If you could go back in time and give your 20-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Words on a Limb asks…
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Words on a Limb Interviews Stella Partheniou Grasso
A little while ago, I was pleased to connect with Stella when I was in contact with Scholastic Canada. She was very gracious and supportive to me as a burgeoning writer. Her insight and advice gave me great direction and confidence.
Stella has been the Publishing Coordinator at Scholastic Canada for several years. During that time she has also successfully published three exceptional children’s books. I caught up with her recently this fall, as she was launching her new title: There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Puck.
Stella has a compelling career as a publisher and author, and I’m happy to share her story with you.
* For our teacher friends – do not miss the classroom resources available for download in the book review section below!
Where did you grow up? What were you like as a child? What part of those personality traits have stayed with you?
I was born in Nicosia, Cyprus and came to Canada very young. I grew up in Niagara Falls, Ontario. I was a shy kid and I’m still pretty shy. I’ve learned to work around it, though. I always loved reading and sharing stories. I spent a lot of time at the public library and I always took part in the summer reading programs. I helped with the reading buddy program at my elementary school and later I tutored high school kids who needed help with English and Math. My parents would tell me stories of our village in Cyprus that I share with my own kids now.
What was your first piece of creative art that you remember (craft, book, painting) creating? Where is it now?
I always loved arts and crafts. As a kid I learned to crochet, knit, dance (ballet, jazz and Greek dancing), play the violin and piano. I even taught myself how to make pysanki (Ukrainian Easter eggs) and I’m not even Ukrainian. I decorated some eggs especially for my mom and she still displays them every Easter as part of the centrepiece.
In grade four I wrote a play called “Prince Pickleworth Stops Littering.” I worked on it for weeks and when I showed it to my homeroom teacher, he was so impressed that he asked me to perform it for the class. So a bunch of my friends and I stayed in for recess over a couple of days and then put on a show. I kept worrying that the play was going to be a disaster but when it came time to perform for the class everyone did a great job. It turned out really well. I was so proud of them. The play is lost but the memory is always with me.
Tell us about your first “YES” in your career. Where were you? How did it feel?
The first “yes” in my writing career was the one I told myself. It was a “yes” to doing what I love regardless of the outcome. I never thought I’d get published but there was no harm in sharing what I had written and seeing what happened.
My first published book started with a silly punchline that popped into my head as I was walking down the street: Sasquatchewan. I don’t know where it came from
but once it was there I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I knew I had to write a joke to match that punchline. I finally figured it out, “Where does Big Foot live?” Before I knew it I had written over 150 spooky jokes and some silly poems too. I sent them to an editor at Scholastic Canada. She liked them and the next thing I knew we were working to make it into an actual book. We left out the poems and pared the list of jokes down to 101 creepy Canadian jokes, which we published under the title, um, 101 Creepy Canadian Jokes.
Getting published was actually a big surprise. I didn’t know if my jokes were any good (and, quite frankly, some are better than others).
Tell us about your writing process from idea to page. Do you envision your book completely or does it unfold for you as you write?
Most of the time I know how I want the story to start and I know how I want the story to end. I then figure out how to get from start to finish. Sometimes a story will start taking on a direction of its own and in those cases, I just let the story write itself without worrying too much about getting to the ending that I had in mind at the beginning. After I’ve worked out a first draft, I’ll figure out how that story would fit into a 32-page picture book and revise it to fit.
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LIGHTS – Happy Holidays!
LIGHTS
Laughter fills the room, so jolly
Igniting love, all pure and warm
Giving in abundant spirit
Hearts are marking, this is home
Tables hosting grand delights
Special moments, frozen in time
BLISS
– Lora
Words On a Limb would like to wish you and your family a happy, healthy and safe Holiday Season.
May your homes be filled with endless LIGHT!
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What the Leaves Blew In…
Winter is just around the corner (pout, moan, cry). But before its official debut, I thought I’d pay tribute to the wonderful adventures we embarked on during our study of Autumn.
We began our exploration by taking an investigative walk around the school yard, looking for evidence of Fall. Among the many things we observed, students marveled at the beautiful, colourful leaves everywhere; leaves of different shape, size and colour.
As with any great investigation, we had to gather specimens to bring back and explore further in our classroom – red leaves, yellow leaves, big leaves, little leaves, oak leaves, maple leaves, and what’s this – acorns, pine cones, flowers, twigs and rocks – all were welcomed.
Over the next several weeks, we were quite busy inquiring, learning and integrating our artifacts into every aspect of our day. We read many books about Fall, trees, seeds and leaves.
We documented and wrote about Fall changes. We learned about and labeled the different parts of a leaf. We counted, graphed, sorted and made patterns with leaves. We even made a pine cone shaker (to complement the seed shaker we previously made during our Apple inquiry – it turned out to be a great way to distinguish between the different sounds seeds can make).
We created art with leaf rubbings and leaf stamps (students loved creating their own Leaf Creatures, which after being displayed on our walls, made an entertaining class book).
It was endless! The ideas kept pouring, and the fun and learning continued.
For the culminating activity, we created a class book where each student got to contribute their idea to a page about leaves (parents really enjoyed looking through it during our Fall conferences). Students also had a chance to read a personalized book about leaves with our Grade Three Reading Buddies – they were so excited, I was so proud.
Though I generally have an overall sense of where I’d like an inquiry based opportunity to lead, I can never truly predict how vast or fruitful it will grow to be. It is the students’ curiosity and eagerness that determines the direction and range of learning. Regardless, I am always pleasantly surprised and excited to see where each inquiry will take us.
Enjoy the last bit of Fall everyone. Thank you for your time.
Lora
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Brrrr … it’s cold outside!
Winter Dress-Up
The first snowfall of the year came with much surprise last week. My kindergarten students were thrilled at the prospect of going out and playing in the snow.
Not so fast though – seems we needed to cover some basic ground rules about dressing (and undressing) if this was going to be a stress-free snow season.
Snow pants stuck at ankles, blocked by clunky boots, scarves wrapped around heads, unyielding to hoods asking to be removed, coats unzipped, mittens on too soon…
Arrrrgh!
This year, to make it more fun, I decided to teach the dressing sequence through a song I wrote.
I started by reading Robert Munsch’s somewhat befitting story,
I have to go, and after a few good laughs, introduced my new song, Let’s Go Out and Play.
Now we were grooving!
LET’S GO OUT AND PLAY
Written by Lora Rozler (tune: The Hokey Pokey)
You put your snow pants on.
You put your boots on too.
Before you know it, you’ll be ready,
But now there’s more to do.
You zip your coat right on,
And you put your hat on too.
Woohoo – we’re almost through!
You put your cozy scarf on,
And those furry mittens too.
You thought you’d never finish,
Somehow you managed to.
Can’t wait to go and play now,
So much to see and do.
Woohoo, we’re done – we’re through!
Let’s Go Out and Play by Lora Rozler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
As a follow-up activity, I had students cut and paste winter dress-up clothes on a template of themselves. While students enjoyed crafting their mini-me’s, my ECE and I walked around and observed whether students followed the correct sequence we had discussed (this can be a great assessment piece and a good time to exercise and check on students’ cutting skills).
You may want to photocopy the templates on different colour construction paper and let students mix and match the articles, or else plain white paper and have students create patterns and designs on their clothing. Add some yarn for hair and googly eyes and you’ve got a masterpiece parents will surely cherish.
For a more formal assessment piece, you may want to use the activity below, where students cut and paste clothing cut-outs into a sequencing table.
To download all the resources above, for your personal use in the classroom, click HERE.
Happy snow season everyone!
Lora
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What is Peace?
As we commemorate Remembrance Day and pay tribute to those who have fallen to give us the life we enjoy today, it is important to think about our role in maintaining that peace every day; whether it be on a global scale or in the minutia of our daily lives. As a teacher, this becomes a vital teaching opportunity to inject lessons about peace, love and acceptance through activities that foster friendship and respect.
What Is Peace? is a poem I wrote and plan to share with my students next week, as we begin our discussion around the topic of peace. To download a copy of the poem for your personal use in your classroom, click on the poppy image below.
What Is Peace?
The gentle breeze that caresses me as I swing to and fro,
…..That is peace.
The handshake that follows a match despite victory or defeat,
…..That is peace.
The kind hand that reaches out for me when I stumble and fall,
…..That is peace.
The warm smile that greets me when I walk through the door,
…..That is peace.
The tender words that heal my wounded heart,
…..That is peace.
The love inside me that I share with others,
…..That is peace.
Click the poppy to download a copy of the poem.
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Let’s get our students thinking – What is peace? How is peace manifested in our day to day interaction with others? Click on the image below to download a copy of the various activities to use as follow-up with the lesson.
“Peace is quiet” (Braden, 5)
“Peace is in our actions” (Natalie, 10)
In the spirit of extending the feeling of peace at the classroom level all year round, I created friendly letter-writing templates for students to use in the writing centre (I call them Smile-o-Gram in my classroom). You might want to laminate the Smile-o-Gram cards and have older students copy the messages on the blank templates (or alternatively, write their own message), or else photocopy the templates with the messages directly on them (it is helpful to have a list of student names nearby for the greeting).
Click on the poppy to download the Smile-O-Gram templates and cue cards below. it will take a moment to load.
Ready-made messages
Blank Template Smile-o-Gram Cue Cards
Please let us know if you enjoy the free teacher content by clicking 
or visiting us on our Facebook Page.
What is Peace? by Lora Rozler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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Words on a Limb Interviews Maureen Fergus
The air is crisp and chilly in Winnipeg as fall descends on us. We had a unique opportunity to sit and talk to one of our favourite picture book authors, accomplished writer and mom, Maureen Fergus.
Born in Regina, Saskatchewan and raised in Winnipeg, she has lived quite a journey to arrive at her dream of creating multiple picture books, several young adult novels, including a wildly popular fantasy trilogy. She admits, that in spite of all her achievements, the one thing she values is most is the recognition of her many readers and fans.
Maureen spoke to us over the phone from her beautiful home, apparently full of treasures (more on that below), in Winnipeg where she lives with her husband, three children, a hedgehog and the family dog Buddy, affectionately known as Sir Barksalot – handsome fella, no?
Here is her story. If you are a young writer, there is plenty of gold in this river.
Welcome Maureen, it’s a privilege to speak with you today. What kind of kid were you , how much of it has stayed with you?
I’ve never been asked that, that is an interesting question. I was very studious, I liked school, I was a perfectionist. I loved a good laugh, I thought I was hilarious, that certainly hasn’t changed. The perfectionist thing mellowed a lot once I had kids. You sort of have 2 choices when you have 3 kids in 3.5 years. You can continue to try to be a perfectionist and go off the deep end, or you just relax a little and except that not everything can be in its place all the time.
But in terms of the way I think and I approach situations I think a big part of that has stayed with me. In fact, I can go back and have a very clear memory of who I was at 4, how it felt to be 4, how I saw the world at 4. I can see that vividly, even at the ages of 7 or 11. This really helps me as a writer because, when writing picture books or books for middle grades or for older teens, I’m not thinking from the outside looking in, I’m thinking what a kid would do or think. I really try to put myself back in that place to write.
Do you have any creations from when you were a child?
I actually have one story that I wrote when I was 10 or 11. It was about a super pickle that goes to Ottawa and becomes a member of parliament. I was just a rambling sort of story. As a young girl, I never really wanted to be a writer, it was never my objective. I was always much more interested in science and math. I did love reading – I would keep a journal, keep up with out-of-town friends through snail mail.
I remember one other story from grade 7. I had a perfectionist teacher. Every week we had to write a story and my goal was write one that would get a 10/10. So, I wrote a story making fun of how strict she was. I wrote about me turning over the table, kicking the garbage can and how Miss Shanks got really upset. Funny enough it was a piece of writing that most closely resembles what I’m writing 20 years after. I got 10/10 for that one – the only 10/10 she gave out that year, it appealed to the perfectionist in me. Fortunately, she pushed me to get in touch with the voice of the writer I was going to become. It wasn’t a moment where I suddenly recognized I was going to be a writer, but looking back now, I realized it was the first moment when I really tapped into what that voice was going to be. I would like to go back and let her know that, even though I did not know it at the time, she had a pretty profound impact on my 20 years down the road. Continue reading
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Artists on a Limb – Mi Amante
Welcome back to Words on Art, where we invite artists and writers to collaborate and creatively blend brush strokes with words. We would like to thank Steven H. for his successful writing submission, chosen to complement Jasmine’s untitled art sketch. Let us know what you think by sharing your thoughts in the Reply box below. Thank you Steven and Jasmine.
Untitled
Mi Amante
The sound of waves crashing stirs my sleepy thoughts. Is it my phone’s ocean sound alarm at home, or perhaps the real thing in a far way continent?
In the deep recesses of my mind, a little process begins; deciphering the randomness of the water crashing, the deep timber roar of the ocean, the lush feel of the fabric that makes the pillow case under my head at this moment. Then there is the salty smell of the sea in the air, something you can definitely not duplicate. Little sub-routines in my brain begin processing the information and the result makes me smile wide inside my dreamy mind.
Memories start pouring in, you getting dressed for our trip, your big brown eyes wide with excitement, your long hair resplendent. The luxurious plane ride, the stylish car sent to pick us up from the Barcelona airport, and finally the arrival at the villa.
Your smile fills my half-waking dreams, when you opened the curtains and saw the Mediterranean Sea stretching out as far as the eye could see, the way you turned and kissed me with excitement. These are all cup-overflowing feelings of bliss that greet me this morning.
Our next Artist on a Limb submission comes from Jana. The name of the art piece is Peach and Bear. Writers, please submit your poems, captions, short stories and other words to capture the essence of the art.
Send your work to wordsonalimb@bell.net, with Words on Art in the subject line.
If you have an art piece you would like us to consider for Artists on a Limb, please email us with Art Submission in the subject line. Please note, the art must be your original work.
Thanks everyone – looking forward, as always.
Lora
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Happy Thanksgiving
Thank-You Lucky Star
I thank my lucky star
For the light that guides my way.
For the beauty that surrounds me
New beginnings every day.
I thank my lucky star
For the ocean’s calming lull.
For the stars that shine above me
The gentle sparrows call.
But most of all I’m thankful
For my family, near and far.
For their love surrounds me daily
Thank-you lucky star.
– Lora Rozler
Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone!
To download a copy of the poem for your personal use in the classroom, click on the star image below (follow-up writing templates also included).
Lora
Thank-You Lucky Star by Lora Rozler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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Apples Big and Apples Small, Apples, Apples, One and All
My first inquiry-based unit this year started off with a simple school snack – apples. I walked into the classroom just after Snack Break, and to my surprise, found a bin full of Golden Delicious apples. Apparently, my three, four and five year-old students already had some pre-conceived ideas about apples – green ones specifically.
“I don’t like green apples,” the explaining began.
“Green apples are sour,” chimed in a few others.
Well, with that said, I walked over to the snack table, curiously staring at the batch of rejected apples. I grabbed one, inspected it for good measure and then took a big bite (good thing I always enjoyed Drama class in school – it sure comes in handy teaching Kindergarten).
“Hmmm, yummy,” I teased. “It doesn’t taste sour to me.” I shrug my shoulders and continued promenading around the tables, crunching along, making my usual small talk. I then finally sat down to enjoy the rest of my juicy apple.
Across the room, I noticed one student get up and grab an apple from the bin.
“This is sweet,” she announced (thank goodness for those unknowing volunteers). Soon, another green apple landed in the hands of an unsuspecting child, and before long, nearly all of the apples had been gone.
Words On A Limb 
