Top Ten ways to raise a reader

So with out further adue in true reductionist fashion I am reducing years of parenting and experiences into a neat and tidy top ten list on how to best raise an effective reader in my opinion:

1) All babies/children/adults in your household should have a library card (because we are none of us made of money and could never hope to buy all the books)
 2) Read to small babies. It really doesn't matter if they understand it or not they like to hear the sound of your voice and be near you.
3) One of the stages of learning to read is chewing on books, you should invest in some cloth or plastic books for your baby to chew on.
4) Actively teach respect for books, do not allow children to colour on pages of books or rip pages out. (of course it will happen, but you can decrease the occurrences by preventing access to crayons and books at the same time, and supervising access to paper books.) Repeat after me "Book are precious resources!"
5) Indulge their interest by seeking out books on topics they will find interesting. Unless it's inappropriate DO NOT try to regulate content, they will get enough of that at school. ( I really mean it. Let's say for example your darling daughter loves princesses, but you hate the "D" word and do not want to encourage her to buy into this particular culture, well too bad for you! You want her to read? Let her read what she likes. There is much and more counter culture available, from "The paper bag princess" by Robert Munsch to biographies of real life princess such as Dianna and Kate, you may read these along side the "classics" to give her a bit of balance.) They will want to read/ be read the same book over and over and over again. Indulge them, toddlers and small children learn through repetition.
6) Encourage emerging readers to read independently while continuing to read to them, one should not replace the other. (Just because they can read it does not mean they can understand it.) Don't make it a chore or obligation, read to them for as long as you can hold their interest, or until your voice gives out, but don't force them to sit still and listen if they are really not able to absorb a book at that moment, take a break and try again later.
7) Talk about content, authors and audiences. Ask "Why do you think "that character" did that? What do you think they were trying to achieve?"  Read "about the author" sections and talk about the author's research and authority (or lack there of) on the given subject. Ask "Who do you think the Author wrote this book for? How do you think this book would be different if if was written for ---------- ?"
8) Partner with you child's teachers and local libraries. Participate in as many FREE library programs as you can, and complete any and all reading homework assignments.
9) Do not force children to show off their reading skills to friends and relatives, encourage them if they want to show off, but do not force them. it's really, really embarrassing and could turn them off reading.
10) READ! READ! READ! and when you're done, READ some more! Read to them, read around them, and talk about how much you enjoy reading.


On raising a reader......
Now that's he's six and just completed grade one I am enjoying the fruits of my labour. We can no longer spell things to keep them secret and we have to watch over our shoulders while chatting on line to make sure there are no little readers behind us. We can easily occupy our son on long bus / train trips with books.  As he impressed people far and wide with his reading skills and comprehension I am frequently asked the question "How did you raise an avid reader?" So here goes nothing, All this is my own humble opinion and is based on personal experience......
I have been reading to my son since before he was born. The day I found out I was pregnant was the day I started reading out loud.  After he was born I continued reading to him whatever I happened to be reading while he was nursing. (A lactation consultant once advised me against reading Stephan King out loud while I was nursing, not because he could possible understand the content, but because babies are very sensitive to changes in the Mother's heart rate and if I got scared it could distress him)  Once he began focusing his eyes I began putting books in front of them. The very first was "I kissed the baby" by Mary Murphy. Once he started putting everything in his mouth (as all babies do) I gave him plastic "bath books" and cloth books  that could withstand the chewing and constant drool for him to "read" unsupervised and read him classic board books such as "ABC" by Dr. Seuse and  "Hippos go berserk" by Sandra Boyington. (Well they are classics to me)  He has always had a library card and the very first book he chose to take out of the library himself was "Big Wheels" by Anne Rockwell.  Both my Husband and myself are avid readers, as are our families. We were both raised in homes where books were constant companions. I have a cousin that gives out books at Halloween. ( Her house is always very popular!)   So when I say he has *always* been exposed to reading and books I do really mean his entire life thus far. I know that this is a huge factor in his love of reading and books, as is the fact that I encourage his interests by seeking out books on topics that he would find interesting (ie books about Star wars or Batman or whatever pop culture icon he is currently obsessed with). I think all parents would do well to expose as many books as possible to their children as young as possible. I highly recommend "Out came the sun- a day in nursery rhymes" illustrated by Heather Collins,  for any and all toddlers.
Aside from reading books out loud and encouraging independent "reading" I always talk about books. I happily summarize the books I am reading for pleasure (leaving out anything I deem inappropriate obviously) for him and tell him all about the settings and character arches. He is already looking forward to being old enough to read "A song of Ice and Fire" by George RR Martin (but not until he's at least 14  right? Um, maybe 18?) We always talk about the value of books. I say things like "Having the ability to read, and comprehend what you read well, gives you the ability to verify anything." and "If anyone ever tells you something and you're not sure if it's true, ask them about their sources, if they can't quote any don't believe them, if they quote a book/ article , read the it  and research the author before you decide it's value."  We talk a lot about bias and intended audiences. (If anyone out there is tempted to say "Oh come on he's only six!!" I'll just say this; he independently made an activity of comparing his Star Wars DK early readers  to his Star Wars Character anthology to find the  inconsistencies, eventually declaring the DK readers entertaining but inaccurate.) For me it wasn't enough to raise a reader, I wanted to raise a critical reader. One thing I have told him over and over again is that if he develops good reading skills and good comprehension skills no one will ever be able to keep him from learning anything.  (Somewhat implying that there will be cheats and liars in his life that will purposely attempt to deceive him for myriad reasons, especially in election years) Imagine how attractive that must sound to a child, imagine the sense of power, knowing that you will have the ability to educate yourself about anything you chose not matter what anyone else thinks you should / should not know. I am saddened to say that I know adults that do not read and comprehend as well as my six year old. (Now imagine the tragedy of all the illiterate adults in this country.) Knowledge truly is power and I wanted him to be able to access all that power......
I hope you find my experiences useful and that you are able to find something in here that is of value to you and your kids.........So now you tell me, what good books have you read lately?

Finished pieces from 09-22-11

My two new rings. And yes you did see something similar before, but this on is tapiered at the back, thinner around and it's mine! The Heart from the heart ring was very very hard to do and I'm glad it came out. The are both real gold.

Andrew's Birthday present- Finished casting from 09/22/11

Yes it is real gold. It prolly the best ring I've done so far. He loves it.

Casting results 09/22/11

I have managed to maintain my fifty fifty record. Last night one pour went well and one, um, not so much. Okay, so when I said there was molten metal *everywhere* it was a bit of an exaggeration. But that's kinda what it felt like at the time. I didn't get the spout right over the button when I tipped and so there was splash back. Anytime you have molten metal where you didn't expect it it's a serious situation. I managed to correct my position enough to get some in, but it all happens so fast that I didn't even really know what had happened until it was over. I've never experience so much natural adrenaline and it took a long time for me to get back on an even keel after seeing that red hot liquid metal splash around and fly through the air. My instructor (who also owns the studio and is totally awesome) Threw some more silver in the crucible and said she could try to repour the rest and maybe it might fuse and could possible turn out. She poured the rest (right into the button of course) and One side of the tree actually did come out, so all was not lost. The next cast I did myself (right into the button of course because you don't make *that* mistake twice) And it turned out like solid gold (in fact it is sold gold!).



I'm going to finish them to a high polish and may or may not do a stardust finish on the heart ring. The one with the holes is for Mr. Andrew man, as it is nearly his birthday. It will be the most expensive thing I've ever given to him (Aside from Ben of course, but Ben isn't really his as we have a share split in that little one). There will be one more round of casting that will take place in two weeks, I have big plans for a necklace and little plan for some earrings. I have officially run through all my own gold, so unless I manage to find some buried treasure (Arrrrrrrr!) it's silver from here on out. I'll let you know how it goes.
:D

Wax cast ring Finished piece

This ring was carved out of wax and then cast in gold. It took me soooooooo long to finish the wax ring (I broke it a couple of times and had to repair it) but that was nothing compared to the clean up. It's very light and shinny. Anyhoo, here it is:

Casting and Fabrication

Ta-da! Two new pieces to share:
My finished pendant from the first batch of casting, and the earrings I cut at home. Both pieces are sterling silver. As for last night class, I poured two, one came out great, and the other didn't come out at all. But it's all a learning process. I will share photos of those when they are all cleaned up.


I have way more pieces that I cut at home, but If I post them all, this blog would be nothing but pictures of jewelry.......Hmmmm, I'm not sure if that would be a bad thing or not yet :)

Earrings in progress

I cut these recently.
As your keen observation skills have probably already detected, the one on the left has be filed and sanded, while the one on the right has not.
After they are both fully filed and sanded I will take them to the studio and anneal them so that they can be twisted into the shape I want. I will curl the tops of them, as is my habit, around a jump ring, hang them on some ear wire, and presto, I will have a beautiful pair of earrings!

Work in progress......

It doesn't look like much yet....but it will once it's been cut off and cleaned up!
I'm working on another one of these, I'm going to try it in gold.
The other thing in the back ground is a ring. I'm going to try to set a stone into it, but I haven't decided which stone to use.

Casting classes!

So I'm going to my casting class tonight. So far the things I've sculpted have turned out beautifully!!!!

The way it works is you make your piece out of wax, and then you make a plaster cast of it. The wax is burned out and the hole left in the plaster is then filled with molten metal. The metal is then cleaned and finished.

This process allows me to really use a lot of my artistic talents, and I love working with that wax. It's completely different from the fabrication classes. I'm really glad I took those classes first because if I hadn't, I might never even want to, as my talents are so well suited to wax modeling!

The pieces that were cast in the last class were poured by my instructor, so technically they are not my work alone. She said I could pour it myself but, as I've see it done more than once, but I wanted these two pieces to, um, actually turn out? She said that casting is never guaranteed, if I do it there's a 50% chance it will turn out, where as if she does it, there's an 80% chance it will turn out. There are just so many factors that go into it and so many things that could go wrong. I wanted them to have the best chance of success, as I really put a lot of work into the pendant. If I'm feeling very brave, I will pour the next batch. I have been commissioned to make a ring for someone, and if I manage to get a round to it in this class, I will have to pour that one myself......
Even if I'm not successful in the pouring it's all a learning process, and as my instructor says I can't let being afraid of ruining something prevent me from doing it, "After all Sarah, it's only wax!"
I will take my camera with me tonight so I can photograph the unfinished pieces!
And oh, Happy Birthday to me!! I didn't receive any cards this year but that's probably due to the postal strike ;)

Ta-da! Earrings and a necklace

This is the necklace I made a while back that needed a bit more finishing. I'm very happy with the way it came out. I'll soon be wearing it for the first time to a very special event. Out of everything thing I've made I like this pendant the most.


These earrings are the end product of a botched (and extremely time consuming) project. I'm really glad I was able to salvage at least some of it and make some lovely earring the rest will be melted down during lost wax casting, which starts at the end of May :)



I also finished three pendants, and two pairs of earrings :)

Bag of tricks!

So I have my open studio tonight, which is bench time at the workshop where I can (hopefully) drill/solder/ polish all the little things I've cut at home.
Since my explanation of my home set up always leads to questions (Srsly! It's just a block of wood clamped to my bookshelf above a cake pan also clamped to my book shelf) I have included some photos of that as well.
Wish me luck tonight!!
Here are 12 things I have started at home displayed in the sanding tray my darling husband made me:



Here is the cutting block on the bookshelf:


Here is the cutting block with the drop pan:

Home set up!!!

I am now able to cut metal at home!!!
This is a huge break though for me as it means I can really use my bench time at the work shop well. I have me a saw, cutting block, files and sand paper which is all I really need to cut and shape things at home. It's all very exciting. I have several projects on the go that I will hopefully be able to finish completely on Friday. Also so excited to show my teacher all the stuff I've done independently. She is always so encouraging and supportive. Hopefully everything will turn out well. Still trying to wrap my head around actually making something to sell. so hard to attach a dollar value to all my hard work, especially as I like jewelry so much that I just want to keep it all! I know without a doubt now that this is what I want to do. It's just a matter of finding a way to make it work. Wish me luck, and hopefully I'll have good news after Friday!

One year ago today...........

Days on the calendar come and go marking events that would have been but weren't; days that don't mean anything to anyone except me. (I've one more of these coming up in May).
As much as I try to tough it out (Yeah it was the worst pain I ever felt in my life, yeah I almost died, and, yeah I lost a pregnancy, so what?) it still effects me. The loss of possibilities is probably the hardest part. As much as I want to say I'm well over it, the truth is I am not. I may never be. I guess it's not a matter of "getting over it" or "putting it behind me" as much as it is a matter of learning to live with it. It didn't kill me, so it must have made me stronger? I certainly don't feel stronger but who am I to judge? I do know this for sure, I have things in my life today that I did not have one year ago. People whom I love, and new skills I have acquired. I am grateful for the changes this year has brought, even as I mourn the losses. I am happy even though it hurts.
Scars and bruises on our souls make us who we are.
It's not good or bad, it just is what it is; Life.

Best necklace!

Well, I love it anyways!!
what do you think?
It still needs some sanding and polishing, but I didn't have time to finish it in my last fabrication class......It will have to wait until May, when I have one open studio slot booked. I love it when things turn out looking like what they were meant to look like :)
I will be starting my casting classes at the end of May, which really seems like ages away.

SOLID GOLD DINOSAUR!!!

And by solid gold I of course mean brass.
In retrospect maybe not the best design for a small boy to play with.......
But it looks great mounted on his door.



I also brought home the earrings and pendant from last week and another new pendant, I will photograph and post them too when I get a chance, hopefully this afternoon.

Nothing new to show from last weeks class....

It was a great class and all, I actually made two simple pendants, a pair of earrings and I cut almost half way through another much more complicated pendant. However, the simple stuff needs some finishing, and I'm seriously considering drilling some holes and attaching some crystals. I guess I'll just wait and see where the spirit takes me on Wednesday. It will be my last fabrication class, but...... I can rent bench space now!!! Woooooooo! This means that I've been deemed skilled enough to safely use the equipment independently (Like the oxy/propane torch , the big scary buffer, and the drills....) and I will do so in the beginning of May. I might actually even make something for sale!!!
On a sadder note, I seem to have lost the first pendant I made. I don't know how it happened, but it's nowhere to be found :( I'm pretty sure it's in the apartment somewhere so hopefully it will turn up soon.

Ring-Ring! ..hello who's there? It's a success! :)

Huzzah!
I set three stones!
It was so stressful, I wouldn't be surprised if it took years off my life! My teacher said she was proud of me! I also used the big scary buffer (It's not as scary as I thought) to make my ring super shinny.
It's not *perfect*.
In fact, I can tell you exactly where all the flaws are.....
But I won't ;)

Success!

So class last night was great! I melted two jump rings (ops!) Lesson learned. I finished my earrings! They are super light and very wearable. (I have always disliked wearing heavy earrings.) It was really difficult to work with such thin metal but totally worth it. They have great movement which I can't really show in a photo so you'll have to take my word for it.
Ta-Da!



And I've been told (big surprise) That I can't work with my diamonds (I have three lovely ones) until I have successfully done a setting three times with zircons. So next week I'm going to start learning how to do a Gypsy setting. I'm planning to make a silver ring with three zircons. Hopefully I will be successful!

Silversmithing tonight!

I've been looking forward to tonight since last Wednesday!!
I realized the other day how much I have learned when I was trying to explain to a friend the process of making a bezel setting.....
So my latest project (as you may have guessed from the photo I posted last week) is a pair of tear drop layered dangle earrings. At the time I wanted to make them super light and wearable. Which meant that I had to roll out a thick sheet of metal to get something thinner to work with. Well it was warping so much I had to anneal it, and my teacher standing behind at the roller was starting to sound a bit like Scotty telling me the metal can't take much more of this......"Geezes Sarah, seriously soon you'll be working with tinfoil!"
Do you have any idea how hard it is to file and polish tinfoil?!! Good thing I have a light touch...
The shapes are not exact, which is to be expected with hand cut designs. Earrings are especially hard as they have to be pretty close....
I expect tonight to be more of the same, filing sanding and polishing. I have no idea what the attachment process will entail, but my plan is to finish these earrings tonight and figure out what I will start on next week :) I have too many ideas and pages of designs!!!

Farbication level two

So what did you get accomplished this evening?
Here's what I did:

I'm really enjoying this!