Great Summer Camp Opportunity - Young Author's Club

As you know, I am a big fan of writing.  While I do not and will not claim to be any kind of professional when it comes to my words, I do love the freedom and creativity that can be exercised when given the opportunity to write.  

This summer, I have the AMAZING opportunity to run an Young Author's Club at the Monkey See, Monkey Do Children's Bookstore.  This Club will run for one week, July 27-July 31st, from 3-4 pm.  This club is for any young authors from the age of 9-15.  The campers will be taken through the writing process (brainstorming, writing, etc) and in the end, will publish their own book.  It is a great opportunity for any child who has an interest in writing, photography, and art as all of these aspects will be incorporated.  The cost of the club is $65.  If you are interested, please contact me at kelly@whystorybook.com or visit the Monkey See, Monkey Do website at www.MonkeysRead.com.  I hope to run another club in the fall and would like to also run a club for aspiring adult authors as well!!

Communication Journals

Looking for a great way to communicate with your child?  Try a communication journal!

This journal idea came from something that I started with one of my middle school classes.  As you can imagine, there is a lot of drama that happens at the middle school age.  There poor kids are in the midst of so much changing and so much going on.  Instead of wasting class time talking about issues that really did not pertain to what I was teaching, I had a notebook that allowed students to write in whenever they had something that they really needed to tell me or just needed to get off their chest.  This also worked for the students that were a little hesitant to ask for help.  They simply could grab the notebook and write to me.  I would then take the notebook home each night and write a little note back to the student answering their questions or just letting them know that I was glad they had been able to share something with me.  I have gotten some really great responses from students about this.  Many felt that it was a way to communicate with an adult without feeling scared or shy.

This will work with your own children as well.  I would suggest a different journal for each child though.  This will give them the feeling of security and will let them know that whatever they write is private between you and them.  Let them decorate it and make it their own!  Also, decide on a signal to let each other know that something has been written and the other person should read it and respond. 

Keep the journal some place that you both agree on and again, with more than one child, keep that place a secret.  Then, when either of you have something you want to discuss, but feel better about putting in writing, you can write in the journal.  You will not believe how much more open and honest some kids can be when they are writing.  It is a great way to let them know that you are proud of them or that you are disappointed in something that they did.  It is also a peaceful way to resolve conflict!

I am actually starting this with my 6 year old.  He has a journal that he writes in at school and was just telling me how they are encouraged to share their writing with a peer and write responses.  He has had so much fun and actually loves to write because of it (an added bonus to the whole process).

In the end, you will have such a wonderful keepsake of your life with your child.  While everything that is written may not always be happy, you will be able to have a written history of your lives together!

When you have gathered enough entries, you can preserve this written record in a book!  Add photos of this time in your child's life.  What a great gift on their 21st birthday or on the day that they get married.  Or, why not create a special journal for each of your children to write in with their photos on the front!

What is my legacy?

In the hustle and bustle of my life, I have to always be reminded to stop and "smell the roses".  I will admit, if they had a rehab for people who take on too much, I would be the first to sign up!  I don't know why I do it to myself, but I have.

In the process of taking on three businesses, a full time job, being mother of two, and wife to a man who also takes on too much, I have started to realize that it is or will take a toll on my family.  I had one of those "aha" moments as Oprah likes to call them the other morning as I was feverishly trying to get everything into book bags and comb a 3 year olds snarly hair.  What are my kids really going to remember of me?  What legacy am I leaving for them?

Now maybe you are reading this thinking that I am crazy because legacies are not something that we think about until we are older.  However, I really believe that I want to start thinking about that now while I have something to say about it!   So, I have started to think about what I want to leave as my legacy for my kids.  Do I really want them to think of me as the stressed out mommy who was running from meeting to meeting or do I want them to remember a happy mommy who was fulfilled and made time for them and for herself?  It is a hard balancing act to play, but one that I know I must work on.

In the meantime, I am going to help my ancestors leave their legacies with my kids.  I was stuck the other day when I was telling my son a story about my paternal grandfather and he said to me, "Mommy, you had a grandfather?"  Have I really failed to mention all of the great times that I had growing up with this man?  Had I really forgotten to tell my kids that I got my blond hair and blue eyes from this man?  That he one of the greatest men to ever walk this earth?  

So, while I work on the legacy that I am building, I am also going to work on telling and recording more of the stories that make me who I am and ultimately, who my children are as well.  I believe strongly in the power of story and feel that it will help my children be more connected to me and those great people that I had the pleasure of growing up with as well!