solomon sire ventures overview

Solomon Sire books and programs provide a fun and age-appropriate way for busy parents and teachers to introduce important concepts of character to young children at a critical time in their development.  Each story features an abstract concept (e.g. Fibbing) that becomes a concrete character (e.g. a Fib) to make discussion more relatable for children and includes elements of magic and challenge which keep them engaged and curious throughout.

The books and programs can be used stand-alone or to complement other comprehensive character development guides and social emotional learning programs.  Solomon Sire offers an easy starting point for informal conversations between parents and their children and a fun extension to reinforce key themes in existing teaching curriculums.

Children today live in a complicated, busy world.  With the Internet and almost unlimited activity options, they are exposed to much more at an earlier age – some good and some not so good.

As parents and teachers, we want to equip our children to successfully navigate the world they live in and grow up to be happy and well-adjusted adults.  Research suggests that character education can play an important role in helping children make good choices concerning their behavior, thus improving their chances for positive outcomes later in life.

Research has long shown that parents who intentionally discuss concepts of character with their children have a better chance of raising kids with fewer issues later in life (Kindlon, 2003).  In fact, “talk has been identified as a crucial link between parents and children:  it is how parents…enable them to become the kind of men and women they want them to be.” (Wong Filmore, 1991).  

For most parents, character education is considered a good thing in theory, but difficult in practice.  It’s hard to know where to start or what to do. Couple that with today’s busy lifestyles and there’s just not time to figure it all out.  By necessity, we end up spending more time worrying about how we are going to get our children from activity to activity rather than figuring out how to pass on qualities to our children that we consider important.

Because of this, parents admit they could use some help when it comes to character education—tools that makes it easier to start the conversation, keep it top of mind, and help to lay a foundation for integration into everyday life.  That’s where Solomon Sire comes in!

Developmentally, children at this age start to broaden their understanding of the world to include abstract ideas.  This allows them to begin incorporating character education themes like telling the truth or being kind into their repertoire.

Additionally, many are entering a school environment for the first time and face a whole new set of social and emotional challenges as they learn how to interact in this setting.  Children of this age are routinely taught and readily accept rules to follow, and they look to parents and other adults for guidance.  It is these individuals, not peers, who have biggest impact and influence in shaping children’s behavior at this age.

As a result, character education concepts that are introduced and reinforced by parents and teachers at this time are more likely to become just another part of the initial framework children are building to help them understand the world and navigate through it.

While character education is a process that occurs over time, finding simple ways to start and continue conversations during the preschool and kindergarten years offers great advantages.  They give parents the much-desired opportunity to share their own beliefs about character when their children are at a very impressionable age and create a foundation for positive behavior and good decision-making that can last a child’s entire life.

Solomon Sire Ventures offers books and programs that make character development easier for adults and fun for young children.   Our engaging individual program includes a lively reading of  Solomon Sire and the Fantastic Fib, age-appropriate discussion of the theme, music, movement and puppets, all of which make for an enjoyable and memorable experience!  Our 6-week classes offer additional Solomon Sire stories/themes that are only available in that format.  Please click on PROGRAMS AND CLASSES from our HOME page for more information.

While more books are on the way, Solomon Sire and the Fantastic Fib is the first one in the series available for sale as a hard-cover picture book.  Individual books inscribed with a personal message from the author can be purchased on this web site or as part of an in-person program. 

For more information or to book a program, please use the Contact form provided on this web site or email  diane@solomonsire.com.