A Special Zoom Visit With The Amazing Author, Bonnie Clark & Her Book, Catching Thoughts

This week, we welcomed the amazing author, Bonnie Clark, to our special Zoom event that we have been hosting each week for our students learning at school and virtually. 

We loved welcoming Bonnie to Van Meter, 

as she introduced herself and shared...

...special stories about herself as a young girl and writer. 

Then Bonnie told us about her wonderful book, 

Caring Thoughts, that Summer Macon illustrated so beautifully too. 

As shared on Bonnie's site, 

Have you ever had an unwelcome thought that you just couldn’t get rid of, no matter how hard you tried to push it away?

In Catching Thoughts, a girl is plagued by an unwanted thought. No matter what she does–ignore it, yell at it, cry about it–the thought won’t go away. Frustrated and discouraged, she finally looks that bad thought in the face and says, “”Hello.”” At last, she is able to notice other more beautiful, positive thoughts all around her. As she catches hold of new thoughts, the girl discovers she can fill her mind with whatever she chooses.

For every child who has been weighed down by sadness or anxiety, this story teaches kids how to acknowledge unwanted thoughts, show them compassion, then actively replace them with positive thoughts instead. Catching Thoughts is a quiet, thoughtful story that teaches readers how to practice mindfulness, focusing on thoughts that bring beauty, joy, and calm into their lives.

After she read the book, 

Bonnie did a little Catching Thoughts Activity with the students in our classrooms and the ones listening from home. 

She asked them to think about unwanted thoughts and how to replace them with happy, positive and loving thoughts. 

The pictures they drew were so thoughtful and..

..they loved sharing them with Bonnie and other friends from Van Meter. 

Bonnie's visit and her story will stick with our students forever.  It is just what we needed. 

Thank you, Bonnie.  You made our day so much brighter.  We can't wait to connect with you again. 

You can read all about Bonnie, and her work, including Catching Thoughts and Taste Your Words, here.