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About Kalli Dakos
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I always knew that I wanted to be both a writer and a
teacher. When I graduated from university, I taught at the elementary school level for several years,
and then became a reading specialist. I taught in the Canadian Arctic; the Province of
Ontario; Reno, Nevada; Syracuse, New York; and Fairfax County, Virginia.
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For a few years, I took a break from teaching to pursue a writing career. I
studied journalism at Syracuse University, and became a free-lance writer for newspapers
and magazines.
Although I enjoyed writing, I found the life of an author far too lonely and
missed the excitement of the elementary school world. I decided to return to the classroom
and that's when I discovered that the best stories of all were the ones I shared with my
students.
My real-life stories fit best in poetry, and I began writing hundreds of
poems with titles like "Hiding in the Bathroom", "A Fourth
Graders Secret", and "There's a Cockroach Lurking
Inside My Desk".
My first anthology of poetry, "If You're Not I Here, Please Raise
Your Hand", was a Children's Choice Selection in 1991. It was followed by
another Children's Choice Selection in 1994, "Don't Read This Book, Whatever You
Do"! "Mrs. Cole on an Onion Roll" was released in the spring of 1995,
and "The Goof Who Invented Homework" was a Children's
Choice Selection in 1997. "Get Out of the Alphabet, Number Two"
is a unique alphabet/number book that was released in the fall of 1997, and "The
Bug in Teacher's Coffee" (Children's Choice, 2000) is my
anthology for younger readers. Teachers need poems to inspire and guide
their careers, and my book, The Greatest Magic, Poems for Teachers,
was published by Scholastic, Inc. in 2000. This was followed by Put
Your Eyes Up Here and Other School Poems (Children's Literature
Selection, 2003).
My newest book, Our Principal Promised to Kiss a Pig
(Children's Choice, 2005), is an introduction to Shakespearean language for
young children.
I visit schools all over the United States and Canada with a program that is
titled, "A Celebration of Life in the Classroom".
Students and teachers "play poetry" with me, and even the most reluctant readers
and writers are pulled into literacy through the use of toys, props and poetry that
celebrate the special moments in children's and teachers' lives.
Play IS the work of childhood, and we CAN bring its magic into
our classrooms and homes. When we incorporate it into our reading and writing programs, we
are guaranteed success with even the most reluctant students. Let your students play their
way to a love of reading and writing.
Kalli Dakos
For more
about Kalli click here
Everyone was encouraged to be a part of the fun. Ms.
Dakos turned two teachers into frogs - much to the delight of the students at Kings Park
Elementary School
About Edstar, Inc.
Edstar was established with the following goals:
To allow children to experience the joys of childhood and literacy through unique
programs that incorporate poetry, toys and play.
To show parents, teachers and children how to dramatize poems with toys, and to let
them participate in these playful activities.
To pull the most reluctant students into literacy with carefully planned reading
materials and irresistible toys.
To create and distribute reading material that accompanies the props and toys
(individual poems, books, paper bag poems, and bookmarks).
To encourage families to read poetry together, and to dramatize their readings.
To encourage teachers to use poetry in their reading/writing programs in ways that
allow children to experience childhood.
To model all of the above processes for parents, teachers and children through
poetry presentations, workshops and inservices.
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