Who is This Debbie Clement? She LUVs a Sale!

Who is this Debbie Clement? She LUVs a SALE!

WELCOME!! WELCOME!! WELCOME!!

Let's start with the BIG news! My entire 'store' at Teachers Pay Teachers is on sale today, for TWENTY PERCENT off! Yes, folks. There's a group of us in +Kinderland who are cooperatively hosting a SALE for the day. We all have our TpT stores filled with bargains. Here's the direct link to my own little shop. 

I have learned a LOT about blogging in the last year, and one thing that I've noticed is that readers apparently like RoundUPs -- where everything is gathered into a one stop-spot. I've never done a RoundUP about moi! I have RoundUPs for bulletin boards, and word walls, for Eric Carle and fall time fun.  My time has come. Today? It's all about me. Since today is June 30th, today is the official conclusion of year number 17 of my company-of-one. Tomorrow launches year number 18!!!

June 30th, 1996 was my final day of my 10 year career at The Childhood League Center in central Ohio. I resigned from my administrative position as Support Services Coordinator to take a leap into the unknown. My passion for infusing the lives of young children with ARTS experiences led me to launch my own company. And so it began. With the moniker, "Have guitar, will travel" I began making visits to preschool and Head Start centers around Columbus. Then I started giving library shows and staff development. One invitation took me to the next and the next. It was all a 'word-of-mouth' effort. 

FAST FORWARD!
17 years later 
I have written (and recorded) over a HUNDRED original songs for children! 
{{{BTW: That was never a part of my original vision.}}} 
{{{Never-ever.}}} 
{{{My imagination was not that vivid in the beginning.}}} 

I started off singing the standards, the goodies: 
wheels on buses, being happy and knowing it..... 
and some little ditties that fell out of my head spontaneously. 

My teacher buddies asked me to record these little bitty ditties. 
And the rest is history. 
I have the 6 CDs pictured above, under my direction/banner/company. 
I have an additional CD for Zaner Bloser. 
I also have a two-disc release for Redleaf Press. 
YOWZA!!!!!

THEN.......... 
I began turning my songs into BOOKS!!!!
My DREAM really did come true!
Now I'm an author-illustrator, music-lady!



I continued making school visits in central Ohio, but now under the banner of the Greater Columbus Arts Council as an official "Artist-in-the-Schools." My favorite thing is to see how teachers direct their students in response to my books! 



My initial travels were back and forth across Columbus.
My travels continued by taking me back and forth across the midwest. 
Then back and forth across the country! 
And then back and forth across the ocean!!! 

There have been some MONUMENTAL collaborative projects created in response to my books! 
Here's one from a magical author-visit in Amityville, NY.
Imagine the look on my face when I walked into their gym! 



Here's another INCREDIBLE collaboration created in central Illinois.
When you are an author/illustrator, your books can travel AHEAD of you! 
This 'marble-painted' quilt was created two years before I got to Carie's school. 

Then all these years later, I had people asking me for digital downloads of my song creations. 
I joined Teachers Pay Teachers about this time last year. 

Last summer I uploaded my first zipped file with "Pollywog" in an Mp3 format, 
with support materials in pdf and power-point. 

I created five fabric-quilt illustrations to bring my song to life!
One quilted picture for each verse. 
Shazam a new era was born. 

The next of my songs to go 'digital-download' are the three that are the backbone of my books. 
Their files include 2 Mp3s: both the sung-song version, and their instrumental version as well. 

I get all sorts of feedback on 'how' people use the instrumental versions. 
Of course I included them for ease in YOUR performance, without my vocals.
The instrumentals are perfect for other language translations 
and song writing exploration and extensions as well.  





And the PERFECT immediate download for all of your Fourth of July festivities! 

Then I just started picking some of my very-very favorites songs, 
for the digital download treatment.

Then it occurred to me that at that rate it was going to take me forever. 
So I created a couple of 'bundle-around-a-theme' packs (with JUST the song Mp3s and simple lyric sheets.) 

I am now just two weeks away from my first REAL 15 minutes of fame. 
I have been given the great responsibility of opening the "I Teach Kindergarten" conference in Vegas! 

I know. 
You're probably thinkin' 
"How can she be giving the keynote, if I never heard of her?" 

My marketing word-of-mouth marketing plan is about to be joined by another HUGE contingent! 

Thanks so much for your time. 
I know how critical summer 'minutes' are to your well-being. 
We've had several of our notorious blue-sky days. 
I leave you with these happy glimmers that I've shared on Instagram recently. 

-- Debbie -- 

I'm now at 126,279 followers!     

Click this link to go there directly! 

Now at 432 followers!

K is for KINDERGARTEN!

KINDERGARTEN EXCELLENCE!

HOW CUTE IS THAT LETTER K? 

IT ALSO HAPPENS TO BE GIGANTIC. 

You don't really get the scale, but trust me: it's HUGE! 

While I've got your attention...

While you're on summer break... 

While you're looking forward to VEGAS, baby...

{or while you're pouting, cuz ya can't come to Vegas...} 

and while you're just beginning to think ahead... 

I thought it would be fun to do a Kinder-retro review.

These are RoundUPs and Articles based on my author-illustrator school visits around the country! 

Why, yes! 

I am scheduling now for NEXT year! 

Let's start talking about a SKYPE visit!

Now a quick little RoundUP of the RoundUPs! 

My TOP 12 fave Kinder-Delight Articles. 

(click the pic to go to the earlier article.) 

"I am.................. Kindergarten" Start and End the Year with "You're Wonderful

Reading Corner RoundUP 

Organize Your Anchor Charts

Word Wall RoundUP

50th Edition of Fine Motor Friday: Fine Motor Leads to Fine Arts

Making Math Meaningful 

Kindergarten Excellence

Behavior Chart RoundUP

Project Based Learning in Kindergarten

On location with "Mr. Greg" K Smorgasboard!

Top 10 Reasons to Play with Rhyme

Kindergarten Author-Illustrator Visit

Eric Carle Inspired Children's Art

Kindergarten Classroom Crashing Tour

End-of-Year Poems and Fun! 

Have fun all weekend sorting through all of those Golden Oldies! In case you're keeping track of my progress on my Vegas ensemble...... here's a quick catch up on that effort. The first step was hand-painting my skirt! I have the front side 99% painted as of today! 

Then came the ruffles on the bottom of the skirt, adding a pocket and some sequins. 

You can't see the sequins or pocket, but trust me they're in place.

I could spend the rest of the summer adding more sequins. LOL. 

Next I found THE.PERFECT.T-SHIRT!!

I have begun piecing together the vest! 

By all means YOUR pin is the most significant help that you can give to my gaining some visibility. I'm so grateful for your pins, that I wrote a whole Pinterest ENCYCLOPEDIA on how I have reached 125,000 followers on my favorite social network. 

My Pinterest Manifesto! 

If you're a blogger and somehow missed it.... you must dedicate some time to reading through..... that article has received some amazing feedback and I'm glad that I took the time to share my approach. It's working. I've gained an additional thousand followers in the week since the article went live!

Have a great weekend. Now back to my sewing machine!  

-- Debbie --

I'm now at 126,045 followers!     

Click this link to go there directly! 

Now at 431 followers!

Fostering Imagination in Children: Dots, Spots and Circles!

FOSTERING IMAGINATION IN CHILDREN 

Welcome to my little corner of the cyber sphere! 

Welcome to my polka-dot, rainbow corner. 

My hope is to inspire you with sights I've had the privilege to 'SPOT' (today's focus is all about circles, dots and spots) in the midst of my 'author-illustrator' music-lady school visits. I share these goodies with you here, to showcase the excellence-in-education that happens daily across the country. I have the great good fortune to visit a variety of schools and settings and capture as many photos as I can, to share and motivate you further down your own road of excellence. 

This next inviting, hand-painted chair was one of the first photos that I took 'on site' that prompted me to realize how much fun it is to look over my shoulder! It marked a turning point in my blogging adventure. {Don't talk so much about me, as curate all the greatness that I see in my journeys!} IMAGINE!  

IMAGINE! Hand-painted author's chair in kindergarten from earlier article on reading centers

If we want our children and our students to be prepared for our ever changing world, where technology advances in a heartbeat, we need to invest time and energy in cultivating their ability to:

•  think outside the box
•  use their imagination
•  think creatively
•  think critically
•  work independently yet be able to 
•  collaborate with others 
•  reflect on other, unique outcomes 
•  discuss similarities and differences 

I saw the following exercise in a preschool that serves young children with special needs. The drawings that follow were part of the PreK classroom's bulletin board and were proudly on display in the hall for all to see. 

Let's get started with the prompt. 

And now for my favorite Top 10 responses! 

There's so much to like about this experience. 

As a visitor, I appreciate knowing 'why' the artwork was created. 

Because of the very first photo, I know that the children are responding to a prompt. 

I'm wild about the fact that all 10 responses are decidedly unique. 

Original. 

Original solution and original portrayal.

OH HAPPY DAY! 

Imagine if an exercise such as this were happening with every young child, 

on a regular basis. 

Imagine if there were time to show-and-tell what each friend created.

Imagine if these exercises continued as the child matured. 

Needless to say. 

This is the PERFECT response to the Donald Crews picture book. 

"10 Black Dots." 

Or how about, "Lots of Dots" by Craig Frazier. 

Or do you prefer 'just' "One Red Dot" by David Carter?

or "600 Black Dots"? 

Your choice! 

It could also be an extension used with "The Dot." Depending on the maturity of the audience, all sorts of layers of the onion are possible in the Peter Reynolds classic. 



Perhaps lesser known than the selections above is 
"Press Here" by Herve Tullet. 

YEAH TEACHERS!!!!

Extend those picture books! 

Back to building imaginations.......

Here's an example that I shared a couple months ago. 

Similar idea. 

What can you 'build' with the numerals for this year?

(You can click the image to go back to that article.)   

Fostering Creative Thinking 

And now I'm thinking about spots and dots! 

I've rounded up some circular Arts expressions. 

Starting with young energy and ending with maturity.

I LOVE CIRCLES! 

I LOVE POLKA-DOTS! 

I LOVE PRINT-MAKING!

Marshmallow Painting! 

Concentric Circular Weavings 

Kaleidoscopic Circles on CDs 

I LUV, LUV, LUV when teachers direct their students to create ORIGINAL responses to my picture books. 

Look at the quilt that was made by second graders in response to my newest book, "Red, White and Blue." 

Wouldn't this be AWESOME to do something similar right now,

 in time for the 4th of July? 

"Red, White and Blue" Unique and Individual Response Quilt! 

For long time readers here, it comes as no surprise that I adore polka-dots! 

I was motivated to go digging in my memory card for the dot project responses, 

BECAUSE I LEARNED SOMETHING NEW!

I learned how to crop a photo into a circle!

Circle crops can be accomplished for FREE at Picmonkey! 

And then I went a little dot-crazy....

as I have been known to do. 

I was prowling around for this insight, 

because I am entering yet another era.

Fairly soon, you will be seeing a new 'header' up-top when you arrive! 

How I spent my summer: Remaking my blog.

A-N-D..... 

For those of you keeping track of my VEGAS ensemble, 

here is the latest progress report. 

I have now sewn the ruffles on the bottom of my hand painted skirt. 

Other delightful diversions over the last couple of days? 

Getting to hear Ladysmith Black Mambazo in concert. 

Definitely one more click checked off on my bucket list. 

Their harmonies had me in tears. 

REJOICING tears. 

Hope and Peace. 

Peace and HOPE. 

We also went to a coffee house with a couple thousand of our closest friends to hear 'Melanie' 

on the hillside, on a gorgeous evening. 

Talk about the 'way-back machine.' 

When I say a gorgeous evening. I'm not kidding. Here's the sunset on the way home from the outdoor concert. This is of Eagle Harbor in the village of Ephraim, WI. (That's the actual Green Bay, not the city but the bay.) 

I took the photo as we careened home on the motorcycle. INCREDIBLE. 

So that's the news. I'm starting something new around here. Things are going to be looking freshened up. I have a LOT to learn! I'm making progress on all fronts. 

As always, I'm grateful for your pin! 

-- Debbie -- 

I'm now at 125,851 followers!     

Click this link to go there directly! 

Now at 431 followers!

I've done some window shopping for you. 

Whenever you click from here to purchase at Amazon a portion of the sale goes to support this blog. 

Thanks!