Resources for Parents

Can I Sit With You? Live!

Seattle, Washington, April 25, 2008, Annex Theatre, 8:00 pm— Authors from Can I Sit With You? read their own stories of youth; harrowing and hilarious tales from the school yard. All proceeds benefit Special Education PTA.

Tickets on sale now at www.brownpapertickets.com /event/30612

Can I Sit With You? (www.CanISitWithYou.org) is an ongoing book and blog project, sharing our stories of school age triumphs and bewilderment. These tales will touch anyone who has ever struggled to fit in with the other kids at school, wondered about feeling different, or felt like no one could possibly understand what they're going through.

Can I Sit With You? editors Jennifer Byde Myers and Shannon Des Roches Rosa are both school yard survivors as well as parents of special needs children; all proceeds from this event and the sale of the Can I Sit With You? book go directly to SEPTAR, the fledgling Special Education PTA of Redwood City, California (www.septar.org).

Annex Theatre
1100 E. Pike St.
(11th Ave. at E. Pike St.)
Seattle, WA 98122

For additional information, contact Jennifer Byde Myers  ciswyinfo@gmail.com or visit www.canisitwithyou.org

Scheduled performers for the evening:

SJ Alexander lives in Seattle, avidly follows the doings of Britney Jean Spears, and is a Kennedy Administration buff. SJ writes almost daily at http://iasshole.org/

Els Kushner is a librarian and writer who lives in the Pacific Northwest with her spouse, their daughter, and far too many books. Her website, Book Book Book, is at http://bookbk.blogspot.com/.

Liz Henry lives in many intersecting communities, as a feminist, poet, translator, blogger, science fiction fan, queer & genderqueer writer, and computer geek. She's had work published in Parthenon West, Xantippe, Lodestar Quarterly, Poetry Flash, Two Lines, Cipactli, caesura, other, Literary Mama, Strange Horizons, and has been publishing zines and little books since 1986.

Sarah M. Glover is a recovering C.P.A. who lives and writes in San Francisco. She is currently using her young children as guinea pigs while manically scribbling away about ghosts and fairies. Hopefully, the scribbling will make it into a book before they leave for college.

Michael Procopio lives in San Francisco, but has yet to figure out the precise name of his neighborhood. He is a food blogger who dislikes the word "blogger" almost as much as he does the words "moist," "classy," and "slacks." His likes include the drawings of Edward Gorey, Cotswold cheese, and the musical stylings of Jacques Brel. His websites are , and www.kqed.org/weblog/food.

Jason Kovacs is a native of the I-5 corridor whose writing has appeared in Cranky Literary Journal, ZYZZYVA, and Jeopardy Magazine (you could go find all that stuff and read it, except it is all published under Jasons old name and Kovacs is his shiny new name). Jason does not like cilantro, and does not understand people who do.

Judy McCrary Koeppen lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area. She works as a speech language pathologist specializing in early intervention. When not being paid to hang out with really great kids, she chases her own two children and cares for her familys ever-increasing number of pets.

Cindy Emch is a highway poet. She can be found writing reams of valentines and love letters to her adventures on a daily basis. She calls them poems. Her words are salty and crunchy like sweat and gravel, and they tell queer mossy secrets. Cindys work has been been published in Lodestar Quarterly, There Journal, Its So You: 35 Women on Fashion, Beauty, and Personal Style (edited by Michelle Tea), and numerous chapbooks. She co-hosted The Aunty Cindy and Unka Lynnee Show with Lynn Breedlove on Pirate Cat Radio from 2004 to 2007, and has been a curator for the National Queer Arts Festival since 1995. Emch is the founder and co-host of San Franciscos twice-a-month Queer Open Mic, which features queer folks of all colors, cultures, and creeds performing their awesome lit to encourage the building of bridges between art, community, and revolution.

Special thanks to Annex Theatre (http://www.annextheatre.org/) for donating their space to this event. "Annex Theatre is dedicated to creating bold new work in an environment of improbability, resourcefulness and risk ..."

Purchase your copy of the book now http://www.lulu.com/content/1466612, or at the show.

For those parents interested in the Dalai Lama's important message of compassion: 

Culture for Kids: Raising Global Citizens

Every parent wants their child to be comfortable in this increasingly global world. But how can we best help our children understand and respect the different cultures around us? In this dynamic panel discussion, local experts will talk about the benefits of early language learning and share their experiences and ideas for integrating language and culture into young children’s lives. Learn about different approaches, local resources and ways that language and culture promote compassion.

Thursday, May 15, 7 to 9 p.m.
Seattle Children’s Theatre East Rehearsal Hall
201 Thomas Street, Seattle

Panelists: Kelly Aramaki, Principal, John Stanford International School; Harriet Cannon, M.C., LMFT, Specializing in culture, language & identity; Corey Heller, Founder & Director, Bilingual/Bicultural Family Network; Kevin P. Henry, Diversity Program Coordinator, City of Bellevue; Moderated by Jackie Friedman Mighdoll, Founder & Director, Sponge

Culture for Kids: Raising Global Citizens is a free event.  RSVP & Info: events@spongeschool.com, www.spongeschool.com, 425-274-5188

A new resource for parents and children:

An Educational Pledge

I pledge to maintain a
Healthy Mind and Body
Staying away from the Vice of drugs
I pledge always to try my Best to understand
The importance of Knowledge and Education
I pledge to paint a Positive picture of where I plan to be in the future
Not allowing obstacles to stop the growth of my Plans
I pledge to seek Answers to Questions,
With the understanding that they
Will lead to other discoveries
I pledge to work Firm
With the Awareness and Confidence
That firm work Today will serve
As the Seeds for my strong Tree tomorrow
A Tree that no one will be able to tear down
I pledge to learn proper languages,
Beginning with my Mother's
Always prepared to Appreciate others
I pledge to gain a better understanding of Me
By understanding my Cultural roots
I pledge to fully accept Me as a human being
A Rainbow of many cultures and colors
I pledge to overcome any Personal misfortunes
Becoming Stronger from such misfortunes
Always striving to become
A wise person.

http://pepsgroup.org/ 

PEPS - Program for Early Parent Support 

PEPS provides community-based programs that enable parents of infants and young children to meet the challenges of parenting through mutual support and shared information.