When we took the boat tour with Captain Randy from Captiva Island, he said we’d go all the way to Cayo Costa State Park. Of course, I had no idea where that was. He took us on a very direct route straight north from the marina, stopping only to visit with some dolphins. He was trying to catch low tide for us.
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WINNER ANNOUNCED HERE.

When Jenifer Fox asked me to review her new book, Your Child’s Strengths: Discover Them, Develop Them, Use Them, I thought, “What better book could I review on this blog?”

Jenifer has spent twenty-five years as an educator and throughout that time, she has always been a champion for the underdog. She says, “Where others saw weaknesses in people, I sought out the strengths and was able to find them.”

You don’t need to know how to be a social worker to understand and relate to the premise in Your Child’s Strengths which is that when adults focus on developing and utilizing children’s strengths — rather than trying to fix, or remediate weaknesses — children grow up to be happier, healthier and more productive citizens.

Your Child’s Strengths provides parents, teachers and schools clear and practical direction for building upon children’s strengths. It’s not just a “feel-good story,” or about mere praise and self-esteem building. She writes, “It’s about igniting each child’s individual potential and preparing them for successful, fulfilled lives in school and beyond.”
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You’ll notice a new list on the left column – these are all books I’ve read or on my list to read. I’ll cross them out as I complete them. When you click through on any of these links, I will get a small kickback on any future purchases you make from Amazon, so please click through! All proceeds go to Darla’s BookWorm Wednesday project.

Parenting Preteens with a Purpose

Caribbean

Teaching With Love and Logic

Parenting Preschoolers with a Purpose

Parenting With Love And Logic

Your Child’s Strengths

A Tale of Two Cities

In Their Shoes

We charted a fishing boat near Captiva Island, and our excellent captain, Randy, must also be a dolphin-whisperer because when I pointed out some dolphins I saw in the distance, they came right up behind us and started surfing in the wake. Continue Reading »

Darla has always been an avid reader, but on our recent trip to Sanibel Island, it was remarkable to watch her writing — on the beach, on the porch, on the couch.

Most of the week she spent hours each day penning a story about a mermaid that didn’t know she was a mermaid — she’d been on land with caretakers her whole life, for her protection. By the end of the week, she’d completed some 24 pages.

This is a quality I haven’t seen in her before. It wasn’t an assignment. It wasn’t anything I’d suggested. It was just something inside of her that she wanted to come out. It was inspired.

Since returning home, her manuscript has remained in the same pile for weeks, just waiting for inspiration to return. Maybe when we go back to the beach…

That’s my girl.

Sanibel series:
Surfing Dolphins
Beach Writing
Fishing off Captiva Island
Sanibel Historical Museum Dollhouse
Cayo Costa Shells
Passing the Torch with Seashells
Four-Seat Surrey
Sanibel Island School
Sanibel Historical Village and Museum
Sandbar at Low-Tide
Guess where I’ve been?

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