Author Archives: Goodwin Ardith

Cara Cara Oranges and Meyer Lemons

How in the world did I go all these years without tasting a Meyer Lemon or Cara Cara Orange (red navel orange)? I now feel totally sheltered and wonder what all I have missed to entertain my taste buds with! I found both at our local Sam’s and as I understand it the Cara Cara oranges are only available from Dec. – April. They were cheaper than the Cuties for kid oranges and the taste….oh….my….word! Here is a link to Sunkist which shares a video of these oranges cooked with halibut. I will be making gelato with both! Can’t wait! Have you had these? Got a favorite recipe to share?

Text by Ardith Goodwin
http://www.sunkist.com/products/cara-cara-oranges.aspx

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Reluctant Writers? Try Harris Burdick!

If I had to choose one book that inspired young kids to write, write like mad, and get angry when you wanted them to stop writing it would have to be The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, by Chris Van Allsburg. This book, or should I say “Image Prompts” lends itself to imagination, mystery, and drama……and kids LOVE IT!

A LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK

To start with, it’s a simple idea which fictionally shares the images of an illustrator that just so happens to disappear before his pictures could be published along with his text. What is left are 14 images, (drawn by VanAllsburg), with one caption at the bottom of each page. The book itself is the compilation of these images and captions….and a lingering mystery as to what happened to Harris Burdick. Several things capture young minds with this type of book, the mystery, the captions, and the images. Using mysterious images to spur the imagination is a great way to encourage reluctant writers to write.

The book comes in hard back, paper back, or what I love, a large set of individual images in a portfolio set. VanAllsburg’s website also gives the reader lots of resources and opportunities to read what others have written about the pictures, and transitions you into his new book, The Chronicles of Harris Burdick quite well.

Here is a couple of pics of the images:

I want to offer several helpful hints in using this text with young ones who aren’t quite ready to write yet all the way up to preteens.

Pre-Writers (Young enough to listen to a story, dictate it, but not write it) = If you are homeschooling this age group, or thinking about it when they get old enough,  sharing these images with your kids can be so much fun. The first night you introduce them to the story….of who Harris Burdick is and what might have happened to him. Then you show them the pictures, and help them ‘tell the story’ of what they think happened in the images. Start with one image at a time. Tape record their responses if you like or video them. Then, ask them questions, get their wheels turning. You may choose to use one image per night, per week, just whatever you feel is best for your kid/kids, key is: have fun with this. Storytelling is what it’s about here….which helps a child become a great writer.

Young Writers (Young enough to write sentences which describe, but are grammatically immature) = These writers love a mystery! They could talk and talk about what they ‘think’ happened, but when it comes to writing it out, conventions get in the way and they get frustrated. Allow this type of writer the freedom to write in draft mode. Get their thoughts down on paper, and then work with them to ‘polish’ up their ideas with grammar. Key here is: Have them focus on juicy tidbits(five senses) and energetic verbs whenever possible. Those two writing components are what create the strongest writing and build a solid foundation for mature writing.

Juicy Tidbit Example: (Plain) The dog ran across the road. (Juicy)With both ears wagging and drool dripping from his face, Barney charged across Bentley Street after a rabid squirrel.

Energetic Verbs: (Plain) walk  (energetic) stroll, meander, skip, dance, strut, etc…

Writers with Wings (These writers are usually in the upper elementary grades, they are adept at writing paragraphs, but may find the act of writing tedious and not enjoy it. Some of these writers already have a love of writing though, depending on their instinctive gifts.) This age group is the one that I found would argue with me about having to stop writing…..which made my day. They wanted to write and write and write. As a writing coach or teacher, that is exciting, but setting structure and time limits is important for this age…if you are in a school setting. For this group of writers, this is where you want to lead them into showing their own voice in their stories, having a strong use of energetic verbs, juicy tidbits, but most importantly, a “hook” at the beginning of their writing that draws the reader in. Having a strong beginning is important to keep the readers attention. Remember though, if you are helping a reluctant writer, allow them the freedom to HAVE FUN with this activity rather than put the emphasis on “writing correctly.” Kids must learn to love writing before they will be willing to learn to write well.

Because Chris VanAllsburg has created such an interactive website to go along with this book, kids these days will be drawn to it if they are naturally inclined toward technology or mystery….or both. They will also find the second book, The Chronicles of Harris Burdick captivating as well.

Reluctant Writers need to find the joy and love in writing and not see it as a chore. The best way to do this is allow them to write about what they LOVE, what they find fascinating, or what they find ‘cool.’ The Mysteries of Harris Burdick is one children’s book that has these qualities and I have yet to find a child that wasn’t mesmerized by it.

Parent Tip: Read through the text before sharing it with your child. Decide how to add some emotion and drama into the parts, pick your favorite one, and sell the concept. The more fascinated you seem to be…the more they will be. (Writing along with your child is also a great way to show a reluctantwriter that it can fun as well.)

by Ardith Goodwin

Square Watermelons

I have never seen these but I hear they are quite popular in Japan. This blog post shows a design to create your own container to grow square watermelons in but I have also seen folks use a masonry block which your break apart after the fruit is ripe. Anyone ever grow or see a square watermelon? I just might have to try this for our garden. Would make placing it in the fridge so much easier.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Grow-a-square-watermelon/

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Grow a square watermelon
This is really, really easy to do. (Note: you may be able to use this technique to grow other stuff in the form of a square ( actually in the form of …

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Friday Food Snack

For #foodfriday I thought I would share my afternoon snack. All it is is cubed pears (could use apples), dried cherries and cranberries, peanut butter, and Nutella. I eat a bit of it on salted wheat crackers which gives a good balance to to the salt/sweet concoction. Nice way to treat my sweet tooth with a bit of protein. Hope your afternoon is going swell friends!

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I have always been fascinated by splash photography

Not sure if it is the light, the design, or the fact that this beauty exists without our human eye being able to capture it. Regardless, I am grateful artists like +Alex Koloskov found a way, so that this type of beauty can be shared. It is so incredibly mesmerizing to me.

Reshared post from +Alex Koloskov

History of our signature shot
This is probably one of our first liquid shots. It was captured 6-7 years ago, using only 2 speedites, and that time I had no idea that it will become our signature shot:-)
Several years later I created a video using similar lighting (continues light source of course) and now we have this splash in motion on every video tutorial (all of them if you are interested: http://goo.gl/BHhEt).

Why we liked t that much? It has eye-catching color combination, and it is an easy to remember… right?

www.masteringsplash.com

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Leap Year Gratitude

It's Leap Year/Leap Day the one day that seems to be amiss during most years and here I sit, day three of 'laying low' while these meds are given a chance to work. I am blessed today, not necessarily joyful, but really grateful that I have been given another day to breathe, to tell my son how proud I am of him, to pinch my hubs butt and laugh with him, to simply be in the moment. Yes, I would love to be doing other things, but the things I am able to do today….I love dearly. Leap Year is good.
+G+ LeapYear 2012 – Day in the life of G+

In album photos of me (1 photo)

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Orthopedic Challenges Vs. Optimism

Most days I am pretty optimistic. In fact, I have often been called a Pollyanna because of my insane optimism at times despite the huge obstacles I have faced while walking the planet. But, today, in this moment, I feel the need to vent, to embrace my discouragement and frustration, and say to myself, “It’s not ok today.” Many of you know my history, but most probably don’t. The short summary is that I am on my 24th surgery in my 44 years due to a genetic orthopedic issue that wears my joints/ligaments out too quickly. Both ankles have been rebuilt, my right knee is partially replaced, my neck is fused, and my lumber has 6 screws keeping it stable. All of this led me to have to leave my beloved teaching career and face life a bit differently. I am ok with differently. I am even ok with dealing with medical challenges for the most part because I know how much worse it could be. I am not facing a terminal illness. Yes, I live with a life of chronic pain, but I will take that any day over a terminal illness and 99% of the time I embrace the fact that I live an extraordinary life. Yesterday though, on a day where I learned that another disc, the one above my fusion has collapsed, I am angry.
It would be one thing if I had lifted a car or something, or tried to climb a tree and busted my behind, but no. I simply woke up and had another excruciating shot of pain wake me to reality and remind me that my body is not my friend at times. It’s not fair, it doesn’t make sense, and it can be infuriating in light of the dreams and visions my mind has dancing around….ones I will never see to fruition for the most part.
My art and my faith will be what pulls me through again, along with the support of my family and friends. I just simply wish they wouldn’t have to. For today I simply wish that I could begin a year and know that it will be one of wellness and healing and outrageous joy. I will get there, I will. But it won’t be today, and once I get past the anger, deal with the path that is before me, I will be ok. I am grateful though to be able to say to a group of friends like you all that life just sucks sometimes. I’ll get my pollyanna on tomorrow, but right now……gahhhhhhhhhh!

In album Xrays (5 photos)

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By Ardith Goodwin

New to Google+? This Will Help! Video Tutorials about using Google+

Are you a visual learner like me? If so, these short videos may help answer lots of your questions if you are new here. Thanks +Denis Labelle

Reshared post from +Denis Labelle

New Google+ Users -> Google+ Video Tutorials

A Complete Collection by www.abrighterweb.com/google/
(Expand the post)
. Google+: How is it different from Facebook and Twitter
. Google+: How do I write on someone’s wall?
. Google+: What is a circle?
. Google+: More tips for managing your circles
. Google+: What is a hangout?
. New features in the Google+ Hangouts
. Google+: Using the search feature
. Google+: How do I share a post?
. Google+: How do I know when someone has shared a post of mine?
. Google+: How to customize and protect your profile
. Google+: Adding photos, videos and links to your posts
. Google+: Tagging other users in your posts
. Google+: Controlling the privacy of posts that you create
. Google+: Comment back when people comment on your posts
. Google+: How to save drafts of your posts on Google+
. Google+: Using hashtags
. Google+: How to edit your posts after you’ve published them
. Google+: Formatting your posts with bold, italic and strikeout text
. Google+: Managing your notifications
. Google+: How to report and block users
. Google+: How to set up a poll
. Google+: Understanding Ripples
. Adding Tiled Images to Your Google+ Page
. A quick overview of Google+
. Google+: Sharing images from Gmail
. Google+: How to quickly post a video status update.
. Google+: How to add text to a photo when you upload it

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I shared this yesterday but wanted to share it in the daytime to reach my followers…

I shared this yesterday but wanted to share it in the daytime to reach my followers who might have missed it. Working on building a kid friendly parenting circle here on Google+. If you are interested, read below and let me know.

Reshared post from +Ardith Goodwin

Want to Join my Google+ Parenting Circle?
Hey Friends! I am looking to build a circle of parents/grandparents here on Google+ that are raising kids from toddler to pre-teens and looking to network with other parents. On my other networks we share what is called a weekly Kid's Co-op that links hundreds of activities which promote creativity, learning, and family fun. I would love to be able to share that type of info here as well and eventually offer hangouts of "how to's" for hands on activities. If you have little ones or even not so little ones and would like to be part of that network let me know. I will build the circle over the next few days and share it with you if you like. My friend +Zina Harrington also curates a Pinterst Board called The Parent Water Cooler and it's one of the best boards for finding unique, kid friendly info.
http://pinterest.com/zina/the-parent-water-cooler/

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The Parent Water Cooler
You always hear that the best conversations at an office take place around the water cooler. Consider this board to be a parent's virtual water cooler. Let’s use this board as a place for parents to …

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Want to Join my Google+ Parenting Circle?

Hey Friends! I am looking to build a circle of parents/grandparents here on Google+ that are raising kids from toddler to pre-teens and looking to network with other parents. On my other networks we share what is called a weekly Kid's Co-op that links hundreds of activities which promote creativity, learning, and family fun. I would love to be able to share that type of info here as well and eventually offer hangouts of "how to's" for hands on activities. If you have little ones or even not so little ones and would like to be part of that network let me know. I will build the circle over the next few days and share it with you if you like. My friend +Zina Harrington also curates a Pinterst Board called The Parent Water Cooler and it's one of the best boards for finding unique, kid friendly info.
http://pinterest.com/zina/the-parent-water-cooler/

Embedded Link

The Parent Water Cooler
You always hear that the best conversations at an office take place around the water cooler. Consider this board to be a parent's virtual water cooler. Let’s use this board as a place for parents to …

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