Mother and Daughter Publishing Duo, Sheryl and Carrie Berk

Mar 25, 2013 Posted by Eric Cohen In Ebooks, Kids, Parents Comments 0

One of the most important things any parent can do, is show their child that learning is fun by example. Writer Sheryl Berk wanted to encourage her daughter Carrie’s creativity and so the two turned Carrie’s love of cupcakes and writing into a book series, “The Cupcake Club.” The series, which began being published in April 2012 by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, is up to three books now and is truly a labor of love between mother and daughter. Sheryl talked to Funderstanding about the project and what it was like to collaborate with her young daughter.

Can you tell us a little about the genesis of the project? How did you and Carrie decide to turn a girl’s love of cupcakes into a book?
Carrie actually came up with the idea. She was frustrated that there wasn’t a cupcake series out there for elementary and middle schoolers, So she wrote a story about two friends who form a cupcake club. I thought it was great—and timely given “Ace of Cakes” and “Cake Boss” and all the other baking shows on TV. So I showed it to my agent, Frank Weimann at The Literary Group. He loved it and pitched it to publishers. We had a book deal very quickly. Carrie had a very good hunch.

Which came first—the baking or the book? And how did that transition work?
Carrie has always loved cupcakes. We bought them more than baked them at first; her fave is Red Velvet. One of my close friends—Carrie calls her “Aunt Kathy”—asked her one day, “Why don’t you write a cupcake blog and review all the cupcakes you taste?”
Carrie loved this idea.

It started off as a newsletter: “Carrie’s Cupcake Critique.” Soon, all her friends and family wanted copies, as well as her teachers in school. To be more eco-friendly, we went green and decided to do a blog, Carrie’s Cupcake Critique. It now has over 11,000 views and fans that include the Cake Boss [Buddy Valastro] and the stars of “DC Cupcakes!”

Who’s the better baker?
I’m good with inventing recipes, but Carrie has some serious piping skills when it comes to decorating.

Has Carrie always enjoyed reading and writing? How did she begin?
Yes, she has always loved to write, everything from realistic fiction to non-fiction essays. I’m a writer, so I guess it’s in her genes. I was really impressed with her vivid storytelling; it comes from the heart and her real experiences. Her teachers were wowed as well.

Did you do anything special to encourage this love of the written word? Do you have any tips for other parents?
I encouraged Carrie to keep a diary from the time she was in kindergarten and could put together a sentence. Then I encouraged her to write stories based on her favorite book characters. She was forever writing Rainbow Magic Fairy Tales and the further adventures of Judy Moody. I also suggested she write letters to her favorite authors. When she got notes of encouragement back from Megan McDonald and Lauren Baratz-Logstead, she was over the moon!

How did you two collaborate on the book?
We started by coming up with the characters—who they were, what made them special or different. I think there’s a little bit of Carrie in each one of them. She came up with all of their names and personalities—particularly the four girls, Kylie, Jenna, Lexi and Sadie. Then we talked about the story arc: What was the heroine’s biggest problem and how would she overcome it? Carrie loved the idea of her battling a bully, and dealing with the repercussions of getting her sweet revenge.

She also gave the characters genuine voices and would often correct me: “A kid wouldn’t talk like that!” And she was right. She was a tough editor! I would write a chapter and show it to her, and she learned to track changes and add her comments in the margins. Sometimes she was pretty brutal with her opinions, but I would never challenge her on them. This book series comes from her imagination and it should be true to her age group. In this case, she knows best.

The bullying/outcast angle is a very timely and important one—can you give us any insights on how you and Carrie decided to make that part of the book?
Kids are very aware of bullying. It may not be physical; sometimes it’s just one kid saying something cruel. Carrie has seen her friends get hurt by mean words and actions, and she’s a peer mediator in her school, so she tries to help kids work out any disagreements. This was a topic she really wanted to deal with in our first book. She thought it would speak to a lot of kids.

Obviously Carrie is a creative kid—how did you encourage this creativity?
I believe you should nurture your child’s passion—whatever it may be. Carrie is also a serious ballerina as well as a cupcake critic. My husband and I support her in both her endeavors—and sometimes that means running to ballet class three times a week or driving to some distant cupcake store so she can try a new cupcake. I always tell her that the most successful people I know are very passionate about what they do.

What was the reaction at school? Were the other kids supportive?
Her classmates are so excited for her and have all pre-ordered copies of the book. She’s “hidden” a lot of her pals’ first and last names in the book—for example, her BFF’s last name is Ludwig and Mr. Ludwig is the name of the gourmet shop owner who gives The Cupcake Club its first order. Her teachers and principal are thrilled and are currently reading a review copy. We did a focus group back in the Fall and read a chapter to her fourth grade class. They loved it and helped us even decide on the final cover for the book. It’s exciting for kids to see that someone their age can do this. I think she’s inspiring a lot of kids in her class to pick up a pen and write.

Many children write “books” that never even come close to being published—what made you decide to take this to the next level and get it published?
I knew how much Carrie wants to grow up and be a writer—she’s said so since first grade. And I felt like this idea was smart and marketable, despite the fact that she was just eight years old at the time. I knew it would be a lot of work for her on top of all her homework and ballet classes, but she wanted to do it. So we agreed to be a team. I’ve collaborated with a lot of celebs on books, but Carrie is by far my best writing partner. She wants to be a part of the entire process from start to finish. We just worked on a Romeo and Juliet-inspired plot for book two and went to see the ballet at Lincoln Center together. The whole time, she was taking notes!

How to Get Kids to Listen

Jan 6, 2012 Posted by Eric Cohen In Ebooks Tagged ebook, educators, parents Comments 2

Thank you for joining the Funderstanding community!

Funderstanding is very pleased to offer our members a free copy of How to Get Kids to Listen - an ebook written for parents and educators.

How to Get Kids to Listen provides specific communication techniques, strategies, and scenarios to help adults enhance listening skills in children of all ages. Listening games and activities for school and home use are included.

The ebook concludes with communication checklists to help you continually implement the recommended listening techniques and language highlighted in the ebook.

Here is a sample of some things you'll learn in the ebook:

Paying full attention is critical to listening effectively
Acknowledging children's feelings with a simple one word response makes them feel valued
Naming children's feelings makes them feel supported and it teaches them how to independently problem solve
How to listen deeply for the feelings below the surface, and how to effectively address them
Asking open ended questions promotes conversation and helps improve speaking and listening skills

We hope How to Get Kids to Listen provides you with valuable tools to improve your own listening and communication skills, as well as that of your children/students.

Kids And Money – Report

Jan 5, 2012 Posted by Jennifer In Ebooks Tagged ebook, learning Comments 0

Successful marketing and retailing to kids must take into account the real life realities of kids’ relationship to money. This report gives an insightful look at how kids obtain money, how they think about money and what they do with money. The information in this report was acquired through an intense study of kids at home and in a variety of retail environments. The research was supplemented by in-depth interviews.

You will see money from a kid’s perspective. It includes a section on implications that gives concrete ideas on how to use this insight. You can use the report to inspire your own brainstorming or leverage the implications detailed.

Creating an Inspiring & Engaging Classroom

Dec 13, 2011 Posted by Eric Cohen In Ebooks Tagged infographic, teachning Comments 41

What to look for in this infographic

Goals are necessary but not sufficient to create an inspiring classroom. Sure, goals are essential. Teachers need to know where they want to go in order to select the best strategies to get there. And goals work just fine when you are operating in isolation.

Goals are significantly more complicated, however, when other people are involved – and teaching certainly involves working with others. Just because a teacher has a nicely articulated set of goals doesn’t mean she can easily turn them into reality. In all likelihood, she has 20-30 students in her classroom and there’s no reason to believe they have the same goals for the time that they will be together. Establishing your goal is a good starting point, but it’s not enough when success ultimately depends upon a group working collaboratively.

What does this mean for the classroom teacher? Make it your priority to establish a shared vision of success with your students. When everyone is motivated to achieve the same thing, success is attainable. When you don’t take the time to establish a shared vision with your students, they might be motivated to achieve a very different set of goals from yours and you’ll encounter lots of unnecessary conflict.

Let me describe the process so you can use it immediately.

Building a Shared Vision of an Inspiring Classroom: The Process

1. Begin by asking your students if they want to have a successful experience in your class.  

2. Define “successful” by explaining you want the classroom to be a productive, enjoyable environment. Ask them if they want that as well.  

3. Once the students affirm that they define success as you do – productive and enjoyable – say something like this: “Since we want the same thing, we have a shared vision for this class and can make this a great class. We just need to get more specific.”  

4.Divide the class into groups of four or five students each. Give each group a piece of chart paper and some markers. 

5.Draw a circle on the board at the front of the room. Tell the class, “This circle represents what we want – an inspiring classroom where we can enjoy ourselves and be productive. In this circle, we are going to identify those things that we should do and qualities we should display that will help create the class we want.” Depending upon the age and ability of your students, you might want to provide some examples like “being prepared for class” and “respect.” Give the students about ten minutes to work in their groups. Note: Don’t give too many examples. The success of this activity requires that students be active participants in what you create. 

6. Have each group share what they put in their “inspiring classroom” circle. Expect a lot of repetition. Those items that are noted by some groups but not others need to be considered by the whole class. If the class decides to include the item, add it to your composite circle. Leave out those items that are not endorsed by the whole class. 

7. If you have too many items or some are redundant (i.e. “be on time” and “be prompt”), combine and cluster items. 

8. Return to the board and draw a rectangle at the base of the circle. Say, “We have done a great job identifying the values and the behaviors to create a productive, enjoyable class. Now it’s time to look at some things that can get in our way. Think of things that will make it difficult for us to have the classroom we want. Things like ‘making fun of others’ or ‘cheating.’ In your groups, draw a rectangle and identify things to avoid.” Give the student five to ten minutes to do this. 

9. Follow the same procedure you used for the inspiring classroom circle and create a composite list of behaviors to avoid. 

10. End by saying, “I will get this typed and copied for us to look at as a group tomorrow.”

Follow-up

The next day, distribute a printed “inspiring classroom” chart to each student and say, “I have compiled everything we agreed to yesterday. Let’s take a few minutes to review what we created.” Quickly review everything you have in both the circle and rectangle. “If we do the things in the circle and avoid things in the rectangle, will we have the kind of classroom we want: one where we can be productive and enjoy ourselves?” Once the students agree that this is what they want and their inspiring classroom chart offers them a blueprint for success, end the discussion by saying, “OK. We know what we want. We know what we need to do. Let’s do it!” 

• Note: Your use of language is important. I often use words and phrases like, “enjoy ourselves and be productive,” “the kind of classroom we want,” etc. Even though it’s repetitious, it’s helpful for students to connect “success” with “being productive” and pairing “being productive” with “enjoying ourselves.” By repeatedly talking about “the kind of classroom we want,” you are tapping into the internal motivation of your students. We are all internally motivated by what we want. The artful use of language can help students stay conscious about what it is that they want when they are in your classroom.

Refer to your inspiring classroom chart on a regular basis. Have students keep their copy of the chart in their binder. Enlarge the chart and post it in a prominent place in the classroom so it’s something they see every day when they enter the room. Rather than wait until you have major problems, as soon as you notice students engaging in unwanted behaviors, have them look at their charts to remind themselves of what they really want in your class. This will help them stay appropriately focused and prevent minor problems from becoming major distractions.

Conclusion

Do yourself a favor. Don’t just set goals for yourself. Take the next step. Build a shared vision with your students of an inspiring classroom, one characterized by enjoyment and productivity. It takes very little time and this collaborative process will pay dividends.

By Bob Sullo. Bob has been a classroom teacher, school psychologist, and school administrator. Now a full-time consultant, he works with schools, agencies, and parent groups who want to create joyful classrooms where kids are engaged and motivated to do well academically and behaviorally. You can learn more about his work at his website.

Note: This material was excerpted from “Beyond Goals: Creating an Inspiring Classroom”

Review Category : Ebooks