 | December 28, 2010 |
Hello, What an exciting year 2010 has been! A new book series...A new musical....A new blog...and a bit of romance, too. The MathStart newsletter has been completely revamped to accommodate our growing family of books and websites. Although some of our "digital parts" won't be up and humming until early next year, I wanted to show you some of what we have been working on, and give you a taste of what's to come. Here is to 2011 and a very, very Happy New Year to all! Best wishes,  p.s. Teachers: please share this newsletter with your colleagues. Parents: please tell you your friends. Thanks!
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Stuart J. Murphy's I See I Learn ®
a new book series for young children
Meet Percy, Freda, Emma, Carlos, Camille, Ajay and (drum roll, please), Pickle the green bulldog! These are the main characters in my new series, I See I Learn. Just like MathStart books, I See I Learn stories use visual learning strategies to reinforce learning.
Visual learning and young children are a natural fit. Long before children can read, or even speak many words,they are accomplished visual learners. They understand illustrations and photographs with ease, as well as more abstract representations such as symbols and graphs.
Each story focuses on a specific skill from one of four domains:
- Social
- Emotional
- Heath and Safety
- Cognitive.
Our stories are modeled on real life situations and, just as in real life, often involve more than one skill. For example,"Freda Plans a Picnic," is about sequencing, a cognitive skill, but the picnic itself is a social event. "Percy Plays It Safe" focuses on playground safety skills, but playing successfully in a group requires self-regulation, an emotional skill.
Each book includes a special two-page section called "A Closer Look," designed to help parents, teachers and care-givers review key points of the story together with their children.
For more about I See I Learn books, visual learning, how Pickle got his name and to watch a video about the book "Emma's Friendwich" and the series, please read my vizlearning blog post: "A Puppy Named Pickle."
For happier, healthier, more confident children: I See I Learn!
 | The first four "I See I Learn" stories
Books will also be available in Spanish starting in 2011...stay tuned for details! |
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Math = Fun!
The Art of MathStart exhibit at
Gallery Della-Piana
Pictures. Words. Math. It sounds simple, but behind every MathStart book is another tale of collaboration between storyteller and illustrator. Nearly three dozen illustrators have worked on MathStart books, a truly stellar line up that includes Lois Ehlert, Frank Remkiewicz, Scott Nash, Valerie Petrone, Steve Bjorkman, Remy Simard and Joann Adinolfi among others.
There is still time to see the exhibit, which runs through December 30 at Gallery Della-Piana, near Boston. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday 11:00am to 6:00pm or by appointment (978-468-1944).
Read more about the show and ALA Book LInks founding editor Barbara Elleman's talk, "The Magic of MathStart," here (also driving directions to the gallery).
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| through December 30!
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The Main Street Kids' Club
A MathStart Musical
I can't wait for everybody to see "The Main Street Kids' Club"! Director Scott Ferguson (who also created "Schoolhouse Rock Live!") adapted six of my stories, weaving them into an original tale of adventure, mystery, friendship and, of course, math.
The musical was workshopped at Northwestern University with Jeff Award-winner Michael Mahler composing the music.
As one third-grader critic put it, "RAD!," giving it an enthusiastic "thumbs up."
Scott has developed two versions of the musical:
one perfect for school tours and another for regional theaters:
- For information on booking a performance, contact Scott via email or call 773.465-8668.
- For information on licensing an independent production, send an email to HarperCollins or call 212.207.7700.
Now, get ready to tap your toes and sing along!
(more on the making of MathStart musical here)
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Our New Blog!
follow us on facebook & twitter, too!
Hello! My name is Janet and I work with Stuart on all kinds of fun projects, including our new blog, vizlearning. Its beat: education, early childhood development, communication, media and all manner of things related that catch our fancy.
We are still just getting our "blog legs" on vizlearning, but among the stories posted so far include:
With such a broad and interesting beat, expect the eclectic in 2011!
The name, "vizlearning," of course, is a riff on "visual learning," which plays such integral role in all of Stuart's work. The glasses logo is a kind of riff, too, inspired by Stuart's favorite pair of multi-colored frames.
facebook & twitter
Check out our brand new fan page on facebook! We're pretty sure we'd love to be "liked," so please spread the word... You can also find us on twitter @ vizlearning.
And we also do old fashioned email, too. If you have tips for stories, questions or comments, drop us a note. We would love to hear from you!
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What are the Odds?
A MathStart Romance
It was one of our favorite MathStart emails ever: Elisabeth and Brian, two first-time teachers, meet in a Teach for America class, bond over reading MathStart books together and...fall in love. Well, Beep Beep, Vroom Vroom!, this kind of news deserves a front page spread in The Grizzly Gazette!
Or at least a post on vizlearning...
Do you have MathStart or I See I Learn story you would like to share? Janet and I would love to hear all about it! Send us an email: children's artwork, math activities, adventure, funny stories--we love them all!
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| | addition: a classic! |
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 - a note from Stuart
- Stuart J. Murphy's new "I See I Learn"
- MathStart art show
- The Main Street Kids' Club: A MathStart Musical
- our new blog: vizlearning
- A MathStart romance!
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