For Teachers, Mums and Dads – a special plea!
February 18, 2015 at 6:32 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: children's literacy, Digital games and toys, parents, reading books, teachers
As you’ve probably gathered, I’m a huge fan of reading and writing, and I’m especially passionate about getting kids OFF digital games and toys and INTO books! So on my new Teachers’, Mums’ and Dads’ Page above, I’ve uploaded a series of articles published in Little Star Magazine in 2014 about How to Create Bookworms in the Digital Age. I’ve got Twelve Top Tips to help you – so please do take a look and let me know what your experience has taught you, as it’s really important we all collaborate to get kids back to books!
The Year of the Sheep or Ram or Goat???
February 17, 2015 at 7:12 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Year of the Goat, Year of the Ram, Year of the Sheep
For all you kids and mums and dads out there who are confused about the name of the Chinese Zodiac animal for this coming Year, here is an article which explains that ALL these names are correct. You could even include a Gazelle! So basically, so long as the animal runs around in a paddock eating grass and going BAAAAAA or MAAAAA, you can safely include it in this Chinese Calendar Year!
http://news.yahoo.com/big-yang-theory-chinese-sheep-goat-034611362.html
Fun with the Giddy Goats at Geelong Grammar Junior!
February 17, 2015 at 11:07 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Melbourne schools, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda, The Tale of Rodney Ram
Many thanks to lovely librarian Fiona O’Rourke (right below) and assistant Lyn (left below) who hosted me to a fabulous morning today with the loveable lambs of Prep and the giddy goats of Grade 4 at Geelong Grammar Junior School! The big kids met my artistic ram Rodney, and we had a great chat about Chinese customs for Chinese New Year and how these reflect Chinese values and relationships. And the little ones met my vain Pin Yin Panda and learned all about how the animals joined the Chinese Zodiac in Lord Buddha’s Great Race! I hope you all had as much fun as I did! Here I am above with Peter, who was a great help with my Chinese pronunciation – thank you Peter!
Save this Saturday for a Shy Sheep!
February 16, 2015 at 10:43 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese New Year, Melbourne, The Tale of Rodney Ram, Tim's Bookshops
Gong Ci Fa Xai a.k.a. Season’s Bleatings for Chinese New Year!
Come and celebrate the brand new Year of the Ram (or Sheep or Goat…) at Tim’s Bookshop in Maling Road, Canterbury, in Melbourne this Saturday morning at 10.30am! We’ll have a fun story reading to introduce my new Chinese Zodiac character, a quiz with prizes for everyone from 3 year olds to the grown-ups, laissee packets for every kid (with a yummy chocolate gold coin!), free Rodney Ram bookmarks, and a book signing! It’s a great story for kids from 4 to 40 (and their mums and dads!). So don’t miss it! Every book sold will help support the international children’s charity Room to Read.
A Fun Frolic at Fintona!
February 16, 2015 at 10:28 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: book tour, Fintona, Melbourne schools, Rodney Ram
Rodney Ram and I started our Chinese New Year Melbourne tour at the wonderful Fintona Girls School this morning, with a wild and woolly assembly! We talked all about Chinese New Year, and the Chinese Zodiac, and how it all started with Lord Buddha’s famous Great Race, and how you have to get everything super-clean in time for the big day, including your house, and your business, and your haircut! Then the gorgeous girls met my equally gorgeous Ram for a fun story reading! It was a fun frolic! Many thanks to Head of Junior School, Sally Clayton (above), librarian Robyn Sundberg and Year 2 teacher Andrea Sherburn for hosting me! I look forward to lots of entries in my Clever Competition from the Fintona Flock!
G’day, Aussie, Here We Are!
February 16, 2015 at 10:14 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Australian schools, Chinese New Year, Rodney Ram
Rodney Ram and I are VERY excited to be in Australia for Chinese New Year! We’re visiting some fabulous schools in Melbourne this week and Sydney next week, and we can’t wait! Sheep have always been very important to Australia…so Rodney is going to feel right at home, so long as nobody tries to shear him…or EAT him! Keep following my blog to find out what we’re doing!
A Fabulous Day at Stamford American International School!
February 14, 2015 at 3:50 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, SAIS, Singapore schools
A big thank you to the fabulous Stamford American International School in Singapore for a very BIG day of story readings on Thursday! Chester Choi gobbled up the delicious Kindies, Pin Yin Panda preened herself in front of the gorgeous Grade Ones, Rodney Ram ran rampant among the Grade Twos and Threes, then my Dark Horse dashed away with the Grade Four and Fives! It was so much fun! An even bigger thank you to Kim Klein and her very helpful staff George and Svetta for their warm welcome and assistance throughout the day! I’m looking forward to some fantastic entries from SAIS in my Clever Competition!
Woolly Sheep and Writing Workshops at ISS!
February 10, 2015 at 4:42 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese New Year, ISS, Singapore schools, Story Readings, Writing workshops
Today I had a fabulous time with the teachers and kids of International School of Singapore, introducing the Grade 1 to 3s to my very good-looking Rodney Ram and sharing all the rules of How to Write Riveting Stories with the Grade 4s and 5s! We had a lot of fun! Huge thanks to the Alliterative Librarian, aka Head of Libraries Graham Grant (centre), the lovely Elementary Librarian Susan Grant (left) and Literacy Co-ordinator (and fellow Tasmanian) Kate Bond (right) for being such warm and welcoming hosts!
Hellooo to all my fans in Singapore!
February 9, 2015 at 9:49 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Rodney Ram, school visits, Singapore
Today I arrived in Singapore on the first leg of Rodney Ram’s Rambunctious International Reading Tour! Rodney and I (and all the other Chinese Calendar Tale Characters) will be visiting some fabulous schools in Singapore before heading down south to Australia on Thursday to visit schools in Sydney and Melbourne! We’re on the run!
My Shaggy Sheep Poem Competition starts NOW!
February 9, 2015 at 9:42 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 4 CommentsTags: Chinese New Year, poetry, primary school, Rodney Ram, Writing Competitions for Kids
A very Happy Year of the Ram (or Sheep or Goat) to you! It’s time for my next competition – and this time, of course, it’s all about sheep! I want you to write me a fun poem all about a single sheep, or a flock of sheep, or a ram, or a goat – in fact any woolly animal that runs around in a paddock and says “baaaa”! It can be any sort of poem – rhyming verse, or an acrostic, or a haiku, or a limerick, or even a knock knock joke! You can even write some weally woolly free verse! I’ll be looking for excellent vocabulary, great ideas, good spelling, and above all, something to make me smile! So this time it’s a fun one and I wish you lots of fun writing it! Deadline for entries is Friday 10th April, so you’d better start dreaming up your poem right away! See my Clever Competitions page above for all the details!
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