This video is profound and moving ~ perhaps the littlest child will understand it best of all, and our old wise ones. Enjoy!


If you have trouble viewing it here, please click on this link  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAVjF_7ensg

One more beautiful gift: if you want simple, quick and enjoyable lessons in astronomy for your kids or yourself, you'll want to add this site to your Favorites: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ Two fun astronomers post daily pictures showing divine marvels and zillions of things to wonder about.

Puppets on Parade!

Acorn & Rose puppets joined our hometown parade ~ with the help of caring parents and dear, enthusiastic kids. Brought lots of smiles and good cheer.

All Those Kids In Love With Dragons ~ Books and Activities

This past Sunday, out on a sunny, windblown hill with great tall fir trees, a little boy had his fourth birthday celebration - and Acorn&Rose puppets were there to help. The hillside was enriched by a variety of hooting owls, chirping songbirds - and several roaring dragons. It was hard to hold down the little boy's friends. They all wanted to help with dragon roars and flight! And truly, could there be anything quite so tempting as a dragon's offer to come fly with him?

Dragons can breathe fire, fly, talk, and shapeshift. They are known to be gentle as well as fierce and dangerous. They are protectors sometimes, or necromancers. They kill for treasure and horde their finds in lonely caves. Heroes of all kinds have faced dragons to protect innocent peoples. At one time, it is said, the children of China all got together and created the dragon to keep their country from war. Children - boys and girls, little and big, everywhere - children love dragons. They love to dream about meeting them, confronting or taming them, slaying them or riding on their backs to unknown places.

There are books and books and books filled with dragon legends, stories, and lore. If you have children ages four to twelve or so, the list below offers a variety for the thoughtful contemplation of dragons and their meaningful place in the world - the great world beyond or the world of a child's making. (This list offers a broad spectrum which may serve as a launch for understanding different perspectives - how one subject may be viewed and understood in many different lights.) The Reluctant Dragon, by Kenneth Graham, abridged and illustrated by Inga Moore

My Father's Dragon (and two excellent sequels), by Ruth Stiles Gannet, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannet ~ funny and compelling Magic in the Mist, by Marjorie Kimmel, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, a picture book for all ages The Secret in the Matchbox, by Val Willis, illustrated by John Shelly ~ set in a classroom Saint George and the Dragon, by Margaret Hodges, a Caldecott Gold winner, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman ~ the classic dragon legend of the West

City of Dragons, by Laurence Yep ~ a story of the more humane dragons of the East. Yep wrote many fine dragon stories, picture books to novels Legend of the Chinese Dragon, by Marie Sellier, illustrated by Catherine Louis with calligraphy and chop marks by Wang Fei ~ something very different yet satisfying The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, first told by him to his children and originally published just for children How to Raise and Keep a Dragon, by John Topsell, a thorough, detailed guidebook, starting with a dragon's egg - too clever and jive for me, but otherwise good

Along with all this reading and imagining, a boy or girl may just need a castle to return to, and here is a great inspiration: http://annwood.net/blog/category/cardboard-castles/ As you can see, Ann makes these by collecting odd shapes of cardboard - and just gets rolling. Storm the castle! http://www.stormthecastle.com/  has lots of tutorials for making shields, swords, catapults and much more, great for a parent to share with a child. How to make simple, quick playcapes: http://thelittleredhen.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/03/play-capes.html Easy instructions here for sock puppet dragons http://www.buttonbag.co.uk/free-projects.php To cut the mouth look here: http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/puppets.html

A Favorite Poem

IF
Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;



If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with triumph and disaster

And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;



If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";



If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!


photo credit: Inga Neilsen, posted here: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060620.html

What Is in The Winds?

A friend's child's recent questions: Where does the wind come from?  Can we call it to us? Can anything stop it when it comes? Powerful questions! What answers do we have?

United States Army records detail several occasions when the great Apache war shaman Geronimo called the wind, creating massive sandstorms that allowed his people to pass unharmed through treacherous days and nights. This is explored in a book NOT for children, but with stories a parent might selectively retell to a child, Watch for Me on the Mountain, by Forrest Carter. Read reviews here:  http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=22

A highly recommended guidebook for making all different types of kites: Kites for Everyone by Margaret Greger, available here http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?node=10&page=3

And very pleased to introduce a prize-winning online store called Will of the Wind, owned and operated for several years by two steadfast, lovely women, Jan Hazelton and Kathy Joens. They offer a beautiful variety of windy products (chimes, banners, weathervanes and more), all top quality, with superb customer care. Their beautiful kites are already made and ready to fly: http://www.willofthewind.com/categories.asp?cat=2

Of their store, Jan and Kathy say: "Will of the Wind began with the concept of setting sails and lofty thoughts into the freedom of the wind. We have been amazed with the creativity and diversity that flourish in the world of kite design. It really is a wonderland for kids of all ages to explore.

"Our kites come in a variety of shapes, sizes and themes, so if you are looking to discover a kite for yourself, a child, a friend or an event, we welcome you to visit Will of the Wind at http://www.willofthewind.com/

"Thank you, Acorn and Rose, for mentioning us on your wonderful blog."
 
You are welcome, Will of the Wind!

What More Wonderful?

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1189 This is a delightful site to explore, and what more wonderful than birds to share with children?

For the last few days in my garden a flock of cedar waxwings has been flurrying in and out of the Indian plum bushes, eating the unripe fruits, whistling and trilling their sweet calls. I learned more about them on the All About Birds site (you can listen to their recordings of birdsongs), and am so pleased to pass on their program for kids:
 http://www.birds.cornell.edu/birdsleuth/about/what-is-birdsleuth?utm_source=aab&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=CrossPromoteAAB_BS_20100201

To add to the meaning and fun of all this learning, you and your kids may fall in love with two great ones - both individuals who didn't "fit in" at school  - John James Audubon and Charles Darwin.

Each of these books offers surprises and  insights that make exploring nature all the more meaningful. Besides, One Beetle Too Many is very funny.








These books are easy to find at your local library ~ or  purchase them here: http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?node=21&page=2

Happy birdsong days to you!

Learning Reading and Writing

It occurred to me, after sharing the experiment done in the 1920's, that I could share a few of my own stories about reading and writing with kids.

For some years I've traveled the Northwest presenting inspirational one-day "Young Author Programs." A day-long program starts with a slide show for all the children, kindergarten to sixth grade. It is quite a challenge to hold an audience consisting of unformed little ones, bright and eager learners, and jaded older students busy being cool for one another. But the slide show works well because everyone feels included. I show the kids books and stories of my own, and show them things from my life that I love - my animals and trees and gardens, and most of all my son, things he and I have done together. They love that we had gone sledding in the moonlight, they love that we slept out with our dog and cat and goats and chickens. The older kids love that Jesse was a baggy-pants, shaggy-haired skateboarder who convinced our whole town to build a skatepark by writing letters and making his own newspaper . . . colorful stuff that lifted their schoolkid hearts. The Young Authors day also includes handson workshops by grade level. On the day of the visit, always there are kids all the way to sixth grade who suddenly write pages and pages about their own cares, interests and passions. Kids who had never written anything at all, and who had shown no interest in reading. One autistic boy who had never spoken asked questions from the back of the room and walked right up with more questions about everything.

It is obvious that reading and writing are gifts kids will greatly treasure for many reasons of their own. One of my first insights of this came from a friend who taught reading in the deep south of Georgia. She had high school teenagers who had driven tractors and plowed fields since they were children, who had seen crazy drunks and lynchings. They were not drawn to Dick and Jane readers or anything else offered up in schoolrooms. She brought in stacks and stacks of Life magazines and asked them what they thought. They approved, and most of them became proficient readers while simply relating to the up and down dramas of American life.

With my son: read-aloud in front of the fire, read-aloud in my lap, read-aloud at bedtime . . . he said much later that reading aloud was one of the best parts of his childhood. But he himself was not ready to read until he was about seven, at which time he simply decided he would do it because he loved books already. He chose the moment he was ready and accepted the help he needed to decipher all the symbols on his own.

Once I was asked to give a talk to a group of eighty seasoned reading teachers. I was reckless and said sure! Before me at their round breakfast tables they all sat, drinking coffee and expectant. And you know, I just said, I am an artist and a single mother and here are some things that have worked. One thing they loved: how you can make up a story, any story, with a stick drawing in the middle of a blank page. A big rock is good, or a tree with gnarly roots, or a little campfire. Then you can ask your children what comes next - a stream, some trees, some hills or a cabin or castle or tent - some people and animals, a storyteller, a flute-player - something in the skies - maybe there is a little rock with a symbol carved into it by someone long ago. Now someone picks up the rock; a doorway opens up that goes into another world - pretty exciting stuff! Of course then you have to work together to write down sentences to go with the picture, maybe draw some more, and then more words come . . . and reading is a happening thing, naturally, through having fun. After this and other homespun ideas, these old timers said they were refreshed and inspired.

Where else can inspiring ideas come from? Children love learning how to interview, they love interviewing old people or teenagers who come to your classroom, and they write their questions and answers with such great care . . . They love shelves and cupboards stuffed with books and magazines everywhere, making collages, crafting handmade books with captions and pictures of their own. Esme Raji Codell, in Educating Esme tells how she crafted a time machine - a cardboard appliance box with a revolving red light and other gadgets, crammed with books. Her fifth-graders loved reading in that space!

A puppet post office takes up less space than a time machine. If you use puppets to introduce subjects, to teach tricky concepts, to perk up your kids, or for conflict resolution- you can have a decorated cardboard box with a slot where they can drop letters to the puppets. (I did once with a fairy post office in a multi-age classroom, they all got into it.) This can develop into a subculture in your room where your kids are reading and writing just for the fun of it. You might get so many letters that you'll need parent volunteers to help answer all of them.

Last one for the moment ~ while volunteering in a local third grade classroom, I met a little girl who was still completely illiterate, and asked if we could do some things together. We sat at a table outside her class, just talking, swapping stories to get to know one another, no biggie. I asked her to share her life story with me, everything she could remember, and offered to be her "scribe." She liked the idea, and I wrote quickly to get every word down. At home I neatly hand-printed it all out for her. The story was filled with her parents' and brother's intense and harsh moments - lashings-out and screaming, sad things for a little girl that would put anyone into an anxious fog. Next time we met, we looked at her four pages together, and started to read her story. We met two or three more times, and she read without help. Her reading difficulties were over. She told me she had posted her story near her bed, and her teacher told me after those few days she participated successfully in academic work.

Educating Esme is a fantastic read for teachers and parents, very funny with lots of insights. Available for seventy-five cents right here: http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=4

Loving to Learn

IN FACT it is nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instructions have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry. ~ Albert Einstein

Individuals have their own ways of perceiving and learning, and while public schooling is now all about standardized drilling and testing, other educators and parents are realizing more and more that there are as many ways to learn as there are individuals, even when it comes to the basics of reading and writing.

A favorite example of this is an experiment done all the way back in the 1920's in Winnetka, Illinois. First graders of similar mental and chronological age, as well as similar home environments, were divided into two groups - one group was taught to read using traditional methods that had gotten fairly good results but still ended in some kids not getting it. The second group was treated very differently. Children were given books and reading materials to peruse as they wished. They were read to, individually and in groups. They were helped and instructed when and if they asked. Their teachers modeled enjoyment of books and reading.

Each of the two groups was tracked for the next seven years. In the first year, the kids instructed with the traditional method were clearly better readers. Every year after that, the second group excelled progressively more in reading, academic and people skills. By the final year, the second group was found by outside teachers and psychologists to show enthusiasm and eagerness to learn, cooperation, and spontaneity, far more than the kids who had been taught by right/wrong, success/failure, reward/punishment methods.

How simple can it be?

A few helpful guides to finding the way are posted here: http://acornandrose.com/Shop.aspx

And this is an absolutely fantastic book whether your child is homeschooled, unschooled, or goes to a public or private school,

available here: http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=11

Note: the creator of the brain illustration is unknown to me, but I would like to give proper credit if the person is found. Any clues, please let me know.