Education Blog by DUO Inspirations Introduces Clarinda Cloud as a Teaching Tool

Hi friends,

     How are you today?  I hope you are well.  Mental health is important to knowledge and learning.  Often a student finds it difficult to learn if he or she is troubled or has some sort of emotional or learning obstacle.  It is sometimes for people, especially children, to explain how or what they feel and why they are finding things difficult.  This often leads to frustration or even giving up on things. This is one of the premises of writing one of my children’s books, “Clarinda Cloud".

     Yes. For all those who didn’t know, I am not only a life-long learner and educator, I am also a children’s book author and illustrator.  “Clarinda Cloud” is known as my “signature” character.  It is the first book that I both wrote and illustrated.

     “Clarinda Cloud” is a concept book that teaches not only color identification, but also emotion identification.  Not only that, but because of it’s repetitive text and whimsical illustrations, it is a great early reader to help children in learning to read.

     Clarinda Cloud, the title character, changes colors as her feelings change.  For example, one page says, “When Clarinda Cloud feels angry, she turns red.”  That same page depicts a red Clarinda Cloud with an angry face.   

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     After each “feeling page” there is a page that states, “When she shares her feelings, she always feels better.  Do you share your feelings?”  This is meant to encourage children to share their feelings and not keep them bottled up or act out inappropriately. 
 
     I have a nice little story for you concerning the book, “Clarinda Cloud",  I was substituting in a local elementary school once, filling in for the school guidance counselor.  As I was reading the lesson plans, I was blessed to see the name “Clarinda Cloud".  I had always hoped that “Clarinda Cloud” would be used as part of a lesson or as part of counseling for children, but this is the first day I found out that it was used for such.  It was a blessing for sure! 
 
     The lesson plans featuring “Clarinda Cloud” was for a first grade class. However, it could have been just as effective for a preschool, kindergarten, or possibly even a second grade class. 
 
     I enjoyed reading “Clarinda Cloud” to the class.  By the end of the book, the students were “reading” it with me. Well, they weren’t really reading it. They remembered the repetitive text and would say it with me.

     When I did, I said, "There is a picture of the author on the back.  Do you want to see?"  They did.  So, I turned it around and they noticed that it was a picture of me.  They were excited.  The children and I both enjoyed the lesson that day.
 
P.S. - - I also wrote and illustrated the “Clarinda Cloud Activity Book”.  It has all the same colors and emotions as “Clarinda Cloud”.  It can be used in conjunction with “Clarinda Cloud” or separately.  You can check them both out on my Amazon author page. (Signed copies can be purchased directly from me, by contacting me, as supplies last.)
 
Now, it is your turn.
     Do you use “Clarinda Cloud” to teach color recognition, emotion recognition, or early reading skills?  Have you read “Clarinda Cloud” to your children?  I would enjoy hearing your thoughts.  Please, comment below or contact me.  Thank you.