Whit is Published in Kids In Print!

Whit was published in the yearly Kids In Print publication put out by our local library. His story about Talgres the Squirrel and how he saved his animal friends made page four!  Needless to say we are very proud of our budding author. Here he is at the book signing and reception with the graphic novelist/cartoonist, Chris Schweizer. He is also pictured here with some friends from our homeschooling group. Pictured from left to right is Blake (published for his photography work), Whit (my favorite author of wildlife fiction), Haylee (a budding poet), and Shelby (published for her artwork).  I would say he has a great circle of friends! Congratulations Whitman, on a fantastic literary beginning!

Story Stones

My children enjoy playing with natural objects, leaves, stones, acorns, etc. By combining their love for nature and an idea I found on Pinterest, I came up with a great DIY gift for my nieces and nephews. I gathered stones (and since we live in the city, I had to cheat a bit and buy a package of river stones at the Dollar Tree). Then I cut out tiny story characters and objects from paper, fabric, etc. and mod podged them onto the stones. My sister's children are mad about Little House in the Big Woods, so I used an old paperback (don't worry, I have another copy of this title!) to cut out Laura, Mary, Ma, Pa, and Baby Carrie along with a bear, dear, etc. for their set of story stones. They turned out charming. I made a set for traditional stories that included a pot, an old man and woman, farm animals, a gingerbread boy, and other items that would make Stone Soup, The Gingerbread Man, The Old Man and the Old Woman, and Clever Beatrice a possibility. I made simple cut outs of a mouse, cheese, and other Mother Goose items for the youngest, and a set of woodland critters for my own son and his critter-loving cousin. I also made a set with a vintage fabric that included rosy faced children and their pet dog. Finally, I sewed drawstring bags in coordinating fabrics and made gift tags with story and game ideas using the stones. The best game idea I had was to pass the bag around the dinner table or the car and for each person to add to a family story that is made up as you go along. When you take an item out of the bag, you must add something to the story that includes the character or item you drew. This is a variation on the game my siblings and I played so often with my Dad as a child. He used to love to start a story and go from person to person adding adventures. I hope the story stones continue this tradition of family story telling! I took a picture of the traditional tales set and the Little House set for here. I hope you like them!

Of Homemade Dolls and Creative Writing

One of my favorite books as a child was, Hitty, Her First Hundred Years, by Rachel Field. The book is an older one, but holding a Newberry medal has assured it a place in the hall of fame for children's literature.
I tried to interest my daughter in the book a couple of years ago, but it didn't seem to take. I think she read a chapter and then put the book down.
I was delighted when she became interested in reading it recently. I am constantly reminded that if we let children come to things in their own time, we will not be disappointed.
She read the book in a relaxed way - curling up with it at night and biting off a chapter or two at a time. She finished the book yesterday. I don't know when I have ever seen this much of a reaction about a book! She loved the story. She is calling it an all time favorite, which is interesting for a child who has devoured Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, etc. (A fantasy child)
Today she pulled out instructions for making a historical doll (from our trip to Williamsburg) and worked all morning on sewing a doll and dress. She has named the doll, Rachel, after Rachel Field. She has also started a story from Rachel's perspective, trying her hand at writing in the style of Hitty. We had our "Monday meeting" this morning and planned some activities for the week - all based around the book. She is very excited and spent most of the afternoon plotting out her story and getting ideas down on paper. I was a little surprised at her level of excitement for Hitty. She is now asking about Heidi and other stories that I loved from my own childhood. Three cheers for Hitty!

Our Published Author

"Kids In Print" is the yearly publication from our local library that celebrates young artists and writers. My daughter had a short story accepted this year for publication. Here she is at the library's celebration and book signing when the book came out. The young writers and artists signed copies of their work. Her story was entitled, "A Girl's Tears and What Became of Them". It is charming tale of how fairies are born. She has been very into the little folk this year. She hopes to have more stories published and become a famous author. She is off to a good start!

The Littlest Storyteller

My son has faced a lot of struggle in his very young life. He started having health issues at the introduction of solid foods and after months of hospitals, doctors and the like, he was diagnosed with celiac disease and food allergies. Later he was also diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. He is touch sensitive to wheat and breaks out in hives from touching things like playdough. He is anaphylactic to nuts (peanuts). He had some dev. delay from his months of living with intestinal issues that prohibited nutrition to the brain. The dev. delay was only in speech. He has been slow to communicate and make the sounds for his words. He had speech therapy in our home for his two year old year. This past school year, he went to speech at the local elementary school. While he still struggles with some sounds and being understood by those who aren't always around him, he has improved greatly. There has never been any doubt that his imagination was in fine working order. He is in turns, Peter Pan, a pirate, a dog, a super hero, and any other character that takes his fancy. He plays elaborate scenarios with his sister, who, has always seemed to know exactly what he was saying, even when the rest of us didn't. Their imagination is fueled by the stacks of books we read weekly. My son will sit for long periods of time listening to stories. He took an interest in the creation of stories after his sister wrote a short story that was published in a local yearly children's publication, "Kids In Print". On the way home from that event he told us a story, "Once upon a time there was a boy named Whit. He had a Mommy and a Dad". That was it, his first attempt to create a story. We were delighted that he had made the connection. This past Friday was his last speech session of this school year. He amazed his speech teacher and his watching Father when he came out with this story:

"Once upon a time there was a boy named Whit and he had a Mommy and a Dad. There was a bear coming out of a deep hole. He saw us. We climbed a tree so he wouldn't get us. He was big. He was this tall, as tall as your arm. He was big. There was a little dragon. We ran to the car. The dragon followed us so he could drive. He got in the car and Whit held him. The bear was coming and he was jumping on the road and that's how he was getting us. Doodeet came in a blue car. He was magic. He came to rescue us. We never that big bear in that scary woods again. The bear climbed a tree so he could hide from Doodeet. Doodeet climbed the tree to get him. The End. "

I think we can safely put our concerns about his speech to rest!

We haven't made a call yet as to whether we will use speech services again next year. For his sake, we want to make sure he can be understood. He has so much to share with the world, even his own stories!