What do you do when youre mentally depleted - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / What do you do when youre mentally depleted - Introvert Whisperer What do you do when youre mentally depleted? I am at a point where I’ve got a number of things either completed or launched and in someone else’s hands.  I’ve feel oddly unclear what the next thing is that I should do.  My “busy-ness” is in a slow down and that just doesn’t feel right.   Ever get that way?   It makes me think I’m missing some big glaring thing to do, which will bite me any minute for being inattentive. What to do? I took a break and did a puzzle.  Sometimes completely changing what you’re doing by changing your pace, your location and even the nature of what you’re doing can do wonders for your work.  That’s why there are weekends off and vacations.  We need to change what and how we work in order for us to stay energized and interested. The deal is; we aren’t always in a position of taking a vacation or launching into a weekend.  That means you need to find things you can do periodically to recharge your creativity or motivation by mentally stepping away from your usual, daily mode.  Give yourself a 15-minute vacation. I worked with a gal who left work every day at lunch.  She didn’t always go out to eat.  Sometimes she would pick up dry cleaning or run an errand.  When we talked about her lunchtime, she explained that lunchtime was her sacred time.  She had to step out of the work environment and do something completely different.  This allowed her to restore her energy and helped to sustain her good mood. If you’re mentally depleted, lacking creativity or feeling anything but motivated, start by stepping away from your work.  Go outside and take a walk.  You pick what works for you but we all need to mix things up sometimes to get the most out of that big, hefty brain. Go to top Let me emphasize that Self-Promotion doesn’t have to be obnoxious to be effective.  But, if you don’t Self-Promote you, who will?  If you ever want to get ahead, you have to learn how to Self-Promote. I want to help you accelerate your career by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my video that shows you simple, yet effective ways to Self-Promote. Start watching now by clicking here! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

Our Advice for Learning to Write in Chinese

Our Advice for Learning to Write in Chinese Become a Master of Writing Chinese Characters Chapters Learn the Chinese Alphabet and its English Translation Learn to Write in Chinese Chinese Writing: Techniques for Learning Chinese Characters Learn to Write in Chinese with CalligraphyFor those who use the Latin Alphabet on a daily basis, learning to write Chinese characters can be really complicated.  While China has made efforts to make the language more accessible to those in the West, it still remains a challenge for anyone wanting to travel to China, participate in foreign exchange programs, or work in China.In addition to all the available Chinese textbooks, you can find plenty of resources for learning Chinese on the web from lighthearted videos on YouTube to websites focusing on mastering the Chinese language.There’s a common myth that you can define a student’s level in Chinese by how many different traditional Chinese characters they know. This means that a lot of students are preoccupied with learning as many Chinese hanzi characters as they can, often at the e xpense of learning the other aspects of the language.However, that doesn’t mean you can ignore it altogether, either. Let’s have a look at some of the best ways to learn, memorize, and write Chinese characters... NingChinese Teacher 5.00 (10) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LorraineChinese Teacher £10/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoyceChinese Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicoleChinese Teacher £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors KatyChinese Teacher £16/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YangChinese Teacher £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ChengChinese Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Learn the Chinese Alphabet and its English TranslationWhen we say “learn the Chinese alphabet”, we don’t really mean it in the same way as you’d learn to recite the alphabet in English, Spanish, or French.While the writing system inspires very few people, China's landscapes are worth learning the language for. (Source: Zhang Kaiyv)Chinese uses ?? hanzi (or Han characters) to write and the writing system operates in a completely different way to the Latin Alphabet we use to write (which can make finding Chinese vocabulary in dictionaries quite complicated).The Chinese writing system is around 4,000 years old and originated from a traditional writing system which was subsequently simplified by the Chinese government in order to improve literacy in China and make the language more accessible to foreigners.Today, the traditional system of characters which represent Chinese words and phrases is only used in specialized newspapers, magazines, and old books on Chinese literature. It’s solely used by the literate elite, knowledgeable linguists, and is associated with good taste, good manners, and a high social standingThe biggest change to came when the Mandarin Chinese language was standardized by the People’s Republic of China. This had an effect on both Japan and Singapore, too. While Chinese was ignored by foreigners despite how many people speak it, Mandarin Chinese started becoming more attractive to foreigners when the Pinyin romanization system was created in the 1950s.The system created by Zhou Youguang was created in order to bridge the gap between Chinese characters and the Latin Alphabet. While based on other older transcription systems, it has far outperformed them in terms of utility and popularity.Having broken down the barriers to entry, learning Mandarin Chinese became much more popular than it had ever been and Confucius Institutes were created all over the world.  Thanks to Pinyin, Chinese and its system of tones became much easier to understand thanks to putting simple diacritic marks over the tops of vowels.  Writing was also standardized across Chinese provinces. Chinese is written and read from left to write.Whether you’re looking to travel to China , participate in a Chinese language exchange program, or start a career in China, learning Mandarin Chinese through the Pinyin system can make your first steps a little less daunting.Find Mandarin lessons London and other major UK cities on Superprof. Learn to Write in ChineseIf there’s one word to describe how foreigners feel when it comes time to learn how to read and write in Chinese it’d be “intimidated”. With over 5,000 official characters (not to mention older characters and special characters), learning to read and write in Chinese might sound like an almost impossible challenge.If you learn how to write in Chinese, you'll inevitably know how to read in Chinese. (Source: pixabay.com)For those brave enough to tackle it, they’ll have to put in a lot of work at home in order to master:Memorizing the charactersThe pronunciation of the charactersThe meaning of the charactersIf you want to learn to read and write in Chinese, you’re going to need to learn the basic rules that you have to apply to every stroke of every character in every text.Firstly, you need to fully learn your first characters before you even consider moving on to more complicated characters. This will help you to avoid confusion and getting mixed up when it comes to reading the characters.Secondly, it’s imperative that you learn the association between each character, its shape, and its meaning. This can help you better understand the characters as well as giving you technique for remembering them better.Finally, you’ll need to focus on the pronunciation of each character. Each character in Chinese has a particular tone associated to it that you’ll need to learn as they completely change the meaning.It should be noted that when learning to write in Chinese, the methods used by the language schools, Confucius Institute, and inter-cultural associations should be seen as a sign of the quality of their teaching.There are a number of kinesthetic approaches are currently very po pular since they can help students to memorize characters much more quickly than some of the other methods.  It can often be effective to learn characters in order of difficultly and treating each character as an independent entity. Learning Chinese characters using these methods can speed up the learning process. Chinese Writing: Techniques for Learning Chinese CharactersChinese characters are the cornerstone of learning the language that was standardized by the People’s Republic of China in 1956.  If you want to learn how to write Chinese characters, you’re going to have to follow a number of rules which, after regular and frequent practice sessions, will make learning these characters much easier.If you learn around 5,000 characters, you should be able to understand around 80% of the newspaper in China. (Source: pixabay.com)To start, you'll need to know what a radical is. Each Chinese character is made up of anywhere between 1 and 20 radicals. To understand just how important these are, you should know that it’s impossible to look up any word in a Chinese dictionary without having an understanding of the radicals that make up the Chinese character you’re looking for.Chinese characters are written within an invisible square whose limits must always be respected and are made up of 8 fundamental strokes that define how each hanzi is to be written. Whether the movement is straight, curved, or broken, the orientation of each stroke is predetermined by a set of rules.In fact, this set of rules and the stroke order that helps define the balance of each character has been around for a few thousand years.  When it comes to learning how to write the Chinese hanzi characters, there’s a hierarchy with three main steps that you need to follow:Firstly, you need to respect the visual aspect of each Chinese character. This is done by paying particular attention to the radicals.You need to be able to memorize, place, and accurately reproduce all the key elements o f each Chinese character together.These key elements (of which there are over 200) can be subsequently used to create further Chinese characters with similar meanings. Learn to Write in Chinese with CalligraphyIt’s not uncommon for Chinese artists to have sleepless nights fretting over a particular curve on a hanzi character they’ve written.  This is just how serious Chinese calligraphy is. It’s the pinnacle of written Chinese both in terms of artistry and technique.If you think calligraphy is beautiful, you should check out Chinese calligraphy! (Source: Miguel Á. Padriñán)Chinese calligraphy or ?? is one of the human race’s oldest art forms. It brings together both lovers of Chinese culture and lovers of traditional art.  It’s also a way for you to learn more about Chinese writing without having to lock yourself in a classroom and listen to a long and boring lecture.Without going into too much detail about spirituality, the bond between the body and the spirit, and how it all comes together in this art form, Chinese calligraphy can also be a great way to learn more about how Chinese writing is put together.Given how much Chinese calligraphy focuses on the action of writing, the quality of each stroke, and the technical aspects of writing, it can be an invaluable tool for anyone wanting to better understand the Chinese writing system.Of course, you can learn to read and write Chinese without mastering the complexities of Chinese calligraphy as not all of the same rules are followed in everyday Chinese.  Calligraphy is a useful learning tool when it comes to focusing on the order of strokes which you need to be familiar with before you put pen to paper.By leaving your pencil case in the draw, you can learn a lot about Chinese writing through calligraphy. However, you should also consider taking Chinese lessons London - or whatever city you live in, or private tutorials if you want to also be able to speak and understand Chinese.The spoken Chinese l anguage, after all, can be as beautiful as the calligraphy that’s used to represent it on paper.

What to do When your Best Friend Becomes your Boss - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / What to do When your Best Friend Becomes your Boss - Introvert Whisperer What to do When your Best Friend Becomes your Boss When you are in the workplace long enough, you accumulate work friends as meaningful to you as non-work friends. One thing about work friends is that you sometimes have situations arise that are difficult to effectively manage. One of those is when your best work friend becomes your boss. It’s apt to happen to you sooner or later. I know some people make jokes that you’ve got it made, but you don’t really have anything made. In fact, without some mature thought, you could lose a friend permanently or even put your job at risk. Here are some things for you to consider: Your relationship will change. Your friend can’t be seen as playing favorites with you. Everyone has to feel like they all get an equal chance at assignments and opportunities. If your friend is at all mature, they will probably distance themselves; and you need to support that shift. You want to stay friendly, but a certain level of professional detachment is in order for you both. Don’t ask them for favors. Go out of your way to not compromise your friend’s position. Granted, all people ask favors of the boss at some point, but make sure you wait a long time before making your requests. Just because you are friends, doesn’t mean they think you do a great job. Understand one role that your friend, now manager, plays is to assess your performance. I’ve worked with a number of work friends over the years whose performance I thought was marginal. I would have hated to have those people work for me, because I would have had to take action to spiff them up…and that isn’t a fun process. It can damage a friendship. Sit down and talk about this change. Rather than just make assumptions about each other, do both of you a favor and have a chat. It would be great for you to acknowledge that they are the boss and you can separate a personal and a professional relationship. Open the door to have future conversations so you can both check in to see if you have each adjusted to your new roles and tweak anything that might not be working well. Don’t share details with the group. You might have personal and private knowledge of your friend that should never be shared. Sharing their information might make you feel momentarily like you have an inside track, but it won’t be worth it in the long run. The deal is almost everything gets back to the boss and this isn’t something you want to be tagged with. You will do irreparable damage to the entire relationship if you have loose lips. Trust is an important value to both friendship and work relationships. It only takes one stupid act to blow it. Don’t take things personally. The boss (your friend) has new responsibilities and that will mean that there could be decisions they have to make that you might not like. More than likely, the decision is driven by a business reason, so don’t make your first assumption that it’s about you. If you have an issue, take it up with them privately so you can problem solve just like you would with your previous boss. It’s ok to act as counsel. Because of your trusted relationship, your friend may seek you out for insight or to bounce ideas. As mentioned previously, don’t share these conversations with others. You may need to also ensure that you don’t share too much information about your peers to your boss/friend, unless you know that they can handle the information appropriately. Act professionally. The best advice for how you want to proceed is to act professionally. Keep business just that way and make sure you can keep business and personal separate. Who knows It could be you who becomes the boss of your best friend. You never know how things will work out, but the main thing you want to accomplish is that you continue working effectively and maintaining a good working relationship. Bottom-line â€" I want to help you accelerate your career â€" to achieve what you want by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my 4 Building Blocks to Relationships eBookâ€" the backbone to your Networking success and fantastic work relationships. Grab yours by visiting here! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleash your professional potential. www.introvertwhisperer.com

Foil Method

Foil Method First multiply the first variable in each binomial. Multiply outside variable. Multiply the inside variables. Multiply last variable in each binomial. The parentheses are used for the multiplication sign. This method is used to multiply two. Example - Let us find the multiplication of the following binomials (a + x) (a-x) Solution - Applying FOIL method we get the following solution step by step. F stands for first which means that multiply the first variable in each binomial. a.a = a4 O stands for outside which means that we have to multiply outside variable. - x.x = -x I stands for inside which means multiply the inside variables. x.a L stands for last which means that multiply last variable in each binomial - x.a Combing the result of the FOIL a4 x.x + x.a - x.a = a4 x Hence the multiplication of two binomials (a + x) and (a-x) is a4 x Example - Let us find the multiplication of the following binomials (a + x) (a3 - ax +x) Solution - First terms of each binomial are multiplied a.a3 = a5 Multiply the outside terms. - a. ax + a x = - a4x + a x I stands for inside which means multiply the inside variables. xa3 - x.ax = xa3 - x3.a L stands for last which means that multiply last variable in each binomial X. x2 = x4 Combing the result of the FOIL a5 - a4x + a x + xa3 - x3.a + x5 Hence the multiplication of (a + x) (a3 - ax +x) is a5 - a4x + a x + xa3 - x3.a + x4

Where To Take Portuguese Lessons In Manchester

Where To Take Portuguese Lessons In Manchester Business Portuguese Classes Manchester ChaptersWorking In PortugalBusiness Portuguese  Lessons In ManchesterThere are many reasons why you would want to learn to speak a new language like Portuguese with language lessons: not only so that you can visit the coastal regions of Portugal and marvel at the gloriously sunny beaches, but also so that you can make use of business opportunities in this European country as an intermediate or  near-native speaker.Most international business will have their main offices in or around the capital city, Lisbon (or Lisboa, in Portuguese) however, if you want to find work in other areas of Portugal or Brazil then you will no doubt find a wide range of businesses covering various industries, just like at home.The only difference in working for an international company and one whose workers communicate solely in Portuguese is that your language acquisition (particularly your comprehension/listening skills and your grammar and vocabulary) may need to be a notch or two higher in order to part icipate in a conversation and forge a relationship with natives and their fellow Portuguese contacts.So, if you are tired of Manchester and want to fulfil a dream of working abroad to gain a specific learning experience, or if you are seeking a job in Portugal to follow in the footsteps of family or a loved one, then here's all you need to know about working in a country like Portugal, how you might fare in terms of remuneration, and how you can embark on your journey as a learner seeking language programs adapted for Business purposes.Get set for jet-setting to Portugal with these tips for professionals. Photo credit: Zillay Ali on Visualhunt.com / CC BYClick here for more information.There you have it, so there is no excuse now not to brush up on your foreign language skills by getting reading and writing in Portuguese or attending language classes!Don't forget to learn about Portuguese language and culture, because understanding the culture is equally as important for immersion a s learning the native language effectively is during your placement in Portugal.As well as Manchester, you can learn Portuguese London,  also there are lots of Portuguese lessons in Birmingham

GMAT Math 5 Tips for Data Sufficiency Questions

GMAT Math 5 Tips for Data Sufficiency Questions GMAT MBA Admissions Blog GMAT Data Sufficiency problems present you with some initial information and a question, followed by two statements. You have to decide whether the information contained in each statement is sufficient, when combined with the initial information, to give a definite answer to the question. In this case, a definite answer means being able to answer either “definitely yes” or “definitely no” to the question. If you can only answer “definitely maybe” then the statement is not sufficient by itself. If neither statement is sufficient by itself to give a definite answer, you then evaluate whether the two statements taken together are sufficient to find a definite answer. Some questions involve solving for a value; for these questions, a statement is sufficient if it allows you to solve for one, but no more than one, value. In case you haven’t seen a Data Sufficiency question before, here’s an example: If x is even and y is a positive integer, is the sum of x and y an odd integer? 1) x is a negative integer 2) the square of y is an even integer Notice that since we already know that x is even, the only way for the sum of x and y to be odd is for y itself to be odd. So we can rephrase the question as “Is y an odd integer?” Statement 1 is irrelevant. The fact that x is negative tells us nothing about whether y is odd or even. So statement 1 is insufficient to answer the question. Statement 2 is a different story. If y-squared is an even integer, that tells us that y itself is an even integer. Therefore we can answer “definitely not” to the question “is y an odd integer”, and statement 2 by itself is sufficient. Here’s a list of tips to help you in solving GMAT Data Sufficiency questions: It’s helpful if you can restate the question in simpler terms (as we did in the example above). Plugging in example numbers is also helpful. However, be careful not to make unwarranted assumptions about the kind of numbers you can plug in. For example, if the initial information in a question specifies that the quantity n is less than zero, be careful not to assume that n is necessarily an integer. Integers probably jump most readily to mind when making up examples, but data sufficiency questions often deal with non-integer values as well. Quickly look at both statements and try to evaluate which one will be easier to analyze. If statement 2 looks easier than statement 1, then test statement 2 first. If the first statement you test seems insufficient, remember to “forget” that statement when you move on to test the other statement. You have to test each statement alone for sufficiency before you test whether the statements are sufficient when combined together. On the other hand, if you feel really stuck on a Data Sufficiency question, go ahead and combine the statements to see if they’re sufficient together to answer the question. HOWEVER, if they are sufficient together, you STILL need to look carefully and see if there’s any way to take just one of the statements by itself and find a definite answer to the question. This is a risky technique if you don’t have enough practice in separating the statements in your thoughts. But if you’re careful, it can pay off by making it easier to see how to restate the question or find the key connection between the statements and the initial information.

30 English Idioms Describing Character and Personality - Effortless English

30 English Idioms Describing Character and Personality - Effortless English You are already familiar with some of the adjectives that describe people. Today lets have a look at some English informal expressions and idioms describing character and personality. Some of you might have heard one or two (or maybe 10!) idioms describing character and personality. And Im sure that most of you have met or heard of someone who matches one of the below definitions. 30 English Idioms Describing Character and Personality 1. Pain in the neck â€" an irritating, annoying personEx. Sarah is such a pain in the neck these days.2. Bright spark â€" a clever personEx. He is a real bright spark in the class.3. Party animal â€" someone who likes to attend parties oftenEx. Are you going out again tonight? You are such a party animal.4. Cold fish â€" someone who has very little emotions, who is regarded as hard-hearted and unfeelingex. John said nothing at all when I told him about my problems. He is a cold fish.5. Dark horse â€" someone who has greater abilities than he shows or than other people are aware ofEx. I didn’t know Nick could play the guitar so well. He is a real dark horse!6. Lone wolf â€" someone who prefers his own company and does not like socialising. We can also say a lone bird.Ex. Jack became a real lone wolf since his wife passed away last year. He never goes out.7. Nerd â€" someone who is very interested in science or technology, particularly in computersEx. He spends all weekends at his la ptop, he is such a nerd. 30 English Idioms Describing Character and Personality? - Infographic Enjoyed this infographic? Here’s what you can do next: 8. Moaning Minnie â€" a person who complains a lot about insignificant things.Ex. Oh stop being a Moaning Minnie! Just concentrate on your homework.9. Happy camper â€" a person who is always happy and satisfied. ‘Happy camper’ is often used in the negative.Ex. The apartment was much smaller than I expected, I was not a happy camper.10. Smart cookie â€" somebody who has got a strong personality or who is quite smart.Ex. Katie is such a smart cookie, she can make any project a success.11. Wet blanket â€" a person who ruins other people’s fun by staying pessimistic and complaining all the time.Ex. Katie is so negative about everything, she is such a wet blanket.12. Chatterbox â€" a person who talks a lotEx. My son always gets detentions in school for talking in class, he is such a chatterbox.13. Crank â€" a person whose behaviour or way of life is regarded as strange. We can also say an oddball/fish/bird or a weirdo (very informal).Ex. Peter never eats green vegetables, he thinks they make him sleepy. He is such a crank!14. Rolling stone â€" a person who moves from place to place, job to job, without staying anywhere longEx. My brother was a rolling stone until he met his wife.15. Rough diamond â€" someone who seems impolite or is not well-educated, but who has a kind heart and good character.Ex. Mike may be a rough diamond, but he is kind and always willing to help. 30 English Idioms Describing Character and Personality 16. Life and soul of the party â€" someone who is energetic, and good fun during social occasions.Ex. It was a great night, Jim was life and soul of the party.17. Wallflower â€" a shy person, usually a girl who has no one to talk to or dance with at a partyEx. Jane is a bit of a wallflower, she is very shy when she is around a lot of people that she doesn’t know.18. Wimp â€" a weak person, someone who lacks confidence.Ex. I always avoid confrontations, I am such a wimp.19. Golden boy â€" a winning person that everyone is fond of.Ex. Wayne Rooney is the golden boy of English football.20. Bunny boiler â€" a girl who behaves improperly after a relationship break up.This expression comes from the film “Fatal Attraction” in which the character kills and boils her ex-boyfriend’s family pet rabbit.21. Slave driver â€" someone who makes other people to work really hardEx. My boss is such a slave driver, I had to work two weekends in a row.22. Early bird â€" a person who wakes up, arr ives to work, etc. before the usual timeThis expression comes from the English proverb “The early bird catches the worm”.Ex. My Mum is the early bird in our family, she gets up at 5 o’clock in the morning.23. Tearaway â€" a person who behaves in a stupid or wild manner, and frequently gets into trouble.Ex. Jack was a bit of a tearaway in secondary school, always getting into trouble.24. Busybody â€" a person who expresses great interest in other people’s private livesEx. My next door neighbour is a real busybody.25. Scrooge a miserable person who hates spending money.This expression comes from a character in “A Christmas Carol” novel by Charles Dickens.Ex. My last boss was a real Scrooge, for years we never received a Christmas bonus.26. Daydreamer â€" someone who is having dreamlike thoughts when they should be focusing on the presentEx. I’ve always been a bit of a daydreamer in school.27. Skiver â€" someone who is absent from school or work without a good reasonWe c an also say ‘someone who is pulling a sickie’.Ex. He didn’t bother to turn up for work on Monday, he is a skiver.28. Clock-watcher â€" someone who has no interest on the current activity, and keeps watching the timeEx. I hate to be a clock-watcher, but I can’t wait to get out of here.29. Big mouth â€" someone who is not able to keep a secretEx. Never tell her a secret, she’s got a really big mouth.30. Creep â€" a nasty person, someone who is trying to impress higher authorityEx. What a creep this guy is.

Kumon Staff Pick Clown by Quentin Blake

Kumon Staff Pick Clown by Quentin Blake Kumon Staff Pick: Clown by Quentin Blake RRL Title: Clown written and illustrated by Quentin Blake Grade/Kumon Level of Book: Pre-reader/RRL 6A-2 Why do you personally enjoy this book? Clown is a wordless picture book that begins with the title character being carelessly tossed into the trash with his stuffed-animal friends. Instead of becoming disheartened, Clown makes every effort possible to find an individual who will help rescue his buddies from the garbage bin. It takes legwork, persistence, and patience, but Clown finally enlists the assistance of a family who needs him as much as he needs them. Why do you think students would enjoy this book? Pre-readers can create their own narrative while joining Clown on his adventure, which is conveyed by thoughtful and expressive illustrations. Without words, the author has given his reader the opportunity to narrate Clown’s mission as one that is both heartfelt and entertaining. What skills and/or values might students gain by reading this book? Students will exercise the important pre-reading skill of creating their own narrative by chronicling Clown’s journey with use of the detailed and endearing illustrations. As a wonderful bonus, they are also exposed to themes of compassion, loyalty, and friendship. You might also be interested in: Kumon Staff Pick: The Snowy Day Kumon Staff Pick: My Father’s Dragon Kumon Staff Pick: Fever, 1793 Kumon Staff Pick: Were Going on a Bear Hunt Kumon Staff Pick Clown by Quentin Blake Kumon Staff Pick: Clown by Quentin Blake RRL Title: Clown written and illustrated by Quentin Blake Grade/Kumon Level of Book: Pre-reader/RRL 6A-2 Why do you personally enjoy this book? Clown is a wordless picture book that begins with the title character being carelessly tossed into the trash with his stuffed-animal friends. Instead of becoming disheartened, Clown makes every effort possible to find an individual who will help rescue his buddies from the garbage bin. It takes legwork, persistence, and patience, but Clown finally enlists the assistance of a family who needs him as much as he needs them. Why do you think students would enjoy this book? Pre-readers can create their own narrative while joining Clown on his adventure, which is conveyed by thoughtful and expressive illustrations. Without words, the author has given his reader the opportunity to narrate Clown’s mission as one that is both heartfelt and entertaining. What skills and/or values might students gain by reading this book? Students will exercise the important pre-reading skill of creating their own narrative by chronicling Clown’s journey with use of the detailed and endearing illustrations. As a wonderful bonus, they are also exposed to themes of compassion, loyalty, and friendship. You might also be interested in: Kumon Staff Pick: The Snowy Day Kumon Staff Pick: My Father’s Dragon Kumon Staff Pick: Fever, 1793 Kumon Staff Pick: Were Going on a Bear Hunt