School Visit May 8

Yesterday, I went down to St. George to visit Diamond Valley Elementary.  What a great visit!  The students were fantastic, and their teachers, too.  And I learned something new!  I've been saying Denouement wrong!  I still can't quite pronounce it right, but I know not to say it the way I've been saying it.  Silly me! 

Anyway, it was a great visit.  The students and faculty were very welcoming.  And I was so tickled to see my name up on the school's marquee!

The kids helped out a lot, especially with the little play at the end.  They did a great job.  And they were so willing to participate, to answer questions, and talk about the parts of a story's plot.

I hope that the kids of Diamond Valley Elementary had as much fun as I did.  I really enjoyed visiting them, and I hope that they learned something to use when they write their own books someday!

Hope Squad

The Hope Squad is a group of kids at a given school who support each other and their peers, to keep each other safe.  Specifically from suicide. 

Young People, and all People, actually.  Remember how valuable you are.  Remember how valuable others are.  Remember there are people you can talk to, if you don't know where to turn.  They can help you face whatever obstacles are there.

To Kill A Mockingbird- by Harper Lee

I've blogged about this book before, many times, but my freshmen have just finished it, and so I wanted to blog about it again.

I cannot say how much I love this book.  The narrator, a little girl nick-named Scout, learns much throughout the book about right and wrong, and how to be an honorable human being.  While she connects with many people throughout the book, her biggest influence is her father, Atticus.  He's a single parent, their mom having died when Scout was too little to remember.  Calpurnia and Aunt Alexandria are there to help out, but Atticus has the bigger share of teaching Scout and her brother Jem about life and how to treat others.  The title To Kill A Mockingbird was very appropriate, I think, because according to Atticus, mockingbirds don't do anything to hurt people, they just sing for people.  There are many "mockingbirds" in this book, good people who haven't done anything wrong, and only want to help others.  Tom Robinson is the first one who comes to mind, a decent man who is blamed for something he didn't do, just because he had the "unmitigated temerity to feel sorry for a white woman."  Atticus himself is also a mockingbird, working hard to serve his family and his community, and getting little back aside from criticism and ridicule.  Arthur Radley is another I can think of, a good man, who after one minor mistake as a young person, is never let out into society again by his overly controlling family.

For myself, my favor for a book is determined by how well it helps people to become better, kinder, more tolerant, etc.

To Kill A Mockingbird is one of the books that does those things for me.  I'm glad Harper Lee wrote it.

School Visit

Yesterday, I got to visit Duchesne Elementary to give my school presentation.  It was so fun!  The kids got involved, and contributed a lot to the assembly.  I hoped they learned a lot about using plot to create their own unique stories.  I've really been enjoying these school visits.  I hope they help to fire up the imaginations of the students, and that someday, some of them can write and finish a few (or more!) of their own books!

School Visit and Fairview Museum

I had the fantastic opportunity today of visiting the students of Fairview Elementary to talk about the basics of writing a plot.  I got to Fairview early, so I had a little time to explore the town.  I went to the museum, which is a very decent sized museum for their town, and I was extremely impressed.  Click here, or here to learn more about this fantastic museum!  The centerpiece of the museum is a replica of a real mammoth skeleton that was found not far away from Fairview when Huntington Reservoir was being excavated.  Apparently, about 10,000 years ago, some unlucky mammoth got stuck in a bog, and met his demise.  Poor guy.  What a terrible way to go.  The folks at the museum were very friendly and knowledgable, and I really enjoyed my visit before heading back to the elementary.  At the elementary, the kids were very respectful and helpful, and it was so fun at the end, when some of the kids got into costumes to perform a short play for the other students.

I really appreciate the principal Mr. John Allan, and the staff and teachers at the school as well as the great students for letting me come visit them.  I hope they enjoy reading Felicity, and I hope they learned some good ideas about making fantastic, exciting stories!  

Author Deirdra Eden

Deirdra Eden is the author of The Watchers series which you can look at here, and has also designed some breathtaking book covers which you can look at, here.

She has also been kind enough to post a little bit of information about my book, Felicity~ A Sparrow's Tale, on her blog, here.

Karen Hoover, a very talented author whom I am fortunate to know,and who was kind enough to come to the school where I teach to do an author assembly a few years ago, is the author of several books for which Deirdra designed the covers, namely The Sapphire Flute, The Armor of Light, The Emerald Wolf, and The Chrystal Mallet, and I have been very impressed with them.  Ms. Eden did a great job!

Some Awesome Scripture Verses

I wanted to write these verses from the Old Testament, because I really like them, and like what they help me remember.

...oOo...

2 Kings 6

14 There sent he (the king of Syria) thither horses, and chariots, and a great host; and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots.  And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

16 And he answered, Fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.  And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

...oOo...

Jacob 3: 1 But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart.  Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek  your destruction.

...oOo...

I like these verses.  They help me to remember that if I'm doing the best I can, I've got friends, even if I can't see them.