Halloween fun for your little pumpkin

Halloween is right around the corner. Here is a cute design created by my daughter and I, for all the little ones. This design comes on many t-shirts and gifts!

Happy Halloween!

My First Halloween Shirt by nikiclix
View other Halloween T-Shirts

Block Area

It's back to school time again! For anyone looking for a good way to introduce the block area to the children at school, or if you have a child who loves to build with blocks, this book is for you!

 

Amazon Paperback 

Barnes & Noble Paperback 

Charcoal drawings in Pre-K

A few years ago I tried an experiment with our Pre-K class. We were getting ready to take a trip to the Johnson Museum of Art and we wanted to give the children an idea of the different kinds of art they would see there. So I brought some drawing charcoal to school and set up a simple bowl of fruit. I also had some shading sticks for them to try. The pictures below are a few of the results! When we arrived at the museum, they were able to find some charcoal drawings on the walls and they knew what they were and how they were made. They did an amazing job!

School Nurses & Bus Drivers

It's that time of year again, back-to-school is upon us!
Every year I try to write a little post about appreciating Teachers and Teacher Aides/Paraprofessionals. This year I'd like to take a moment to appreciate our school nurses and bus drivers. They are the two groups of people who are most likely to think about our children's safety more often than most. During summer school this year, I paid special attention to how hard our nurses and bus drivers work to keep things in order. They are exceptional at what they do!

I would like to showcase a couple designs that I created a few years back, and have increasingly become more popular. These gifts were made specifically for all the wonderful nurses and bus drivers out there! Both designs come on a variety of gifts at NikiClix Creations. Have a wonderful school year!

School Nurse Coffee Mug by nikiclix


 

Bus Driver Christmas Ornaments by nikiclix
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Imagination Fascination

When I observe how children play at school, in the classrooms I've worked in, it always amazes me how they can think of new things that have never been thought of before. How even through repetitive play, and building with blocks, and playing dress up, each child knows how to put their own unique spin on their play and learning.

Play is such a big part of learning for young children. It’s where they try new things, and explore new ideas and create something they didn’t know they could. Every child has their own favorite place in the classrooms too, and every class is different. Some years, the block area is the all-time favorite, some years, it’s the dramatic play area or the art area. In every case, you can see the seeds of inspiration and imagination dawning in these young people, who have only been around for 3 to 5 years.

As much as academic learning, with letters and numbers and writing is important, my heart is in learning through play. Play is full of problem solving, although you may not think so, it’s supposed to be fun right? Consider all that the children learn through play, including sharing, conflict resolution, communication, teamwork, not to mention flexing their creative muscles….and the list goes on.

When I wrote the book, When I Build with Blocks, I did so because I felt it was a book that many children could relate to. I wrote it because I couldn’t find one exactly like it anywhere else, and I wrote it because the kids just love to build with blocks in the classroom. They inspired me with their ideas, which I incorporated into the book, and they inspired me with their enthusiasm, which they showed me after I read it to them – they went straight to the block area to show me what else they could build. I feel honored that I was able to spark their minds to continue to create, and that they enjoy the book that they can see themselves in.

Imagination is a wonderful thing!

Graduate for you....

I've had some requests to showcase my Graduate poem to make it easier to find especially this time of year. So here is the link to my Graduate Poem gifts on Zazzle. Click the poster to find many gifts with this poem.

Congratulations to all the Graduates!

Graduate Poem Posters by nikiclix
Look at more Graduate Posters at zazzle

 For anyone who loves to color, this fun coloring page from our new book, Color-A-Gift, is perfect for graduation! Customize with your school colors!

  Links to Color-A-Gift on Amazon

Graduation and the poet

 I started writing poetry when I was very young, so I can't remember a time, when it wasn't important to me. I fell in love with Dr. Seuss and Robert Frost and developed my own sentimental style. I usually write poems in rhyme, but not always. However, as someone once told me, if you can be moved by your own writing; somewhere, someone else will be moved by it too. So I try to write about subjects in my poetry that move me, or that I know have moved others around me. Sometimes my poetry has specific meaning, sometimes with specific people in mind. Sometimes, they just pop into my head and I have to write them down.

Poetry is like meditation for me. Sometimes, if I can't sleep, I'll write a few poems to relax. It usually helps. Last year at the request of a friend, I was asked to write a poem about graduation. It was a subject that I wanted to tackle for a long time, but I knew that when you are talking to graduates, it has to ring true. It has to help them to move forward and be fearless in their pursuits. And even though it's been years since my own graduation, and my children have already graduated too, it was my new endeavors as an author, not only of poetry, but an author of children's books, and time travel and romance and just about anything else, that inspired me to write a poem that may resonate with others to follow their dreams as well.

It doesn't really matter how old you are when you graduate, I myself didn't finish college till my early forties. What matters is, knowing that when your education is done, what you will do with it. What you have learned, how you may inspire others with all the new knowledge in your mind. This is what I had hoped to express to others in my graduation poem.

While I still had self doubts about pushing that publishing button, and letting the world view my work, it made me keenly aware, that my work is my own. That the things I've experienced in my life, belong only to me. And that only I could be an expert on creating poems and stories, using that unique life and education experience. That's what I wanted the graduates to know. Especially the young graduates from high school and college. That it doesn't matter what you choose to do in this life, your experience will make your choices uniquely your own. And what has taken me a half century to figure out, I can now say with certainty, that your heart truly knows the way to go. There have been many times, when I've thought about not writing anymore. This is a tough business. But each time I've stopped, my heart wouldn't let me. So I've given up stopping. I've given up trying to give up writing, I love it too much. I've learned not to fight that inner spark. What you dream all your life, you really can do. I may not be wildly successful, but my heart is happy with the journey, and that's what matters most.

So to the graduates of every age; Enjoy every minute of your new life ahead of you. You truly are the way to a new world for us all. Congratulations! This one is for you....

Graduate Poem Card by nikiclix
Look at more cards from Zazzle.

Now you can customize this unique sentimental poem with your own school colors. This Graduate poem is included in our adult coloring book, Color-A-Gift.
Click the image to go to the book at Amazon.