Time to Get Started: A Story About Learning to Take Initiative

by Bryan Smith, Lisa M. Griffin (Illustrator)

Blake generally has a goodtime... until someone interrupts him and tells him he needs to do something RIGHT NOW! He doesn't understand why he has to clean his room THIS SECOND! And he'd much rather be doing ANYTHING than learning multiplication. Blake's mom steps in and helps him see that not all tasks are hard or boring - sometimes he can find a fun way to accomplish a chore of he looks hard enough. She also teaches him an important skill that her father taught her when she was young - the steps to taking initiative. Blake learns questions to ask himself about why he doesn't want to do something, and what he needs to do to get started right away and complete the task. Will Blake be able to take initiative at school and at home? Time to Get Started! is another engaging title in the Executive FUNction series that inspires children in grades K through 5 to be flexible, organized, and resourceful. True to the author's style, this story offers an entertaining lesson on taking initiative. Tips for parents and educator to help children overcome procrastination are included at the end of the storybook.

Genres: Childrens

17 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 14, 2019

About the author

Bryan began his career as an elementary school teacher before realizing he had a talent for helping children deal with difficult issues. He has since become a school counselor. He is married to a school counselor and they have two boys.

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent way in to a discussion about procrastination with a child, with easy to follow steps to help them make a plan and achieve their goal. This book is part of the Executive FUNction series that inspires children to be flexible, organised and resourceful. The parent/teacher notes at the back of the book are super helpful, providing tips to help adults set the tone for discussion and create space for children to apply what they learn in the story.

One minor complaint about the book is that it begins with the phrase, "Blake here again," which bothered me because you may only wish to read this book in the series or it may be the first one you want to read. Please also note that this book is American and uses American spelling of 'Mom'.