Visiting Preschools

Visiting schools is a wonderful way to share books with children, give them enjoyment, teach them important life lessons, interact in a positive way and have fun while doing it! They teach us things as well while we are sharing.

My husband, Tom, and I have been doing quite a few visits recently and are so blessed by the little ones, their excitement and enthusiasm.

Here is an excerpt from each book that the children really like:

From Olive and the Great Flood:  "Olive trilled soft peaceful songs to help them sleep at night. When the ark tossed back and forth, her coos relieved their fright."

From Count 1,2,3 With Me:  "Eight legs help a spider to climb, which leaves a web behind each time. Mama Spider traps eight flies to eat. Spiders find bugs a tasty treat."

From Animal Sound Mix-up:  "What if in a pond on a log a quack was heard from a small frog? Or in a forest you could hear a honking sound come from a deer?" (Of course Tom's animal sounds make these mixed-up sounds even more delightful for the children!)

Looking at those sweet, smiling faces reminds me why I do what I do, and I am extremely thankful!

Children Enjoying Summer

Children in the summer 

Love to laugh and play, 

Making the most

Of each bright summer day, 

Enjoying the bliss

Of a warm day in June, 

Happily playing

And singing a tune, 

Laughing with abandon 

In the freedom of July, 

With red, rosy cheeks 

And a sparkle in the eye, 

Whirling and twirling

In a flash of legs and arms, 

Singing and dancing, 

Displaying all their charms, 

Sailing through summer, 

Faces happy and bright, 

Expressing their enjoyment 

With squeals of delight.

Excerpt of A Symphony of Seasons by Connie Arnold

Ten Singing Birds

In celebration of my soon to be released new children's book, Count 1,2,3 With Me, I thought you might enjoy my counting poem about birds. Enjoy!

 

 

 

A little brown robin, alone, the only one,

Was sitting on a branch, singing in the sun.

 

 Along came a bird whose feathers were blue

To join in the song, so then there were two.
 

The robin and the bluebird, singing in the tree,

Were joined by a sparrow, to make a trio of three.
 

Each time a bird joined there was one more than before,

So when a blackbird came, suddenly there were four.
 

A noisy mockingbird who had started to dive

Joined them on the branch to form a singing group of five.
 

A little wren making a nest with some sticks

Flew over to join them, and then there were six.
 

A brave meadowlark, flying up to heaven,

Swooped down beside them, and together that made seven.
 

A bright red cardinal, perched on a gate,

Came to sing with them to form an octet of eight.
 

The song they were singing sounded so fine

A chickadee joined them to make the count nine.
 

An oriole joined the other birds and then

Their song was sung by a total of ten.

© Connie Arnold



Encouragement

Children need encouragement

to be the best they can be;

The impression that we have of them

is most likely what they will see.

We need to be always careful

about everything that we say,

Because the effect can make them view

themselves in a different way.

By always displaying our love for them,

being careful to never neglect,

We will help them to show their love for others

and treat them with respect.

Praising children for doing good things,

not nagging about each mistake,

Will help them to build self-confidence—

what a difference that can make!

Connie Arnold, excerpt of Abiding Hope & Love

www.conniearnold.webs.com

Children Enjoying Summer

Although it's not summer yet, it will be here before long. Do you like summer? I do, except when it gets extremely hot! I think most children really enjoy summer, with their break from school and time to have fun and play. My grandchildren will be out of school for summer vacation in just a few weeks, so I thought I'd post this poem about children enjoying summer. Can you picture children doing this?

Children in the summer
Love to laugh and play,
Making the most
Of each bright summer day,
Enjoying the bliss
Of a warm day in June,
Happily playing
And singing a tune,
Laughing with abandon
In the freedom of July,
With red, rosy cheeks
And a sparkle in the eye,
Whirling and twirling
In a flash of legs and arms,
Singing and dancing,
Displaying all their charms,
Sailing through summer,
Faces happy and bright,
Expressing their enjoyment
With squeals of delight.

 © Connie Arnold 

excerpt from A Symphony of Seasons 

This is an excerpt from my newly released poetry book, A Symphony of Seasons, my second book published by RPJ and Company. I'm also pleased to announce that, in addition to my Animal Sound Mix-up, Guardian Angel Publishing has accepted two more children's books for future publication! I love writing for and about children, whether through my poetry books or picture books!
 

This post is part of a Book Launch Blog Tour for A Symphony of Seasons May 1 - 12, and the schedule for it is on my Inspirational Poetry of Joy and Peace blog. Hope you will visit some of the stops, and be sure to leave a comment to be entered into prize drawings for a Vivaldi Four Seasons CD and a hummingbird suncatcher wind chime.

A Symphony of Seasons may be purchased directly from my website to receive a signed copy, or from RPJ and Company, Amazon, or eBook from Smashwords - enter code QX77N for 1/2 price offer through May 31.

Summer will be here soon. Are you ready to have some fun? 

National Book Lovers Day

August 9 is National Book Lovers Day. I think we should extend that and make it at least Book Lovers Week, or maybe have August be Book Lovers Month! What do you think?

There definitely should be time set aside for children to read if they can, or be read to if they are too young to read, each day. It's so important for children to develop that love of reading when they are young.

Take time to read some books today,
a restful break from work and play.
Books are great for learning and fun,
so be a book lover and grab a good one!

Watching the Animals

     Do you like visiting the zoo? If you have children, I'm sure you do that when you can. I don't think we ever outgrow the pleasure of watching animals though. When we get to take our grandchildren to the zoo, it's fun to not only watch the animals, but also to watch the children enjoying the animals!

     Hope you enjoy my little poem. If you'd like to read more, please visit my children's website and the poetry for children's page of my inspirational website.

     Which are your favorite animals?

A monkey was playing in a tree,

Swinging from limb to limb.

The things he did were fun to see,

And I liked watching him.

 A mighty lion was lying around,

Resting out in the sun,

Then giving a roar, got off the ground

And suddenly started to run.

 

An elephant who was big and gray

Lifted her trunk up high,

Wanting others to keep away

Since her baby was sleeping nearby.

 

I like the animals, large and small,

And you can enjoy them too,

Together where you can see them all

Whenever you visit the zoo.

© Connie Arnold

International Children's Book Day

Did you know that April 2 is International Children's Book Day? I just learned that myself. It has been celebrated for over 40 years on the birth date of Hans Christian Andersen to encourage the love of books and reading in children. There are so many wonderful children's books published around the world, and this is a great day to share a variety of books with the children in your life!

My husband, Tom, helped me make a short video of us sharing an excerpt from Animal Sound Mix-up, which we do for readings at preschools, children's museum, for our grandchildren, etc. I posted it on Facebook, and it was much enjoyed. Perhaps you'd like to join in the fun too. It was suggested that Tom might find a job doing his animal sounds. What do you think?

(See an excerpt from Animal Sound Mix-up and illustrations on my Children's website.)

Meet Me in St. Louis

Recently I went to St. Louis for a gathering of Guardian Angel Publishing authors and illustrators and enjoyed meeting others and the special events. We participated in events at the St. Louis Children's Illustrated Art Museum and Border's bookstore. It was a great experience meeting fellow authors and illustrators and sharing my new book, Animal Sound Mix-up. I especially enjoyed reading to the children, seeing their reactions and letting them share their thoughts. You can see the Guardian Angel 2010 Arch Angel Award and more pictures on my Children's Books and Poems site.

After leaving St. Louis, we traveled on to visit our daughter and family. It's always such a special time together with family, and the three little grandsons aged 6, 5 and 3 make for an exciting visit! Isn't it a joy to see young children enjoying books and learning?