I never found the beauty or the good. It was the hardest time of my teaching career. I never stopped trying, but that goodness was buried deep. I am ashamed that I couldn't reach that one. I am not ashamed that I didn't stop trying. One other confession. Kids get a million chances with me....adults only a few. It's a character flaw. I'm working on it. Lucky for me, I've found a group of friends who found the good in me.<br />
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So, what is it you're looking for?</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-88520716175142316932015-05-10T20:45:00.002-05:002015-05-10T20:45:49.019-05:0092 Dot Day Countries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-4196616533385428322015-01-18T19:46:00.000-06:002015-01-18T19:46:11.341-06:00For Linda<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">In 2009, I met Linda Ragsdale </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">and I was immediately changed by her strength and her kindness. In one of the early emails, she said this, "There is good in everything....sometimes you have to look harder." Once you hear her story, you will never forget it. You will want to draw dragons and you will want, more than you ever have before, for peace. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Linda is now facing another daunt</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">ing challenge....and she is determined to turn lemons into something sweeter. If you are into prayer, send one up. If you think positive thoughts, send some in her direction. If you love to draw, make a dragon and have it eat some lemons. You can hear her story below. Linda- I'm sending you so much love and even more peace. I love you, brave warrior for peace.<br /><br />I made this lemon for you....with love.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/AE9RFK_MNpA?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-63777344773619660002014-10-06T07:51:00.000-05:002014-10-06T07:51:41.350-05:00Characteristics of a Good Teacher - 2014 Junior High<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I asked JH Chorus kids to write down what the characteristics of a good teacher are:<br />
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I think a good teacher would be when you ask a question, she explains to you again when it does not make sense. She helps you work, but doesn't give you the answer.</div>
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I think a good teacher helps their student learn first, and then is a fun person</div>
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Fun, smart, gives you a little homework, funny, let's you play some games, teaches in fun ways, helps you, can do gymnastics, brings food/candy, tells funny stories, makes you laugh</div>
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A great teacher teaches us a lot of things, but doesn't make it boring. A funny teacher is a great teacher. A teacher that doesn't assign a lot of homework.</div>
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Humorous- funny at times Inspiring- good example. Sharing life experiences.</div>
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We learn lots of stuff but in fun ways. Cracks jokes in the middle of class. Doesn't give a lot of homework. Understands us. Doesn't make class boring.</div>
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I think a good teacher is someone who is fun and who teaches cool things to people and who gives candy to people who get stuff right.</div>
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I think a good teacher is a fun teacher and also a teacher who helps you learn things.</div>
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I think a good teacher should - actually give detentions instead of just threatening -take control -have fun - is serious - teacher instead of handing out fliers -talks to class -explains assignments -and jokes around</div>
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A teacher is nice and assigns little homework</div>
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Someone who doesn't favor anyone in class. Someone who can joke with us. Someone who is laid back but still stern.</div>
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To be hilarious and to not give us homework, but give us candy</div>
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I think a good teacher is someone who teaches and explains everything thoroughly and makes sure we all understand. They also are awesome if the can joke around with us.</div>
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Funny. Not a lot of homework. Teachers in a fun way. Plays games sometimes. Helps you. Has fun stories. Brings food/candy</div>
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I think a good teacher who is stern enough to yell at people, but will give them a warning first. I think a teacher who rewards good behavior and punishes bad behavior will be liked by students.</div>
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I think a good teacher is someone who knows how to tell you something so that you understand it well. If a teacher is really funny it helps, but they have to also be getting the point across.</div>
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I think that a good teacher is one who doesn't let the students talk when it's time to learn but makes learning fun and having experiments. A person to tell jokes to and have fun, but can be serious.</div>
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A good teacher is a teacher that is happy and wants to help you and that is forgiving when you make a mistake.</div>
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A good teacher makes sure everyone is listening. They help students when they need it. They want us to learn.</div>
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Lets you talk but keeps it under control. Laughs at out jokes. Teachers in fun ways. Learning games. Not a lot of homework.</div>
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To be funny and cool and if a girl, good looking.</div>
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They let us do fun stuff. They like to joke around with us. Don't give us homework every night. Let's us do fun activities. Teaches interesting things.</div>
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A teacher I would listen to has to like football, gives candy and good info.</div>
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A teacher who is serious about work. Not strict and has a good sense of humor.</div>
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Let's you play fun games. Sit by whoever you want. Gives you candy. Fun to hang out with. Likes football.</div>
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A good teacher is one that is fun and teaches us.</div>
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I like teachers that are funny. Mr. *** is funny and he is one of the best teachers ever.</div>
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A teacher I learn from and that is fun. That lets us talk sometimes.</div>
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Friendly and makes things fun.</div>
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A good teacher is a teacher that plays games and no homework.</div>
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A good teacher is one that isn't mean and tells you good info that's not fake and they're fun.</div>
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Is fun to hang out with. You can learn from. Gives a lot of candy. Likes football. Music</div>
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Nice. Doesn't give detentions. Gives little homework. Good at explaining things. Plays games with the class once one a while. Gives you in class work time for homework.</div>
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Lets you be on your phone during class. Is fun. Gives candy. Gives little homework.</div>
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A good teacher is like Mr. *** Helps you and is fun, funny, scary (sometimes) but really awesome.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-34339017339883046902014-09-21T14:37:00.001-05:002014-09-21T14:37:12.584-05:00North Tama Makes a Mark on the World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last Wednesday, September 17, my school celebrated International Dot Day with a huge K-12 celebration. Here are some highlights:<br />
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Each student K-12 was given two dots. One was for them to decorate and one was for them to have someone who has made a positive mark on his/her life decorate. This was amazing and the dots were beautiful. We laid them out in the middle of the gym floor. Here's the collective dot display:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGlS4I979sGq6A-czpMfcQcL_U3yLpb9BEvbqBQRTLNwaYWx27vZwE09dRIeQHkkK6ET7U-_NvSwbNv-mUQ0FRNwSQUFj5gzELZhaSEBs37nPWcQLp-lyHNOpKuTFN3CHOmS0UuZhae5Y/s1600/DSC_0111+copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGlS4I979sGq6A-czpMfcQcL_U3yLpb9BEvbqBQRTLNwaYWx27vZwE09dRIeQHkkK6ET7U-_NvSwbNv-mUQ0FRNwSQUFj5gzELZhaSEBs37nPWcQLp-lyHNOpKuTFN3CHOmS0UuZhae5Y/s1600/DSC_0111+copy.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
Here's a time-lapse video of placing the dots:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xVp_CWEgFKU?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>
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The K-12 celebration kicked off with a welcome from Superintendent, Mr. Robert Cue<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cWUYHbviPUYLsrAVi9HqdEuCoMaUoFInOv8wqhg-IPbKnfG1741WZDMC2OcJxQrSwYd8Hr9UlAyTaqk9V9rMk778n4xt5-1UWMl2FPpP9eih_8M2WkzreDmBuZBHgDRqyl8hRiBThwbA/s1600/DSC_0085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cWUYHbviPUYLsrAVi9HqdEuCoMaUoFInOv8wqhg-IPbKnfG1741WZDMC2OcJxQrSwYd8Hr9UlAyTaqk9V9rMk778n4xt5-1UWMl2FPpP9eih_8M2WkzreDmBuZBHgDRqyl8hRiBThwbA/s1600/DSC_0085.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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I was surprised by a special gift for me which was presented by Principal, Paul Rea and Secretary, Suzanne Earley. A very special original piece of artwork from Peter H. Reynolds which Becky Conners helped coordinate with the school:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNRJHuw_QbaUlj0uVMtV3GJsyzRwiw0MXyYPrct6i4s-QNYa617Cp7OmXdI-jjKqXslxu0otIrMCpYWigCXGIv1dhQP_q2aJ14ImqPQFvBKuKV3i60usGAGPv1dw5Xor-j7LNS21VnlcU/s1600/IMG_1554+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNRJHuw_QbaUlj0uVMtV3GJsyzRwiw0MXyYPrct6i4s-QNYa617Cp7OmXdI-jjKqXslxu0otIrMCpYWigCXGIv1dhQP_q2aJ14ImqPQFvBKuKV3i60usGAGPv1dw5Xor-j7LNS21VnlcU/s1600/IMG_1554+2.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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We followed that surprise gift with a viewing of "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds.</div>
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Elementary counselor, Teresa O'Meara, took the podium and introduced our first "Make Your Mark Award" recipient, Ellen Young. Ellen is a tireless supporter of our community and worthy recipient of this award. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xgCZNL3d2kYrXpL5Z59qbyIdvGUv-QEGjthK8D1CMCS46zODbP7i-ob3BbomxypXf3HUB0xFSRVgUspB_q_AKTdfolnKPx4vxZX2VUThSKHptq1oe9LHqC-BSUHw5QuMSkERPIL00aNh/s1600/EllenYoungDotAward.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xgCZNL3d2kYrXpL5Z59qbyIdvGUv-QEGjthK8D1CMCS46zODbP7i-ob3BbomxypXf3HUB0xFSRVgUspB_q_AKTdfolnKPx4vxZX2VUThSKHptq1oe9LHqC-BSUHw5QuMSkERPIL00aNh/s1600/EllenYoungDotAward.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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I was honored to present Ellen with a signed copy of "The Dot."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mPJCx-1C1GcG_d5HxIh1qkvj4RM6bRjC_tBez-YB6khfIbs27oVluluZ78JZHTk9SYoHK2pfNXX7Z8mJIly67ddGY3myk-eLGUlvXHRMOF9QzOQwuV1gLu2hVxmXgcHz55HbKJH5gde0/s1600/IMG_1536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mPJCx-1C1GcG_d5HxIh1qkvj4RM6bRjC_tBez-YB6khfIbs27oVluluZ78JZHTk9SYoHK2pfNXX7Z8mJIly67ddGY3myk-eLGUlvXHRMOF9QzOQwuV1gLu2hVxmXgcHz55HbKJH5gde0/s1600/IMG_1536.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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We then watched a short presentation that highlighted the ways North Tama has celebrated International Dot Day since it started at our school in 2009. We were blessed to have a very special video in the middle of our presentation from famous author, Deborah Underwood.</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/V35ix-xNTaw?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>
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We concluded the event by inviting all 500 students to circle around our collective dot.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjR5uG-ohfXiVn42y49XRY0Go0EVdkb4nDIElymi6rXdtjAn_ZBrCfOhmmNgLdc0gQssR9PJXoxvDe6jw5s4g_ER_6_LXspakNQ8ArE9g3KWdY0Ig_iZLVr9Kuwun-VOhxGoxpVaYSaayW/s1600/NorthTamaDay2014full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjR5uG-ohfXiVn42y49XRY0Go0EVdkb4nDIElymi6rXdtjAn_ZBrCfOhmmNgLdc0gQssR9PJXoxvDe6jw5s4g_ER_6_LXspakNQ8ArE9g3KWdY0Ig_iZLVr9Kuwun-VOhxGoxpVaYSaayW/s1600/NorthTamaDay2014full.jpg" height="192" width="400" /></a></div>
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It was an awesome Dot Day. I'm honored to work in a school that supports and encourages creativity.<br />
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Students had the option of creating electronic dots, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tjshay/sets/72157647462081680/" target="_blank">you can view them here</a><br />
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Other Dot Art from around the school:<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-29062005286429181182014-08-17T14:04:00.000-05:002014-08-17T14:04:01.982-05:00International Dot Day - Links to Share<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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International Dot Day started in a few classrooms in 2009 and has grown into a celebration celebrated around the world. I am constantly sharing links on Twitter and Facebook to encourage more classes to participate and decided to place links here as well.<br />
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Official Page and Signup: <a href="http://www.thedotclub.org/" target="_blank">http://www.thedotclub.org</a> is where to send people first. There is a yearly signup and lots of resources and ideas to make your day (week, month, school year) successful. Please encourage people to check out the site and sign up!!<br />
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The amazing Celebridot Site: <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/" target="_blank">http://www.celebridots.com </a> The site was inspired by Sharon Creech who sent me a dot on Dot Day 2011. I was so inspired by her graciousness that I decided to start asking other celebrities to make their mark. So many awesome dots are now on the site by the best people out there. If you know an author/illustrator/actor/sports personality, please invite them to participate. The determining factor on 'celebrity' status is if kids would recognize his/her name or work.<br />
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I have curated a group of Dot Day celebrations through Pinterest: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/tjshay/international-dot-day/" target="_blank"> http://www.pinterest.com/tjshay/international-dot-day/</a> I also encourage you to search Pinterest for International Dot Day as I may have missed some, I did yesterday and my heart exploded. Beautiful stuff there! I also have a newer board for Dot Day Ideas here: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/tjshay/international-dot-day-ideas/">http://www.pinterest.com/tjshay/international-dot-day-ideas/</a><br />
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Matthew Winner and Shannon M. Miller have created a great Google Doc for help connecting with other schools on Dot Day. You can find the 2014 document here: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KzGL4-33Ky4hcEOlyszxju2XcNZ2uq5EInF7IW5-Rk0/edit" target="_blank"> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KzGL4-33Ky4hcEOlyszxju2XcNZ2uq5EInF7IW5-Rk0/edit</a><br />
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This year people have wondered if 7-12 students can participate in Dot Day! I am very proud to share this site from my school: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/106506195@N07/sets/72157636908020134/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/106506195@N07/sets/72157636908020134/</a> Every kid in grades 7-12 (and the awesome teachers) created a dot on his/her tablet and we took a large picture in the gym and also created a Flickr online gallery of all the dots.<br />
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I also would encourage you to use and search the #DotDay hashtag on Twitter! The very best and most creative educators on the planet will be found there!<br />
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North Tama Elementary Dot, 2013</div>
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North Tama Secondary Dot, 2013</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-20141162454490031512014-06-03T14:31:00.002-05:002014-06-03T14:31:51.549-05:00Why Teachers Should Be More Like Authors/Illustrators<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have been very lucky to make the online acquaintance of some amazing authors and illustrators. I hold a place to be able to be the proverbial fly on the wall as I watch them all interact and I've made some pretty good friendships as a result.<br />
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Although I'm sure you could fill my inbox with exceptions on both sides -- Here's why teachers should be more like authors/illustrators:<br />
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1- They support one another. There is no fierce competitiveness out in public, with the occassional exception when someone gets very famous for writing vampire garbage (my word). You can always find them sharing books by other authors and writing about how great the books are. I've been told it's a very isolating job, but many seem to have found a way to branch out and support others. It warms my heart to see how they celebrate each other.<br />
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2- They all are outwardly happy when someone wins and award or a starred review. Remember when teachers were upset because some random award honored teachers and there was huge backlash?<br />
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3- They are truly kind and friendly to each other. If someone posts about a sick family member (canine, feline, or human) they rush to post something kind. It never seems to fail. Plus, it seems genuine.<br />
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4- They support each other in a 'family' sort of way when things go wrong. If someone has stolen artwork or a reviewer has said something rude, the family will 'take care' of the perpetrator.<br />
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5- They are constantly honing their craft. There is no 'one and done' in their world...no yellowed paper run through the copy machine and inflicted on another set of learners.<br />
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6- The kindness never ends. I don't know how many times I see them volunteering their talents to schools and asking nothing in return.<br />
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Sure, there are teachers like this......but I sure would like to see a lot more of it.<br />
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We should have one goal--teaching kids in the best way possible....we should all be on the same team.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-85051155044311991472014-03-08T12:31:00.001-06:002014-03-08T12:33:14.455-06:00The Learning Journey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My very first keynote presentation was to an amazing group of gifted and talented educators at the "Developing Possibilities" conference held in Storm Lake, IA. I was honored that Shari Collins asked me to present my story and passion for creativity.<br />
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The main points of my talk were:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
-<b>Make connections,</b> let them bring out your passion. For me, I learned about a program called "<a href="http://www.fablevisionlearning.com/stationerystudio">Stationery Studio</a>" and fell in love with a company that designs amazing software and has a huge mission that showed me how passionate I was about creativity. Through that first connection, I was beyond blessed to be able to meet and fall in love with Peter H. Reynolds and software designer, <a href="http://www.peggyhealystearns.com/">Dr. Peggy Healy Stearns</a>. </blockquote>
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I was also fortunate to have a friend at school, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/brent_thoren">Brent Thoren</a>, who took one of the lessons I created for "<a href="http://www.fablevisionlearning.com/animationish">Animation-Ish</a>" and had kids do it as an assignment, even before the program was on the market, to test it out. Having people who support you along the way is so important, I was lucky to have one of the best.</blockquote>
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-<b>Share your ideas with the right people</b>. I shared the small idea of having kids make dots in their classrooms with <a href="http://www.peterhreynolds.com/">Peter H. Reynolds</a> and it took off because he loved the idea and supported it. He had the brilliance of calling it International Dot Day, setting the bar fantastically high. </blockquote>
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-<b>Find people who share your passion</b>. The first explosion of Dot Day happened when <a href="http://www.twitter.com/shannonmmiller">Shannon M. Miller</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/mrschureads">John Schumacher </a>shared with their schools and social networks.</blockquote>
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The second major milestone happened when Newbery Medal winning author, <a href="http://www.sharoncreech.com/">Sharon Creech</a>, kindly sent me a dot on Dot Day 2011. That one act of kindness launched the <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/">Celebridot</a> site. One of the huge blessings in my life is to be connected with the very best authors and illustrators on the planet who were kind enough to make dots to inspire kids to be creative.</blockquote>
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I shared examples of how creativity has impacted my school and my classroom. So many awesome connections have established because of my passion for creativity in the classroom. Watching kids create amazing things feeds the passion in me. </blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.thedotclub.org/">International Dot Day</a> has allowed me to meet and build enduring friendships with the very best educators all around the world. Search #DotDay on Twitter and find amazing educators with amazing creativity and heart.</blockquote>
I challenged the educators at my session to share a dot with me. I am so honored that some of these great people sent me a dot and shared what they are passionate about. Below are the dots they sent, I was so impressed with all of them!!<br />
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What are you passionate about and what are you doing every day to feed that passion?<br />
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Inisha Hoehamer</div>
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Terry Van Berkum</div>
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Marleta Smith</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNssG1_OCbTj1PXhH-ajNqtPdPUGXRedRDSEyPlp1zMOD6c4lartnF1hhubfwmBmfHWtVJ9rwcC-4UIVP44AQQsyw06GEtOh5jm86E7k3kmU3VwwPMTL-KET5RzjT7WKYzZiM4pGBmvQt/s1600/ShariCollins.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNssG1_OCbTj1PXhH-ajNqtPdPUGXRedRDSEyPlp1zMOD6c4lartnF1hhubfwmBmfHWtVJ9rwcC-4UIVP44AQQsyw06GEtOh5jm86E7k3kmU3VwwPMTL-KET5RzjT7WKYzZiM4pGBmvQt/s1600/ShariCollins.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Shari Collins</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4BVKYD92lq9EGY3mtCXKqEwJzPbguJ-D4Q-CQH41zyT_7j2DdRxseLjAAN7TDOUGhRjJHrL6yCgrPlZEtmdW78aqSQviOr_khaaKof-PdVTY23K_RMEJWvaJ1X4dF0VCowp9neeFyn33E/s1600/RebeckaAllen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4BVKYD92lq9EGY3mtCXKqEwJzPbguJ-D4Q-CQH41zyT_7j2DdRxseLjAAN7TDOUGhRjJHrL6yCgrPlZEtmdW78aqSQviOr_khaaKof-PdVTY23K_RMEJWvaJ1X4dF0VCowp9neeFyn33E/s1600/RebeckaAllen.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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Rebecka Allen</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblii1qjv4lC1Mfy8IbEpKj2VFNvVmWwGfgE5IEBamOEoNndWv5gXvD7japCz0IHwcZRtbqRJ2VfjGjTjq0Jg4yjXooTTYZtrDjs05E7QEaoDi4eufdFwHNUOUwKAYLRnM_sOewoYRKdO_/s1600/VickieHemmingson.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblii1qjv4lC1Mfy8IbEpKj2VFNvVmWwGfgE5IEBamOEoNndWv5gXvD7japCz0IHwcZRtbqRJ2VfjGjTjq0Jg4yjXooTTYZtrDjs05E7QEaoDi4eufdFwHNUOUwKAYLRnM_sOewoYRKdO_/s1600/VickieHemmingson.png" height="320" width="292" /></a></div>
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Vickie Hemmingson</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEKK8xB9TsuXoTd20iroMqPUcH07Dg_CdqvEb87NStMkQM8sxiBpX6xLiup_LJ5omFR0a_uo0rstSxJzvV35mqwBKwwNA0Ah5NmU0fyJiM6aPC_w7c-U5ceijzjDlx0k_5n3IA9oVdTtb/s1600/juliegibson.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEKK8xB9TsuXoTd20iroMqPUcH07Dg_CdqvEb87NStMkQM8sxiBpX6xLiup_LJ5omFR0a_uo0rstSxJzvV35mqwBKwwNA0Ah5NmU0fyJiM6aPC_w7c-U5ceijzjDlx0k_5n3IA9oVdTtb/s1600/juliegibson.jpeg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Julie Gibson</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-51274513707794353852014-03-02T19:05:00.000-06:002014-03-02T19:05:09.288-06:00Photoshop Tricks-Splash Bravely<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3WQTDlidRZsVWUHQMh43UrY3yveu_whkvO_PHTWROmFAkbH2480PpIzw5a_AHt61ARU94wi8nKEvCnpbvvXpb01qHF82tVU7Nfw2ArvMdre5SAloDrjqj6ykhQUfth2R2TwSRQQ_OI06/s1600/CreatorVConsumer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3WQTDlidRZsVWUHQMh43UrY3yveu_whkvO_PHTWROmFAkbH2480PpIzw5a_AHt61ARU94wi8nKEvCnpbvvXpb01qHF82tVU7Nfw2ArvMdre5SAloDrjqj6ykhQUfth2R2TwSRQQ_OI06/s1600/CreatorVConsumer.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Recently, I was asked to present at a conference. Since I was talking about <a href="http://www.thedotclub.org/">International Dot Day</a> and reading <a href="http://shop.fablevisionlearning.com/the-dot/fa/shop.detail/productID/2569/#.UxPUo_RdV68">"The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds</a>, I wanted to model the theme of the book and bravely make a splash. So, to that end, I painted the slide background and the backgrounds for the important quotes. I used watercolors for some and my iPad for others. I used a fun method to invert the words and the background and wanted to show it here in case others want to do it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8Ciune279Xc48_ZVmnSSPy2IC3csBSeuCazyGL9Uw68SmeI7Hiqx1mcPpdh8r8g7a9VUp3oAgDqgl0z9v_QMHMYJHCkNP2ypk2BtdWEwdol9Ig_E0vWLNivg06WUsK3bs9aoikuPvKk2/s1600/Screenshot_3_2_14_6_20_PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8Ciune279Xc48_ZVmnSSPy2IC3csBSeuCazyGL9Uw68SmeI7Hiqx1mcPpdh8r8g7a9VUp3oAgDqgl0z9v_QMHMYJHCkNP2ypk2BtdWEwdol9Ig_E0vWLNivg06WUsK3bs9aoikuPvKk2/s1600/Screenshot_3_2_14_6_20_PM.png" height="401" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpAGLFGKG9HcwvR76WFVF7AWq9RMF25mMWmNQvPVZ7njlw8DBbg2TQsIni5hpOjhB4QszJiYesgeFLjlF-oVEjaxba7xGEH-MCsnd7PJsUb2fw7ou2hFIUaBMYRSnl55QiflC3UHbsPcG/s1600/Screenshot_3_2_14_6_35_PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpAGLFGKG9HcwvR76WFVF7AWq9RMF25mMWmNQvPVZ7njlw8DBbg2TQsIni5hpOjhB4QszJiYesgeFLjlF-oVEjaxba7xGEH-MCsnd7PJsUb2fw7ou2hFIUaBMYRSnl55QiflC3UHbsPcG/s1600/Screenshot_3_2_14_6_35_PM.png" height="376" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-AgSJnRhczltEzlaT1WulqnymiVy4CAVnZ-PW4yxMHgZgq90M5PuKN8sCm9Qrm30ACkGYpjixPuaS8EQdfeJEyu0tYtGMEEd8TDeFhx0NrBeYTvTqOqFpqWxOgpOjrs9frWyLLSeH56h/s1600/Screenshot_3_2_14_6_36_PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-AgSJnRhczltEzlaT1WulqnymiVy4CAVnZ-PW4yxMHgZgq90M5PuKN8sCm9Qrm30ACkGYpjixPuaS8EQdfeJEyu0tYtGMEEd8TDeFhx0NrBeYTvTqOqFpqWxOgpOjrs9frWyLLSeH56h/s1600/Screenshot_3_2_14_6_36_PM.png" height="380" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_fAKZ9mhqkKyARcOqAR-e2uFTNbN7UHFMgV-4Akf8wkOvPR8c9oknYLRCf2ZlE2T031NwNUFua9i_duVYWP3BkR36j4WBIS1EgU0nw4m762eks423ip4fJ_5u1e8cJlkXxQ0_xBncFvQ/s1600/Screenshot_3_2_14_6_38_PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_fAKZ9mhqkKyARcOqAR-e2uFTNbN7UHFMgV-4Akf8wkOvPR8c9oknYLRCf2ZlE2T031NwNUFua9i_duVYWP3BkR36j4WBIS1EgU0nw4m762eks423ip4fJ_5u1e8cJlkXxQ0_xBncFvQ/s1600/Screenshot_3_2_14_6_38_PM.png" height="398" width="640" /></a></div>
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Final Look:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgksBTXSp7GuxDAnLFmI_dqnOk3PxXjp-aIqsCEDbyLmC_ANbtvf0v00zfmTpGiflrGqZLKX4eFsgJxdT7auQOTu8MkLLNchB2aRtnKlkwKPMeMnyNuWskXLLKkoqSHgQ65C0-T4_Qg80b9/s1600/TrulyAlive.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgksBTXSp7GuxDAnLFmI_dqnOk3PxXjp-aIqsCEDbyLmC_ANbtvf0v00zfmTpGiflrGqZLKX4eFsgJxdT7auQOTu8MkLLNchB2aRtnKlkwKPMeMnyNuWskXLLKkoqSHgQ65C0-T4_Qg80b9/s1600/TrulyAlive.png" height="308" width="400" /></a></div>
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Awesome author, Sharon Creech recently shared how to make Orbs from pictures on Photoshop, You can <a href="http://sharonkaycreech.blogspot.com/2014/02/orb-directions.html">find the directions on her blog</a>. </div>
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Other Examples:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidw_MxwgFyN4Cfv1qYYFbWcht79oahhmXigjQ8NxcFHueznlZZpyUVPXaU8-3ckrroN02qYxhQdrhAK9zR5hUiDrLb3AMg4a7xX5xvh9g3PB3xqc9JM-O2FJb9Lk9h3WV81VEhzaoT2arR/s1600/EveryoneisCreative.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidw_MxwgFyN4Cfv1qYYFbWcht79oahhmXigjQ8NxcFHueznlZZpyUVPXaU8-3ckrroN02qYxhQdrhAK9zR5hUiDrLb3AMg4a7xX5xvh9g3PB3xqc9JM-O2FJb9Lk9h3WV81VEhzaoT2arR/s1600/EveryoneisCreative.png" height="247" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDjwjrNI9x_HpQABYzIsaIvdLPK9UhIb9rtmK4T2e5tGhLY9HsEsQ8GVzRkizRvR-Z-eEBE8mp4BJBq2ybEk2jj1twl-pwwd0Ujmv2mkvqIiYLbwJq4O04-2jmQOQSKUrDMnwS-aGg61c/s1600/LearningJourney.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDjwjrNI9x_HpQABYzIsaIvdLPK9UhIb9rtmK4T2e5tGhLY9HsEsQ8GVzRkizRvR-Z-eEBE8mp4BJBq2ybEk2jj1twl-pwwd0Ujmv2mkvqIiYLbwJq4O04-2jmQOQSKUrDMnwS-aGg61c/s1600/LearningJourney.png" height="54" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoC1Cd3fNetRDloGRcydSM3zL-xYqK0aSMyi-a6wpdS3fKLcP6tlje3_Nm4vhacju6cSduTK1wcWBirmuylUR8ix8ddqsvJk_x3IzzONhVV_MfO6HRXVgUVlWVMYv_JLAyNI9soUf6seBH/s1600/MakeConnections.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoC1Cd3fNetRDloGRcydSM3zL-xYqK0aSMyi-a6wpdS3fKLcP6tlje3_Nm4vhacju6cSduTK1wcWBirmuylUR8ix8ddqsvJk_x3IzzONhVV_MfO6HRXVgUVlWVMYv_JLAyNI9soUf6seBH/s1600/MakeConnections.png" height="85" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6SzIBs0ZQvaBvoB9zBSlnHCO8Z8MkP7WDYcpiqLbVf8fMkqSkQOvLoJ69gdXMxL6K_CG-fjH-iVQPXR29UlDJbBrHl6jdto51X87Folor35ryANYyTxAV2wTWYkp7q09iI1huQEzYR-e6/s1600/Messageinmystory.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6SzIBs0ZQvaBvoB9zBSlnHCO8Z8MkP7WDYcpiqLbVf8fMkqSkQOvLoJ69gdXMxL6K_CG-fjH-iVQPXR29UlDJbBrHl6jdto51X87Folor35ryANYyTxAV2wTWYkp7q09iI1huQEzYR-e6/s1600/Messageinmystory.png" height="108" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-25470444627638522252014-02-07T14:16:00.000-06:002014-09-06T15:57:49.364-05:00Connecting Authors With Readers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjam3UInoVIRFymyfjlsWJsczzLtE7MExo_dZ28omGfgCzOanIPRuGBD2b1pbkDeH64W_z8QaWlrkjq_My7ueGrrw06tvxM6lYdV6LioOon3p0v0XGhpDqdYTZNmcZIvp0lsccPv0wewQD4/s1600/AUthorsandReaders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjam3UInoVIRFymyfjlsWJsczzLtE7MExo_dZ28omGfgCzOanIPRuGBD2b1pbkDeH64W_z8QaWlrkjq_My7ueGrrw06tvxM6lYdV6LioOon3p0v0XGhpDqdYTZNmcZIvp0lsccPv0wewQD4/s1600/AUthorsandReaders.jpg" height="200" width="153" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Almost a year ago, I wrote a post with advice for readers <a href="http://tjonajourney.blogspot.com/2013/03/connecting-kids-and-authors.html">interested in connecting with authors</a>. After some recent discussions online, I want to revise and update.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>If you are asking questions: </b>Check the author's website to see what questions have already been answered. Encourage kids to be creative and ask thoughtful questions. I see this often from authors so I'm repeating it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Don't expect an instant reply</b>, authors can receive between 10-700 emails a day (not to mention social media tags) and are busy creating new books. Many of them really want to respond and I've seen some of the struggle for the "right" words to respond with, so you might need to be patient. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Also, "</span>one thing teachers should know is that when they send us a big package of letters it becomes impossible to personally reply to each kid. I totally get why teachers want to encourage kids to write letters, and there's no reason they'd realize how it feels on our end. But it seems worth spreading the word about. If a kid REALLY wants to connect with an author it's best done on a personal one-to-one basis. I feel terrible about the envelopes I have that contain a bundle of thank you letters, and I try to write an email back, saying how much I appreciated the notes, but for authors who work with a lot of classrooms, it can be rough." <b>Laurel Snyder</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Remember there are lots of fans and only one author.</b> You might not always get a reply, I know there are authors who agonize over that fact. The majority WANT to interact, but time is precious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Many authors have blogs</b>, search those out. I think author blogs may be one of the most motivating and inspiring things available for young writers. </span><br />
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Great authors like <b>James Preller</b> have blogs they use to respond to kids' letters: "I've been posting random fan mail letters & responses on my blog for the past 5 years: <a href="http://www.jamespreller.com/category/fan-mail/">http://www.jamespreller.com/category/fan-mail/</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>If you are using USPS mail</b>: enclose SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope).</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;">"Don't ask for help with your homework.</b><span style="font-family: inherit;">" was advice from <b>S.E. Hinton</b>, author of "The Outsiders" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Here is an example of that from the amazing <b>Lisa Yee</b>:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3G6HVhUGP5yFFLdF2iBEIaKpISz9YIgjbwURLnw3xRQG_0WkhH4Pw90oKOiawsfr4b1mdij0r_d2V0fZXLOXIWWEBlCCDVrtIlgpbu6SjkLymDcwvLW52CT1ip2YEiEGJ53kbdLOznKHO/s1600/LisaYeeComment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3G6HVhUGP5yFFLdF2iBEIaKpISz9YIgjbwURLnw3xRQG_0WkhH4Pw90oKOiawsfr4b1mdij0r_d2V0fZXLOXIWWEBlCCDVrtIlgpbu6SjkLymDcwvLW52CT1ip2YEiEGJ53kbdLOznKHO/s1600/LisaYeeComment.jpg" height="305" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Letters as assignments: </b>I've heard of teachers giving assignments to write/email an author. This seems like an ill-advised idea to me. Perhaps save those interactions for authors that the student really wants to know more about and have a greater connection with. On this subject, S.E. Hinton said, "It is very unfair to an author to make them responsible for a student's grade. That should between the student & the teacher." She is so right!</span><br />
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<b>Publishers as postal carriers:</b><br />
"I also wanted to point out that if a child doesn't get a response from an author, it could be because of the ridiculous amount of time a publisher can take to forward the mail. I was heartbroken when I got a pack of letters from a class sent in care of one of my publishers and a note from the librarian saying "Please write back!" and I didn't get it till the following school year--I don't know how it took the publisher six months to put the letters into an envelope and mail them to me, but it's not an uncommon experience, I understand." Deborah Underwood<br />
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<b>Request for books/drawings/charity:</b><br />
If you're going to ask an author for a book to give away, please know that authors don't have an unending supply of books and they will actually have to go to a bookstore, buy the book, pay for it, and pay for shipping. Authors/Illustrators are some of the best people I have ever known, but, like anyone else, there are limits to their generosity. If you are going to make the request, you should find ways to make it easier for them to help you (like buy the book, provide postage, etc.)<br />
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<b>School Visits:</b><br />
*Just as you would never expect other professionals to provide their service for free, you should understand that you should expect to pay an author/illustrator to visit. You will also need to provide transportation.<br />
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*Make sure they give authors breaks so they can prepare for the next presentation. PLEASE adhere to the agreed-upon schedule--saying, "You won't mind just dropping in and doing a quick visit with the kindergarteners, will you?" puts the author in a very awkward position, especially if they'd planned on using the time to mentally prepare for the next assembly.<br />
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*Authors receive a number of inquiries for visits either through email or website. Typically the contact information is on the author's website. Once you have made contact and received a response, it would be respectful to write back to the author, even if you are not going to secure a visit with them. It appears some schools write to many authors at the same time to inquire, or decide not to use that author, and then don't extend the courtesy of responding to let them know another direction was chosen.<br />
<br />
*Once the visit is set, make sure that the kids and the other teachers know who the author is before she visits. <br />
<br />
Barbara O'Connor wrote <a href="http://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/2013/11/things-i-love-thursday_14.html">this awesome post</a> about successful school visits, check it out.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b>Updates:</b><br />
I would love to update this list and help with connecting readers and authors. If you have ideas, please let me know.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connections:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are authors and illustrators I have in my network. Click on their names to go to their website. I've learned so much about the writing process from them, maybe if you start following them and check out their blogs, you can pass that on to students. Follow them on Twitter and learn all about their latest projects and get sneak peeks of things to come:</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sharoncreech.com/">Sharon Creech</a> @ciaobellacreech <a href="http://celebridots.blogspot.com/2012/03/sharon-creech.html">Celebridot 2011</a>, <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2012/09/sharon-creech-2012.html">Celebridot 2012</a>, <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/08/sharon-creech-2013.html">Celebridot 2013</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://amedyckman.com/home.html">Ame Dyckman</a> @amedyckman <a href="http://celebridots.blogspot.com/2012/06/ame-dyckman.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.peterhreynolds.com/">Peter H Reynolds</a> @peterhreynolds <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2012/09/peter-h-reynolds.html">Celebridot 2012</a>, <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/peter-h-reynolds-2013.html">Celebridot 2013</a>, <a href="http://www.thedotclub.org/">The Dot Club</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.kristintubb.com/">Kristin Tubb</a> @ktubb Celebridot<br />
<br />
<a href="http://theoneandonlyivan.com/author/">Katherine Applegate</a> @kaaauthor <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/katherine-applegate.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://debbieohi.com/">Debbie Ridpath Ohi</a> @inkyelbows <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/03/debbie-ridpath-ohi.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://zohora.com/">Zachariah OHora</a> @zachariahohora <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/03/zachariah-ohora.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://origamiyoda.wordpress.com/">Tom Angleberger </a>@Origami Yoda <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/06/tom-angleberger-origami-yoda.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://cecebell.wordpress.com/">CeCe Bell</a> @cecebellbooks <br />
<br />
<a href="http://themichaelgrant.com/">Michael Grant</a> @thefayz<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.augustascattergood.com/">Augusta Scattergood </a>@ARScattergood<br />
<br />
<a href="http://quartland.blogspot.com/">Courtney Stevens</a> @Quartland <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lisayee.com/">Lisa Yee</a> @LisaYee1 and @RealPeepy <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/01/lisa-yee.html#">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://malandchad.com/">Stephen McCranie</a> @stephenmccranie <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.studiojjk.com/">Jarrett J. Krosoczka</a> @studioJJK<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.judyblume.com/">Judy Blume</a> @judyblume<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.barneysaltzberg.com/">Barney Saltzberg</a> @BSaltzberg<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.margosorenson.com/">Margo Sorenson</a> @ipapaverison<br />
<br />
<a href="http://michellerobinson.co.uk/">Michele Robinson</a> @MicheRobinson <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2012/08/michelle-robinson.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://chrisbarton.info/">Chris Barton</a> @bartography <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2012/07/chris-barton.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.laurencastillo.com/">Lauren Castillo</a> @studiocastillo <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2012/08/lauren-castillo.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lynnplourde.com/">Lynne Plourde</a> @LynnPlourde <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/08/lynn-plourde.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.minorart.com/aboutwendell.html">Florence Minor</a> @minorart <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/07/florence-minor.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.minorart.com/aboutwendell.html">Wendell Minor</a> @wendellminor <a href="http://celebridots.blogspot.com/2012/05/wendell-minor.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.aquapup.com/">Bethanie Murguia</a> @aquapup <a href="http://celebridots.blogspot.com/2012/04/bethanie-marguia.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.deborahunderwoodbooks.com/">Deborah Underwood</a> @underwoodwriter <a href="http://celebridots.blogspot.com/2012/04/deborah-underwood.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://about.me/ericwight">Eric Wight</a> @Eric_Wight<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sehinton.com/bio.html">S.E. Hinton </a>@se4realhinton<br />
<br />
<a href="http://katiedavis.com/">Katie Davis</a> @katiedavisburps <a href="http://celebridots.blogspot.com/2012/04/katie-davis.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.susanverde.com/">Susan Verde</a> @susanverde <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/08/susan-verde.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ericaperl.com/">Erica S. Perl</a> @ericaperl<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.anitasilvey.com/">Anita Silvey</a> @anitasilvey<br />
<br />
<a href="http://beverlystowemcclure.wordpress.com/">Beverly McClure</a> @beverlymcclure<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.donnagephart.com/">Donna Gephart</a><a href="http://www.donnagephart.com/"> </a> @DGephartWrites<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.penspaperstudio.com/">ElizabethRoseStanton</a> @PenspaperStudio<br />
<br />
<a href="http://sageblackwood.com/">Sage Blackwood</a><a href="http://sageblackwood.com/"> </a> @urwalder <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2014/01/sage-blackwood.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ajsmith.net/">AJ Smith</a> @AJSmithillustr <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/aj-smith.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/">Cynthia Leitich Smith</a> @CynLeitichSmith<br />
<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/DrewDaywalt">Drew Daywalt @DrewDaywalt</a> <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2014/01/drew-daywalt.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cynthialord.com/">Cynthia Lord</a> @Cynthia_Lord <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/08/cynthia-lord.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://deborahwiles.com/site/">Deborah Wiles</a> @deborahwiles<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lisajahnclough.com/">Lisa Jahn-Clough</a> @ljahnclough <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/lisa-jahn-clough.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://hollygoldbergsloan.com/">Holly Goldberg Sloan</a><a href="http://hollygoldbergsloan.com/"> </a> @HGoldbergSloan <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/holly-goldberg-sloan.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.jfosberry.com/">Jennifer Fosberry</a> @jenfos <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/jennifer-fosberry.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.yourbrainonpandas.com/">Anne Belov</a><a href="http://www.yourbrainonpandas.com/"> </a> @PandaChronicle <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/anne-belov.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.anikadenise.com/">Anika Denise</a> @AnikaDenise<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.jamiemichalak.com/">Jamie Michalak</a> @Jamie_Michalak<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bonnybecker.com/">Bonny Becker</a><a href="http://www.bonnybecker.com/"> </a> @bonnybecker33 <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/08/bonny-becker.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.loridegman.com/loridegman.com/Home.html">Lori Degman</a> @LoriDegman <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/lori-degman.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.deborahfreedman.net/">Deborah Freedman</a> @DeborahFreedman <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/deborah-freedman.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.smilingotis.com/">Russ Cox</a> @smilingotis <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/08/russ-cox.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://designofthepicturebook.com/tag/julie-falatko/">Julie Falatko</a> @JulieFalatko <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/julie-falatko.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.stanleyandkatrina.com/">Stanley & Katrina</a> @StanleyNKatrina<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.kristivaliant.com/Kristi_Valiant/home.html">Kristi Valiant</a> @KristiValiant <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/08/kristi-valiant.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.kimberlynewtonfusco.com/">KimberlyNewtonFusco</a> @kimberlynewtonf <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/kimberly-newton-fusco.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://tinakugler.squarespace.com/">Tina Kugler</a> @tinatheatre<br />
<br />
<a href="http://nicoleywalters.com/">Nicole Walters</a> @nicoleywalters <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/07/nicole-walters.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://laurelsnyder.com/">Laurel Snyder</a><a href="http://laurelsnyder.com/"> </a> @LaurelSnyder <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/07/laurel-snyder.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.samanthaberger.com/">Samantha Berger</a> @BergerBooks <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/07/samantha-berger.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.kirbylarson.com/">Kirby Larson</a><a href="http://www.kirbylarson.com/"> </a> Verified account @KirbyLarson <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/08/kirby-larson.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.annaraff.com/">Anna Raff</a> @annaraffNYC <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/07/anna-raff.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.jesseklausmeier.com/">Jesse Klausmeier</a> @JesseKlausmeier<br />
<br />
<a href="http://matthewcordell.com/">Matthew Cordell</a> @cordellmatthew <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/07/matthew-cordell.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.anneursu.com/">Anne Ursu</a> @anneursu<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.creaturesandcharacters.com/">Timothy Young</a> @TimSYoung <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/timothy-young.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.melissaguion.com/">Melissa Guion</a> @MelissaGuion <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/06/melissa-guion.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://jessicayoungbooks.wordpress.com/">Jessica E Young</a> @happybluejess <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/06/jessica-e-young.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ellenpotter.com/">Ellen Potter</a><a href="http://www.ellenpotter.com/"> </a> @Ellenpotter<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.adamlehrhaupt.com/">Adam Lehrhaupt </a> @Lehrhaupt <a href="http://www.blogger.com/A%20new%20Celebridot%20from%20Adam%20Lehrhaupt%EF%BB%BF!%20Check%20out%20the%20book%20trailer%20for%20his%20upcoming%20book!%20http://www.celebridots.com/2013/07/adam-lehrhaupt.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://erindealey.com/">Erin Dealey</a> @ErinDealey <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2014/01/erin-dealey.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.funwithaileen.com/">Aileen Stewart</a> @AileenWStewart <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2014/01/aileen-stewart.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.chriscrutcher.com/">Chris Crutcher</a><a href="http://www.chriscrutcher.com/"> </a> @ChrisCrutcher<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.storybreathing.com/">Aaron Becker</a> @storybreathing <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/aaron-becker.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.loislowry.com/">Lois Lowry</a> @LoisLowryWriter <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/lois-lowry.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.kathiappelt.com/">Kathi Appelt </a> @kappelt <a href="http://celebridots.blogspot.com/2012/05/kathi-appelt.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://louiseborden.com/">Louise Borden</a> @LouiseBorden <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/louise-borden.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://jonklassen.tumblr.com/">Jon Klassen</a> @burstofbeaden <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/09/jon-klassen.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.johnlechner.com/">John Lechner</a> @johnlechner <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2012/09/john-lechner.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
Barbara O'Connor @barbaraocconnor <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/2013/08/barbara-oconnor.html">Celebridot</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.rebeccakaidotlich.com/">Rebecca Kai Dotlitch </a>@Rebeccakai<br />
<br />
Brian Lies @BrianLiesbooks</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-11749903563687776912014-01-09T11:46:00.001-06:002014-01-09T11:57:51.610-06:00Guidelines and Helpful Tips for Posting Online<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My very wise Intro To Computers class of HS Juniors made this list of guidelines and tips for posting online. I'm so proud of this list and the students who came up with it! This grew out of the <a href="http://tjonajourney.blogspot.com/2013/12/on-digital-citizenship-digital.html">assignment I blogged earlier</a>. </span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Guidelines and Helpful Tips</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fall 2013 North Tama Intro To Computers</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Be careful because anyone can see your tweets</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Retweets reflect on you as much as tweets</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Swear words make you look immature and reflect badly on you even if you don't usually swear</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. If you wouldn't say it out loud don't say it online</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. What you tweet now affects your future and you don’t even realize it</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Be the bigger person</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Don’t tweet when you're mad</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">8. Don't say anything you'll regret</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">9. Before you tweet something think about what your grandma or grandpa would say if they saw it</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">10. Be careful who follows you. Block people who are not particularly "nice"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">11. Never agree to meet with someone in person that you don’t know</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">12. Don’t make yourself sound unsafe or dangerous</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">13. If you’re going to state your opinion, make sure you are able to justify what you say</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">14. Respect opinions that differ from yours</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">15. Do not bash others</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">16. Be positive. Use social media for good, positive things and events in your life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">17. No rude, offensive or inappropriate pictures</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">18. Please don't use it as your diary</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">19. Everyone can see what you favorite, use it wisely</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">20. Show the world the good in you</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-59071141476148935082014-01-06T11:27:00.000-06:002014-01-06T11:30:00.765-06:00My Favorite Features in Stationery Studio<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnQsRKu2y657OStjHiH73whdcYjmInYKQdobnP52Lh4uMnnBoMNV9njEnM5_2YQbNWivZORvAuCb7-4Y8hL-2H8AwJfbHfefOZRGxsrCX2_lqA7OkaEdJsc4iQLWEGPowOM_EmFI4GDLj/s1600/Dog-Color.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnQsRKu2y657OStjHiH73whdcYjmInYKQdobnP52Lh4uMnnBoMNV9njEnM5_2YQbNWivZORvAuCb7-4Y8hL-2H8AwJfbHfefOZRGxsrCX2_lqA7OkaEdJsc4iQLWEGPowOM_EmFI4GDLj/s1600/Dog-Color.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnQsRKu2y657OStjHiH73whdcYjmInYKQdobnP52Lh4uMnnBoMNV9njEnM5_2YQbNWivZORvAuCb7-4Y8hL-2H8AwJfbHfefOZRGxsrCX2_lqA7OkaEdJsc4iQLWEGPowOM_EmFI4GDLj/s1600/Dog-Color.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnQsRKu2y657OStjHiH73whdcYjmInYKQdobnP52Lh4uMnnBoMNV9njEnM5_2YQbNWivZORvAuCb7-4Y8hL-2H8AwJfbHfefOZRGxsrCX2_lqA7OkaEdJsc4iQLWEGPowOM_EmFI4GDLj/s1600/Dog-Color.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnQsRKu2y657OStjHiH73whdcYjmInYKQdobnP52Lh4uMnnBoMNV9njEnM5_2YQbNWivZORvAuCb7-4Y8hL-2H8AwJfbHfefOZRGxsrCX2_lqA7OkaEdJsc4iQLWEGPowOM_EmFI4GDLj/s1600/Dog-Color.png" height="320" width="250" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncLAcwgGBVMqs8zo6fMdVugQtwsw4PWyw4liFELe6g0uAhUS_Lwsg-xuPKLlVxumbeUKHWPjxGpg1F1hFydxzqlXzh_8sOi4EnIXncIlxgRObXvouoLzverVAZxNUFmAr0UUmna8QDzIY/s1600/Remove_color.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncLAcwgGBVMqs8zo6fMdVugQtwsw4PWyw4liFELe6g0uAhUS_Lwsg-xuPKLlVxumbeUKHWPjxGpg1F1hFydxzqlXzh_8sOi4EnIXncIlxgRObXvouoLzverVAZxNUFmAr0UUmna8QDzIY/s1600/Remove_color.png" height="275" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnQsRKu2y657OStjHiH73whdcYjmInYKQdobnP52Lh4uMnnBoMNV9njEnM5_2YQbNWivZORvAuCb7-4Y8hL-2H8AwJfbHfefOZRGxsrCX2_lqA7OkaEdJsc4iQLWEGPowOM_EmFI4GDLj/s1600/Dog-Color.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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I've been tweeting and Facebooking a lot lately about my love for <a href="http://shop.fablevisionlearning.com/stationery-studio-writing-collection-deluxe/fa/shop.detail/productID/2563/#.Usrm42RDtAw">Stationery Studio</a>. I wanted to share some of my favorite features of the program<br />
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I<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0J74kNJpD5-IGuSxarOT5reqBAhgxtgymSepGWkG-s7B63yBv3x0lC8hz8LdF_US8wj0-IlY503vTLzlOtMeZsTaYqi5KMEvF25uqWBuSNXYe4pA8qjEQVCOWMAUyN0FrjVFb3Gb1aNDH/s1600/CustomStationery.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0J74kNJpD5-IGuSxarOT5reqBAhgxtgymSepGWkG-s7B63yBv3x0lC8hz8LdF_US8wj0-IlY503vTLzlOtMeZsTaYqi5KMEvF25uqWBuSNXYe4pA8qjEQVCOWMAUyN0FrjVFb3Gb1aNDH/s1600/CustomStationery.png" height="400" width="311" /></a></div>
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Full disclosure: I lead an educator program for FableVision Learning. I do not make any money from sales. I am writing this post because I love this software and think it should have more exposure. My school has a site license. I also love Peggy Healy Stearns who designed the program, that did not change my review of the program, I actually loved it before I met anyone at FableVision.</div>
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As you know, Stationery Studio is the software that started my journey with FableVision Learning so many years ago. I saw it at a conference and was blown away by how well-designed it was and how well-suited it was for elementary education. My elementary has a site license.<br />
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SO, I want to give away a copy so you can see what I found so fascinating. <a href="http://shop.fablevisionlearning.com/stationery-studio-writing-collection-deluxe/fa/shop.detail/productID/2563/#.UsGneGRDtAw">(You can also download a trial copy)</a> All you need to do is share the Facebook post or retweet the Tweet for a chance to win.<br />
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<i>Stationery Studio</i> is on special until midnight on December 31, so if you don't win, you can buy your own copy for 50% off.<br />
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Here is what Peter H. Reynolds says about <i>Stationery Studio</i>:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: #336699; font-size: medium;">Product Features</span></strong></span></div>
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An award-winning, intuitive software tool for writing at the computer and by hand, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Stationery Studio</em> includes:</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Over <strong>400 </strong><strong>curricu</strong><strong>lum-based borders & shapes featuring art by Peter H. Reynolds</strong> — including portrait, landscape, and envelope options.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong>59 teacher-friendly classroom activities by Dr. Peggy Healy Stearns</strong> that support national standards.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">An easy-to-use word processor, featuring all the basics — and none of the confusion.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Simple tools for customizing line style, line width, page layout, and more.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ability to use all installed fonts and special dotted fonts to guide handwriting practice.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Multiple formats for printing activity sheets, awards, invitations, and letters.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Compatible with all interactive whiteboards and AlphaSmarts, including the NEO 2. All popular add-on packs now included!</li>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><b>Dave Tchozewski </b>won the free license. Since he is an Ambassador and already has the program, he may donate it to whomever he likes. </span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-2446128557531289972013-12-26T16:57:00.000-06:002013-12-26T20:59:06.434-06:00On Digital Citizenship: A Digital Footprint Lesson<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I teach a class called, "Intro to Computers" which has both high school and dual enrollment (college + high school) sections. This term I was teaching the high school only section and I wanted to find a way to talk about digital footprints without be preachy. I wanted for kids to be aware of the mark they are leaving on the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I sought volunteers via my own Facebook and was overwhelmed by how awesome my online friends are. I had many more than I could use in the time allotted. I chose three college students (two the kids might know and one they didn't), </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">two authors and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a few educators.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The students were asked to look at the Tweets WITHOUT reading the profile (which I realize is hard to do). I asked them to describe the person with five characteristics based solely on their tweets. The results were amazing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The students then decided if they would hire the person (again, based on their tweets) for a variety of jobs and to give rationale (quoting actual tweets). The potential jobs were teacher, principal, and grocery store clerk. I also asked if they would buy the person's book if they were an author of children's books. Again, the results were amazing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, I took screen shots of tweets (and retweets) from the Twitter timelines of students in the class, obscuring the names, and we pretended that this was a fictional person named, "Brenda Bunch." (The associate in the room at the time is named Brenda). This proved to be the greatest lesson of them all. Here are some words the students used to describe "Brenda Bunch": "self centered, un caring, uncreative,un prepaired, not smart, likes to share her opinion, doesn't really care what people think, mean, demanding, likes the weekend, depressed, She is very innaproprate and uses vulgar language."</span><br />
<br /><br />I asked students to email me their thoughts, I received this from one student, "Before I started this project I seriously thought it was pointless and I would get nothing out of it. After working on the project for a class period, and viewing peoples profiles it made me realize tweeting one bad word can make you look like a very bad person. If someone tweets something about someone, subtweets them, says a bad word, or is a very negative person it can make them look bad. After finishing this project it made me realize to never be negative on twitter or say anything bad because this could effect you in your future while getting a job, and people reviewing your profile before hiring you for a job."<br /><br /><br /> To take the lesson one step further, I asked a friend in college admissions at a local University to look at the "Brenda Bunch" tweets and to see what possible repercussions a student could face, she noted that several tweets would disqualify "Brenda" for scholarships. About one retweet, she wrote, "sounds like there are some mental health issues...might be flagged as a student to watch when they enter college"<br /><br /><br /> We then talked about this project in class and it was an eye-opening discussion. I've long been concerned about the idea that kids don't see what they retweet as a reflection on them. One of the college students is one of the smartest people I know, and he was described as not being very smart. I shared with the students what I knew to be true about the people we profiled.<br /><br /><br /> I also shared that an awesome author, Samantha Berger, wrote this on Facebook:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8cOwNYurHIEKvX28KaTxOfC4iKFUCl7YSP_Sh_uCiFu1VY1WY0RJ62Ghm06rBo2ZfwoBNt1E2u2kWTveVSsJbDC2JsshJdnop4_SiEa81DUgG0gj_5wAUmn9LLtkg-2xo34P9bsh2ZWS/s1600/_3__Samantha_Berger.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8cOwNYurHIEKvX28KaTxOfC4iKFUCl7YSP_Sh_uCiFu1VY1WY0RJ62Ghm06rBo2ZfwoBNt1E2u2kWTveVSsJbDC2JsshJdnop4_SiEa81DUgG0gj_5wAUmn9LLtkg-2xo34P9bsh2ZWS/s640/_3__Samantha_Berger.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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which came at the perfect time. I'm always nudging my students on Twitter about the types of things they are saying. Reading this post reminded me that I was once a teenager and I would have torn up social media. All of my nudging, and the point of this lesson, is not judgment, but just a wakeup call.</div>
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I myself have used Twitter to snark. Most of the time, I have removed the Tweets (which I know doesn't remove them from the world). It's important that we all take a look at our footprint and readjust our sails. </div>
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Do I think that this lesson will change the way these kids tweet?? No, not all of them. But if it gives them pause before they hit send, then I think it had the desired effect.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3848510409060781412.post-15550133012551775082013-12-23T15:15:00.000-06:002013-12-28T21:10:52.839-06:00The Best Books I Read in 2013-revised again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've been seeing "Best" lists all over and I thought instead of just mentioning the ones that 'got it wrong,' I'd do my own list. All of these books stayed with me after I read them. If you don't know me very well, that's truly amazing (very short memory) These are in no particular order. Nearly everyone on this list created a Celebridot, check them out and support them!! <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/">www.celebridots.com</a><br />
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<i>The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp</i> by Kathi Appelt. This is a fun and sweet book.<br />
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<i>Counting by 7s</i> by Holly Goldberg Sloan. I made a decision that I'd only support authors who created Celebridots...so I asked Holly to make a dot and then bought her book (twice)<br />
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<i>Seven Stories Up </i>by Laurel Snyder (not technically out yet, but I read it this year) Available January 28. A truly thought-provoking book. What if a few events changed everything???<br />
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<i>Crankenstein</i> by Samantha Berger illustrated by Dan Santat. Super fun with great illustrations.<br />
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<i>Beholding Bee</i> By Kimberly Newton Fusco. I heard so much about this book, I had to buy it. It's so great! It really stayed with me.<br />
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<i>The Boy on the Porch</i> by Sharon Creech. Everyone who has followed me on Twitter or friended me on Facebook knows I ADORE Sharon Creech!! However, this book is so good. I love how reading a book by Sharon Creech takes you on a journey...one that you hope never ends.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNDO2Sg0Sr3ung6U2bGrh7NPrlRVywzT5dRjQN08xqwFLFB-vJoFe20n7PyUwv6-FEHDlWb0Hz6Kr58T8ATkxzx8aXnsnaQwtjCU7alAm511U2-ATmXGn8mERhdNVkl9O6hLB8gHqWJ1a/s1600/BoyonPOrch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNDO2Sg0Sr3ung6U2bGrh7NPrlRVywzT5dRjQN08xqwFLFB-vJoFe20n7PyUwv6-FEHDlWb0Hz6Kr58T8ATkxzx8aXnsnaQwtjCU7alAm511U2-ATmXGn8mERhdNVkl9O6hLB8gHqWJ1a/s200/BoyonPOrch.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>
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<i>The Real Boy</i> by Anne Ursu (If this book doesn't appear on a best-of-2013 list, I immediately discount the list) The writing in this book blew me away and I tweeted and Facebooked favorite quotes. Example, <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">"There is a way the truth hits you, both hard & gentle at the same time. It punches you in the stomach as it puts its loving arm around your shoulder."</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNREq6qoFpkOCq6cpbpy8m9cEkHJEEuVE0t3j5BgS5R3HYSaljUUHAC8rNsXB7-OYN4xurWS61-lhhbtNzsAwLGP8QO_2yit2AR0dZwv1MZVDRfVSNcFpfeccTakzHYEZDCL96T8r3W_8/s1600/RealBoy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNREq6qoFpkOCq6cpbpy8m9cEkHJEEuVE0t3j5BgS5R3HYSaljUUHAC8rNsXB7-OYN4xurWS61-lhhbtNzsAwLGP8QO_2yit2AR0dZwv1MZVDRfVSNcFpfeccTakzHYEZDCL96T8r3W_8/s200/RealBoy.jpg" width="141" /></a></div>
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<i>Bobby the Brave (Sometimes)</i> by Lisa Yee. I related to a character in this book and Lisa's style is SO FUN!<br />
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<i>I'm Bored </i>by Ian Michael Black and illustrated by Debbie Ohi. Loved this!!<br />
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<i>The Museum</i> by Susan Verde and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. I read this book, right before it came out, to a group of first grade students. One girl exclaimed, "I don't just give it two thumbs up, I give it two thumbs and two whole feet."<br />
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<i>Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different</i> by Kristin Tubb. I love Kristin...and I loved this book. The first book I read of hers was <i>The Thirteenth Sign</i> and just knew I had to read more.<br />
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<i>The Saturday Boy</i> by David Fleming. This was a surprise. Janet Reynolds from <a href="http://www.bluebunnybooks.com/">Blue Bunny Books </a>knows me so well, she just sent me this book. I LOVED IT!!<br />
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<i>Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures </i>by Kate DiCamillo. I'd heard so much about this book...it lives up to the hype.<br />
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<i>Baby Penguins Everywhere</i> by Melissa Guion. What could be cuter than a book about penguins?? I really cute story to go along with the penguins!!<br />
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<i>The Smallest Gift of Christmas</i> by Peter H. Reynolds. I had the opportunity to read this last summer and actually hear about it the summer before that. I love Peter and I love this book!!</div>
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<i><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Little Chicken's Big Christmas</i> by Katie Davis and Jerry Davis <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Little-Chickens-Christmas-Katie-Davis-ebook/dp/B00GPPSTRK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387832168&sr=8-1&keywords=little+chicken%27s+big+christmas">Kindle Book</a>. Katie told me in September that this book might be happening, I was SO excited. I love Little Chicken!<br />
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<b>Update:</b></div>
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<i>Journey</i> by Aaron Becker. I wordless picture book told in breathtaking art.</div>
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<i>The Story of Fish and Snail</i> by Deborah Freedman. How could I have forgotten a tale encouraging kids to #BeBrave??</div>
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<b>Update #2</b></div>
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<i>The Day the Crayons Quit </i>by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. It's a really fun book and really creative...and you know how much I love creativity!!</div>
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