I write to express my thoughts and emotions I write to get it all out of my head. I write to take up the time I have waiting I write to use up all the number two lead.
I draw to show the things that come to my mind I draw to show thoughts that I think I draw to take up time when I am not writing I draw because I have markers with ink.
I craft to take time to do creative adventures I craft to see the beautiful things to make I craft to have fun in my own little workshop I craft to stay thinner than times when I bake.
I read to find places that I’d like to go I read to increase my knowledge of life I read to get ideas for simple creations I read because I am no longer a wife.
I write and I draw, I craft and I read I stay quite busy each day, yes indeed!
April 30, 2020, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that features long boards. They can be used in any way you imagine, including a name for sporting equipment. How are they used and who is using them? Go where the prompt leads! https://carrotranch.com/2020/04/30/april-30-flash-fiction-challenge-2/
Daryl threw his backpack over his shoulder and grabbed his longboard before heading out the door. He wanted to meet up with Trevor but knew he’d probably run into Nicky on the way. He didn’t mind. Nicky was pretty, but she just wasn’t what Daryl would call “dating material”. She was more like a sister to him than a girlfriend. He didn’t know if she thought they were dating or not but they never kissed or anything like that. Daryl didn’t want a girlfriend anyhow. He and Trevor were practicing for the local Long Board Championships in two weeks.
This is my last official post for Blogging A to Z in April.
Not everyone thinks learning is fun. Not everyone has knowledge of everything. Everyone CAN learn.
Kids nowadays have so much technology and other activities that learning seems like a chore. As adults it is our responsibility to show them that everything we know is “stuff” we learned. It is also important to emphasize that even as adults we are still learning. Kids need to see that we want to learn because there is always something new to learn. And learning can both bring enjoyment and be enjoyable.
For those kids who struggle academically, they also need to be taught that people do learn at different rates and although their best friend may have learned something quickly, that does not mean to give up. It means to keep going and things do take longer sometimes.
Some things to think about – why many kids don’t like “to learn”
It is hard!
It takes a long time!
Nothing is automatic
Sometimes there are a lot of steps to get to one conclusion.
Sometimes you make a mistake and have to redo things, but that’s okay.
Everyone learns differently. Some auditorily, by listening to instructions, while others learn visually, by watching someone do something. There are kinesthetic learners who learn best doing things hands-on. Then of course there are the majority of people who have some sort of combination. The key: FIND YOUR STRENGTHS!
Sometimes the things you are asked to learn seem like they have no point to them. This occurs a lot in math. But, it is all about building blocks. Everything you learn builds to new skills. Mastering a skill means the next time you advance, you already have the beginning skills!
Sometimes things are boring.
There are a few points to emphasize…
Every bit of knowledge you have is a bit more than you had. It is all worth it.
Working hard helps make some things easier in the long run.
Learning new things opens your eyes to things you may learn to love, that you never even knew about.
Staying as positive as possible is also a plus. Don’t ever make your child feel like they are “dumb” because they are having trouble. Don’t assume slow growth is “lazy”. And sometimes silliness is a way to mask embarassment. No one should be embarrassed to ask for help!
Contact me if you have any questions or concerns or would like to share your experience.
Make a mess and walk away save it for another day Watch the way you walk along no one wants to hear your song Keep your own thoughts to yourself Disconcerting someone else.
Penelope is my Great-niece. The night that my niece, Susan, gave birth I was in Florida visiting with my father. That was the first night I wrote the first book, Penelope. It really is a poem and although I love the content, now after learning so many things about writing and publishing, there are some changes I would make, and probably will, when I discontinue my contract with Page Publishing.
The second book, Penelope Picks Her Pals, was inspired by a first-grade classroom I worked in as a paraprofessional. That year I had written a “book” and included all of the kids in the class. I used alliteration throughout the entire book. It was so long ago, but if I remember correctly, I made a copy for each student before leaving that position, to go to my first teaching position. I love alliteration, the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words (Webster). Penelope Picks Her Pals is an alliteration book. It is a tongue twister. It is definitely for an adult to read to youngsters because of the vocabulary. While reading this at a local library I had the children laughing because I had such a hard time reading it fluently.
The third book, Penelope’s New Puppy, in my opinion is the best. It is about Penelope getting a new puppy from her grandma, which is my sister-in-law Jean. The book is about colors and opens up discussion for parents to have with their children exploring colors. Penelope wants to name her puppy according to the color and tries to come up with some names, yet she doesn’t know what the puppy will look like yet.
The fourth book, Penelope Still Picks Suzie, is a story about Penelope and a classmate she has that has a hard time behaving in school. I wrote this book because I began my teaching career in a school for socially-emotionally disturbed children. It was at this school that I learned all the behaviors that come with childhood conflict and trauma. When I say all the behaviors, I mean all the behaviors. Anyhow, what I learned was that these kids are stigmatized because they don’t know how to act correctly, which in turn isolates them, and makes behaviors escalate. Suzie is my niece, Penelope’s mother, so I used her as the misbehaver. In the book I also included Penelope’s father, Frankie, who is a police officer. In the book Frankie is one of Penelope’s friends who loves reading and wants to be a policeman when he grows up.
All of my Penelope books have a learning element. I have others in my files but since I used what they call, a Vanity Press, I don’t have the money to publish anymore right now. I may try to publish on my own, however the pictures would be different, since I hired an illustrator at Page Publishing. The pictures are technically mine, so I can reproduce them, but my books are still under contract so I hate to mess with any of that.
On Amazon, the books are about $11.95 each. I think there are sites where you can find them more around $10 each. On my blog I offer them signed. I have added on a fee for postage, since I would be mailing them out, but hey, I will sign them for anyone and make it personal.
I hope you will check out my books. The kids seem to love them and I know someday, when Penelope is old enough to understand (she is two now), she will love seeing her name in all those books.
No one is born into this world knowing things. It is with experience and education that we can grow our knowledge base, whether about the world or a more specific topic.
When students, who typically struggle with academics, start a new school year or start a class with a new teacher, they think back to their learning in the past and determine how they will do for the future. What is not told to so many young people is that everyone has to learn. There is practically nothing that people know because they were born with it.
To clarify, students don’t always understand that learning occurs constantly and builds upon itself. For students with behaviors, as those are the ones I have most experience with, they have a lot of missing information, gaps in learning, due to previous behaviors or the inability to remain focused in the classroom. They HAVE to be told that the gaps can be filled in and learning CAN proceed. This unfortunately is why students, who are behind, stay behind, because the thought of having to learn everything they missed is immeasurable, in their minds.
What is the point?
Everyone can learn: It may not be to the same capacity as others or about the same things others may learn, but any new information is learning!
Don’t give up because of gaps: There are faster ways to fill in missing gaps in learning. There are ways that you can work around deficiencies, so as to grow as a learner.
Everyone learns differently: Just because someone else in your class doesn’t seem to even pay attention, but learns anyway, it isn’t because they just have the knowledge, it’s just that they don’t show their learning in the same way.
Learn on your own: learning doesn’t have to be about worksheets and school lessons. The more you try to learn the more you grow academically. This can be in the form of a magazine article or a youtube video.
Remember that knowledge brings a sort of confidence to a person: The more you learn the better you feel about yourself. The better you feel about yourself, the more motivated you will to continue learning.
Keep a positive attitude and let students know that learning takes time and effort, nothing comes for free.
Mickey hated liars. He couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else coming and sitting beneath his limbs, pledging their love to another, only to never see them again. He had seen and heard it all for so many years. He couldn’t even say how many years, since he didn’t know how to count his own rings.
Today was different. They came from the city he believed, based on their fashionable attire and sporty car. They laid out a blanket below his lowest limb and took a basket out of the car. They sat closely, talking so quietly that Mickey almost couldn’t hear them nor what they were talking about.
The man leaned past the woman he was sitting with and grabbed the basket handles. He placed the basket in front of his own legs and prepared to open the latch. Mickey could hear the anticipation in the woman’s voice and surely he was curious too. The man slowly opened the latch and lifted the lid.
Mickey couldn’t believe what he was seeing! This wasn’t love! This wasn’t a date! This was a horrific animal let loose to cause damage to others.
The man laid out the contents, rolled up a paper and lit a match. He knew the kindling he brought would make a beautiful fire.
Stine Writing 
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