Dear Mom and Dad, I am More than Just a Test Score

Today we read a wonderful piece in the Huffington Post from Timothy D. Slekar, Division Head for Education, Human Development, and Family Studies at Penn State Altoona. In it he writes from the perspective of a student anticipating the new school year. Here are some of our favorite quotes:

I prefer to engage in real learning.

I prefer not to spend the first five months of school preparing for tests...

I prefer to have gym, art, and music classes.

I prefer not to sit and listen all day long...

I prefer to have assignments that are interesting, hands on, help me discover, make me ask questions, and allow me to be proud of my work.

I prefer not to dread going to school...

Is your child ready to go back to school? The bigger question is: Is your child excited to go back to school?

Mr. Slekar is right when he demonstrates just how much focus has been given to testing in education today. True learning comes in many forms, and best when kids are allowed to experiment and make mistakes. They should not be nervous about going back to school, but on the edge of their seats, ready to get their hands dirty and create things they can claim as their own. Not ashamed that they prefer to use their right brain, but lauded for their creative thinking!

We encourage you to check out Mr. Slekar's piece here and let us know your thoughts in the comment section below! What is your child's experience in school? Is he or she excited or dreading the new academic year? 

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: "Shhh Secrets" at Musically Minded

Today was our last day of our "Shhh Secrets camp at Musically Minded Academy.

We so appreciated having this wonderful group of talented kids with us for the week. We hope we can write with them again during the school year and next summer. Please encourage them to keep up their craft!

Check out some of the great pics we got:

(The kids collaborated on stories featuring two characters of their own creation who had secret identities!)

Anna and Catherine

Braelyn and Esme

Ian and Amy

Mikela and Nicole

Sophie and Xochtl

Tegan and Kyra

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: "The Word Party"

At Friday's camp our kids read their work aloud for their parents - here are a couple pics of our fantastic group!

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: "Stamps and Letters" at Musically Minded

Today we continued writing our "Licking Envelopes: A Cautionary Tale" stories and then moved on to another type of correspondence- letters to a company whose product or service we love.

The 5 girls collectively wrote to the following companies- can you figure out which one(s) belong to your daughter?

-Hostess - for their Donettes powdered donuts

-O.P.I. nail polish

-Teacake Bake Shop cupcakes

- Little Shin Shin restaurant

- Tootsies on College Ave

- Market Hall's "cowboy cookies"

- Ghiradelli chocolates

We are going to send out our letters of praise for these company's products to let them know how much we appreciate them and see what happens...

After composing our letters to companies we watched a video on how the British Royal Mail (their version of the USPS) gets a letter from London to a tiny island off the coast of Scotland in 24 hours. Next we saw a video of the world's smallest post service- an Oakland-based artist who creates teeny tiny letters and puts them in teeny tiny envelopes, sealed with a drop of sealing wax. They are packaged and sent out with a magnifying glass!

Tomorrow we start our pen pal letters to some kids in Ghana, West Africa. More on that later!

In the afternoon, we got out needles and thread and sewed felt and fabric "envelopes" and purses embellishing them with fabric and rubber stamps. Sophia made a fabric envelope addressed to herself including a stamp . Check out the photo and your flower children in the park! 

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: Musically Minded Day 3

Today we delved into persona poems, taking on the persona of another person, or animal or writing about ourselves. We followed a certain format starting each line with, "I am" and "I wonder" and "I hear" and "I see", etc. 

Here is some of what came out:

Ross

Achilles
I am almost invincible and a strong warrior.
I wonder how Paris found out.
I hear Polyxena's beautiful voice
I see the darkness of Hades
I want to fight for eternity
I am almost invincible and a strong warrior.

Sushma

I am happy all day long and I chew on bones.
I wonder when my owners are going to give me a treat.
I hear other dogs walking.
I see other dogs playing fetch.
I want a new chew toy.
I am happy alll day long and I chew on bones.

Madelena ( writing about herself)

I am funny and smart
I wonder if I could fly
I hear silly music
I see fairies flying
I want a bunk bed
I am funny and smart.

We also wrote "I am From Poems" which explored the textures, sounds,
memories, foods and people. Here are a few excerpts:

Claire

I Am From
I am from my dogs whining to be fed and cats meowing when they want attention.
I am from the sweet smell of sap in the morning and the sounds of
birds chirping...
I am from another world under the sea with all sorts of wonderful and
colorful fish
i am from flying ove the city and tiny stars floating above me.

Sydney

I am from my dog licking me in the morning, I am from my family
snoring at night time.
I am from the night sky glimmering down at me and the sun shining bright.
I am from the girl wearing a Giants hat even if they lose the world
series...I am the girl who gets in
trouble by my brother and has to live with it.

Izzy

I am from the warm licks of Molly's tongue in the morning, the mouth
watering smell of bacon
and crepes. I am from my mama sneaking treats into my backpack and my
dad's warm, comforting hands.

Allistair

I am from the scar surgery,
I am from the memories of the flight that was cancelled, the trip to
Tahoe. I am from my grandpa's home on Texas.
The Kaiser Permanente. To the lake in New York.
I am from the smells of Skyline Boulevard, baked muffins and fizzy apple juice.

Continuing with the theme of inside and outside selves we composed letters to our future selves, 10 years from now. There were some wonderful results:

Sydney

Dear Sydney, the 19 year old,

You believe in fair. You love to sing and dance. You love to write and
draw....You love the Giants... Do not get a tatoo or smoke.

Allistair

Dear 21 year old Allistair,
I'm writing from my 11 year old self.  I'm just going into middle
school. Do you remember middle school? Can you write me back, maybe
send it through a time portal, if they have those invented.

We started the afternoon with a neighborhood walk that included a 59 step path and Ross and Alistair lead the way. Back at Musically Minded we looked at books on Masks from different cultures and sketched our ideas. We worked on our masks, and finished our suitcases and portraits. 

What's in a name?

Do you know what your name means? Ever try looking it up? Take a quick trip to a site like babynames.com and you'll find a whole dictionary of names!

Names can be important to your stories when you're trying to name your characters. What does that character's name say about him or her? How does it reflect his or her personality? How does it reflect his or her background?

For example, maybe you name your main character Hope because she is a symbol of hope in your story. Maybe you name your leading man Romeo as an allusion to Shakespeare's romantic character.

Finding out the meanings and origins of names can be a fun and inspiring way to develop your characters. And, you can always create your own names and attach meanings to them.

Here's a quick exercise: Look up the meaning of your name, and write about how true it is. How does your name describe you? Where might it be right? Where might it be wrong? If you had the option, what would you rename yourself?

Happy writing!