Great Kids can be Role Models, Too!

Last week, I talked about what we can learn from kids who are called “prodigies.” This week, I want to introduce you to some great kids who are just regular, ordinary kids. No, wait! They may be regular kids, but they’re sure not ordinary!

These are kids who have found ways to do what they like best, and they shine at it — PLUS they benefit a lot of other people in the process. Sounds like a win-win-win to me.

Erik, of the website/blog This Kid Reviews Books has been reading and reviewing books online since he was 9 years old. He’s 13 now, still going strong, reviewing several books every week. His blog is a fabulous resource if you’re looking for picture books or middle grade novels.

He’s also a kid coach and contributor at the website Kids Are Writers, which encourages kids to express themselves creatively through writing.

Erik is involved in all kinds of activities at school, has written and published a book (The Adventures of Tomato and Pea: A Bad Idea), does a regular kids’ book column for his local newspaper, and the list goes on…

He’s an excellent example of someone who uses his talents to the full, getting involved wherever he can, and having a blast doing so.

Landon is a 6th-grader who loves to express himself through art. He and his great-aunt, author Penny Parker Klostermann, do a monthly blog post called A GREAT Nephew and a GREAT Ant Aunt. Penny writes a poem (her poetry is great!) and Landon illustrates it.

They don’t stop there, though. They encourage other family pairings to get involved — so there are father and son or daughter, mother and daughter or son, grandparent and child, aunt/uncle and nephew/niece… well, you get the idea. Check out the impressive list of guest posts in the link above.

You can see all of Landon’s art in one place — The Landon Gallery — at this link.

I think these two (and the many kids who have become involved either at Kids are Writers or A GREAT Nephew and a GREAT Ant Aunt) show us all how we can use our talents to both have fun and to benefit others.

There are loads of other kids out there — maybe you’re one of them — who are doing other cool things to SHINE. I’d love to hear about them in the comments.