Arlene Cohen

The reason I chose the name The Butterfly Effect because people around the world view the butterfly as a representation of endurance, change, hope, and life. The butterfly effect is the idea that a small change can make much bigger changes happen. As a survivor, you must educate yourself on the signs of abuse. You must collect resources and build structures in an effort to thrive and survive. Despite the fact that the butterfly effect might seem a bit far-fetched, it can actually be applied to our everyday lives. This impact may be in our lives, in someone else's life, or in the lives of people we aren't even connected to. Think of it this way: Small things turn into big things...It's the little things that make up the big things. By focusing on doing small daily efforts, in time, they will mount up to big changes. Don't ever underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture, you can change a person's life. The takeaway: If each of us does our part as advocates, survivors, overcomers, and as individuals, we may not change the world overnight, but our voices create a powerful butterfly effect that matters.

Energize your story programs by infusing them with the power of movement! This guide offers you dozens of interactive, ready-to-use, age-appropriate and story-based activities that get children actively involved in learning. Designed to expand the child's self-awareness, range of expression, and aesthetic sensibility at particular stages of development, from infancy to puberty, these literature-based programs are simple enough to be used by any educator, even if you have little or no dance experience. Included for each program are learning goals/skill development, a literature-story connection, and detailed instructions for movement and vocal improvisation and creative dramatics. A great resource for after school programs, home schools, and daycare centers. Ages Infant-14 Stories on the Move develops a child's emergent, cultural, and interpretative literacy skills. The first three chapters for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers are based on nationally recognized standards and methods for tapping emergent literacy skills. The fourth chapter takes children on StoryTrips to other countries and includes language, stories, dances, and customs of those countries. The fifth and sixth chapters for older children show them how to interpret story structure and the elements of character, setting, mood, plot, and theme. Included for each program are learning goals/skill development, a literature-story connection, and detailed instructions for movement and vocal improvisation and creative dramatics. A great resource for after school programs, home schools, and daycare centers. Ages Infant-14.