Nicola Call, author of   The ALPS Approach, The Thinking Child, and The Can-Do Club, taught for many years in a variety of primary schools in and around London, combining writing with teaching before she left the classroom to take up writing and training full time. She is now based in California, where she combines writing with research into brain-based learning.

During her dynamic teaching career  Nicola put the theory of brain-based learning into practice.  The results were impressive, and test results soared. More significant, however, was the improvement in children's motivation and attitude. They became increasingly confident and self-motivated. There was an enormous growth in their self-esteem. Attendance and behaviour also improved and attitudes to learning radically altered. The children were developing emotional intelligence alongside academic knowledge and skills.

This positive attitude came to be known as the 'Can-Do attitude'. A section of Nicola's first book, The ALPS Approach, co-authored by Alistair Smith, is dedicated to giving practical strategies for developing emotional intelligence and positive attitudes. ALPS is now recognized as the leading work for primary teachers who wish to develop brain-based learning techniques.

Nicola's recent book, The Thinking Child - Brain-based learning for the foundation stage, again addressed the issue of emotional intelligence and its importance for the healthy development of young children.   The Thinking Child and its follow-up book, The Thinking Child Resources Book give an even greater emphasis to this aspect of children's development. In researching for these books and working with practitioners, Nicola realized that there is a need for  a practical resource supported by children's fiction to help practitioners in developing story-based activities with young children.

"This was something that for me, came naturally," says Nicola. "I used stories and fiction in the classroom for a wide range of purposes, and could stand up in an assembly at a moment's notice and come up with a story to reinforce a learning point. I was a story-teller by nature - plus I'd studied English Literature as an undergraduate, and written fiction and non-fiction for years. But I also know that story-telling is not something that comes naturally to everyone."

So the concept of the Can-Do Club was born. The Can-Do Club, scheduled for release in the UK in the summer of 2004, is a practical resource with a series of high quality fiction for adults to use with children. The teachers' manual outlines the theory of emotional intelligence, to give context and a rationale for the practical activities that follow. The children's books have been written either to be used with the teachers' manual, or to stand alone - to be read to children, with children, or by children. The stories are intentionally designed to challenge children's thinking - and also to challenge the adult! Dilemmas, decisions, and questions about morality and individual choice and responsibility are interwoven into the stories, to give a wealth of possibilities for discussion.

Nicola is currently  enjoying working on the Can-Do Club series whilst also spending time at home with her children - including "keeping my hand in by working in the parent co-op pre-school attended by my daughters." Nicola's passion for the rights of children in the classroom has been described as ‘inspirational', and her greatest satisfaction comes from the success stories that result from teachers and practitioners describing how they have been inspired by her work in their classrooms. Nicola aims to continue to inspire others for many years to come.

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