Does your child love to sing, dance and act and have a particular knack for it? Do they watch Disney Channel or Disney XD all day and fantasize with being the next Selena Gomez or Bridgit Mendler? Well, here’s their chance to shine in the Disney spotlight!

Disney Channel and Disney XD just announced that they are hosting a Nationwide Talent Search for kids ages 10-17 who can act, sing and dance for upcoming Disney Channel and Disney XD series and movies. The search will begin in Southern California with casting directors for Disney Channel and Disney XD visiting elementary, middle and high schools, performing arts schools and academies, dance studios and after school programs. That means that your child doesn’t need to have previous experience, or a reel or casting book. They could just be discovered by doing what they do best and just being kids!

What’s really got me excited about this talent search is that Disney is looking to throw a wide net and make sure their on-air talent reflects the reality of the diversity of our kids’ generation.

“Diversity is the guidepost for Disney Channel programming and our talent search is another extension of our efforts to try and meet with actors who might not normally have the chance to be seen by a professional casting director,” Judy Taylor, senior vice president of Casting and Talent Relations for Disney Channels Worldwide shared with me via email. “We continue to experiment with new and innovative ways to make the auditioning process more accessible to everyone. During the talent search we are looking for actors for a variety of Disney Channel and Disney XD series and movies.”

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Courtesy of Donna Pham

Students from seventh through twelfth grade at the school where I teach are interested in comics. Actually, I have recently learned that the correct term for these books is graphic novels. I see them reading during lunch, on the school bus, and sometimes they even try to sneak reading them during class. I love when I see the kids so excited to read.

Learning Spanish can be challenging and tedious for teenagers. Older students often have to struggle to acquire the language. As a teacher, I have always tried to tap into my students’ interests in order to make learning fun. The comics that they so love to read were perfect for the Spanish classroom.

I started by introducing my students to the iconic Malfalda character from Argentina and found other comics on-line that were easy to understand due to the illustrations that accompany the dialogue. I wanted to give the students the opportunity to not just read comics in Spanish, but encouraged their creativity by having them write and illustrate their own works.

The library technician at our school, Tommy Kovac, is a talented and published graphic novelist. He has experience both in writing and illustrating some amazing stories. His graphic novel “Wonderland” was published by Disney and selected by the American Library Association’s “Great Graphic Novels For Teens” list. Tommy took the time to teach my students about the creative process of writing and drawing graphic novels. The students were enthralled and intrigued to learn the process involved with writing and illustrating in one their favorite genres.

Courtesy of Janet Doan

I assigned a project that had the kids take what they learned to create their own comics in Spanish. They were enthusiastic and eager to get started, and spent the next couple of days in class working. The work that the students produced was absolutely incredible! My efforts to teach Spanish benefit enormously when I take a creative and artistic approach for engaging the learners.

So much that I do in the classroom interests my own bilingual children. The activities that we do in class, the books that we read or the songs that we sing can all be adapted to further the linguistic abilities of my own bilingual children. My young sons loved looking at and having me read them the projects of my students. They too were inspired to create their own stories, draw their own characters and tell me their tales in Spanish.

Sometimes tapping into our children’s creative and artistic natures fosters learning and imagination beyond our expectations. Introduce your children to comics in Spanish, encourage them to write their own, and wait to be amazed by the results.

Editor’s note: Michael, a 13-year-old homeschooled teen, is the son of Rachel Matos, one of our occasional contributors and fellow blogger. He had been anxiously awaiting the premiere of “Lincoln,” so we decided it would be great to encourage him to attend an advance screening and give us his personal review. 

A year ago, I heard that Steven Spielberg was going to do a movie about my favorite president Abraham Lincoln. I’d been excited ever since. When they released the cast information for the film, I saw some names I recognized – such as James Spader, Tommy Lee Jones and Joseph Gordon Levitt. However, the name I did not recognize was the actor picked to play Lincoln – Daniel Day-Lewis. My Dad is in the movie marketing business and was coincidentally working on Lincoln. I asked him to tell me about Daniel Day-Lewis. His reply “He is one of the greatest!” Later that day, we watched one of his films – Last of the Mohicans. I was amazed! I felt like I was watching history, and I started to wonder how he was going to portray Lincoln – as a president and as a father.

I grew a deep interest about the life of Abraham Lincoln three years ago. My school class had to do a project on an icon in American history. We were assigned people randomly. Although I quietly hoped I would get Martin Luther King Jr. (Another one of my favorite historical figures), I was assigned President Abraham Lincoln. I went to the library and got a book called Abraham Lincoln by Tanya Lee Stone. After learning so much, I became obsessed and checked out two other books and got more information about Lincoln online. I learned a lot about his family and about his friendship with Ulysses S. Grant – the 18th president. The thing that I liked the most about Abraham Lincoln was that he seemed to have a big heart and that he ended a huge part of slavery.

I finally got to see Lincoln last week at a pre-screening. I think if you are going to pick an actor to play Abraham Lincoln you have to get the best. This movie has the most believable acting I have ever seen. Steven Spielberg showed more than the struggles that Abraham Lincoln went through as a president. He also showed that Lincoln has a sense of humor and loved to tell stories. The film also explores his relationship and struggles with his son Robert Todd Lincoln (played by Joseph Gordon Levitt) and the relationship with his wife Mary Todd Lincoln (played by Sally Field). The film shows Lincoln’s life after his re-election and right after the death his younger son William. It was a very rough period in his life. Daniel Day-Lewis shows that his character seems happy on the outside but in a cold and dark place on the inside, who is struggling with his family relationships and the loss of his son. You can see it in facial expressions and the way he would deliver his lines. You knew he felt lots of pain but couldn’t show it.

My guess is that this movie will win a few Oscars and I really think Daniel Day-Lewis will win for Best Actor … again. Lincoln comes out November 16th. I highly recommend you go see this film. You will not be disappointed!

Michael Wynne is a teen homeschooler, avid video game player and football fanatic, who loves movies, sports and a good pizza.