Capstone Connect

A Creative Wall in a Creative Space

Amanda Robbins — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 07:51:06 -0500

We’ve been in our new Mankato office for about 8 months now. Before we even got here, our Creative Director made sure there was some color added to our space. Everywhere you look there is another color of the rainbow. Along with this, a large dry erase wall was added to our open creative space. It took awhile before we fully utilized this wall. We started with a few drawings every now and then. About a month ago a couple designers had the fantastic idea of getting everyone involved in writing on it. They started with the prompt “While I am alive I want to….” The entire wall was filled with great ideas in only a week. We then moved onto “Favorite books and authors,” and this past week they started “Favorite quotes.” It’s fun to sit out there and read all the quotes people enjoy. I thought it would be fun to share a few with you.

“Take the risk of thinking for yourself. Much more happiness, truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way."
-Christopher Hitchens

“Out of great need we are all holding hands and climbing. Not loving is letting go.”
-Hafiz

“The mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work unless it’s open.”
-Frank Zappa

“Do not regret growing old. It is a privilege denied to many.”
-Unknown

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
-Marcus Tullius Cicero

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
-Gandhi

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
-Winnie the Pooh

“Tomorrow morning I will be a good girl. I will be a rocketship full of pleasant surprises.”
-Lalayna Jones, age 4 (daughter of Christianne Jones, Capstone Fiction Associate Managing Editor)

Care to add to our inspiration today? What’s your your favorite quote?

-Ashlee Suker, Graphic Designer

Fiction Friday: Happy National Donut Day!

Beth Brezenoff — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:23:21 -0500

There is only one thing people in our office love more than books, and that is doughnuts. Although we certainly never need an excuse to go buy doughnuts, especially on a Friday, it's definitely nice to have one. Luckily, today is National Doughnut Day! There's literally no better excuse than that. And while we weren't able to find any free doughnut giveaways near our office, my fellow editor Beth and I did manage pick out this deliciously impressive selection at a nearby bakery. We actually had two of these full boxes when we first returned, but doughnuts move fast around this place.

It's obviously no secret that our office revolves largely around food (particularly of the Dairy-Queen variety), so in that spirit, we'll be starting a new tradition on the SAB blog: Foodie Fridays! Sadly, we can't have National Doughnut Day every Friday (trust me, I've looked into it), but I can promise a new, exciting, food-related post to look forward to next Friday. Is your mouth watering already? Have a doughnut to tide you over.

(Our friend Snorp loves donuts, too!)

—Ali Deering
Editor

Visit Us at Book Expo America!

Jennifer Glidden — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:23:09 -0500

Next week we are exhibiting at Book Expo America (BEA) in New York City. The conference marks the official launch of Capstone Young Readers, our new trade publishing program, and we’ll be celebrating with a party! We also have several signings scheduled in our booth (#2968), including:

Michael Dahl signing advance reader copies of Troll Hunters and Hocus Pocus Hotel at 10:00 a.m. on Tues. June 5 & Wed. June 6.

Fran Manushkin signing advance reader copies of Katie Woo Rules the School at 2:00 p.m. on Wed. June 6.

Art Baltazar signing an exclusive DC Super-Pets poster at 9:30 a.m. on Thurs. June 7.

Stop by and see us at the show!

For those of you not able to attend in person, you don’t have to miss all of the fun. BEA will be live streaming many of the author events and special programs on their website. And there’s also the Armchair BEA blog, which hosts tons of book giveaways from publishers and authors. We have three book/book bag giveaways on there, so check it out!

Through the eyes of an administrator

Lynn Walker — Wed, 30 May 2012 23:17:50 -0500

It's clear that technology in education has changed over the years. To create a new understanding on how myON reader is transforming reading in Columbia Missouri, take a moment to review just a part of the article below:

Wireless learning

Several schools are already piloting wireless learning programs. Parkade and Blue Ridge elementary schools have MyOn Reader. The program is an “Amazon.com” type of model that allows students to download books based on interests and reading level.

Students can read a book anywhere and at any time with a mobile device. Some students already own a mobile device, and others will need one from the school. In a few short months, students at Parkade Elementary School have read more than 8,000 titles. More importantly, it is the student’s choice and not connected to a specific assignment.

While our students are natives to educational technology, many of the adults are technology immigrants. Students demand real-time access to information and want to have a degree of control over content and sources. Teachers want to make their curriculum more authentic and relevant.

Informational technology may be the perfect fit to connect the needs of the students with the needs of the teachers.

TO VIEW THE COMPLETE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Maryellen Gregoire, M.Ed. — Tue, 29 May 2012 11:32:53 -0500

An article in USA Today announced the May 29, 2012 release date of Michelle Obama’s first book, American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America. With this book, Michelle Obama has started a conversation about the importance of feeding our families quality food and the process of growing a garden. She includes some amazing stories about communities creating gardens specifically for the visually impaired and for those in need. The book includes recipes from the White House and stories about how gardens are transforming the lives and health of citizens.

We at Capstone want to make gardens accessible to young children, so we developed a set of books to help even the youngest child create a garden. The Gardens set covers everything from tools and compost to creepy-crawly residents found in the garden. It's a great resource for very young learners and has some amazing photos!

Have you started a garden with your children this year? How have they been involved in the garden? Let us know!

Inspiration for Life in the Arts, from Neil Gaiman

Amanda Robbins — Mon, 28 May 2012 07:30:00 -0500

On this Memorial Day, I was thinking about all the people in my life who have passed away, along with the recent deaths of artists like Whitney Houston and Maurice Sendak. Their art will live on, of course, and we can take solace in that. For a bit of inspiration this Memorial Day, Neil Gaiman's recent commencement speech at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia is perfect. His point? Make good art. If you can find some time, give it a watch. It's about 20 minutes and it will leave you feeling uplifted about a life in the arts.

A few choice quotes:

"A free-lance life, a life in the arts, is sometimes like putting messages in bottles on a desert island and hoping that someone will find one of your bottles."

"When things get tough, this is what you should do: Make good art. I'm serious. Husband runs off with a politician? Make good art. Leg crushed and then eaten by mutated boa constrictor? Make good art. IRS on your tail? Make good art. Cat exploded? Make good art."

"People keep working in a freelance world...because their work is good, they're easy to get along with, and because they deliver the work on time. And you don't even need all three. Two out of three is fine. People will tolerate how unpleasant you are if your work is good and you deliver it on time. People will forgive the lateness of your work if it's good and they like you. And you don't have to be as good as everyone else if you're on time and it's always a pleasure to hear from you."

And he even discusses the flux of the art world, including publishing:
“The distribution systems are in flux. That’s intimidating and immensely liberating. Rules are breaking down, gatekeepers are leaving their gates. Old rules are crumbling and nobody knows what the new rules are, so make up your own rules."

Gillia Olson, Managing Editor

Fiction Friday: Memorial.

Beth Brezenoff — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:31:41 -0500

On Monday, we honor all the men and women who lost their lives fighting for our country, remembering that they were not faceless soldiers but members of families, friends, colleagues.

Our BLOODLINES series follows a family through multiple wars, tracing their bloodline as different family members fight.

Buzz-Worthy Titles

Jennifer Glidden — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:36:46 -0500

Capstone authors and illustrators are a talented bunch. Of course, I am partial, so don’t just take my word for it. Their fellow colleagues, librarians, educators, and parents have spoken with a crop of recent awards and honors for their books, some of which include:

2012 Eric Hoffer Book Award Grand Prize

Too Shy for Show-and-Tell by Beth Bracken, illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell

2012 Mom's Choice Awards

Bear Says “Thank You” by Michael Dahl, illustrated by Oriol Vidal

The Little Bully by Beth Bracken, illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell

2012 Distinguished Achievement Award Finalist, Association of Educational Publishers

Captured History series by authors Shelley Tougas, Michael Burgan, Don Nardo, and Pamela Dell

2011 Midwest Book Awards Finalist, Midwest Independent Publishers Association

Migrant Mother by Don Nardo

2012 San Diego Book & Writing Awards Finalist, San Diego Book Awards Association

Dog Tricks by Liz Palika

2011 Connecticut Press Club Communications Award, Connecticut Press Club

It’s a Pattern by M.W. Penn

2011 Young Adult Top Forty Titles, Pennsylvania School Librarians Association

Over 30 Capstone series made the annual lists! You can find the complete lists (Nonfiction, Fiction, and Reference) here.

Personalizing Learning

Lynn Walker — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:01:00 -0500

21st Century Skills, Striving Readers, Common Core State Standards and the list goes on. All of these are important initiatives that schools are dealing with to help raise the proverbial education bar in the United States and help students prepare for college and career readiness.

Personalized learning for each student should be the goal of every administrator in the country. After all everyone, regardless of age, learns differently, comprehends at different rates and levels and generally have different interests. We can always be reminded that the world is going to a more personalized approach, look at Amazon, iTunes, NetFlix, and the list goes on. Now, it seems like Washington DC is embracing personalized educational programs AND providing some fund to help implement!

"We need to take classroom learning beyond a one-size-fits-all model and bring it into the 21st century,” Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement.

To win a share of the money, according to the article in Chicago Tribune there are funds to help promote personalization based on, "districts must come up with a way to personalize education, so that each child can advance at his own pace and explore his own interests, the rules state. Districts must also ensure that students move on only when they have truly mastered a skill - not when they have completed a packet of worksheets or listened to a semester of lectures."

Just in case you were wondering, myON reader is a personalized literacy environment that matches students interests and their reading level to a recommended book list from over 2600 digital books. With embedded assessments, students, educators and adminsitrators can monitor and measure their progress. All students whether gifted readers, struggling readers, ELL students can take advantage of the largest online digital personalized library that soon will be able to be accessed anywhere and on any device. Click here for more information! Just saying...

Is There a “Right” Way to Teach Math in Preschool?

Maryellen Gregoire, M.Ed. — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:09:18 -0500

In a daily e-newsletter written yesterday by ExchangeEveryDay, Francis Wardle is quoted from his 2007 article Math in Early Childhood. He states that “Math is about manipulating things” that represent the world. Whether it’s objects, shapes, constructing, building or estimating, using concrete experiences is the 'right' way to teach preschool children math.

As a former third grade teacher, all I can remember about teaching math is that each child had his/her own way to understand math concepts. Some children needed manipulatives, some needed pencil and paper and others could figure it out in their minds.How do you think math should be taught to preschoolers?