Robin O'Bryant and Ketchup is a Vegetable

Robin O'Bryant is a FUNNY LADY! I met her last week at Foxtale Book Shoppe,  the BEST book store in Atlanta, when she stopped in to share excerpts from her book, Ketchup Is a Vegetable.  She quickly had her rapt audience in stitches as she shared stories about her breast reduction, a visit from the FBI and her children's education on the birds and the bees.  As a mom and writer myself, I could easily identify with the drama of raising daughters, the hysterical things they say and the unexpected events in our ordinary lives. A Southern Belle with a wry sense of humor and colorful language (one whole chapter in her book is on her attempts to quit cursing), Robin establishes instant rapport with young moms and been-there-done-that moms everywhere.  Just posting a picture of the title of her book had friends asking me about it, probably because everyone knows the challenge of feeding young picky eaters a healthy diet.
 

Like many authors, Robin began her interest in writing as an avid reader.  Even as a youngster, she read like lightning and devoured books.  Although family and friends encouraged her to write, it wasn't until she began sharing the stories of her young family, first through emails and then through her blog that she found her niche.

Ketchup is a Vegetable was initially a self-published book and Robin is familiar with the challenges of self-promotion and even created her own book tour.  Once her book became a best seller and she had established more of a platform, it was re-released in it's present form.  What is she writing next?  She describes this book as chatting with her over a cup of coffee and her next book as talking with her over dinner and a glass of wine.  I loved this book so much, I'm making dinner reservations now...

You can find Robin on her blog:
http://www.robinschicks.com/

We are working fast and furious to get the next Wyatt the Wonder Dog book out by early summer!  Check out the details and sign-up for a free audio of Wyatt Learns about Being Organized here.

Like this post?  Share on facebook and twitter:) 

Mr E the Motivator and Testing Survival Tips

Next week is a big week at my school and throughout much of Georgia as well. It is a week of standardized tests which reveal how much students have learned throughout the year. For some grade levels the final test score plays a big factor in whether or not the student passes to the next grade. Students of course stress over tests. I remember one year as I was sorting out the math scratch paper from the test booklets for some second graders, I ran across one piece that had this written on the page; "Dear God, Help me do good on this test".

This year our first graders came up with a way to help the older students prepare for testing while learning about economy at the same time.  First Grade classrooms became factories where they created Testing Survival Kits.  The kits included a piece of candy, a pencil, a sticker and some testing tips.  The kits were then sold for fifty cents and all the money was donated to Relay for Life.  The students earned over two hundred dollars to contribute to a good cause!

There are some great motivational videos available to ease the tension before testing too.  Here is a good one:

More tips for Anxious Students

Here are some things I often suggest:

 

Learn relaxation breathing.  Teaching a child to slow down their breathing and repeat a calming word such as "relax" can help them regain a feeling of control and focus. 

 

Practice positive self-talk.  This doesn't just mean unrealistic thinking but rather arguing with those negative thoughts that we often torment ourselves with.  Rather than thinking, "This is too hard.  I can't do it."  Argue back with, "I studied and learned the material.  I'm doing my best."

 

Write it down.  Negative thoughts often become repetitive.  Writing them down and literally throwing them away, can help a child to break the cycle and begin fresh with a more positive spin.

 

Create a ritual.  It can be something as simple as a special "power breakfast for testing" or wearing a colorful shirt to remind her to stay focused. 

 

Finally it helps to keep it all in perspective.  It is after all just a test.