For Cairn University Students

Greetings, future book bakers and educators! Thank you for making me feel so welcome in Andrea Stange’s class on 2-23-23, and for asking such great questions.

On this page, I have put some resources for Cairn University students. Please let me know how I can help you further, both now and in the future.

Encouragement for Cairn University Students

First, I want to encourage you to stay focused and passionate about the work you are doing. Teaching is an incredibly rewarding profession that can make a lasting impact on the lives of students.Teaching is not just about imparting knowledge. It is also about inspiring students to reach their potential and become successful in life. The children’s book project you’re doing is a perfect opportunity for you to do that.

You will have many opportunities to gain knowledge and skills that will help you become successful, whether you become classroom teachers or do something else.

Take advantage of all the resources available to you. Participate in student organizations, attend lectures and seminars, and get involved in projects related to education. This will help prepare you for the challenges ahead.

Recommended Resources for Cairn University Students

For the cover of Sam Bakes a Book,

Image generation tools

I started with Canva Pro‘s text-to-image generator. For the interior illustrations, I began with a different AI tool: Fotor.com

Keep in mind that these AI tools are new and still need improvement, but they are impressive already. They save so much time and money, too. They saved me $5,200 on this one children’s book alone.

Another thing to be aware of is that images created by AI and unaltered by a human cannot be copyright protected, according to a  ruling by the US Copyright Office.

Reading level adjustment tools

Making sure your books are at the proper reading level is important. Readable.io is one of the tools I use to adjust my writing and my clients’ writing, to be sure that it’s at the right reading level for the intended audience. If it’s too high, the reader will get frustrated quickly and give up. Then the book does no good. If the reading level is too low, the reader will feel patronized and condescended to, and probably won’t finish reading the book.

The Hemingway App is a program that tells you how many sentences in your piece of writing are hard to read, helps you reduce the number of adverbs your piece of writing has, and more.

When writing, be sure to keep all of your ideas in one place. I call mine my Idea Pantry, and it’s in Google Drive, which I can access from anywhere. Capture your ideas, and save them forever. You never know when one will lead to something great.

Recommended books for authors in general contains many of the books I recommend. Most of them on the page are writing related, but you will also find some on creativity (those will come in handy in the classroom) and general productivity.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced writer, these books will help you become a better writer and a better writing teacher.

These are the recommended books for teachers specifically.

Secret free gift for Cairn University Students

All you have to do to get this gift is send a blank email to Jennifer@HarshmanServices.com with the subject line: Gift for Cairn University students.

We will send you a free electronic version of Jennifer’s book, Your Book Bakery: Making it easy to write a book.

Preventing burnout

Make it a practice to take care of yourself. Teaching can be a demanding job, and it is important that you take time for yourself to recharge and stay motivated. Everywhere I appear—in my books, on my group-coaching calls, during podcast interviews and Zoom appearances—I preach self-care and rewards.

When you feel yourself heading toward burnout, please check out this amazing resource: The Burned Out Business Mom, a woman who, like I did, went down the road to burnout and found the way back and helps others avoid stress-related illnesses and other problems, so they can have a more balanced and sustainable life.

I wish you all the best in your life, whatever you decide to bake up!