An Idea Coming to Fruition - Publishing
This spring I was inspired to create a coloring book to accompany my children's book - Always, Always, Always. I saw another author do it for their book, and thought it was a GREAT idea. I knew there were kids who request my book often, and would recognize its themes, characters, and words, so why wouldn't they enjoy more activities and coloring to go along with it?!
A few months later (after research, collaborating, creating :)) - I announced the publication of my new product, took pre-orders, and sold my initial stockpile immediately! There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a project come to fruition and finally land in the hands of those you made it for. After sending out my first orders, the pictures and videos started rolling in from friends and family excitedly flipping through its pages. A dream come true!
The Process of Creating a Coloring Book...
Once the idea was planted, I needed to get the project moving. One thing I have learned about myself is that I HAVE to create deadlines and short-term goals to finish projects. It turns out, I am very timeline-driven. So, my first step was to reconnect with my illustrator, Kelsey Marshalsey. I needed her to create a few line art sketches to include within the pages, along with a new cover, specifically designed for my coloring and activity book - did I mention she ALSO compiles all of my digital files for publication? She is a creative magician.
Once she started her work, I began my process. While my previous teaching experience was in the middle grades, I am very familiar with milestones and learning objectives in early childhood education. Naturally, I focused on skills appropriate for early learners - the audience for Always, Always, Always. I honed in on fine motor skills, counting, patterns, and practice with shapes, colors, and letters - among other pre-K literacy skills. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of creating "extension" activities for my book. It took me back to my teaching days of creating worksheets, assignments, activities, and other materials to give to my students to further their understanding of what we were reading in class.
The Purpose of "Booktivities" for Early Learners
As a former English teacher of 10 years, I am very passionate about literacy. In fact, when I found out I was pregnant, one of my first initiatives was building my son's book collection. I thoughtfully curated a cloud-shaped bookshelf collection of classics, concept books, and of course his own copy of, Always, Always, Always. Not only do I get all the nostalgia of reading with my son, but we make memories over the words and pictures we read together every night. Reading to children has proven to help improve language development, imagination, creativity, listening skills, memory, among MANY other benefits, including a LOVE of learning - which I truly hope to inspire in my little guy!
Which brings me to "booktivities" for littles... Once my son truly began interacting with the pages in our bedtime stories, I watched his little brain ignite and a language explosion happen. My English teacher heart swells when he requests to read books and shows pure joy in reading his favorites. Not only do our books serve as entertainment, now we are using them as an opportunity to learn. Activities to go along with our favorites children's' books can enhance literacy and give them an opportunity to show off their skills and creativity!
Learning At Home
I know I am not unique in wanting to make sure my child is ready for school - and is prepared to succeed! I utilize our local PAT (parent as teacher) program to get monthly check-ins and annual evaluations, but there is a lot of time between these appointments! I do my best to be intentional with learning at home each day, in a fun, creative way. My Pinterest feed is FILLED with learning at home ideas for stay-at-home-moms. An abundance of IDEAS is out there for arts and crafts, Montessori toys, and activities for early learners. My coloring and activity book will hopefully serve this community in the same way - a fun, creative, challenging learning experience to help promote language and communication.
Our latest passion has been animal sounds, colors, and using markers and stickers (under parental supervision :)). My son is not ready for most of the activities in the book I created yet, however, A GREAT starter coloring book for letter recognition, animal sounds, and fine motor skills can be found HERE. Am I just a fangirl at this point?
Examples of Always, Always, Always Booktivities
If you made it this far
If you made it this far, and have any interest in booktivities for Always, Always, Always - you should checkout the free downloadable coloring sheets from my site :) You can download and print at home FOR FREE!
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