Developing Superhero Character Traits

Many teachers and counselors in Georgia (and no doubt elsewhere across the country), are planning a return to school soon.  Thoughts turn to developing a year long theme of lessons that incorporate many of the important character traits. My virtual friend and counselor extraordinaire, Barbara Gruener, has a book out just in the nick of time to help you get those  plans in order.  What's Under Your Cape? Superheroes of the Character Kind is a treasure chest of creative ideas, books to share and heartwarming stories.  I can't recommend it enough for anyone looking for a comprehensive and easy to follow series of character lessons that will take you through the year and beyond.   

                                                    

Developing a superhero character is something that is a critical skill to learn  as children grow. What I love about this book is that it uses the acronym, SUPERHERO  to identify eleven important traits and then follows up with practical ideas for incorporating them into the everyday life of the school counselor.  Here are the traits she explores:

S~Service
U~Unconditional Love
P~Perseverance
E~Empathy
R~Respect
H~honesty
E~Enthusiasm
R~Responsibility
O~Obedience
E~Encouragement
S~Self-Discipline


All ages can learn to become superheros.  When we as parents and educators teach and  model these character traits, we can be assured that the thread will continue and ultimately come back to us.
 

Several of the Wyatt books also are great for teaching skills that you will want children to use all year long.  For the new kindergarten student, Wyatt the Wonder Dog Goes to Kindergarten is a lesson all about doing new things that can be scary but are ultimately rewarding in the end.

For those interpersonal conflicts that are sure to come up between friends, check out, Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Good Manners.  It includes important techniques for turning conflicts into cooperation.

Finally, Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns About Being Organized is a great book for teaching children how to plan and schedule time. 

Three Ways to Slay the "I'm Bored" Monster

A fellow teacher and friend reported to me that her frustrated child told his dad, "Quit getting your nerves on me!"  We've all been there haven't we?  Summer is a time of relaxation and freedom.  It's unstructured days and late nights;  movies and picnics, wild roller coaster rides at the theme park and lazy days poolside.  But eventually something will probably rear it's ugly head.  It's the dreaded "B" word. My kids would usually bring it up after a particularly eventful day spent at Six Flags or Stone Mountain or some other amusement park, where we had been on the go from dawn to dusk.  Just as we get home and I collapse on the sofa, they whine pitifully, "I'm bored." Made me feel like saying... "Quit getting your nerves on me!"

In our fast paced, always tuned in and turned on world, I believe we've created our own monster. Kids nowadays expect nonstop entertainment and often we as parents believe that we are responsible for providing it.  We enroll our kids in camps and classes, go on family vacations and visit local attractions.  By the end of the summer, we are all exhausted.  Instead of being refreshed and renewed, we are tired and frustrated.

What if being 'bored' is a good thing?  What if instead of providing constant activities and structured events, we created an oasis of time for creativity and  free play?  For many kids this would be a novel concept but for those of us in my generation that is what summer was.  It was long days of creating forts and riding bikes.  We roamed the neighborhood or played in the backyard. We played board games and read books (seriously-books). There was of course no technology to keep us indoors.  Saturday morning cartoons and Sunday night Walt Disney were the only times we were glued to the television.

Teaching children to manage their own free time and create their own activities is an important skill.  When we don't learn to do this as children, we grow up to be adults who expect to be entertained as well.  Know anyone like that?  Here are some great ways to encourage children to develop an independent mindset while taking responsibility for their own time management and entertainment.

Use a schedule

Even young children can understand a printed schedule that identifies such activities as bedtime, TV or video game time and free time.  Then define what free time is:  a time to use their own imagination to create opportunities for play. Once they understand that this is their special time, most children will look forward to it rather than look to the parent for guidance.

Brainstorm a List of Activities 

Help your child develop a list or a notebook of activities that they could review to give themselves ideas as to how to fill free time.  Make sure there are lots of activities that don't require someone else, a friend or you to participate.  Children need to learn to entertain themselves without always needing someone else to play with. Here are a couple of more resources to get the creative juices flowing:

Watch how this imaginative nine year old filled his summer days at his Dad's auto parts shop:

 

  Read a previous post on fun writing activities your child can do for the summer:

Ten Fun Summertime Writing Activities

Expect Some Resistance

If you've been providing constant activity or resorting to video game babysitters when you are tired of it all, you can expect some whining and resistance to having to develop their own sense of imaginative play.  This is a good thing and a sign that you are working in the right direction.


Enjoy your summer while you slay the "I'm Bored Monster"!  Let me know in the comments below how it's going.  What is your biggest summertime challenge with the kids?


Need some great books to share with your child for summer reading?  Check  out the Wyatt the Wonder Dog Book Series, children's books with an empowering message.

Live in the Canton Georgia area?  Come see me at the book signing for the newest Wyatt book:

Book Signing

Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Winning

Three Sisters Gifts and Home Accents

6205 Hickory Flat Hwy Ste #106

Canton, Georgia 

June 26, 2014

10:30-12:00

Fun for the kids!

Story time, refreshments and crafts

 

After Twenty Years... I'm Retiring from School Counseling

I began my career as a school counselor the fall of 1994. For the past twenty years it has been a dream job. I have loved the school where I've worked and all the students. Some have been more challenging than others but then don't we all have our moments? I've loved the faculty and staff that I've worked with. There isn't a better, more dedicated group of teachers on the planet. They are each one dedicated to encouraging every student to be successful and to be the best they can be. I've loved the creativity of the job and it's focus on making positive changes in children's lives. If you had asked me five years ago if I'd ever retire, I'd have said, "What for?" I seriously thought I'd be 101 years old, wandering the halls looking for a class to share a guidance lesson with.

A Bigger Dream 

But sometimes you get a bigger dream. In the last five years, I've rediscovered the dream of writing and I've published four, soon to be five children's books. It began with this one:

 

Soon the newest one will be out

 

In addition, I've published a couple of inspirational/motivational books for adults. It's been a magical, challenging and thoroughly compelling journey that I've ventured forth on. So, May 30th is my last official day at Sixes Elementary. I don't feel that I'm leaving something behind so much as I'm forging headlong wildly, ecstatically and a bit recklessly into the greatest adventure of my life.

A Great Celebration 

Last week the school threw a retirement party for me and my principal, Mrs. Kelly, who is also retiring. 

It was a lovely celebration and we each received a rocking chair with our name on it.  Here is mine...

It is extra special because it was  painted by our talented art teacher, Susan Winchester.  The best part is that there is a picture of the inspiration behind this whole retirement thing on the back.  Can you make out his bandana?  It says retired on it!

Because I love stories, I'll finish this post with a funny student story.  It seems word got out among the students that I wouldn't be back next year and a third grader stopped me in the hall to ask, "Will the new counselor next year be just like you?"  To which I responded, "Well, she'll probably be taller."  At which point, the student dropped to her knees and said, "Do you mean she won't be a midget like us?"  I truthfully don't know where I'm going to get such quality material after I leave....

Thanks to everyone for the memories.

Don't worry, it's the end of my school counseling career but not the end of my blogging!  You can follow the journey along with my buddy, Wyatt the Wonder Dog here:  www.wyatthewonderdog.com

Want to check out Wyatt's newest book on winning and losing?  Here's a description:

Wyatt the Wonder Dog didn’t make it on the All Star Baseball Team and he is feeling like a loser. All his friends will be playing baseball this summer, while he and his pesky sister, Callie, visit grandparents at the beach.  How Wyatt learns to handle disappointment and failure will be an important lesson for the future.  Will he give up trying new things?  Will he have the confidence to try again?  Are there some things that take more practice and persistence to learn than others?  Join Wyatt on his latest “wonder-full” adventure as he learns what it takes to be a winner.

Here's the link:

http://wyatthewonderdog.com/booklaunch

Helping Children Handle Disappointment and Failure

In January, I wrote a post entitled Embrace the Shake.  It was based on artist Phil Hansen's TED talk about a tremor that he developed which created problems in his drawing ability.  When a doctor advised him to "embrace the shake"  instead of trying to overcome it, he found that it opened up a whole new world of possibilities.  Instead of trying to hold the pencil tighter and control the shaking, he began to incorporate the shake into his art.  His message addressed the limitations that we all have and the importance of working within the framework of the limitation.

I believe this is an important issue for students as well as adults.  In my newest Wyatt book, Wyatt the Wonder Dog doesn't make the All Star Baseball Team and he is feeling like a loser. All his friends will be playing baseball this summer, while he and his pesky sister, Callie, visit grandparents at the beach.  How Wyatt learns to handle disappointment and failure will be an important lesson for the future.  Will he give up trying new things?  Will he have the confidence to try again?  Are there some things that take more practice and persistence to learn than others? 

We Learn a Lot from Failure 

Helping children recognize their unique gifts and the diversity of those gifts is important.  When we understand our unique abilities and work in our strengths, we develop a sense of self and increase self-esteem. It gives us focus and direction in life.

One problem we have created in the interest of making sure that all children have high self-esteem however, is that we often have tried to eliminate failure from our children's lives. Both at school and at home we focus on how students can be successful and certainly we all want every child to feel successful in something. We want to identify, develop and celebrate talents. However, we also need to make sure that we don't protect children from occasionally failing at something. Why? Because we all learn a great deal from failure. Sometimes I think we learn more from failure than we do from success.

Some Great Lessons Learned from Failure

Many of life's great lessons are learned from failure or hardship. In fact, if you look into the background of many successful leaders past and present, you will find early lives of adversity. I'm not suggesting of course that we create hardship, there is enough of that to go around! Instead, we need to teach children the right perspective for viewing failure. We need to teach them to expect that there will be times of hardship and disappointment but that if they will put into practice what they have learned from it, they can turn failure into success. We need to teach children that failure should challenge them to do more or act differently or to become better, but not to give up.

Children Learn Winning from Adult Role Models

One way we can do this is by example.  As parents, teachers, and other significant adults, how we handle failure in our own lives will be an even more important lesson for our children than how we handle success. It will be a blueprint for our children as they face failure in their own. We can share with children the times we have experienced failure and the lessons learned.

Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Winning is essentially a story about failing in some things but succeeding in others.  It is a story of the adults in Wyatt's life encouraging him to try new things, even as they model trying new things themselves.  I hope this story provides adults with a springboard for discussions around this important topic in order to encourage and empower children to discover their strengths and try new things. 

Join the Wyatt the Wonder Dog pack and get a free audio download of Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Being Organized:

www.wyatthewonderdog.com

Merry Christmas to all from Wyatt the Wonder Dog and Lynne!

Merry Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the land,

Wyatt and friends were feeling quite grand.

They’d learned quite a bit about its meaning you see---

For the spirit of Christmas is generosity.

Wyatt used to think Christmas was all about things;

Presents and toys, electronics that ding.

But now he knows Christmas is giving and sharing,

It’s not about getting, but helping and caring.

So Wyatt wishes you a Christmas of love,

One filled full of joy and grace from above!!

 

A Very Merry Christmas from Lynne and Wyatt!

 

The Five Love Languages of Christmas

The holiday season is almost upon us and as usual there is a lot of discussion about gifts. A big dilemma for me when my children were little was what to get them and how much to get them. The lists they gave me seemed endless and changed continually, depending on the current toy being advertised on television. Just when I thought I had a plan, the number one gift suddenly plummeted to number twenty and something new was number one. I was frustrated and bewildered.

What Message Are We Sharing with Our Children? 

Christmas can be a time of blessing our children or spoiling our children. It's hard to draw the line as to when blessing becomes over indulging but many adults would agree that children today in many households are growing up with a sense of entitlement rather than a sense of empowerment and responsibility. Here are some messages that gift giving can communicate:

• the way to demonstrate love is through things
• the way to make up for parenting neglect is through things
• the way to manipulate children into behaving is through providing things
• the path to happiness is accumulating things

Notice how the word thing is in every sentence?  Learning to give and receive is an important part of the holiday.  Making sure that things don't become the focus of Christmas is important.

Recognizing the Five Love Languages

Recognizing our children's personality or temperament is one way to give positive messages throughout the year but especially at Christmas. As parents we connect best with our children when  we speak to them through the five love languages. They are:

• Words of affirmation--Could you write your child a Christmas letter that expresses gratitude for all their unique qualities?
• Acts of service--Could you share a service project together? It could be something that helps the community, family members or even the world.
• Receiving gifts--We all focus on this one at Christmas! One suggestion for managing this aspect of Christmas is to buy your child three gifts: one gift that the child wants, one that they need and one that is a surprise. I think this suggestion is fabulous and it covers all the possibilities. It has an element of fun, an element of practicality or educational value and it also gives the child a choice but forces some prioritizing of items.
• Quality time--Could your gift be spending some special time enjoying a particular activity together?  Could you make some family memories?
• Physical touch--Hopefully this is a part of every day but a gift could focus on a relaxing back rub before bed or an evening of snuggling in front of a movie as a family.

Teaching children to become other-focused rather than self-centered and me-focused is an important step in making sure that our children grow up to be caring compassionate adults. There are many ways to encourage this in our children, but Christmas is a season especially rich in opportunities to bless our children.

Looking for a great book to help you understand the five love languages and how they can relate to children? Check it out here:




Looking for a great book to help children understand the difference between getting and giving?  Check out:

Teaching Children Three Concepts about Generosity

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

~Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

Developing the trait of generosity and kindness is something that can be started early in small ways and then developed into bigger projects as children grow. What I love about this video is that it demonstrates these three concepts:

• Kindness and generosity can be something very small, helping someone up who falls or carrying something that is heavy for someone else.  We all have opportunities to be kind and generous daily.
• Kindness and generosity encourages kindness and generosity.  When we are kind and generous it begins a never ending spiral of similar acts.
• What you give comes back to you.   

All ages can learn to share random acts of kindness regularly, daily.  When we as parents and teachers model kindness and generosity we can be assured that the thread will continue and ultimately come back to us.
 
Developing and participating in service projects is one way to encourage children to develop a spirit of generosity.  Most schools provide ample opportunities for students to do this from donating canned goods at Thanksgiving to contributing funds when disaster strikes in different parts of the world. Age is of course a factor as well but even young children can learn to give food, toys or clothing to those in need. The best and most life changing service however, is service that involves giving of more than our excess. It involves giving time in service. This might mean spending a Saturday morning in a soup kitchen for the homeless, or volunteering in a nursing home visiting with residents who have no family. It's cleaning up a park or helping out at an animal shelter. Service that moves us out of our comfort zone and challenges us to make a difference in the world develops children and ultimately adults, of compassion and character.

The newest book in the Wyatt series addresses the issues of generosity and giving.  It's not quite ready for publication yet but stay tuned and I'll let you know as soon as its available.  Here's the cover:

Get ready for the upcoming school year by downloading a FREE digital copy of Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns About Being Organized.  It will be available Friday, August 2 and Saturday, August 3 on Amazon.  Here's the link:  Wyatt book

If you are near Woodstock, Georgia on Friday, August 2nd at 6:30pm, come visit me at Foxtale Book Shoppe where I will be signing Wyatt books with lots of other local authors.  I'm also giving away this bag of goodies!  I'd love to see you there.

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New Wyatt the Wonder Dog Book Coming Soon!!

It may be summertime but Wyatt the Wonder Dog and friends are hard at work producing his newest book, Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns About Giving.  In the picture above you can see myself, Sammy Sudbury, our book layout expert and Pam Gardner, the illustrator pouring over the new edition.  Every book gets better and better and this one promises to be the best one yet!

 

Wyatt is always wondering about something and in this story, he is wondering what he  will receive for Christmas.  Wyatt's wise mother suggests he needs to learn the meaning of the word, generosity and instead wonder  what he will give others for Christmas.  By the end of the story Wyatt has not only learned the meaning of generosity, but he has also discovered many ways that others give of their time and talents. The book features not only Wyatt and but our very own, Lacy the therapy dog who regularly visits Sixes Elementary. 

As we get closer to publication date, I will be sending out regular updates.  Join the Wyatt the Wonder Dog facebook page to stay informed.  Be on the lookout for a free download that will include an audio recording of the book!  I can't wait to share Wyatt's newest adventure with you!!

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Summertime Reading for Children of All Ages

Summer is a great time to encourage kids to spend time reading. Not only is it entertaining but studies have shown that over the summer months, students typically lose many of the reading skills that they have worked so hard to gain throughout the school year. Parents can prevent this by making sure that there are plenty of opportunities to read. There are a lot of great books out there too that are not only exciting adventures but wonderful messages as well.

Friend and newly published author, Martha Orlando has a trilogy that is just out this spring.  If you want a young adult book that is packed with action, humor and inspiration, you can't beat A Trip, A Tryst and a Terror, Children of the Garden and the newest one soon to be out,  The Moment of Truth.

My friend Erin Casey, editor of Success magazine, has penned two terrific young adult books in her Zany Zia Hats To Where series. In the first book, An All Knight Adventure, Evan Tanner is transported to a castle in the middle ages where he conquers his fears in order to battle dragons and bullies. In Lost in Comanche Country, Marianna bravely navigates between Indian warriors, hungry mountain lions and cowboys out for revenge, while learning that despite all our differences we still have much in common if we will but take the time to get to know each other. For more information check out the Zany Zia website here. 

Jordan Crowl, author of Ed's Journal is a talented author and illustrator who has written a series of character education books which allow the reader to determine possible choices and consequences.  These books make for great discussions between children and parents, as well as a wonderful lesson too. He's written several but here are a couple of my favorites:

Finally, I just have to mention my own series of books about Wyatt the Wonder Dog.  In the first book, Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns About Good Manners, Wyatt learns what to do about a bossy friend who doesn't use his manners. In the second book, Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns About Being Organized, Wyatt learns how to plan ahead and organize his day, a skill that I've had many adults tell me they need to develop as well!  In the most recent book, Wyatt the Wonder Dog Goes to Kindergarten, Wyatt learns that adjusting to change can often be very rewarding.  All the books are available on amazon.com  and I have included affiliate links.  Curious about the next Wyatt book that will be out soon this year?  Follow our progress on the Wyatt site.  Happy Summertime Reading!

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Do you know a child who would like to attend our writing camp?  Check out the information in the Events Page on this site.

Wyatt the Wonder Dog and Preston are Starting Kindergarten in the Fall!!

Kindergarten registration was at my school this past week and guess who will be starting kindergarten next year?  Two of my favorite characters:  Wyatt the Wonder Dog and Preston!  Wyatt's newest book just came out last fall and  is all about Wyatt starting kindergarten.  Preston is already a Wyatt fan.  He's my friend who told his Granny Val that his mom could not name his baby brother Wyatt because, "That's a dog's name!"  You can read all about that in this post.  Turns out his mom didn't listen and Preston got a new baby brother named Wyatt anyway.  Here's a picture of Preston registering for kindergarten and receiving the newest Wyatt book, Wyatt the Wonder Dog Goes to Kindergarten.  Preston planned to read the book on the way home in the car so I know he will definitely be ready to start kindergarten next fall!!

Do you have a child who will be starting kindergarten next fall?  Wyatt the Wonder Dog Goes to Kindergarten addresses the concerns that many children have about making this important step.  You can check out the book at this link:  Wyatt the Wonder Dog Goes to Kindergarten.

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You can read more about Wyatt and his adventures on his very own website:  

Wyatt the Wonder Dog

Related articles

• 10 Reasons Some Kids Aren't Ready For Kindergarten
• Kids need prep for kindergarten

Book Character Day is Great Fun!

Book character day is always great fun at my school and this year was no exception.  Here I am dressed up as Wyatt the Wonder Dog. What a great time I had making friends with other dogs in the building! All three Wyatt books make great classroom lessons that you can access here.

 Each of the grade levels picked a book to represent.  Here they are by grade:

Kindergarten picked Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

First Grade picked The Cat in the Hat.

Second grade picked one of my favorite books of all time: Pete the Cat.  I like this book so much I've actually blogged about some of the great lessons you can develop around two of the Pete the Cat books.  You can read about it here  and here.

Third grade

 

Fourth grade's rough bunch and they picked The Best Christmas Pagent Ever.

Even the front office and administration got in on the fun by dressing up as Madeline

Kudos to our principal for dressing up as Miss Clavell!

 

 

We had guest readers that included former students:

 

One of the kindergarten teachers even came down with a bad case of The Stripes

The day was a huge success and as Dr Seuss says:

I've put together a great parent and teacher resource with lots of books and tips for common parenting concerns.  You can receive it by email for free by signing up for my email list here.

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Keep Calm and Carry On! Wyatt Visits London.

Wyatt the Wonder Dog loves to visit schools and last night was An Evening in London, the annual fundraiser for Cherokee Christian School.

Since Wyatt recently participated in cultural arts day at Cherokee Christian School and since London is one of our favorite places to visited, we decided to join the fun! When we arrived, we thought we had been transported to the British Isle.

  There was the traditional red phone booth:

There were dining rooms for tea and scones and shops galore!

One of my favorites (and everyone else's too!) was Anne's Brit Knits:

  

Wyatt shared his stories with lots of children.  Here's one of our best helpers and models, Sidney:

Isn't she adorable?  She loved to read Wyatt!

What a fun and amazing night we had!  Wyatt didn't want to leave but since it was past his bedtime, I insisted.  Thanks Cherokee Christian for a great evening!

Wyatt the Wonder Dog Loves to Visit Cherokee Christian School!

Wyatt and I loved visiting Cherokee Christian School last week!

On October 25th, Wyatt and I visited Cherokee Christian School in Woodstock, Georgia. We had a blast! Our good friends, Kimberly Caldwell and Lacey, her therapy dog joined us for each of the classes. Lacey was a great listener although sometimes you might think that she was sleeping instead of listening. Her owner assured us that she often listens with her eyes closed.

Notice how the children are panting like puppies...

Each class listened to a Wyatt story and then made Wyatt puppy dog ears to wear.

Here's the ears ready for a little creative coloring.

Here is one of the classes wearing their ears:

More panting students...

In kindergarten, we read Wyatt the Wonder Dog Goes to Kindergarten and in first, second and third grade we read Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns About Good Manners.

Who knew there were so many different ways to  wear puppy dog ears!

Older classes after listening to a Wyatt story, then identified the parts of the story and learned how to create a story themselves.

It was definitely a Wonderful Wyatt kind of a day. Wyatt will again be visiting Cherokee Christian School on November 10 for their Evening in London.  We will have a booth with Wyatt books to sell and special treats for Wyatt fans. Hope to see you there! Here's the link to this event if you need more information!  Thanks to Cherokee Christian School for inviting us!

Want Wyatt to come visit your school?  We'd love to!  Just follow the link to Wyatt's website and let us know what you need.

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