Lucinda's Library Notes

My son had an interesting conversation with me about how to teach people to think. It included a discussion on creating a line of questions that leads to an answer or course of action. He's quite smart. However, he said this is a very challenging skill and that knowing how to develop a line of thought for a story or research article is a critical skill. Therefore, I am including a conversation on building skills that includes how to use questions to develop a story as well as other strategies. A story has to have a clear beginning, middle and end. When I have a child write a story, I also ask them to answer as many questions as they can as they write. To start with, there is a who, what, where, why, when and how to be told. Sometimes it is not told directly but clues are given as in a mystery where the reader is left to discover the answers, but most of the time we expect the answers to those questions to be upfront. It makes a difference to the interest of the reader whether the s...

Cleopatra was my grade eight Halloween costume idea for school as I had a straight haircut just above my shoulders that reminded me of a picture I saw of her. It must have been inspired by the Tutankhamun exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum. It was very impressive to see the ancient artifacts. Further to that, studying Israel and Egypt in the Bible and thinking of Moses when Pharaoh attempted to maintain control of the empire in the midst of the ten plagues, while not directly related, still made the concept of learning about Cleopatra more intriguing. As I was impacted by experiences on trips to the Museum and lessons on ancient civilizations, so I wish to inspire you to teach the child(ren) in your life about these historical people and events. They are not fictional but were real people with stories to tell. Just as in learning through biographies, learning about history has relevance and importance in our lives. Knowing the past and how it shaped us today reveals the significance...

Clarity of message is important for comprehension. If I am not clear on your instructions, I am not able to follow through on them effectively. If I need to stop or I will fall off the edge of a cliff, I need you to shout "STOP!" and not say "You should probably arrest your movements at this point in time." Over and over again I realize how difficult it is though to ensure your intended message is properly understood by the person you are speaking to. We all have slightly different interpretations of situations based on our perspective and our background knowledge and experience. That is why eyewitnesses give such varied accounts but all can legitimately be speaking the whole truth of how the event occurred from where they stood and their unique perspective. The sum total of these different perspectives though, gives a much wider picture of the whole and makes for a richer view.  We all contribute to the world by our own unique way of seeing the world. Consider for ...

I watched a 2.5year old boy listen carefully as his mom counted to ten slowly. He nodded his head as she counted and worked on taking big breaths. Not only was it adorable, it was also very effective! We do it because it works. Quite often people suggest breathing exercises in moments of stress.  When we go for bloodwork they ask you to take a deep breath just as they are about to insert the needle. There are very practical reasons for that but it also serves as a distraction that has a calming effect as well. Breathing is a sign of life. It is a part of every experience we go through. It symbolizes our existence. Breathing exercises are part of preparing for childbirth where controlling your breath impacts the overall birthing experience. And everyone waits expectantly for the newborn to take its first breath to verify all is well! We take a deep breath and slow exhale as we are about to do something new or challenging as a gesture to represent that we are gathering our strength a...

  BEANS Co ffee Beans : I once went to a coffee shop in Pickering that had an art piece of a rooster made from beans, presumably coffee beans from different countries that were of different sizes and colours. It was really cool actually. This particular coffee shop let us go ‘behind the scenes’ to see how they prepare their blends and they even donated some of the empty coffee bean sacks for our church to use for sack races at a picnic. I heard something about using them as canvases for artwork which is interesting. I am not personally a coffee drinker but my brother and son are. However, I appreciate the effort that goes into filling those bags with quality coffee beans and transporting them around the world for others to get a taste of their homegrown treasures. Cooking Beans : The diversity of types of beans lends itself to being a common ingredient in a variety of cooking dishes. You can have your child observe the differences in the bean as it soaks for 24hours in a bowl of wa...

C is for Crafts Why do them? What kind of skills do you gain from craft time? It is an important question to ask because crafts are a common part of the learning curriculum and so there must be a purpose to it. Some people just think it is a break from the academics and yet if you are someone who is artistically challenged OR artistically gifted, you know there is more to it than that. Crafts teach fine motor skills. They teach about a variety of materials and textures that exist in the surrounding world. Crafts help you figure out how pieces come together. They help you see the world in a different way…that it is made of up parts and that different people see things differently. Crafts teach you that we are unique and have many ways of representing one concept. Crafts often serve as a calming and regulating activity which is helpful to reduce mental stress. Crafts bring people together, allowing them to work on their own project (often) yet in the same space as others....

  B is for Boats A brave boy in a battered boat is bobbing on the waves of the blue waters. The boisterous boys bounded along in their bathing suits with binoculars in hand, battling the waves in their hurry to be the first to the boat. The best and brightest had a battle of the minds over their beliefs during a breakfast meeting aboard a cruise boat. The beach became a distant blur as the boat bolted along the blue waters of Barney’s Bay. Beauty and beast alike benefitted from the peacefulness of the blue skies and blue waters at Bingo Beach. So, I am sure you can see what I am doing here as I take the concept of a boat and the literary technique of alliteration with the letter B and have fun creating a variety of visual images in these descriptive sentences. You can try this with any theme and any letter to help develop language skills for yourself and for the child(ren) in your care. A boat is a great topic for literature as it has such a variety of directions. Is ...

I have to laugh! I was sitting looking at the two options I was considering. Should I do astronauts or aquariums? Right away I hear the baseball news came on and say, "The Astros". So that should be my answer but as I began to write my mind was like, "But it is summer, kids need to be inspired to go to Ripley's Aquarium! Water related activities is where it is at" So I decided to cover both, in part. We can travel from the depths of the ocean to the heights of the outer universe, not in practice, but in our learning experiences and imaginative tales. As we gaze at the waves on the beach or look up to the clouds in the sky, we can explore a spectrum of experiences and places that will inspire us in our daily life. The dreams of childhood are wrapped up in moments like these. From the highest of heights... Make giant leaps from hulahoop to hulahoop to pretend you are walking on the moon. Lay on the lawn and stare up at the night sky. Count the stars or see if you ...

Augmentative is adding on to their communication and Alternative is replacing something by providing a different way to communicate. Both of these methods are supplemental ways of helping someone who is experiencing a barrier to some aspect of communication with others. AAC is the abbreviated term.  Augmentative and Alternative Communication is quite diverse and includes advanced technical equipment and very simple options such as a yes and a no picture for a person to tap on. There are versions of it meant for our youngest communicators and versions for those who are elderly and lost their ability to speak and versions for everyone in between. We could have a discussion of all the types available to people and weigh out the pros and cons of different methods and devices. However, that is an extensive conversation that ultimately is only applicable in light of an individual's personal situation. Maybe one is ideal but is far too costly. Maybe another is too challenging for person A...

I chose The Diary of Anne Frank for this post. Yes, it is a book for older children but I want you to consider the importance of biographies. We all have a story to tell. Anne Frank's story was not really told until after she died but then her story became an important documentation of one victim of the holocaust. Her story was her own, unique, yet it served to represent a much wider population of individuals.  It is important as we go through life that we take time to listen to people's stories. When we learn about what others experienced in life, we gain wisdom and understanding that will help us in our own lives. When you read a biography, you can imaginatively walk through their story with them. You can learn about the person but also the time and place where they lived out their experiences. It is helpful to be able to listen to their insights and benefit from their varied perspectives. I would suggest that you have children take time to write their own story. How can the...

LUCINDA'S LIBRARY NOTES ANNOUNCEMENT Thank you to those who welcomed me back.  I am not sure if I will return to posting three times a week but I have begun the next round of ABCs for your interest. One category is based on books, one on a theme and the final one on a skill that we can build in the lives of us and/or our children. This is the third time through the alphabet for each category. I will work my way through as I am able to. It has been my belief that an occasional post is popular but most posts only have a handful of viewers. However, I have had several people mention this week that they read my blog, including people I didn't know about, but the 'blog count' does not reflect this. I will have to figure out how to correct this but in the interim, if you read this, could you find a way to respond to the blog? You could subscribe or comment or if you don't see those options, send me a message...Some of you regularly respond, I know, but it would be nice to...

How can I make ZERO a theme? Maybe have a "do nothing" day? For me, that is neither enticing nor possible.  In the book, Zero to Hero, Zero was mistaken for the letter O, for a donut, for a bagel and for a wheel. So one possibility is to create a circular theme and include zero as an example. For example, a collage of round things. Or you could create a picture of several donuts, for example, and hide a zero in the midst of the picture and use the scene for "I Spy".  If the child likes coding, then learning about ones and zeros to create codes for computer programing is another option to consider. Zero waste can be the focus of a discussion on the environment and recycling matters. See what creative ideas your class or family can come up with to promote 'reduce, reuse and recycle' with an aim toward zero waste. Oh! Zero tolerance is another good subject matter for discussion. The application of that would be very dependent on the types of situations occurrin...

  This book uses humour to talk about how we can feel empty when we do not know our value and our place in the world. When people do not see our worth, they often puff themselves up and put us down. They can look at the situation from many angles and come to the same conclusion. However, we all have a purpose and it is inevitable that the day will come when we are needed and wanted, when we are the only ones suitable to fulfill our role in the world. On this day, others will come to value us for our unique place in the world. They will appreciate us in a new way. I think this book will help children to recognize their value and worth, even when it is not yet recognized by others. I think it will encourage children to hold on to that hope within. The book has Zero questioning his role as a hero. We may not all come to the place where we are at hero level but knowing that others appreciate you does a lot to fill a person's 'bucket'. For Zero, it brought him joy.  Even in a ca...

Zeal is something I would love to see more of in this world. A real passion for something motivates people to greatness and leads them to excel in their field. Their excellence then serves to inspire others to do more and raise their standards higher as well. As a result, more and more people are giving their best and the world becomes a better place.  When a person is excited about something, they are motivated to be 'in the moment' and truly focus on what is in front of them. Because they are 'all in' they get more out of those moments. They experience more, take in more, learn, grow and develop further skills as compared to another person who is less motivated and only half invested in paying attention, if that. This commitment furthers their knowledge and skills. Their higher level then opens new doors to develop higher levels again as they expand on the solid foundation that they have built. When you have more than just a taste for something, and you begin to reall...

You are Special is a book by Max Lucado that expresses the unconditional value of a person. There is no condition added to that. It is not you are special if you are handsome, intelligent or successful. You are special for who you are regardless of where you are along the spectrum of humanity.  I first want to remark on the fact that this story tells us that our value is in God's eyes. The only One who can truly know who we are and has the ultimate right to judge us not only for our actions but for our very thoughts if the same One who looks at us and lovingly says, "You are Special". Nobody else can evaluate us as God does so their opinion of our value is not very important in comparison and yet He is the one who holds us up high. You are special is a message I want the world to hear. I want people to recognize the value of human life and appreciate people in their lives whether they particularly like them or not. There is a phrase that everyone is someone's son or d...

🌞Yellow is the colour of sunshine! Well, maybe not in reality but in our depictions of it, we use yellow. It is well known to be a cheerful colour that brightens our day just as the sun does. So if we want to have a theme day based on the colour yellow, incorporating the sun in only natural. Expanding it to a broader discussion on weather is an option. 😄The next thing I think of for yellow is a smiley face. Yes, they are done in a multitude of colours but yellow is the most standardized depiction of a happy face. Again, it is cheerful. A yellow smiley face can represent YES, happy thoughts, something good, something positive. Along with a thumbs up, it is one of the most popular emojis and there are also many variations of it such as a smiley face with sunglasses! Cool! 🌟A star is next. I think of the song,  "Twinkle, twinkle little star" and of the encouraging words, "You're a star" when someone does something well. 🍌As for foods, a banana is first to come ...

The Yield sign tells us to make way for others. We do not have the right of way but are being asked to put others before ourselves. Failure to yield can lead to our own demise as it can create accidents that harm us so it is for our own good to listen and obey. Unfortunately, in the world of parenting, there is a little less clarity about yielding. Put simply, a child should lead to those in authority over them such as police officers, teachers and parents. However, children are naturally inclined to oppose which we see as early as their first year of life when they cry, tantrum and shake their heads as they verbalize "No, no no!" However, this is a critical skill for us to teach children; they need to learn to yield. Some children are very challenging as they stubbornly want to do things their own way but it is a basic fact of life that nobody has complete autonomy and freedom to live their own way and they may as well learn that early in life when the stakes are not as high...

Xylophones! Funny what a letter will bring us to. Let's brainstorm some activities related to this instrument for you to enjoy with the child(ren) in your life. Science : Make a row of glasses filled with differing levels of water. You can colour the water to make it a rainbow of glasses if you want to. Now experiment on the different sounds that each glass makes. Can you make them into a range of notes similar to a xylophone? Construction : Line up wooden blocks of varying lengths. Practice ordering them by size, smallest to largest and find a stick or spoon to tap each one. Does the length of the block of wood alter its sound?  Music : Learn a tune on an actual xylophone. Can you play the notes to copy the melody of a favourite song? Try playing several different tunes on the xylophone. Music : Expand on the music session by adding in other instruments to make it a band! They can be homemade like a maraca made from an easter egg filled with rice or store-bought like a ukelele. Co...

I chose X-Men because it is important to realize that sometimes we have a reluctant reader who does not particularly enjoy books. However, there is so much to gain from reading that we really want to get them interested using every tool in our toolbox. Sometimes, it takes a book like X-Men to lure a young one in to a reading session. The advantage of this series is that it is written at multiple reading levels so you can find the one that is best suited to their interest and skill. Some may prefer a comic book version while others prefer the movie star character version. Some are okay with simple retells and others want to know behind the scenes facts to share with others. X-Men has something for everyone. Perhaps the child even has a favourite character in which case they may like to branch out to other books in the series based on that main character. The advantage to a series like this is that you can follow up a reading session with an animated version of the story and then discuss...

When can you make an exception to a rule? There is a saying that we should say what we mean and mean what we say. When we tell our child what to do, we need to follow through to make sure it happens so that they are clear that our words have intention and meaning and that we are serious about having them listen to what we say.  The question is, are there any exceptions to this rule?  I would say there are always exceptions because we need to adapt for individual differences. We need to understand that in any given situation there is going to be someone who didn't hear properly, who was ill, who didn't understand or who was unable to follow through for one reason or another. Is that an excuse? Not always but we need to be understanding and first fully consider the circumstances and why they may need us to be gentle and possibly make a revision or exception in that moment. However, I can say that with one other comment. It should be accompanied by a discussion. "Normally thi...