Summit Academy Elementary North has CONFIDENT Kids!

I had the pleasure of speaking with students and parents of Summit Academy Elementary North last night. It was phenomenal. Carol Paul, another NPM author and literacy advocate for Summit, contacted me after she learned about Are You Confident Today?. She purchased Confident (as we lovingly call it) and my other book, Cracking the Code: Spreading Rumors (chapter book, great for grades 3 and up) so the students could do an "author study." Wow! I was humbled.

I was able to speak with many of those kids who were reading one of the books. Most were reading Confident..and I have to tell you...those kids are CONFIDENT!

As I read the book, I would ask them questions.

• Who makes their breakfast?
• Who gets their backpack ready before school?
• Who has tried something new?
• Who has had to practice and practice before mastering a new skill?
• How do we treat others when they make a mistake?
• How do we feel when we make a mistake? Do we try again or give up?

Time after time, hands were raised and little mouths were opened to tell me their stories. I loved it.

Then came time to talk to the parents about bullying, empathy, and raising responsible kids. Since the kids were still sitting on the floor in front of me, I didn't want to leave them out. As I gave my presentation, I asked the kids questions like:

• What's the difference between bullying behavior and conflict behavior?
• What's the difference between tattling and reporting?
• What do you do when you're being bullied?
• Do you have a "family mission"?

The kids had GREAT answers.

Summit Academy Elementary North is grooming some wonderful, character-filled students! I'm so happy that they chose our books to help complement their curriculum.

If you're interested in learning more about our school program, please don't hesitate to contact us! I can be reached at krismyankee @ gmail (dot) com.

A Class Favorite!

We love to read reviews on Amazon, but I think we love it even more to see when a class adopts the first book in our new Becoming a Better You! series as their favorite book. Are You Confident Today? is Mrs. Morgan's 1st grade class's favorite book for March. How cool is that?

We would love to hear how YOU are using Are You Confident Today? in your classroom!

Are You Creating Opportunities for Confidence?

Parenting is a HUGE job. There are so many things we have to make sure our kids experience on a daily basis. Not only are we responsible for making sure that our child is clothed, fed, and sheltered, we also are responsible for helping to mold him/her into a citizen of the world. This molding includes:

• understanding and following rules
• caring about themselves and others, physically and emotionally
• learning to make decisions
• knowing right from wrong
• treating others with respect, kindness, empathy, love. etc.
• being responsible

The list goes on and on. Frankly, raising a child can seem like a daunting task for any new and/or established parent.

What is one of the ways to help mold your child into a citizen of the world? 

One way is to create opportunities for confidence. For the younger child, these opportunities could be as simple as:

• folding towels
• making the bed
• getting food and water for a pet
• putting away toys
• helping Mommy at the grocery store

For the older child, these opportunities could be:

• trying something new (sport, hobby, musical instrument, class, etc.)
• making dinner for the family
• doing chores and depositing their earnings into a savings account
• babysitting younger siblings or other younger kids in the neighborhood
• bringing in the newspaper or mail for a neighbor who is on vacation

We'd love to hear what you do to help create opportunities for confidence!

The reviews are rolling in...

We are so very thankful to those who have taken the time to write a short review on Amazon for the new book, Are You Confident Today?. What makes me feel especially tingly and gooey inside is when a teacher or parent writes how something in the book has made an impression on their class.

This review in particular makes my heart swoon. It's a 5-star review from Ryan R.

I am a kindergarten teacher and I used this book with my class and they loved it. I had to bring some of the vocab down a little to their level, but the message rang through. I incorporated the I will do my best today chant as a part of our morning routine. What a great and positive message! Can't wait for the next one in the series!

Thank you, Ryan R., for making kids more confident!

Are You Confident Today? featured on The Corner on Character Blog

We're so excited to be featured on The Corner on Character Blog today! Barbara Gruener has said some awfully nice things about our book. If you have a moment, please head over there and read her kind words.

Thanks, Barbara!