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This book looks good!

Our names shape our identity.

Don't those of us with long, unique, complex names wish people put in more effort to get it right? To listen and pronounce it correctly instead of chopping off syllables that takes away from their beauty?

The new Aussie picture book, The Boy who Tried to Shrink His Name by Sandhya Parappukkaran is a beautiful ode to honouring unique, diverse names.

Zimdalamashkermishkada starts a new school and he is nervous no one will be able to pronounce his name. So he shrinks his name to Zim when kindling a friendship with Elly. Follow how his friendship with Elly mutually helps them master difficult tasks with practice, leading Zimdalamashkermishkada to embrace his glorious name. Because "no-one should ever have to shrink themselves down to fit in."

This picture book is beautifully illustrated by Michelle Pereira, children will appreciate the nuances of the ball of yarn through the book. So many of us (perhaps not so much my first name but my middle and surnames aren't that easy to pronounce for most) have given up on the charm and grace of our marvelous names to accommodate those around us too lazy to attempt to get our name right.

This book poetically shows children (and adults) that our names are parts of our identity and with practice they can be mastered to make us feel whole. That we can stand proud and expand our chests with pride.

Our names are diverse, may our children learn to appreciate our diversity.

Thank you for this wonderful book. I hope it inspires many many kids to appreciate all their friends' names.

This post has been sitting in my drafts, in some shape or form, for nearly a year (which is why the time references may seem off). Each time I was getting ready to publish it, something happened in the world, and the pain was just too fresh and hit too close to home for me to be able to go ahead....

Having hard conversations with children: diversity and oppression This post has been sitting in my drafts, in some shape or form, for nearly a year (which is why the time references may seem off). Each time I was getting ready to publish it, something happened in…

research into memory highlights the power of learning through stories to help kids build understanding and long-term in even the most challenging (or boring) school subjects.
Story-telling captivates interest and connects to memory.

The experiences we have as young children listening to stories provides the brain's memory storage system a foundation for learning and remembering. This foundation is two-fold. One is the positive emotional connection built through the experience of being read to or told stories. In addition, the familiarity of the narrative pattern in stories become a strong life-long memory holding framework.

Positive emotions
Listening to stories during childhood associates us with a framework of memorable, pleasurable experiences that the brain remembers and continues to seek throughout life. Often it is simply the cozy feeling of being snuggled in bed. Even for less fortunate children raised in tumultuous circumstances, a bedtime story meant a moment of relative—if only temporary—calm.
Far beyond childhood, when one recalls being read to or told a story, there is a renewal of that sense of being cared for. Reactivating that positive emotional climate as narratives are heard throughout life boosts the impact of information imparted as a story.

📚The Good Night Moon Phenomenon📚

If you've had the pleasure of reading bedtime books to young children, you've observed one of the reasons why narratives are so compelling. During their childhood, my daughters wanted the same book, Good Night Moon, read over and over. Even after dozens of readings, they continued to excitedly "predict" what would be on the next page and take great pleasure in being "right."

This Good Night Moon phenomenon, of wanting the same book read repeatedly, can be seen as the brain's seeking its own reward-pleasure response system. This manifests as the brain's response to making a choice or prediction that turns out to be correct. The reward is activated by an increased release of .

That childhood desire, of wanting to hear books read aloud and repeatedly requesting those few they know well enough to "predict," embodies those powerful brain drives that become memory enhancers. The "active listening" you've seen in children, as they anticipate and often predict what comes next, is a key to the brain storing the information in long-term memory.

This desire to predict comes from a brain chemical, dopamine, that, when released, promotes feelings of deep satisfaction, pleasure, motivation, perseverance, and memory. One of the strongest releasers of this dopamine-pleasure response stems from making a prediction and finding out it is right.

During childhood, the brain is less critical of what counts as a "prediction." As children grow, the pleasure response evolves to responding to real predictions (choices or answers that are not known for sure), but during the bedtime story years, this prediction-pleasure response is activated even when the child knows with great certainty what is on the next page. In response, the brain develops the expectation of possible pleasure when it begins to hear something presented as a story.

📚Frames for memory saving📚

The origin of human history and the first passing on of knowledge was through the telling of stories. Storytelling was for centuries a primary source of entertainment and core of communal gatherings and special occasions.

The success of stories to impart a people's history and learnings is attributable to the way the brain best stores information. Our brains seek and store memories based on patterns (repeated relationships). This system facilitates one's interpreting the world (and all the new information and choices we make throughout each day) by using our prior experiences and knowledge as a lens through which to understand the new or unknown.

The mental map of the pattern of childhood stories becomes a framework upon which the brain can link new information presented in that familiar form. This story-framework is formed early and easily recognizable by its three-step progression of:
1. Beginning (Once upon a time …)
2. Problem
3. Resolution (… and they all lived happily ever after)

When information, whether from algebra to history, is presented in the familiar story (narrative) form, that memory structure facilitates the brain's retention of that information. With time, that map expands to include narratives in which the ending is not limited to happily ever after. These can become opportunities for your children to learn, explore, or discover multiple outcomes or alternative solutions.
https://cstu.io/b4fb85

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In my experience, children love participating in treasure hunts! This post has a link to a free downloadable Ramadan Treasure Hunt I created years ago. Enjoy!

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The first children's book about Ramadan I ever saw was as a young adult, and even though I was 22 (I think) and had no children, you can be sure that I bought that book for all of the children in my life (and a copy for myself!) In the past ten years, things have changed dramatically. The Muslim market is booming and there is no shortage of books, toys, décor, programs for children and their families....

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Simple joys make a great childhood. 💖

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Seasons melting into each other is our favourite time of the year.

This year has been challenging and there have been a lot of changes to our day-to-day lives. I’m grateful for the enduring traditions and for the new ones. They help to establish a sense of predictability and safety when so much is uncertain. Sunday’s are now typically marked with a pancake breakfast and I couldn’t have asked for better sous-chefs. Last week we made blueberry-oat pancakes and yesterday we made strawberry-banana-oat pancakes. Banana-chocolate chip is also a popular go-to for us.

A powerful reminder during difficult times - a short story wonderfully told with shadow puppets.

La part du colibri Conte en ombres chinoises répondant à un appel à projet lancé par la société Generali sur le thème "Génération…