Whistle for Willie…Building Self-Esteem

Posted on January 17, 2013 by viviankirkfield

Perfect Picture Book Friday…I missed a couple of weeks while I was out of town…I’m happy to be back joining Susanna Leonard Hill’s fantastic group of picture book writers, illustrators, librarians and others who contribute a picture book review.

Whistle for Willie

Written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats

Publisher: The Viking Press (1964) Puffin Press has a newer 1977 edition

Ages: 4 and up

Themes:

Self-esteem, parental support, growing up, coping with failure

Synopsis:

Little Peter wants to learn how to whistle so he can call his dog, Willie. He keeps trying until, one day, he can do it. His parents support him and encourage him throughout it all.

Why do I like this book:

Classic Ezra Jack Keats…need I say more?

The bold illustrations captivate…the simple text brings home the message of ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’. Every child needs to hear this story at least once…and I guarantee every child will want to hear it again and again.

Related Activities:

Kids love making music, whether they are whistling, beating on a drum or shaking maracas. There are many instruments that you can help your child craft…and try these water glass chimes…the tones created by the different glasses will amaze everyone.

Water Chimes

Illustration and instructions courtesy http://www.creativekidsathome.com/activities/activity_6.html

You will need:

8 glasses
teaspoons
water

Directions:

Line up eight glasses of about the same size and shape.
Fill the first glass about 1/8th full of water for the high note, the second glass should be 1/4 full, the third glass should be 3/8ths full for the next note, and so on.
Each glass should sound like a note on the music scale (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do). You may need to tune your music scale (add or remove water with teaspoon) until each note rings true.
Have the children use a metal teaspoon to gently tap out the scale and any other melodies they know (Mary had a Little lamb, Twinkle Twinkle).

Hints for Water Chimes

Don’t use expensive crystal glasses to make water chimes.
Add a bit a food coloring to help children identify which glass is which sound.
Changing the amount of water will change the musical note. The amount of water in the glass changes the pitch of the sound wave.

Here are a few more sites that provide music craft-making instructions.

http://www.greatschools.org/students/activities/248-activity-make-music-in-the-kitchen.gs

http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/musicalinstrumentsartscraftstideashandmadekids.html

http://www.thecraftycrow.net/2009/07/how-to-make-a-paper-whistle.html

Lesson plans for Whistle for Willie and other sites with additional activities:

http://school.familyeducation.com/reading-instruction/resource/30357.html

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/whistle_for_willie.php

http://westonwoods.scholastic.com/products/westonwoods/study_guides/whistle_for_willie.pdf

If you are looking for a great resource that will give you 100’s of picture book summaries, easy matching crafts (even a couple of musical instrument projects) and healthful child-friendly cooking activities, purchase a copy on Amazon of Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking. At $24.95, this book makes a PERFECT gift for any parent or teacher of children ages 2-8…as well as for daycare providers and grandparents. No batteries required…powered by a child’s imagination! Buy your copy today and start the year with educational self-esteem building activities that are quick and easy and lots of fun.

12 x 12 in 2012: Picture Book Writer’s Party! (viviankirkfield.wordpress.com)
How to Help Kids Deal With Anxiety: The Worry Glasses (viviankirkfield.wordpress.com)
PPBF: Parenting Advice from Andy Griffith…Set the Rules! (viviankirkfield.wordpress.com)

Short and Sweet: Creative Writing Fun

Posted on January 14, 2013 by viviankirkfield

Do you want to stretch your creative writing ability?

Here’s another fun challenge, this one offered by children’s author Susanna Leonard Hill.

Short and Sweets is a great way to get your mind thinking outside the box!

This week’s prompt, called “Saying It Without Saying It”, invites you to describe a childhood event or common childhood occurrence…such as a Birthday Party or a Camping Trip. The trick is not to use certain words that are often associated with that particular event or feeling.

If you’d like to take part, click on this link: http://susannahill.blogspot.com/2013/01/monday-short-and-sweet-saying-it.html

Here is my entry:

We hold hands…the long windowless hallway seems to go on forever.

“You’re squeezing my fingers!” I try to loosen my grip. “Sorry.”

A cloud covers the faint sliver of the moon as we enter our room and feel our way to the beds. My sister dives into hers…blankets rustle as she covers her head.

At the edge of my bed, I hesitate. “Can I sleep with you?”

“Do you have to?” comes the muffled reply.

“Please!!!”

A sudden rush of air tells me she has flung back the covers. “Alright…but stay on the edge and don’t move around!”

Arms outstretched, I shuffle over to her bed and crawl in silently…warm…safe…waiting for morning to come.

Can you guess what I am describing? Hop over to Susanna’s Short and Sweet post…I’m sure you will know which of the 15 choices I picked.

I hope 2013 has started well for you…I feel like I am digging my way out of a mountain of emails and unread blogs after having been virtually (no pun intended) computer-less for almost two weeks. Visiting with my kids was a fantastic way to start the year…I’ll share some photos in another post.

9 Outstanding Apps to Teach Creative Writing (educatorstechnology.com)
Susanna Leonard Hill: Welcome To Summer Short And Sweets!!! (onewaytowonder.wordpress.com)
Writing changed – perhaps even saved – my life (danasitar.com)
Creative writer fulfills acting dream (fijitimes.com)
Creating Your Own Settings in Creative Writing (tomlaing.wordpress.com)

Sunday Post: Goals…and the Writer’s Desk Competition

Posted on January 13, 2013 by viviankirkfield

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…the past week’s theme was GOALS.

Did you set goals for 2013?

I did! If you click here, you’ll see that many of them involve writing.

When Nancy at Spirit Lights the Way issued a “Writer’s Desk” challenge, I knew I had to participate.

Nancy says:

“ Write a short essay or poem (between 33 and 100 words) about your writing desk, your writing rituals, why you write, how you write, how you stop writing, or . . . surprise us with a tantalizing tidbit about your writing life.”

For all of the rules, please click on this link. There is still time to join the fun…deadline is January 25.

I used to have a room that doubled as both an office for me and a guest room…it looked something like this:

Then, my husband retired and discovered the world of watercolor painting. I gave him that room to use as his studio and now it looks like this:

So I do most of my writing at the dining room table…and for me, fortunately, writing has very little to do with location, location, location and very much to do with motivation, inspiration and perspiration.