As far back as I can remember, I have written poems. I love telling stories about people, places and situations using rhyme. When I was teaching, I would often write poems for my students to recite at school assemblies. The students would add their artwork, a dance or rap to the poem and we all had a lot of fun in the process.
When school collegues were retiring, I would write them a poem and add it to some very well known music for staff to sing at retirement functions i.e.
Retirement Queen sung to the music of Dancing Queen by Abba
Raelene sung to Downtown By Petula Clark
We Wish You a Great Retirement sung to We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Well, you get the idea.
At the back of my mind, it was always my intention to write a book for a much younger audience during my retirement. I wanted it to be something kiddos could enjoy, but also learn an important life lesson at the same time.
During my teaching years, I noticed that kids were fascinated by dinosaurs.
Check out the article: Why Do Kids Like Dinosaurs By Emily Murphy
Tragically, I also noticed that bullying was on the rise in schools. These days it's hit record levels, which I find to be very distressing. What, as a retired teacher, could I possibly do to help the situation?
.... and that was how Diplo's Dilemma came about. I thought I would write a story and combine children's interest in dinosaurs with a lesson on bullying and write it in rhyme. I also wanted to write for the very young because that age is the best place to start!
The purpose of adding a blog to my website is to help, inform and impart any knowledge I have on topics such as discouraging bullying, encouraging reading and writing and the big life lessons!
I'm very excited about this! Let me know what you think in the comments and suggest ways I can help.
So, until next time...
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