The Tale of the
Magic Wishing Fish
by Aukoa DeJesus & Kristen Gagnon               Art by Maluhia Sanchez

Learn to Read with ALOHA
All of the books in the Hawaiian Cat Tales collection were designed, written, and illustrated by schoolchildren, most of whom reside on the Big Island of Hawai’i.
Keiki Classroom* teachers, with 50+ years of experience between them,
developed the curriculum. These books bring aspects of the Hawaiian culture to life while addressing social and emotional issues. Reluctant readers
become excited when identifying with their peers’ stories. Each book
represents a letter of our alphabet and teaches phonics, parts of speech,
homophones, sentence starters for proper grammar and writing, and
spelling rules. The intention of the Hawaiian Cat Tales Collection A-Z is:
Learn to Read with ALOHA. Read with love, joy, and connection.
Keiki
Get ready to go on a treasure hunt! Look for the paw print in each picture. Find the Paw and pause. Reflect on what is happening in the picture. Then, challenge yourself as you read about the adventures of Brotu, Brycen, Brent, and the Magic Wishing Fish. You will find words that teach you new vocabulary. The more paws you find, the better treasure hunter you are!
*Keiki Classroom is a Division of Creating Keiki Curriculum, 501(C)(3) Non-Profit

Parents and Teachers
Read the “Teaching Tips” in the back of this book. Each section will guide you so you get the most out of reading with your child. Make connections to the story by asking your child deep-thinking questions such as, “How would you react if you saw a little one getting pulled out into the ocean? What would your three wishes be if you found the Magic Wishing Fish’s cave?”
We have also added a few ways to improve your child’s reading
experience. Be on the lookout for our YouTube Channel, Customized
Curriculum By Kristen, where experts explain the wisdom of these simple
suggestions. Most of all, enjoy the time reading with your child. If you bring the fun factor to reading, it will be a joyful experience. Through our work at Keiki Classroom, we hope to instill a lifelong love of reading. Also, children whose parents read with them become better readers and behave better in school.
There is also an enrichment section at the back of this book. Please reach out to us with your feedback as you read these books to your students.
LearningIsFunInKona@Gmail.com
And look for one-minute teaching tips by Mrs. G on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwfhGrHAaek

Two brother cats lived on the Big
Island of Hawai`i. Brycen was the
older black cat and Brotu was the beautiful, brown cat.
They loved everything about the ocean.

Brycen surfed. Brotu bodyboarded.
The brothers had kind and generous hearts.
Brotu and Brycen learned how to be patient as they waited for the right wave. The brothers felt calm and balanced when
they were in the
ocean.

One day when Brycen and Brotu were in the water wating for a wave, the brave brothers rescued a kitten who was bodyboarding. They had
noticed she was in trouble, and they saved her.

After the rescue, they found
a treasure map in a bottle on
the beach. The map
showed the way to the
cave of the Magic
Wishing Fish.
On the way to the
cave, they ran into
a friend named
Brent.

The map is right!
I know the way to
that cave!

The three cats jumped into their boats. “Follow me,” said Brent, “I’ll lead you to the cave of the Magic Wishing Fish.”

The brothers followed
Brent and found the Magic
Wishing Fish in his cave.
He lived there with his
mercat friend, Beautiful
Bella.

Brent and the two braddahs* were so happy to find the Magic Wishing Fish. He gives away wishes to those with kind and generous hearts.
* Braddahs is Hawaiian Pidgin for brothers.

The Magic Wishing Fish knew the brave brothers had rescued the
kitten earlier that day. He also knew Brent guided the brothers to his cave.
Because of their actions, the
Magic Wishing Fish knew all three cats had hearts that were generous and kind.

Then the Magic Wishing Fish gave Brent and the braddahs three
wishes! They were so excited they started jumping up and down
waving their paws in the air.
What would you wish for if you had found the Magic Wishing Fish?
MORAL: Being generous and kind has many rewards.

Parent and Teacher Tips
Tips to decode a word you don’t know:
1. Look for the base word. Is there an affix, a prefix or suffix attached? Is it a compound word? Cover up parts of the word with your finger so the student sees the base word.
2. Sound out the word phonetically. Use your phonemic awareness (sounds that letters or
groups of letters make) memory and apply blends.
3. Look for context clues. What words surround the unknown word? Make it a game.
4. Pronounce the first syllable.
5. Keep giving clues: the word has 2 syllables, it starts with a “r”, it is in the sky when it rains, it is a compound word. Let the child shout out the word “RAINBOW”. Let the child be successful as it builds self confidence. Watch the light bulb go on, and celebrate with Aloha.
6. Ask a friend.
Tips to create a successful learning environment:

1. Always have a glass of water nearby. Water is as essential. Children think
better when hydrated. “When children are dehydrated, they lose concentration
and focus,” according to Carla Hannaford PhD, author of Smart Moves Why
Learning is Not All In Your Head, pages 150-156. Dr. Hannaford began her
research in Kailua Kona, on the Big Island, and now resides in Montana.
2. Watch the child’s eyes. If they continuously struggle when looking at a word.
It might be wise to get their eyes checked by a behavioral ophthalmologist.
The eyes have to mature to have the capacity to work together to read. This
is called eye teaming. If they are not tracking (following the words in the sentence from left to right) there may be a visual block. One strategy is to use
Brain Gym movements or any physical activity that crosses the midline of
a child’s body. In Brain Gym these are called Lazy Eights. See our YouTube
channel for a quick video.
https://www.youtube.com/@customizedcurricu- lumbykris3018

You need three visual abilities to learn to read: the ability for the eyes to work
together (eye teaming,) the outer muscles of the eyes to move left to right (track
ing,) and the inner muscles for the eyes to focus from far-sighted to near-sighted
(foveal vision).
If you notice a visual challenge, another teaching tip is use books with large print.
Look for books with one or two sentences on a page while keeping content
relevant and on grade level. Schools and libraries have large print books. Ask the
children’s librarian. Also, the text in online books can be enlarged. Use a visual aid
bookmark so the student sees one line at a time.
3. Lighting is critical. Use natural light, not fluorescent lighting. Fluorescent lights
flicker rapidly and cause agitation, hyperactivity, and aggression. Poor lighting
causes distraction between the eye and brain, leading to reading, writing, and
behavioral challenges. Lamps with a warm glow are attractive, even in the daytime because they mimic a camp fire. Everyone loves sitting around a campfire..
4. The room needs good-quality airflow, not AC. Overhead fans are fine.
Ultimately, you want to be breathing fresh air.
5. Encourage keiki to be barefoot. In our experiences over the years, a child’s
working memory, body awareness, balance, calmness, and comfort all are enhanced when he/she is barefoot. It also saves your carpeting.
6. Your child needs 10 hours of sleep each night. If they fall asleep when
reading, let them sleep. If that is not an option, use a brain break where their
head is lower than their heart.
7. Limit screen time.
We design our lessons to guide keiki to become whole-brain learners. Learning
needs to be a joyful experience. Otherwise, students have difficulty integrating information. Integrated means both sides of the brain are optimally working
together. When children are happy, they learn better. We want their hearts open
while they Learn with Aloha.

Additional Parent Tips
1. Our intention is to inspire a lifelong love of reading.
2. Reading time is for interaction and closeness. Be patient with all your attention on your child.
3. For younger children, have them sit in your lap or close to you when reading.
4. Ask your keiki what he/she sees in the picture and write down what is said. Those
sentences and words are in your child’s brain. Your child can retell the story much earlier
than they can read the story. In general, children’s listening vocabulary is two years above
his/her reading vocabulary.
5. During early childhood years, have your child draw pictures on blank paper, about this
book, using proper pencil grip.
6. Play Eye Spy and look for the kitty paw print in each picture.
7. Take time to talk about the words in this story and how they relate to your child’s life. “When did you do something generous? When did you feel balanced by being in nature like the brothers felt when they were in the ocean? Was someone ever kind to you? Tell me about it.”
8. Be an engaged listener. Ask questions, “What would you wish?” Explain that being kind
and generous fills you up with “happy juice” which is a teacher’s term for endorphins.
9. As an art extension activity, make a cat puppet with a small lunch-size paper bag or a
sock that you can Sharpie to design a cat’s face. You can also use a chopstick and a 3x5
card to make a stick puppet. Be sure to give the cat puppet a name that starts with a B.
10. If your child gets wiggly, stop reading and play a game. Your child can take a walk outside or get a drink of water. Jump up and down 100 times! (Children love this!) For keiki’s
stability, cross their hands over their chest, as they jump. Remind him/her not to spin, just
jump. Jump to math facts or a rhythm for another variation. Then, when your child is ready,
start reading again.
Neurogenesis means creating new brain cells: It occurs 5 minutes after vigorously
increasing your heart rate! Jumping is a beneficial and fun activity for learning.
Rebounders and trampo-lines are great, too. Children have always known this. Do it like
we do it and go for the fun factor every time you read.

11. Vocabulary Words: Explain these words with synonyms. Connect the word to your child’s life experiences. Keiki learn language best by interacting in small groups and talking. New vocabulary builds the word bank in your child’s brain. The more words you know the better you are at relating and connecting with others.
Balanced: grounded
Generous: giving
Braddhas: the Hawaiian word for brothers.
Mercat: mermaid cat
Fortune: abundance, riches
Moral: a lesson
Keiki: children/child
12. This is all about the B sound! Point out the letter B in The Magic Wishing Fish. Practice
the /B/ sound as you come across words that begin with b in this book
13. Before you begin a lesson, take 5 minutes to complete these actions:
Water: Sip water at the beginning and throughout the lesson. Encourage drinking water when you see your child distracted or making mistakes. Staying hydrated for better thinking is a major component of learning.
Breathing: Spread your fingers and gently massage under the collarbone with your middle finger and thumb on either side of your neck. Put your other hand on your belly button. This movement encourages circulation and better thinking bringing more oxygen to your brain! Breathe deeply as you massage these points, then switch hands. You can do this as long as you like we do each side for three deep breaths.
Cross-Brain Connection: Engage the left and right hemispheres of the brain to create a
more whole-brain learner. SLOWLY WATCH your hands as they clap in front of your face.
Track your right hand to the left knee, clap in the center, and then touch the left hand to the
right knee. Repeat while crossing the body to the opposite knee. Do this to a rhythm
or a song, two of our favorites are It’s a Beautiful Day with Trinx or Bob Dylan’s, Knick
Knack Paddy Whack from the album, Every Child Deserves a Lifetime.

Calm Down: Sitting down, cross your left ankle over your right ankle. Then cross your right
arm over the left at your wrists, clasp the palms together, and pull the hands into the chest.
Sit up straight, place your tongue on the roof of your mouth, relax your shoulders, put your chin down a little, and close your eyes. Take deep four-part breaths. Slowly inhale to a count of four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, and hold for four seconds then repeat. You can also lie down or do this standing while doing this calming breath posture. To get the most benefit do this for five minutes. After four to five minutes, unhook their ankles and hands and to anchor in the calmness, put your finger tips together for one minute, while deep breathing.
This four-step routine is powerful for anyone at any age when learning! Watch this 2-minute video with Kristen Gagnon (Mrs. G) for a quick demonstration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVEL9ENxa_0
We do these movements daily. We have received comments from former eight-year-old
students who are now in their forties. They currently do these movements because they
are so powerful. At a party, three former students in their late twenties told Rex they still
use these movements all the time. (One of the partygoers was Miss Hawai’i.)