emotions: 5 Articles

My Story Friend: Interview with the Author

Identity May 18, 2021 10:30 am By Kalli Dakos

There is the person who tells the story. This is the storyteller. And there is the person who listens to the story. This is the story friend. Kalli Dakos' My Story Friend shows the journey of a child looking for his story friend. Magination Press interviewed Ms. Dakos about creating this beautiful picture book. Magination Press: What inspired you to write My Story Friend? Kalli Dakos: I’ve worked with students for over thirty years and have written over 3,000 poems about life in our classrooms and our schools. In order to write these poems, I had to listen carefully to the students’ stories. I became a “listener” at a very deep level. For example, when I found a child “hiding in the bathroom,” I listened carefully to the story behind his decision to hide there and to the feelings that he expressed. Then I was able to write a poem that all students would understand. Children want someone to really listen to them. We are a very busy society and there are so many expectations put upon parents and teachers. But I believe that taking the time to encourage our children to share their stories and their feelings is a form of the greatest love. MP: Why is it important for people to be able to tell their stories? KD: To be heard, to be understood at a deep level, is something we all crave. It helps us to feel that we are not alone in this world and that our Story Friend really has our best interests at heart. The child in my book went looking for this experience and found it with the old woman who had both the time and the heart to really listen to his story and the feelings behind them. He was amazed at how much the simple act of telling his story helped him to understand his problems at a deep level where the solutions could also be found. He learned the value of “listening” at this level and became a Story Friend himself. MP: Why is it important for people to listen to other people’s stories? KD: Storytelling was used long ago before psychology and psychiatry as healing medicine, and the storyteller was often the most honored member of the tribe or society. It is this healing quality of storytelling that makes it so important through all of time. MP: The boy in the book struggles to find someone to listen to his story. He doesn’t feel he can tell his family, and two other grown-ups tell him they don’t want to listen to his story. What does it take to be a Story Friend? How can someone become a Story Friend if they are not one? KD: It takes a great deal of practice to listen deeply to a child’s story. Adults want to jump in and either tell the child what to do or move on to something else that they think is more important. Their

My Story Friend: Interview with the Author Kalli Dakos 2021-05-17T23:24:35-04:00

Books to Help Foster a Healthy Relationship with Food

Managing emotions February 23, 2021 3:13 pm

As a parent or caregiver, it feels like you are always feeding a child. Helping your child develop a healthy relationship with food is an important parenting task. In recognition of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, February 22-28, we featured books about food and eating that can help you with a variety of concerns. Princess Penelopea Hates Peas: A Tale of Picky Eating and Avoiding Catastropeas by Susan D. Sweet, PhD and Brenda S. Miles, PhD Once upon a time there was a princess named Penelopea. Penelopea lived in Capital Pea, where people ate peas by the pound — pureed, poached, and pan-fried! There was just one problem. Penelopea hated peas. So she came up with a plan — but it led to a catastropea of epic proportions! Eventually, in an effort to make peas disappear from the kingdom forever, she tries just one pea…then another… then another…and discovers they are positively pea-licious after all. Includes a section for parents and caregivers with ideas for introducing picky eaters to new options and encouraging children to eat a variety of healthy foods. “Picky eaters will relate to this story, and the end notes give parents lots of great advice on how to broaden their children's horizons when it comes to eating.” —Mom’s Radius Read interviews with the book’s authors: Meet Magination Press Author Brenda S. Miles Meet Magination Press Author Susan Sweet Max Archer, Kid Detective: The Case of the Recurring Stomachaches by Howard J. Bennett, MD Meet Max. Max Archer, Kid Detective. Max helps kids solve problems. Max's friend Emily has stomachaches. A lot of them! So, Max and Emily investigate the big three causes of stomachaches — lactose intolerance, constipation, and stress — and determine what causes Emily's stomach to hurt. Without even realizing it, Emily has been under stress, so much that her tummy feels it! Using kid-friendly stress-busting strategies, Emily learns how to get back on track and feel better. Be sure to check out the extra fun activities at the end of the book. There’s a Q&A section at the end written just for parents. “With a casual question-and-answer format and colorful cartoon illustrations, the title follows Max's explanations to Emily — and the reader — about how digestion takes place and the three main causes of a stomachache: lactose intolerance, stress, and constipation…kids will enjoy learning about basic body functions, which are references in a diagram that traces the route of the digestive tract 'from start to rather gross finish.' A final section 'just for parents' adds more.” —Booklist Full Mouse, Empty Mouse: A Tale of Food and Feelings by Diane Zeckhausen, PhD What can two little mice do when they are chased by the cat, hounded by the dog, and threatened by the deadly mousetrap? Billy Blue tries eating more food to soothe his distress, and Sally Rose stops eating altogether. But when stuffing and starving themselves don't help, they learn to look for answers in their hearts, and

Books to Help Foster a Healthy Relationship with Food Eileen Hanning 2021-02-23T15:13:17-05:00

The Benefits of Expressive Writing

Benefits of Mindfulness June 18, 2019 6:48 pm By Marge Pellegrino and Kay Sather

Expressive writing has many benefits. Writing about life helps people, among other things: get healthy! Research shows that people who write about emotional upheavals require fewer doctor visits and are generally happier. combat depression! Writing a gratitude journal helps with mood. Expressing yourself lets you ditch your stress for a while. build their brain! People best express themselves in different ways--through words, music, movement. Some people prefer to be alone to be inspired. Others think best by talking to people. Trying a variety of writing activities can spur new ways of thinking, resulting in stronger, smarter writers! Magination Press's book, Neon Words: 10 Brilliant Ways to Light Up Your Writing, provides young writers with writing prompts and book-making activities to help them learn about creative writing by honoring, strengthening, and playing with their ideas and words. Writing activities can spark imagination and allow young writers to make their writing more powerful, but they can also help kids engage with words to be more present in life and to use language arts techniques for self-discovery and emotional well-being. Take a writing activity about antagonists, for example. In the Villainous Voices activity, writers are invited to think about a disagreement they've had with someone else, but from their adversary's point of view. In a story, the reader sides with the protagonist: the main character, the lead actor. It's the character we find ourselves rooting for. The antagonist, on the other hand, is often the one who causes problems: the villain, the one who creates the story's tension. They're the character we hope gets the short end of the stick. Have you ever read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by "A. Wolf"? (The author is really Jon Scieszka.) As the title suggests, you don't usually hear the wolf's take on the classic folk tale. In Wicked, Gregory Maguire writes a back story for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, giving the villain--that is, the Wicked Witch of the West--the leading role; this is a complete departure from the original.Now it's your turn. List a few people with whom you've had a disagreement. People you've argued with. People who see a situation from a different vantage point than you. Anyone in your life is fair game: Your mother Your father A sibling Other relative A friend or ex-friend A teacher A pet Think about the argument: Where were you? (scene) What happened? (action) What was said? (dialog) If it helps to take notes first, or jot down key points, go for it! Now retell that story, only this time as the person you clashed with. Invite them to speak as the protagonist. Look for the positive thinking that you couldn't see in the heat of emotion. Be honest. What do you think motivated them--and now you? Why would you want to do this? Writing-wise, it helps you get into the head of each of your characters to make them more complex, authentic, and honest. You want them to ring true, even

The Benefits of Expressive Writing Marge Pellegrino 2019-06-26T15:47:07-04:00

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