See the little face?
Swimming amidst the wet sand.
Rocky bed for fish.
– Haiku and photo by Angie Quantrell
Category Archives: Kid Stuff
Meet My New Book! ~ First Steps in Missions
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First Steps in Missions, Ideas and Activities for Preschoolers and Teachers |
by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell
I’m honored to announce the release of First Steps in Missions, Ideas and Activities for Preschoolers and Teachers, Volume 22.
What? You already have a copy?
True. It was available in late summer. I was barely available. Thank you for going on without me and getting your copy!
My honey and I were eyebrow deep in cleaning, packing, sorting, storing, and donating our belongings. Why? We sold our home. I should say, God sold our home. In 3 days.
That was a quick sale and left us with no free time to do anything. Except move.
Never fear, we are not homeless. Many of you have already seen the pictures. We are full-time RV’ers living in a solid (though you can feel it move when walking inside), warm (we hope), and quite spacious RV with our 2 crazy kitties. The excitement and adventure is fantastic! Let’s just not mention the period of adjustment, shall we?
In the midst of this transition, First Steps in Missions was released. I’m very excited to see this work in print.
In honor of this project, I am going to take a monthly walk through each chapter and area of the world, choose my favorite activity, and flesh out additional ways to use the activity with preschoolers. So much fun!
Coming soon: September fun in the Philippines.
If you would like your own copy, I’m thrilled to direct you on the right paths. First Steps in Missions, Volume 22
Thanks for stopping by!
The Right Word – Roget and His Thesaurus ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY
by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell
The Right Word – Roget and His Thesaurus
By Jen Bryant
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
(Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2014)
Fantastic illustrations reminiscent of vintage nature journals fill the pages of this wonderful book.
Meet Roget and discover his love of list making. After losing his father at a young age, Roget began his lists with his father’s death. Moving often did not allow Roget to make and keep friends, but books made great friends and he didn’t have to leave them behind. Making lists kept Roget’s world in order. Organized word lists helped those searching for just the right word.
The Right Word – Roget and His Thesaurus is the perfect book to engage young readers in the study of words.
KID KANDY:
Make a List
1. Grab a notebook or pad of paper.
2. Think of a theme for your list of words. Some ideas are animals, food, places, sports, school, or toys.
3. Make a list of all things that relate to your theme. You can include how they sound, look, smell, taste, or feel. Think of words that mean the same thing as words you list.
4. Stuck? Ask for help looking up your word in a thesaurus. You will find word lists that could have possibly originated back when Roget was making his lists. How cool is that?
I love making lists. It helps me organize my to-do’s and helps me remember what needs attention. Making grocery lists seems to take up most of my time. Maybe you can help your parents make their shopping list!
P.S. This is the perfect way to add chocolate or ice cream to the grocery list.
Publishing Contest: First Edition Children’s Book Contest, $1000 Advance and Publication
I’ve found a fantastic publishing contest for anyone who has ever dreamt of writing a children’s book. Southwest Human Development, a lovely nonprofit based in Arizona that focuses on e…
Source: Publishing Contest: First Edition Children’s Book Contest, $1000 Advance and Publication
Hey, writers for children! Here is a great opportunity!
The Most Astonishingly Unconventional Children’s Books of 2016
Source: The Most Astonishingly Unconventional Children’s Books of 2016
This is an interesting list! I’ve only read one of these titles and it was truly unconventional yet wonderful.
Project BMG -The Boy Who Cried Tears of the Heart
Posted on July 1, 2016 by jlfatgcs Chapter reading is one of our treasured moments of the day at school. I know this, and so does Jackson. Books bring to life the imagination, the world, and the …
Source: Project BMG -The Boy Who Cried Tears of the Heart
This blog post perfectly illustrates the importance of reading aloud to children – even chapter books! Thank you for sharing with us!
School’s First Day of School ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY
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This is the perfect book for back-to-school! |
by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell
School’s First Day of School
By Adam Rex
Pictures by Christian Robinson
(Roaring Brook Press, 2016)
School was new.
He was so new that he didn’t realize children would soon come pouring through his doors. Gasp! Janitor was his confidant and friend and tried to tell him things would be great.
But School was anxious.
And the children came to school. Some were bored (that hurt School’s feelings), some cried and were afraid to stay at school (School was that bad?), and School even had an accidental fire drill the first day!
Would School enjoy being School?
I LOVED this story! Who would have thought about first-day-of-school-new-building story from the viewpoint of the school!
Funny, imaginative, and realistic. School’s First Day of School will lighten the hearts of all readers.
KID KANDY:
Draw a Picture of Your School
Materials: paper, pencils, markers, crayons
1. Use the pencil to outline your school. Maybe you go to a huge elementary school, a small private school, or homeschool. Whichever type of school you attend, draw a picture of it.
2. Decorate your school. Maybe you could name your school, or print the name it already has on the top of the building.
3. Share your picture.
How do you think School felt before the first day? How did the boys and girls feel about going back to school? How do YOU feel about going to school?
I love school! Now that I am a writer and I work from home, I don’t get to enjoy the first day of school as a teacher. I miss school! But I hope to visit again soon and read books with my favorite people – the students.
A Tiger Tail (Or What Happened to Anya on Her First Day of School) ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY
By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell
A Tiger Tail (Or What Happened to Anya on Her First Day of School)
By Mike Boldt
(Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016)
When Anya woke up one morning, her first day of school, she discovered that she had grown a tiger tail overnight!
One can imagine how embarassing it would be to trot into school with a tiger tail trailing along behind! Anya was devastated. Would she even be allowed to go to school with a tiger tail?
Anya, being a very creative and problem solver type of girl, tried several different avenues to take care of the situation. NONE of which worked.
Which meant, Anya had to go to school, tiger tail and all.
Once Anya made it to school, she discovered that having a tiger tail was not so bad after all.
A Tiger Tail (Or What Happened to Anya on Her First Day of School) is a hilarious cleverly illustrated and written picture book. Problem solving, anxiety over the first day of school, and seeing how others are different are some of the issues found in this delightful book.
Readers both young and old will love Anya’s tale. Er, tail.
KID KANDY
For Fun: Make a Tail to Wear Around the House
Materials: a long sock, newspaper, safety pins
1. Crinkle newspapers into small balls and stuff the sock. Leave an inch or so at the top.
2. Ask for help! Pin the sock to the waistband of your pants. Now you have a tail. Try and wear it all day. How did you do? Any problems? Would you like to go to school with a tail?
For Real: Plan for the First Day of School
What makes you really nervous about the first day of school? Some things that made me anxious were new classmates, a new teacher, not knowing where my class was, wearing new clothes, and getting on the right bus to go home.
Choose 1 thing that makes you nervous. Plan how to take care of it before school begins.
1. New classmates? Look for one person you know from last year. Or your neighborhood. Walk up and say hi. Plan to play together at recess. Now you have at least one friend!
2. New teacher? Some schools host a meet-the-teacher day. Ask your parents to take you to meet your teacher. Whew! Now you know what he/she looks like. You might even find your desk.
3. Find your class. If you visited the teacher, you will already know. Otherwise, a parent can walk you in the first day, you can ask an adult at the school for help, or you can ask an older student to help you. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance. I’ve noticed that most people love to help!
4. Choose your first-day-of-school clothes and hang them out, ready for the big day. Now you don’t need to worry about what to wear.
5. Riding the bus? Your teacher will help you. Or any of the other adults who work at your school. You can even ask the bus drivers. If you are going to kindergarten, you will probably wear an address tag with a bus number. Learn that number! But remember, there are many people just waiting to help you find the right bus!
Now – go out there and enjoy your first day of school.
Non-Fiction of Olympic Proportions (plus a prize!)
by Karlin Gray What do I know about writing nonfiction picture books? After my book NADIA: THE GIRL WHO COULDN’T SIT STILL was published, someone said to me, “Great timing with the 40th…
Source: Non-Fiction of Olympic Proportions (plus a prize!)
I can’t wait to read this book! I was one of those girls who loved Nadia and watched her on TV during the Olympics. Thanks for the great NF strategies for writing.
54 Years Later – Nana Finally Gets Someone Who Resembles Her
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Little Angie |
by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell
Actually, it is 53 years – until my birthday in November. Why am I making myself older than I am???
A tiny baby girl was born 53 years ago. When that girl was married, she had 2 children, a boy and a girl. Neither resembled her. YES. She was there for the birth, so she knows they are hers.
Much later, the boy and girl both married their lifemates and produced wonderful grandchilden. None of which looked even the slightest bit like the Nana. Rather, they looked like mommy or daddy or this cousin or that one, or even aunties and uncles. No one resembled short little Nana.
Until now. Nana giggles and rubs her hands together with glee.
Little Autumn, the youngest princess, coming in at barely 3 months old, finally shows signs of having something in common with the Nana!
Autumn’s eyes look like Nana’s eyes. A family resemblance – how nice for me!
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Little Autumn and her Nana eyes! |
This Nana is happy with even the slightest hint of “she has my eyes.” I would be fine if she had Papa’s height and not my lack. Actually, I am very happy that she is healthy. A slight resemblance is just eye-cing on the cake. Wink, wink.
Yippee for grands.
Do your children resemble you? How about those grands?
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Just chatting with my Nana. |
Love, Laughter, and Life 