The Whirlpool: a book to scaffold language about emotions

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The Whirlpool: a book to scaffold language about emotions

It can happen that, in the midst of crisis, children need explicit words to help them give structure to fears and thoughts and hopes. The Whirlpool is a book for those times.

I’ve seen the power of read-it-before-you-need-it books many times and, with that solid foundation, a book that gives words to feelings can be the next piece in the puzzle that is emotional resilience.

In The Whirlpool, we see ourselves in the everyday life of a sweet polar bear who is full of confidence and brimming with happiness while he is  '… a mastermind. A storyteller. A traveller and adventurer.”

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Is there a parent who hasn't dreamt of a peaceful night's sleep?

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Or worried about how a child will cope with an unkind friend, a new teacher, a move to a new home?

At WTBA we collect thoughts, ideas, research and of course books that address those universal concerns and the dreams that go with them. Things like sleep and emotional resilience as well as embracing diversity, healthy lifestyles, coping with anger and more: the sorts of things that occupy the head space of parents, grandparents, educators and, hopefully, policy makers.

Our great hope is that this will be a place to share wisdom. We hope you’ll share your tips as well as your questions - perhaps you have found a way to soothe an angry child that works every time, or perhaps you’re hoping someone else has. There’s a comments link at the end of each of our posts, and of course you can always email us or connect via facebook or instagram. (We’re on pinterest too, but not doing much on twitter for the time being.

Please have a look around – we’d love to hear from you in any comments at all. xx

8 joyful, powerful books that teach s.t.e.m. by osmosis

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8 joyful, powerful books that teach s.t.e.m. by osmosis

This post was first published in June 2017. It listed the fastest growing future jobs, with percentage growth predicted over the following five years (U.S.).

Crystal-balling the future is ever moving, but those predictions still seem to be pretty much on point. Which means today's kids will need to become comfortable with s.t.e.m. and s.t.e.a.m. concepts (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) as part of everyday life!

Fortunately, there's a wonderful subset of picture books to help with that. They're fun, beautiful and powerful, and they lead kids to the point of becoming s.t.e.m. and s.t.e.a.m. natives—which gives them so much advantage in interacting with the world, however it turns out for them.

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24 cool things-to-do that work your brain at any age

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24 cool things-to-do that work your brain at any age

Fun is ambiguous don’t you think?  One person’s fun is another person’s special agony (I’ve heard there are people who really enjoy cleaning the oven—never met one, just heard), but most of us find that there’s nothing quite as fun as giving our brain a workout ... here's a collection of things-to-do that work your brain at any age—with links to books to cement, inspire and connect that wonderful work.

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Beegu: a three eyed, long eared alien child reminds us to be welcoming and inclusive

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Beegu: a three eyed, long eared alien child reminds us to be welcoming and inclusive

ages 2 to 8 years
Feeling lost, unwelcome or out of place is one of childhood’s certainties. They’re feelings that will come to every child in one measure or another. Teens, of course, continue to have those feelings, and so do adults. For displaced people, regardless of age, those feelings are frequently more than an emotional reaction—they can be the cold hard facts of life. Beegu is a displaced alien child who....

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3 fabulous stories about authority

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3 fabulous stories about authority

ages 2 to 10 years
These three books are all about authority—they let us question who should have it and how it should be used. Those are important questions, as evidenced by the number of times, every day when I was working in junior kindy, that I answered the question: “Why?”.

1)  DON'T CROSS THE LINE!
2)  MY UNCLE'S DONKEY
3)  KING PIG

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