Opportunities for Young Writers

The next Virginia Woolf or Robert Frost needn’t languish in obscurity until adulthood to make themselves known; thanks to the internet and a surge of interest in fiction by and for young people, opportunities for kids and teens to publish their writing abound. All of the websites and publications below are great ways to motivate kids and young adults to get writing.

FOR EVERYONE

Spaghetti Book Club a fun website, featuring hundreds of book reviews, is a great resource for kids looking for a good book, but it provides an even better opportunity for young writers. Anyone can submit a book review and even an accompanying illustration for others to view. Books are searchable by grade level (kindergarten through 12th grade) or by title.

FOR YOUNGER WRITERS

Stories for Children is an Ezine written for kids ages 3-12 that publishes work by both adults and young writers. Categories include fiction, poetry, discovery, visual art, and more.

FOR YOUNG ADULTS

Cicada Literary Magazine, aimed at readers 14 and up, is affiliated with the outstanding Cricket Magazine Group, which publishes Babybug, for children ages 6 months to 3 years; Ladybug, for ages 3 to 6; Spider, for ages 6 to 9, and Cricket, for ages 9-14. (Check their website for a list of non-fiction magazine offerings as well.) The magazines make lively, enriching, and highly enjoyable reading for children, but Cicada is the only one that offers young writers the opportunity to submit short stories, poetry, book reviews, and visual art for publication. Alternately, authors can load work electronically onto Cicada’s “The Slam,” where other young people can laud it online and make comments. Finally, their “In the Know” webpage offers tips for writers and a list of other publications that accept submissions from teen writers.

Spine Breakers is an online magazine “for book-loving teenagers by book-loving teenagers” (editorial decisions are made by a panel of 9 British teens) is perfect for vampire or science fiction fans. Because the site is affiliated with Penguin Publishing, it has a sleek, professional appearance with content to match. Much of the featured art and written material is contributed by young people between the ages of 13 and 18, and there are lots of contests and opportunities to upload poetry, short stories, and song lyrics. A particularly appealing feature is the call for alternate endings to existing books.


Photo used under Creative Commons by Amelia Wells

Graduation Gifts

May brings the start of graduation season, and whether you want to celebrate a student moving on from kindergarten or one graduating from law school or medical school -- or those in between -- we have some gift suggestions that can help students as they move on to their next challenges.

For Young Students
Even in this age of digital content, children like to get things addressed to them and delivered by a real, live, mail person.. Magazine subscriptions fill this role, and have the added benefit of coming regularly for a year or more. They give children an opportunity to build their reading skills, enhance their affinities -- such as sports, animals, or science -- and can help them engage with new areas of interest. Some of the magazines we have recommended to young students are ChickaDEE [ages 6-9; puzzles, crafts, animal facts, comics]; Your Big Backyard [ages 3-7; animals, nature, outdoors] and National Geographic for Kids  [ages 6-14].

Graduating  Middle School
Students this age are ready to expand their horizons into the larger world, but still need help shaping their interests. They might enjoy a trip to an event -- a show, a sporting event, an exhibit -- that will both entertain them and help them to spark an interest that they can build on as they get older.

For High School Graduation
As these students move on to college, the demands on their cognitive toolbox will increase substantially. One device that we have found helpful for college students is the Livescribe pen. This enables students to take notes in lectures and then play back the particular section of the lecture by tapping the pen on the relevant key word in a special notebook. It lets students focus on lecture content without concern that they will not take sufficient notes -- and let them take notes without worrying that they missed something the professor is saying.

For College Graduation and Beyond

If your student does not yet have an iPad and if this expensive item is within your budget, it will provide them with a tool for whatever path comes next. If an iPad is more than you would want to spend, another tool that will help them move into adulthood is a subscription to a major daily newspaper. It's a way of keeping them connected to the larger world as they become focused on their future studies or career. Whether they get it via digital device or delivered to their doorstep, it will help make them better informed citizens of the world in which they live.



Some photos used under Creative Commons from yto

Spring

Tomorrow is the first day of spring, and here in the Northeast the weather is a bit ahead of the calendar. The beginning of spring traditionally brings with it all sorts of tasks that transition us from the winter months -- spring cleaning, the spring holidays, readying our gardens for planting, and planning ahead for the summer or the next school year.

One task that should be on the list for most families is something we like to call "a check up from the neck up". As the school year is moving into its last few months, it's a good time to review what has gone well and what has been difficult this past year. If your child has an IEP, an Individual Educational Program under the IDEA, this is traditionally the time of year that your school district will be calling you in for an Annual Review. We will be featuring an extensive discussion of how to prepare for the Annual Review in our upcoming Yellin Center Newsletter. But the idea of a spring check up really should extend to all students.

The first part of such a check up is a conversation with your child about what he thinks has gone well or not so well this year. Was there a particular subject that he really enjoyed? This can be anything from reading to athletics, to music, to science. Are there ways you can build upon that interest during the summer months -- in a camp, or school program, or with family outings? Was there something that she found particularly difficult or just didn't enjoy? Maybe you can work over the summer to engage her in this subject or to at least build her skills.

A year-end conference with your child's teacher can be very helpful in seeing where things stand. Your child's teacher has had a number of months to get to know your child and to see how she has grown, academically and socially, over the course of the year. Does the teacher raise the same concerns as your child? If not, you may have to push these conversations a bit to see why your child, for example, says she hates math and doesn't understand it while her teacher doesn't see a major problem. Or, you might need to investigate why your child says nothing about having difficulty with reading while his teacher reports that he is really struggling. Of course, you will have had input from the teacher at other times during the year, and have had a chance to see several report cards. But summing up a school year may bring clarity to what has been going on in the classroom.

So, as you air out your closets and think ahead about summer, take some time to clear the air about your child's school performance this year and to think about ways to address any concerns as you plan your summer activities.

What's Cooking?

Parents get lots of advice about things they should be doing with their children to build academic skills. They are rightly reminded that reading to and with their child will help build reading skills and a love of reading. In a similar vein, trips to libraries, museums, and musical events will build skills and interests for children of all ages.

But sometimes reading just one more book is more than a tired, working parent wants to do on a school night. And taking children out to events and exhibits may be problematic when there are younger children who are not ready to enjoy these excursions. A recent conversation with a mom of two boys reminded us that cooking with children can be another way to build skills and interests at home. Think about the skills that go into planning and preparing a simple family dinner -

• Observational skills are built by reviewing what ingredients are in the pantry or fridge.
• Children learn to plan step-by-step as they review recipes and decide what they need to prepare a particular meal.
• Language skills are built by reading labels and recipes.
• Measuring helps build competence with fractions and arithmetic skills. What if we doubled a recipe? or made only half a box of pasta?
• Motor skills are improved by cutting (with proper supervision) and adding and stirring foods.
• Important safety skills are modeled by parents and utilized by children: how to use a stove (with careful, age appropriate supervision), how to deal with sharp utensils, and how to handle hot items.
• Social interactions include cooperating in a crowded kitchen, taking turns, dealing with mistakes, and dining together with others when the dinner is ready to eat.

Sure, it's more work and definitely more mess cooking with children. But it's great for the children and can one day lead to having competent cooks to share the responsibilities for family meals. Enjoy your dinner!

Building Affinities with Holiday Gifts

Unless you spent the entire Thanksgiving weekend on a remote island, you have been bombarded with all sorts of ads, emails, and media stories about the start of the holiday shopping season. Whether you were lined up at the local mall just after you finished your turkey dinner, or will do your shopping online, or even if you are one of the hardy group who hits the stores on Christmas eve, there are some things you might want to keep in mind when shopping for the children on your list.

We believe that having an interest in a particular subject helps to build competence and confidence in children. Whether it is dinosaurs, trains, birds, flowers -- or any other subject -- doesn't matter. What is important is that a child has a chance to study a particular topic, to read about it, to think about it, and to become an "expert"on it in his classroom and in his family.

Gifts that foster a child's affinities, or give him a chance to explore new ones, are far more important and lasting than the latest robotic pet that will entertain for an hour or two before being set aside. Think about what interests a particular child -- and what might start an affinity or interest that will stay with him for years.
Some examples:

• A beginners collecting kit for rocks, or stamps, or coins
• Some real artists' chalks and a pad of good paper
• Beginners' supplies for knitting or sewing
• Tickets to a show or a trip (with you) to a museum
• A subscription to a magazine -- from Sports Illustrated for Kids to Calliope, which explores history

Whatever you decide to give, think about how it can help a child think, grow, and foster new interests.