The Mom's Choice Award (MCA) is known for establishing the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly media, products and services.

Grace Capes Seeding Imaginations has been awarded by MCA's esteemed panel of judges made up of education, media, and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others.

A sampling of panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, ten time Emmy-winner, and founder of PBS's Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project;  Jodee Blanco, New York Times best-selling author; Priscilla Dunstan, creator of the Dunstun Baby Language; and Patricia Rossi, host of NBC's Manners Minute;  Dr. Letitia S. Wright, D.C., host of the Wright Place TV Show; and Catherine Whitcher, M.ED., special needs expert and founder of Precision Education, Inc. 

Seeding Imaginations - Book Content

View the following excerpts from the book

• Introduction: Before we get started
• So how does this all work?
• My Mission Statement
• Sample of Illustrated pages
• The Real Kid who Inspired the Book
• Book Credits

Introduction

Before we get started, let me explain where I’m coming from.  For the most part this is a true story.  It’s based on a hand-sketched chart I’d made for my kids.  Well, maybe it was more for me and my sanity.  Those were the days where I looked forward to going to the dentist so that I could take a nap in the reclining chair!  Anyhow, I left the chart with the babysitter one time when I went out of town.  I explained, “You will need this to hold down the fort!” Simply put, the chart works like this: You and your kids agree on what makes for good behavior.  And when they show moments of good behavior, they get to color in one square of the chart.  A fully colored chart equals rewards for achievement.  “It worked like a charm”, the babysitter said.  She was also really impressed with my boys’ dress up box.  It was filled with all kinds of goodies, from green leotards (a gift from my mother, much to me father’s chagrin. ‘Think Peter Pan”, she told him) to the black suits the boys had worn to my sister’s wedding. (They thought they were James Bond!)  I noted that my sons wore their capes overtop of other costumes.  Interesting, I thought, and asked why.  “Because the cape has the power”, they answered.  Period.  No more explanations needed, according to them.  From the capes, charts and “power” evolved Grace Capes.  It happened in a Wonderland sort of way. 

Thanks to the confusion that I was facing trying to raise my two little boys – and not unlike Alice’s journey- I discovered my own muchness and put it to work! Does this sound familiar?  Do you need a little help figuring out how to get your child to focus on what has to be done in the moment?  If so, it<s time to turn your “want-to-do list” into a “we-did-it chart”!  Your child will never know how far they can go until they get going.

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So how does this all work?

It’s a S-N-A-P! 

Sharing.  Present the cape, and then listen to the story the first time with your child.  The cape appeals to children’s desire to see and touch.  It stimulates the imagination.  The story pitches the idea that believing in something positive can result in something positive.  The recording is fifteen minutes long.

Negotiation.  Set up your chart together.  Agree on the kinds of behavior that would allow your child to color in a square of the chart.  Agree on what the rewards of coloring an entire chart might be.

Attention.  Everyday distractions disturb one’s train of thought.  The story, cape and chart train children’s brains to stay focused one task at a time and pay attention to the positive effects of good behavior.

Positive planning. The chart is a flexible organizational tool.  As important as making progress is measuring progress.  Grace Capes are a playful approach to getting parents and children focused.  Once all squares are colored, the sustained effort to achieving your long-or short-term goals will be validated.

This is the perfect time to begin.  Once you’ve listened to the story, have your child write his or her name on the chart.  Indicate the start and finish date.  Keep record of the rewards being earned.  It will become a wonderful keepsake for the future.

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My Mission Statement 

I believe in seeding imaginations and encouraging positive attitudes right from the start of a child’s life.  Inspiration for my designs stems from the children in my life who entertain me with their natural curiosity and character.My passion began over twenty years ago as a young Fine Arts grad, a mother, a business owner and art teacher.  It began with my love for things hand/homemade. Children see Grace Capes as valuable gifts, while parents appreciate them as practical tools with a twist of fun sewn in. When children put on the cape and commit to their charts, they are encouraged to think, to dream, to learn, to try and to do.  The combination of cape and chart brings awareness and communicates the right ideas between you and your belief in your child.

There is a genuine caring on my part that carries over into the quality of each piece.  And I’m attracting believers!

 --  Kelly Grace

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Sample of Illustrated Pages

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The Real Kid Who Inspired the Book

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Book Credits

Seeding Imaginations

© Kelly Grace. Grace Capes
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of Grace Capes.

Published by Grace Capes
www.gracecapes.com

Text & Illustrations; Kelly Grace
Audio Production & Recording: Marc-Andre Paquette,
www.youtube.com/user/marcisscratch

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Grace, Kelly, 1967-

            Seeding Imaginations : Grace Capes / by Kelly Grace.

ISBN 978-0-9867996-0-0 

           I. Title.

PS8613.R3325S44 2011            jC813’.6          C2010-908023-8

Printed and bound in Canada

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