Count-Down to Contest!

I love feedback!! I love hearing from my people! I love opening my email!! I LOVE reading my blog comments!!!!! Here's some lovely documentation of art projects that children created in response to my newest picture book, "Red, White and Blue." I received these images in an email this weekend from Mary at Christ Lutheran Children's Center in Bexley, OH. Prompted by my win a week ago for the INDIE Excellence Award, Mary knew how excited I would be to share the various responses created at their program with my reading audience.

These art projects were created in anticipation of Memorial Day festivities which included the sharing of my book and song in their program that serves children from the age of 2.5 thru 8 years of age. Mary tells me that the paper weavings were created by the oldest children at their center and the long white painting on the door was by their youngest. The variety of other work were created cooperatively by children in the middle and brought together to create a quilt for the center to enjoy for the national holiday.

My post tomorrow will be the official launch of my first Blog Hop & Linkie Party in celebration of the back-to-school season, in an effort to support teachers thru the observation of the tenth anniversary of 9-11. Be ready to come back and enter to win a signed copy of my picture book, complete with CD recording. I would appreciate

*****Anyone who would like to order the book before the winners are announced, I have a special PROMO Code on my website to save you 20% off the price of the book now through the entire month of September. Just enter the code: RWB911 to receive the discount. Please feel free to pass that code to anyone wishing a copy.

Mirth & More @ Maryland

That first picture above is such a fascination to me. What you see are four different versions of the same image: all 'impresions of my book, "You're Wonderful!" First there's the original quilt in the young girl's hands that I designed and sewed from fabric, the printed version on paper -- in the actual book in the boy's hands. Then there's a pixel-ated version on the computer screen of the laptop from a digital capture and the fourth version is the one projected from the laptop onto the SmartBoard. I wish that the projected version was captured more clearly in the photograph..... but you get the idea. Hmmmm. Does the photograph of the whole configuration make it officially a fifth version?



I love getting to come to kindergarten for their 100 day party as their guest author/illustrator. We always sing my song "100 Days" that I wrote & recorded specifically for just such an occasion. We channel our inner Elvis and count by 5's for the chorus, which is always the favorite part of the song. "One hundred days, one hundred days: we've been learning, one hundred days!"  This little dittie of mine is from my fifth recording, 'Debbie's Ditties 5: Jump, Jam, Jive!'


Here's the art that's out in the hallway to announce the amazing day. These were done at home, under the supervision of the parents watchful eyes and counting direction.

I'm guessing that there was a lot of parent interaction on the sketch of the building. The marshmallow clumps look amazingly like the reality. Pretty monochromatic & a tad bit bleak.

Love me some kindergartners. Love me some kindergarten teachers! Love me some Artist-in-the-Schools hug time. Till next year!


While I was out in the hallway taking pictures of art I just had to capture this one of the older students tessellations. It would be the perfect project to create after singing my "Pattern Song."

Editor's Note: A year later, a new celebration of the 100th day. A year later, we have the tidal wave of Pinterest!!! I've pinned these images so maybe you 'found' me as a result.

Here are the links to a mini-series on 100th Day ideas from 2012.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Here's the link to my Pinterest collection of all things 100 DAYS!

***By the way, I have a song by that name, written just for this monumental occasion.

It's on my fifth CD: "Debbie's Ditties 5: Jump, Jam, Jive"

 

Moving on to Maryland Ave.

Another return to another site of previous fun. I think this might be annual visit number five in a row for me, maybe six. I have always had the greatest time with these kindergartners and their teachers and now that we've moved to the library 'classroom' I've gotten addicted to using their Smart Board. So cute that the kiddos 'taught' me how to advance my power point slides, by touching the screen itself. Love when the k-kiddos are more tech savvy than this grandma! LOL. Seems that this is the first February visit that I've made to their building, where I haven't had to slog thru the snow with my gear. Funny, the specifics that linger in my memory.

Say Cheese, Please!!

Here's how our morning together concluded. Show and tell, posed still-lifes for each staff that requested one. (I know there were several other buildings represented.) The quilt posing behind us is one from my new picture book, "Red, White and Blue" and represens the little villagfe of 'Ephraim' perched right on Eagle Harbor of Green Bay. I'm holding one of the concluding quilts from my first picture book, "I think you're wonderful."

Freezing Frozen Faces

With the heat out, it seems only logical to get everyone jumping, making funny faces and balancing to work on our brain hemisphere integration. Choreographed hilarity. Here's the evidence of just how much fun was unfolding. Opposites!! Alliteration!!

ELEA 2010: Bexley

Saturday morning. Bexley. Christ Church, Main Street: across the street from Capital University. I've been in this building before. Seems like a life-time ago. In many ways, it was a different lifetime all together. When the invite for my CAEYC's SUTQ (Step Up To Quality) approved workshop went round the horn, it resulted in creating the very exact event a second time. Just love when that happens. We arrived early to find that the heat was out in the building, but the electricity in our assigned room was cooperating. So, it was my job to keep those in attendance 'on-the-move' to stay warm. What a fun assignment! The LCD projector only required a committee to coax into suitable purpose, but it all unfolded right on cue. Yippee!! These are some enthusiastic faces -- in my professional opinion.

Theatrical Faces: Engaged

One of my favorite parts of every school-visit is watching the expressions of the chilren. They click right into the opportunity of the spirit of my songs and allow me to come along for the ride. Together we have a lot of fun. They encourage me & I respond which encourages them. Or is it the other way around??

Author & Illustrations

Afternoon's Awesome

Ninety minutes.

Singing & dancing.

Reading & reflecting.

Using a "Smart Board" for the first time:

Ya gotta love kindergarten!!

Duel Designs