Sunday Post: Follow Your Dreams…Princess Shayna’s Invisible Visible Gift

Posted on December 16, 2012 by viviankirkfield

Every week, Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post theme…today the theme is FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS.

www.viviankirkfield.wordpress.com,Princess Shayna,sheila glazov

Look at this illustration. A child, sitting under a tree, dreaming of……?

Many of us have dreams of what we would like to become…of what we would like to do.

My advice? Follow your dreams…set goals and pursue them.

Hold onto your hats my friends…you are in for a treat! Today’s post is a holiday gift to all of you.

I would like to introduce you to one of my author friends, Sheila Glazov, who is an internationally known and award winning author, passionate educator, personality type expert, and professional speaker. I have asked Sheila to be a Holiday Guest Blogger and tell you about her captivating beautifully illustrated children’s book, Princess Shayna’s Invisible Visible Gift.

self-esteem,positive parental participation, sheila glazov

“Have you ever wondered if there is a fairy tale about a princess who is not poisoned by a villain, abandoned by her parents, or rescued by Prince Charming’s kiss? You will wonder no longer, when you learn more about my chapter book. The heroine of this a timely and timeless story is a princess whose loving parents teach her to be a strong, independent, and self-confident young woman, who girls and boys alike, can emulate and respect.

There are many meaningful, messages throughout the story. The three most significant are: 1) Appreciating and accepting individual’s differences, 2) Dealing with bully behavior, and 3) Handling personal tragedies and triumphs. Teachers have used my book as part of their school’s anti-bullying and/or diversity programs with remarkable results.

The “Invisible Visible Gift” that is referenced in the book’s title is self-esteem, which is a gift that is invisible, but can clearly be seen and felt by others by an individual’s confident behavior. Princess Shayna earns and shares her gift with the villagers in the Kingdom of Kindness, while attempting to complete a daunting Vision Quest to unite the four villages that have been separated by an evil force – the same evil force that inflicted her life-threatening disease for which the princess must take a magic elixir every day in order to live.

During her Vision Quest, the princess lives and attends school in each of the four villages in the Kingdom of Kindness. She learns to appreciate the adults’ and children’s unique personal strengths and diverse lifestyles. Princess Shayna enjoys visiting with the Yellow Sunflower villagers who are organized, responsible, and respectful; the Blue Forget-Me-Not villagers who are creative, intuitive, and compassionate; the Green Healing Herb villagers who are logical, precise, and methodical; and the Orange Tiger Lily villagers who are fun-loving, courageous, and resourceful. Her accepting perspective of the Kingdom and her own special gifts allows the princess to harmoniously unite all the villagers.

Sarah Spundah the Silver Spider, Sigmund the Royal Wizard, and White Falcon are enchanting characters who love and help Princess Shayna. But, the frightening sorceress, Meevillian, plots with her treacherous trolls, Mennis and Meene, to prevent the princess from completing her Vision Quest and schemes to gain control of the Kingdom of Kindness.

The story also teaches children they do not have to be perfect to be loved. No one is perfect, not even Princess Shayna! The princess has diabetes. My use of bibliotherapy helps children feel their problems are less threatening. They learn how to solve problems and handle difficulties when they encounter similar problems that are challenges for the story’s characters

Children generally establish their self-image and feel validation by what is said about them or how others behave toward them. Reading Princess Shayna offers children the opportunity to immediately discover their personality type and their “Praiseworthy Gifts”. The Gift Givers Guide at the back of the book is designed to help adults start a conversation with children at home or in the classroom to share their feelings and thoughts about their exciting journey with Princess Shayna.

Princess Shayna is the fairy tale version of my, What Color Is Your Brain?® book.The Brain Color personality types described in that book correspond to the attributes and abilities of the four villages in Princess Shayna’s Kingdom of Kindness. Children immediately pick up the concepts and naturally begin speaking “Brain Color”.

With this easy-to-understand, fun and non-judgmental language of color the children feel comfortable expressing their feelings and thoughts, which positively enrich their relationships with friends, family and teachers.

If you believe, as Vivian and I do, that every child deserves to feel loved, safe, and confident within a trustworthy home, school, and community environment, you will enjoy sharing Princess Shayna’s Invisible Visible Gift with the children in your life as Holiday, Birthday or Love Gift!
Please, note that 10% of the royalties from the sale of my books is allocated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) http://www.jdrf.org . Our eldest son has had Type 1 diabetes (T1D) for 27 years. My most fervent wish is to find a cure for Joshua and the other 3 million people in the United States who have Type 1 diabetes (T1D)!

I am most grateful to Vivian for giving me this generous opportunity to tell you about my books and programs. Thank you, Vivian!

Best wishes to everyone for a Joyful Holiday Season!”

The following links will help you:

Contact Sheila: sheila@sheilaglazov.com

Learn more about Princess Shayna’s Invisible Visible Gift www.PrincessShayna.com

Learn more about What Color Is Your Brain?® http://www.sheilaglazov.com/booksdvd/what-color-is-your-brain/

Take a fun Brain Quiz http://www.sheilaglazov.com/brain-quizzes

Learn more about Sheila’s Programs http://www.sheilaglazov.com/programs

Subscribe to Sheila’s Blog http://www.sheilaglazov.com/blog/

“Like” the What Color Is Your Brain? book Facebook Page for weekly updates http://www.facebook.com/What.Color.Is.Your.Brain

Follow Sheila on Twitter https://twitter.com/sheilaglazov

Follow Sheila on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/snglazov

Did you hold onto your hats? If you didn’t, I hope you will find them before Christmas.

I also hope all of you click on Sheila’s links to find out more about this amazing woman who generously shared her expertise and knowledge with me before my book was published. To purchase a copy of the wonderful chapter book that helps children learn about self-esteem and believe in themselves, click on this link: Princess Shayna’s Invisible Visible Gift. What a great companion book it would make to Show Me How!

Have fun with Sheila’s Brain Quiz…children love to discover the ‘color’ of their brain…and adults will find that it enhances your work and personal relationships because you can understand why you get along so well with some people and not with others.

I join with Sheila in wishing all of you a Happy Holiday and successful and healthy New Year.

Don’t forget to check out Susanna Leonard Hill’s 2^nd Annual Holiday Contest…there will be amazing children’s stories to read! Winners will be announced on her blog on Wednesday, December 26^th and there will be LOTS of fabulous prizes.

For more information about the Sunday Posts:

Thanksgiving Day: Thankful Thoughts and Thoughtless Tragedies

Posted on November 22, 2012 by viviankirkfield

Spending time with each helps keep the spark alive…relationships are strengthened when you take on challenges together.

Today, November 22, 2012, is Thanksgiving.

It is also the 49^th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

They say every cloud has a silver lining.

And I have found that to be true.

Last Valentine’s Day, I did a guest post on Bob Brody’s Letters to My Kids blog, sharing with my children how I met their dad. Mr. Brody encourages parents to write letters to their kids…here’s an excerpt from that post.

Dear Jason, Peter and Caroline,

Your future dad and I met as freshmen in college. I sat in front of him in English 1.1 and he sat in front of me in Social Science. Both of us were dating other people pretty seriously. And so for the first two months of the fall semester, we were just classmates who spoke with each other as we walked into or out of the room.

Then came November 22, 1963. The intercom crackled. “The President is dead!”

For several moments no one reacted. And then everyone did. Screaming! Crying! Young men pounding their fists on their desks!

As we all exited the classroom, your future dad was right behind me.

“I’m going to walk home!” I exclaimed to no one in particular. “I can’t face sitting on the bus squashed between hordes of people!”

“I’ll walk with you,” the voice behind me said. “Where do you live?”

As it happened, we lived only four streets away from each other.

By the way, there are some girls who look fantastic even when they cry. If only I were one of those. Whatever eye makeup I was wearing was smudged and probably dripping onto my cheeks and chin. Plus, my nose was red and my skin blotchy.

No matter. Your future dad and I walked and talked for over an hour, until we reached my house. And when we looked at each other, I know we saw into each other’s souls and we wanted to walk and talk together forever.

Our relationship grew stronger and closer during that next semester. By the summer, we were dating each other exclusively. We got married as soon as we graduated from college. And our relationship has flourished ever since. To this day, we remain the most loyal of soul-mates.

Out of tragedy, then, came an unexpected opportunity for love. In a sense, sad to say, it took a death to bring you all to life. We’ve never forgotten that, and we never will.

Love,

Mom

1993…The Year of the Graduations (Junior High, High School and College)

Children love to hear about how their parents met. They want to know about their parents’ childhoods…did dad get into trouble for misbehaving in school…did mom play with dolls or tag after an older brother. Kids enjoy hearing about when they were babies. Writing letters to your children helps give them the knowledge of experiences and strengthens their feeling of belonging…a very important component of self-esteem!

Have you ever written a letter to your child?

What would you say?

I wish everyone a most Happy Thanksgiving Day! Will you be rushing out tomorrow for the Black Friday specials? If you are looking for gifts for parents or teachers of young children, I encourage you to save yourself time and money…Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cookingis the perfect present…and you can quickly and easily buy it online. If you are looking for gifts for young children…check out my Top Ten Gifts List. You will not have to worry about buying batteries or finding an unused electrical outlet for ANY of these items!

We Are More Thankful Than You Are (niederfamily.blogspot.com)
Is it really about Thanksgiving? or “Why I’m boycotting ‘Black Friday’…” (3rdculturechildren.com)
Whose hand? (hundredpercentchanceofchange.wordpress.com)
Thanksgiving? (rebuildingtheroof.com)
Thanksgiving (alettertomychildren.wordpress.com)
Dallas honors assassin’s second victim, policeman J. D. Tippit (timpanogos.wordpress.com)
Thanksgiving Day: Why I’m Thankful For My Divorce (huffingtonpost.com)
Thanks (kimberlyabettes.wordpress.com)
Thanksgiving (om.co)
The day before Thanksgiving. (craftysuburbmomma.wordpress.com)

International Dot Day…Self-Esteem Through Artistic Expression

Posted on September 15, 2012 by viviankirkfield

Raise your hand if you think you can draw.

If you didn’t raise your hand, you are like most of us…our inner artist has been discouraged and hammered down.

How does this happen? A parent says, “No, the grass should be green!” The teacher says, “That’s not how a dog looks!” A fellow classmate says, “You can’t draw!”

In 2003, Peter Reynolds wrote and illustrated a book that encouraged children of all ages to be to imagine, dream and create. His premise was that there is no right or wrong way.

This week over 500,000 children in all 50 states and around the world will be participating in International Dot Day, in their classrooms or at home.

Visit http://www.thedotclub.org/dotday/ to learn more about International Dot Day. You will find activity suggestions, resources, a global map showing participants…you can even take a look at the dots being created by celebrities.

As parents and as teachers, we can

Encourage our children to enjoy all types of art mediums…paint, clay, paper cutting, drawing and sculpting.
Provide the materials and participate with our kids.
Make thoughtful, but non-judgmental comments about our children’s art.
Proudly display the art our children produce.

Creative expression is art in its purest form.

If you allow yourself to have fun with art, so will your children.