Celebrating a School Visit and a Program I Learned About

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So I'm celebrating a school visit today. This morning I had the pleasure of visiting Matsuyama Elementary

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School, here in Sacramento, to read Dragonella to three first grade classes. They all assembled in one room, and were so quiet and attentive when they came in. And they stayed that way for over 35 minutes, which is not typical for first graders.

It is always such a pleasure to read to children. You can see them getting drawn into another world. All those sweet faces. All those bright eyes. You can almost hear their thoughts clicking away. Afterwards, the questions these kids asked were just terrific.

I always love school visits, but today I learned about a program I hadn't heard about before — and that I think has a lot to do with how sharp these kids were: Their three wonderful teachers meet Fridays in a program called The Leader in Me. Hats off to the school for promoting this program. The program focuses on the concepts in Stephen Covey's acclaimed book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, but applies the habits to children. I think the whole school does it, with different lesson plans for each grade level.

These habits that make for successful living focus on character.  (There's an online site where you can learn more about The Leader in Me, HERE, where the concepts are called The 7 Habits of Happy Kids.) To wit: 1. Be proactive 2. Begin with the end in mind 3. Put first things first 4. Think win/win 5. Seek first to understand; then to be understood 6. Synergize 7. Sharpen the saw (balance)

These are the habit definitions in the adult book, too, but in this program each habit is broken down for young children to use and apply to their own lives. Apparently there are The Leader in Me schools around the globe, and I have to say, I am impressed.

I hope all of you are having a good Friday. What are you celebrating today? Do you know of other special programs for kids that have impressed you?

Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop co-hosted by Lexa Cain at: Lexa Cain,  L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge , and Tonja Drecker @ Tidbits Blog. (You can go to any of these sites to add your name to the links, if you want to participate.)

Celebrating Being Home

I seem to have fallen by the wayside when it comes to blogging in recent months. Preparing for travels, our trip to Spain and Portugal, and trying to put finishing touches on notes for recent books, all distracted me from both blogs. We got home Monday evening, and I've been busy ever since then, catching up. But I do have things to celebrate:

First, Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop co-hosted by Lexa Cain at: Lexa Cain,  L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge , and Tonja Drecker @ Tidbits Blog. (You can go to any of these sites to add your name to the links, if you want to participate. )

Now to the celebrations:

1. As some of you know, I discovered last year that I have glaucoma. It was really severe, too, when the opthamologist discovered it. I've had surgery in the eye most severely affected, and I've been taking drops in both eyes to bring the pressure down. I am diligent in taking my drops. Still, one can't help but be nervous. So in my last exam -- GOOD NEWS: The pressure came down some more in both eyes. I am so happy about that.

   

2. As mentioned earlier, my picture book, Dragonella, was released October 20th (in time for Christmas.) Here is the LINK if you want to order a copy for a little one: 

3. But I also have a contract for my story collection for children, The Carnival of the Animals, which will  come out next year. As you can imagine, I feel like turning somersaults of joy.

4. A book I ordered came in my absence: Memoirs from Mrs. Hudson's Kitchen, by Wendy Herman-Marsaw. As many of you know, I am a great Sherlock Holmes fan. (My book, Imogene and the Case of the Missing Pearls, includes him among the characters.) This book includes many details of Victorian society during the time of the Sherlock Holmes canon, as well as recipes for meals served in various classes — all through the eyes of the Great Detective's landlady.   And here is a LINK for it.

5. I'm submitting my cosy mystery novel now, and waiting with bated breath for the sound of the pebble landing somewhere. 

I'm also caught up on a lot of things, now, so I expect to be blogging more faithfully, both here and on my Fourth Wish blog next door. 


How about you? Have things distracted you from blogging? Have you had good health news lately? Are you submitting your writing projects? Do you have any good summer 

A Wonderful Site for Those Looking for Children's Books

 

         
I'm celebrating a marvelous site provided by SCBWI (Society of Book Writers & Illustrators) until end of November. It's called Book Stop, and this is a perfect place to Christmas shop for young readers. There's an embarrassment of riches in store for you!

But first, Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop co-hosted by Lexa Cain at: Lexa Cain,  L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge , and Tonja Drecker @ Tidbits Blog. (You can go to any of these sites to add your name to the links, if you want to participate. )


Okay, the link to SCBWI Book Stop: You can look up books published by traditional publishers or independent publishers. It's up to you.  You can go directly to their site HERE

My own page for Dragonella  is among the pages for independent publishers (Belanger Books. Check them out HERE, they are currently open for submissions.)  

You can go to the link for my book stop page  HERE . I hope you will stop by and sign the guest book. Also, I hope you will spread the word among those with children or grandchildren the appropriate ages (5-8).  

Here are the front and back covers. (I lucked out with a wonderful illustrator, Brian Belanger!) 

Wishing you all a Happy and safe Halloween. Do you have special plans? Are you taking children Trick or Treating? Attending a Halloween party instead? Offering a Halloween party to friends & neighbors instead? 



I have such fond memories of my own childhood Halloween ventures. I loved the dress-up part of it more than collecting candy. What are some of your best Halloween memories?

New Book Release: Dragonella

     

Today I am celebrating the release of my picture book, Dragonella. It was released today. Here is the summary on the jacket:

"Dragonella is the only dragon at her new school. Other students - trolls, griffins, and ogres - are frightened when she breathes fire. The teacher isn't happy when Dragonella's laughter melts the filing cabinet. But when Dragonella's flames save the day during the class party on Legend Day, the teacher and other students learnt they shouldn't be quick to judge someone who is different."
                                                         

For those who are interested in the paperback, here is the LINK.  Needless to say, I am quite excited about this.

Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop co-hosted by Lexa Cain at: Lexa Cain,  L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge , and Tonja Drecker @ Tidbits Blog. You can go to any of these sites to add your name to the links, if you want to participate. 

I know many if you participate in NaNoWriMo each year. I've always stood in awe of anyone who can knock out a draft in a month. I tried to participate once, but had to give up. Are you planning to participate this year? Are you celebrating something else about writing? Or are you celebrating special family holiday plans and events?