Tea for Two or Maybe More.

Kids love any excuse for a tea party. My neighbour's kids think it's wonderful when I invite them over for High Tea. We go all out using my special china and make lots of tiny sandwiches and cakes. I try to make the tea party a memorable treat as if they were at high tea at an exclusive restaurant, something like High Tea at the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. It's a delight to watch the expressions on the faces of everyone concerned. I don't feel you need a reason to hold a tea party, they are a great idea with kids at any time. However you can use it as a prompt for reading and story writing. There are plenty of children's books on the market that include tea parties in their plots. The most classic one that comes to mind is Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland." A Mad Hatter's tea party is the obvious choice.

That being said, this being the month of March where we turn our thoughts towards St Patrick's Day, Leprechauns and all things green, why not read a few Leprechaun tales and hold a "Green" or "Rainbow" tea party.

http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B007KFXGM2/ref=s9_simh_bw_p351_d0_i3?pf_rd_m=ANEGB3WVEVKZB&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-3&pf_rd_r=0699PZZET7QNHQK14WJ7&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=218163269&pf_rd_i=2496751051

"The Little Leprechaun Who Loved Yellow"  is a perfect choice as a children's picture book to read out loud together at bedtime or in the classroom. Within the pages are plenty of conversation starters for use during your tea party. A few topics for discussion could include being true to yourself, your uniqueness, building self-esteem, feelings and emotions, not to mention all the magnificent colours of the rainbow and where in nature you may find them.

In some ways "The Little Leprechaun Who Loved Yellow" shares a very similar message to my own

picture book "Emma the Eager Emu" who through her tenacity to never give up eventually learns the importance of her very own special and unique qualities.

If you are using the story in the classroom and incorporating it with a tea party, a suggestion is to elicit the help of class buddies. If your school uses the buddy system you know what I mean. An older class of kids are paired with your younger group of kids for various activities. There are two activities I suggest here as ideas towards your classroom resources.

1. After reading the story together, the older group of children can use it as a writing prompt to write a story perhaps that includes inviting a Leprechaun to tea. You might give them a list of words that they must use in their story. eg: Leprechaun, tea party, rainbow, tree, cup cake. The younger group of children can draw a picture that includes the five suggested items above and try to write a one line description/story. Both groups can come together and read aloud to share their stories.
2. Have the buddies help make a tea party invitation for the younger child's mum/dad or significant other. Then you can hold a special morning or afternoon tea party with mums or dads included, I'm sure they would be more than happy to help supply the goodies for the tea party.

Here is the template to make the card. The children can decorate the outside with whatever they like or suggestions from you.  I like to leave this open to allow for creativity and imagination. Inside they can write or you can print "Have a cup of tea on me."  In my class I would then sticky tape a tea bag to the inside cover.

My next book in my 'Bradberrie Brother's Alien Adventure' series will be another great addition to add to your reading list before a tea party. in "Alien Milkshakes" not only are there plenty of laughs to entice the reluctant reader but plenty of interesting edible suggestions and moral dilemmas to discuss over a pot of tea.  "Alien Milkshakes" is coming soon.

Enjoy your tea party, have fun and make lots of memories with your kids.

What book would you read with your kids to encourage a themed tea party?

Big Dreams, Bigger Fears

As children we all had big dreams, and yes most of us admit it, we had even bigger fears. When we are little we are often asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" John Lennon famously replied "Happy." That is the best dream of all, but most children usually answer with familiar and somewhat innocent standards like "a fireman, doctor, teacher, nurse etc." It takes us a lot of our growing years to realise the importance of simply being happy with ourselves for who and what we are. One of our biggest fears is that we may not grow up and reach the full potential of our dreams. Walt Disney was one of the biggest dreamers of us all, but he also had a very big fear. Disneyland was born from his dreams and fears. The dream of building a fantasy world where parents could take their children and escape their everyday life and his fear of never being able to make a second movie as good or better than his original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. While his staff at the studio consistently made animated film after film, Walt Disney fixated on bringing the world his greatest creation, Disneyland. The results speak for themselves, crowds today flock to Disneyland in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Walt Disney is famously quoted as saying :-

"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."

My dream, for as long as I can remember, was to write books for children. Books that will make them laugh, learn and find a love of reading. My biggest fear was that I wasn't good enough and that nobody would take me seriously. After years of teaching and writing I finally tested the waters with my first short chapter book for early and reluctant readers. "Gingerbread Aliens" was received with great enthusiasm and gained many favourable reviews. I was on my way. "Alien Shenanigans" followed and book three, "Alien Milkshakes" will be released in a few months.

Children however have much simpler dreams and fears. Shadows and monsters

under the bed, or in the cupboard are rather familiar ones.

This is why I began writing my picture books using uniquely Australian animals as the characters.

"Emma the Eager Emu" dares to dream big. She dreams of being the same as all the other birds at flying school. Emma dreams of one day being able to fly, just like her friends, Rosie Rosella, Kelly Kookaburra, Patsy the Pink Galah and Cathy the Yellow Crested Cockatoo. This is a subtle tale about learning to strive to reach your goals and finding your own unique qualities to fulfill your dreams in your own individual way.

"Frazzled Freya" is my newest release which is coming soon. Freya is a frill neck lizard who with the help of her desert friends learns to face her fears. Freya is too frightened to go out in the heat of the midday sun. She is happy to sit under a rock and watch while all her friends play and have fun. I teamed up once again with my fantastic illustrator Dianna Budd, to produce this gorgeously illustrated Australian picture book to tell a second subtle tale. This time it is about learning that some of our biggest fears once faced proved to be quite small after all and that the biggest fear of all is fear itself. Freya's Cover will be released within the next week or two. She should have her own link on my wesite and be ready for pre-order then also.

What are your biggest dreams and fears? Does your child have dreams or fears? Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear what they are and if they have been faced. Perhaps my books can help.

Collaborative Class Journals Produce Oodles of Reading and Writing.

I belong to a wonderful group of writers and authors with a common interest, that is, encouraging kids to learn to read through new and interesting children's literature. This month we have a theme to post suggestions on book making with kids. Mine was all about collaborative class journals that produce oodles of opportunities for kids to both read and write. What more could you want from a making books together? The project encourages reading and writing for all students from the most basic level, that includes those beginning Kindergarten in the earliest pre-writing stage up to independent writers in classrooms in years 2 or 3. As the year progresses, the journal entries develop and intrigue each student who participates, consequently encouraging them to share their stories and adventures. Students are eager to open the pages of the journal each day to read the next anticipated entry.

Kids writing a class journal was a project I worked on several years ago when I was teaching kindergarten, however as mentioned above it can be used in classes ideally from K-2. It encourages both learning to read and write. The premise begins with introducing a new member to the class, (or a class pet), someone that the students have to learn to take care of. The animal in question is a soft stuffed toy that they can cuddle and take anywhere. In our case, our class was given a soft cuddly lion cub which we named Caesar.

To introduce our class pet I wrote a book about his adventures on our property trying to search for kangaroos. The kids loved the story. I made it into a laminated spiral bound book and a power point presentation to read on the smartboard.

I then showed them the cover of the journal with the class pet's photo on the front with plenty of blank pages for each class member to take turns in writing something about the pet that they did with him when it was their turn to take him home. Each night the students wrote in the journal, read the previous entries and read my story. At the beginning the students had help from their parents who would take photos and write a sentence or two as dictated by their son or daughter. The kids loved the part of the day in class when we read each new entry in the journal. As the year progressed they drew pictures and as their confidence in writing grew , they began writing their own entries. To encourage their imagination I took our class pet on other adventures throughout the year and wrote several other books too. Some students wrote about their trips to the snow with him, sharing family meals and celebrations, while others about adventures on their bikes together or simply laying on the floor reading together.

The journal gradually became a much loved piece of writing that even some years later when I taught the same students again, they asked me if I still had Caesar and if I still kept the journal so that they could re-read some of their favourite entries. I have recently had the suggestion made that I should have made copies of the journal at the time to be placed in the school library. This is a wonderful idea especially as the journal was so loved it became very dog-eared from over-use. I would recommend perhaps making a copy for the library once a month rather than waiting for the end of the year. Perhaps laminating the library copy as well.

Collaborative class journals are a brilliant tool for engaging young students with the reading and writing process as the expectation to write may be as simple as one line under a photo or drawing or up to a whole page depending on each individual's ability level. As the entries are all from class members they are all keen to read too. With the new school year due to start next month here in Australia why not consider introducing a class pet and journal in your classroom? I guarantee it will bring oodles of fun and imagination to your students days and they will learn all about sharing, caring and co-operation. It really is a win-win opportunity.

We Drove A Sunburnt Country Part Three

Three days and 2068 km after saying goodbye to Darwin we finally reached Winton, dinosaur capitol of central out back Queensland. It had been three days of dry hot flat desert and I was keen to reach the museum first thing in the morning. Twenty minutes out of town we reached the turn off, an unsealed road not really suitable for our car. Now I admit that when one is travelling in the outback you really should be in a four wheel drive as we had learnt previously with our unexpected flat tyre, but we had come this far, I was not going to let this minor obstacle make me miss out on something I had anticipated for many years. We agreed to continue on, slowly and carefully, four wheel drives overtook us, billowing up great gusts of dust in their wake as they rushed to reach the museum to start work for the day. The Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum did not disappoint! We booked into both tours. Firstly the tour of the working laboratory which is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Here we were told, believe it or not, that they only go out on digs for three weeks a year. They find and collect so many bones that they now have a backlog collection to clean up and classify that will take at least ten years to work through! They now house the worlds largest collection of dinosaur bones and we were able to walk passed most of them! Throughout the tour the guide gives a wonderful and thorough explanation of how the first bone was discovered, plus the reasons behind why the area is prolific with dinosaur bones and why it was so important to build the working museum on the site. You are even given time to watch them clean debris from bone fragments.

During the second tour we were able to watch a film explaining the topography and changes in geology of the area from the dinosaur era to today. We were shown fragments of bones found in the area of the two main dinosaurs, Banjo and Matilda, that put Winton on the map and made fossil hunting so significant to Australian scientists. Research into these amazing creatures continues to fascinate adults and children to this day and at this facility everyone can come together to share their passion.

The museum stands atop a rocky plateau that overlooks the dry open plains where all the dinosaurs are dug up among the farmers cattle stations. Hard to believe that 65 million years ago this was once a lush rainforest and swampland. The view however, is spectacular.

Next stop was Longreach. A fabulous old country town and one not to be missed. Plenty of character and charm and of course the Stockman's Hall of Fame. An amazing museum in itself, too big to go into great detail here. Suffice to say if you ever want to know anything about the outback way of life, from stockmen, pioneers, shearers, pilots, teachers, miners, and the Royal Flying Doctor Service, it's all here. Plan to spend hours meandering through the galleries as there is so much to look at and learn. My favourite part of the exhibition would have to have been the swagman that came to life to tell a bush story of life in the saddle. His facial expressions were magnificent.

While in Longreach you can also visit the School of the Air. Our son assumed I meant a school to learn to fly. I didn't realise I had never taught him about this important place in Australian history. The school of the air teaches school by radio to children all over the outback that are isolated and cannot reach a school classroom. Unique and iconic in its day it is now taught through Skype. There is also the museum for the Queensland And Northern Territory Air Service, yes QANTAS was born here.

The drive from Longreach to Bourke the next day was a long one. Broken by capturing the odd shot of an emu or two that ran along the side of the road at sunset. One last day on the road and we finally drove through meandering country roads that rose through the mountains until we felt like we had reached home. Somewhat green rolling hills and rising eucalypts bent to greet us and present a little cool shade. As we turned off the highway and rolled through our valley kangaroos stopped grazing on the side of the road and stood to gaze in the window of our car. I gave a huge sigh, home at last!

We had driven nearly 4,000 km in 6 days. Seen some amazing sights. My conclusion, Australia really is a harsh dry wide brown land but I love her.

We Drove A Sunburnt Country Part Two

"That's not a Knife, this is a knife!" I am standing in a pub in the middle of no where holding the prop knife that Paul Hogan made famous in the movie Crocodile Dundee. The pub itself is the one used on location as Mick Dundee's "Outback Tours" local watering hole. We had departed Mt Isa at a reasonable hour in the morning and had driven hours across open dry flat country with nothing much to see except for plenty of roadkill. I admit outback Queensland is in terrible drought and it is very sad to see the state of the stock, sheep and cattle are in desperate condition.

It was a well earned reprieve to see the oasis of the tiny town of Kynuna, population - 20 and the famous pub. We wet our whistle, had a chat to the locals while taking in the sights of the bar which was adorned with movie memorabilia and before long were back on the road.

I felt it had been rather special to stumble unexpectedly across this iconic hotel, a small piece of Australian film history, especially after living in Darwin for the last eighteen months and having the opportunity to see and explore parts of the amazing wilderness that is Kakadu National Park. While there we had the awesome experience of climbing the plateau to watch the sunset over Arnhem Land, where in Crocodile Dundee Mick is quoted as saying he "owns the land as far as your eyes can see!" That is some statement, you can see a very long way! That's now two iconic places from the film I have been able to experience.

More dirt, more dead kangaroos, a few rugged outcrops, finally we reached the destination I had been longing to reach, Winton - Dinosaur capitol of the Queensland outback.

We Drove a Sunburnt Country Part One.

For six days, three states and over four thousand kilometers we drove across a sunburnt country from Darwin at the top end of the Northern Territory south/east to outback central Queensland and down through the back of NSW to Canberra and home to our quiet little cosy country estate.. Along the way I couldn't help remember and recite a famous Australian poem that we were all taught at school (and loved) when we were young :- Dorothea Mackellar's "My Country."

I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of rugged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains. I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea, Her beauty and her terror- The wide brown land for me!

We packed up the car and said goodbye to our view of the jewel sea, in this case the Arafura Sea as it enters Darwin Harbour. Within minutes we were in the harsh dry outback of the Northern Territory. Flat sweeping plains as far as the eye can see broken only by the occasional rugged mountains and an abundance of termite mounds so numerous it is impossible to count. First stop, Pine Creek, a tiny old gold mining town with nothing much open on a Sunday morning, so it was non-stop then to Mataranka for a promised legendary Mataranka pie. Another really tiny outback town, it's main claim to fame being the autobiographical novel "We of the Never Never" by Jeannie Gunn and immortalised in the 1982 movie with Angela Punch McGregor in the leading role. Set in Mataranka, the book was written about the authors life and experiences moving to such a harsh and isolated area in 1902 when women, albeit white women, were not seen to be on the land or help their husbands on outback cattle stations. If you spend an afternoon swimming in the local thermal springs you can then partake in a cool ale at the local watering hole while watching the legendary movie. We didn't stop long enough to do this as we had previously experienced the Mataranka hot springs in all their glory on another occasion. Over 1,100 km and and 12 hours after saying goodbye to Darwin we finally pulled in for the evening at Barkly Homestead, and yes, believe it or not, we were still in the Northern Territory! When travelling in air conditioned comfort it is easy to forget just how hot it is outside, (particularly as we approach the summer months in Australia and the "build up" in the NT) that is until you open the car door and step out into the furnace. It was 7:00 pm and yet still 45 degrees C with a formidable burning hot wind.

Day 2 we set of bright and early before the heat set in and began our journey well. We planned to cross the border into Queensland and reach Mt Isa in time for morning tea. Should have known all good plans always go astray. As the sun and heat rose and we cruised through the sweeping plains gazing at the wonder of the far horizon, we came around a sweeping bend in the road and over a "flood" bridge only to find a pot hole in the middle of the road almost the same size as our car. Too fast and too dangerous to swerve we hit the pot hole and hoped for the best. Sure enough we blew out the front right tyre. Not a problem! Just pull on over to the side of the road, unpack the bags from the boot, lift up the flap and look inside to where the spare tyre should be. Were my eyes deceiving me? We have a brand new car and NO spare tyre! Who would have thought? It may have seemed naive of both of us not to check before leaving Darwin but we both assumed a new car would come equiped with a spare tyre! There we found ourselves in the middle of the outback, heat rising every minute, and not a soul in sight for miles. "Not to worry" said hubby, "I'll wave down the next truck driver that comes along and get him to radio for help."

That was real successful! Turns out in the heat of the outback CB radio signals don't reach futher than 10 km at most. The nearest small town was 70 km away and Mt Isa was still 300 km ahead. Not to worry, don't despair, believe it or not, just 200 m further up the road was Avon Downs Police Station! Who would have believed it! In the middle of absolutely nowhere stood a police station! We limped the car up the road and found the local policeman just opening up shop for the day. His response, "So the pot hole has got another one has it?" He helped us organise a tow-truck into Camooweal, 12 km east of the NT border into Queensland, population 300 (on a good day when all the indiginous folk are in town to do a head count) so the tow truck driver told us.

What do you get if you cross a kangaroo with a buffalo? A buffaroo of course!

It stands proudly outside the Camooweal Roadhouse. The story goes that one evening a couple of truckies were having a drink at the local pub and began to discuss who were tougher, Queenslanders or Territorians! The more they drank, the more vocal they became, the Queenslanders insisting their kangaroos were tougher than the territories buffalo. It didn't take long before the idea came to pass that the strongest of all would be a cross between the two. It just so happened an artist was listening to the conversation and drew a sketch on a coaster. Before he left he showed the bartender and asked if they would like one? A few weeks later to the towns surprise a special delivery arrived. The Buffaroo now stands pride of place for all to see as you arrive in the sleepy outback town.

Instead of reaching Mt Isa by the intended morning tea break of 10:00 am we finally arrived at 5:00 pm, just in time to call it a day.

When the FIFO Life Gets Hard.

I'm sure many people believe I live a pretty exciting life these days living a fly in/fly out lifestyle with my husband. In many ways that is true. Flying across the country between Canberra and Darwin and everywhere in between. I do have the opportunity to see and explore many parts of our beautiful country that so many other families never have a chance to experience and I do very much appreciate it. This can only happen now that our boys have grown into such independent young men, two of which are now married thus leaving only our youngest still in the proverbial nest. Last week we finally managed to have son no 3 come visit us in Darwin for the first time, but as I watched him depart on his return flight to Canberra my heart broke. A lump developed in my throat, my stomach churned and tears swelled in my eyes. He was no sooner here and he was gone, I missed him already. I won't see him again until we head home for our Christmas break. Seven weeks on in Darwin and only one week home in Canberra at a time after eighteen months of fly in/fly out life is obviously taking its toll on my emotions.

We had a wonderful week together. I was able to show him some of my favourite places around town and introduce him to my new friends. My husband took him on site and gave him a tour of the plant they are building, giving him an insight to what the construction industry is really like. We even took him out to Litchfield National Park for a swim under Florence Falls. It has taken me a lifetime to tick swimming under an outback waterfall off my bucket list and he has now checked it off at age 21! My first opportunity to swim under an outback waterfall was only a couple of years ago when my husband was working in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and we visited Python Pool in Millstream National Park.

Herein is where my dilemma lies. As a mum, he will always be my responsibility and I feel he still needs me at home while he continues his university studies. I understand it is natural for our children to grow up and fly the coup, but it feels somewhat unnatural when it is me that has left the nest, not him. I know he isn't ready to leave home just yet and by following my husband I am the one who has left home and him behind. That being said, it is my husband who has for many years done the hard yards of FIFO on his own. Isn't it about time he had the company and support? So far son no 3 has had son no 2 and his wife living at home with him. That all ends within the next few weeks as they embark on the next exciting chapter in their lives and move into their new home. This is a step forward for them and I am so happy that they have reached this time in their lives but it leaves our youngest at home to study alone and look after our 13 acres. Am I asking too much of him? However I have a Celiac husband to consider. With the long 12 hours of work plus an hours drive each way six days a week, I know without me there to provide his meals his health will suffer as he is too tired to come home and cook of an evening. I am at a crossroads, two men in my life whom I love dearly, both need me. Do I continue the FIFO life and support my husband or stay home more often and support my son?

My heart goes out to all the FIFO workers living week in, week out without their families and vice versa. It is a difficult situation no matter which way you look at it. The construction/mining industry is riddled with broken marriages and torn apart families who do it tough. Some of us survive it, many don't and many are filled with guilt and depression. It may appear to others that we eat out or entertain a lot, but it is essential to be there to support our fellow FIFO colleagues, wives and partners.

Consider a Different Gingerbread Man this Christmas

The Christmas season is almost upon us and with that comes plenty of opportunities for baking with the kids. Reading recipes can mean a lot of fun in the kitchen especially when the cooking ties in with a story as well. This Christmas instead of baking the usual gingerbread man why not consider a different kind of gingerbread man this Christmas? Think about the alternative fun baking Gingerbread Aliens instead while reading about the mischievous antics of three young boys as they cook a Gingerbread Alien and all the possibly antics that can go so unexpectedly wrong. This is just one suggestion in my post on "Batch of Books" for more information read the link below.

http://batchofbooks.com/2015/11/baking-for-kids-gingerbread-aliens/

A Dream Thirty Years in the Making.

Earlier this year I entered "Emma the Eager Emu" into a picture book competition only for Indie authors. The closing date for submissions is only days away. Avivia Gittle, the owner of the Gittle List has kindly interviewed me and written a press release regarding my writing journey from my hopeful beginnings as a teenager when I first won the National ANZAC day poetry competition to when I finally achieved my dream of publishing children's books. You can read both my story and all about the Gittle List at the link below.

http://www.prlog.org/12509013-dream-30-years-in-the-making.html

Spreading a Helping Hand

The majority of us go through life lending a helping hand wherever we can, not really planning to try to save the world in any huge way. Most of us don't have the ability to make a huge difference in the lives of great numbers of people at any one time but in general we do attempt to make a difference in whatever small way we can. Whether that be by volunteering at a hospital, helping the homeless, reading in a classroom on a regular basis, or simply raising our own children to the best of our capabalitiies, we all hopefully make a difference in at least one other persons life during our lifetime. Although not everyone has the time to volunteer or the ability to provide their services somewhere, even a smile as we pass by a stranger can brighten someone elses day, a kind word to a child or a moment taken to listen to a friend's problems can change their outlook and make a problem that seemed insurmountable suddenly manageable.

When I began teaching primary school I believed my way of helping society was through increasing literacy skills in our youngest generation of readers. However as the years progressed I hoped to achieve this through writing children's books and spreading a love of reading with fun and laughter instead.

Imagine my surprise when just last week I discovereed I was also lending a helping hand in a completely different way with my books than I ever expected or planned.

I always enjoy spreading a helping hand by encouraging home reading through my facebook group "Raising Awesome Readers" as well as giving away many of my children's books to people in need. Earlier in the year I gave a copy of each of my books to a fellow who lives a somewhat difficult family life. He happens to be a "fly in/fly out" dad to three kids, one of which is severly Autistic and another with Aspergers Syndrome. You can imagine the difficulty and frustration not only for him livng away from his family three weeks at a time as well as his wife trying to manage while he is away. So I gave him copies of Gingerbread Aliens, Aliens Shenanigans and Emma the Eager Emu to take home on his R&R to read with the kids. He was so grateful to be given a simple opportunity to read aloud and share a few precious moments with his children.

I hadn't heard anything from him, nor did I expect to, until I ran into him just last week. I was delighted to learn that not only did his family enjoy all the books very much but his wife, who is a psychologist, found the stories were so good for her children she began taking the books to work.

Her clients are mostly children of parents going through break ups mainly from the rigors of the fly in/fly out life style. She is using my books on a regular basis with the children as they find the characters real and relatable. My stories are spreading a helping hand to help chidren overcome anxieties, fear, tension, sibling rivalry. lack of self-confidence and helping them to learn to face conseequences for their actions all in an entertaining and light-hearted manner. The use of the books have become so successful, she is now lending them to her colleagues.

It is not only nice to know that in my own small way I am making an imapct in childrens lives different to that which I had ever anticipated. It is also rather overwhelming to know that children that need love and understanding are gaining so much more than just a simple smile from reading the pages of my children's books.

What are you doing in your small way to spread a helping hand in your community?