As a children's author and kindergarten teacher, literacy is one of my passions. I am close to completing my Master's of Education in Literacy from the American College of Education. The following video is an assignment from one of my courses that I believe will guide incoming or current parents of kindergarten students. Please view my video for tips for parents, grandparents, and guardians in helping enrich literacy skills at home with their four, five and six year-olds.
It's sort of still the beginning of the year, right? Good! So let's get onto my usual wrap up of what I read, watched, and rocked out to in the previous year!
First...
BOOKS– Total 4
BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty
THE INEVITABLE COLLISION OF BIRDIE AND BASH by Candace
Ganger THE HANDMAID’S TALE by Margaret Atwood THE LAST GUY by Tia Louise and Ilsa Madden Mils
I'm a little embarrassed at the lack of reading I did the past year! But all good books.
I did have a busy 2017 though. Teaching kindergarten full time. My oldest graduated high school! Attending and chauffeuring my kids' activities. I visited Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, the Bahamas. And I started my National Board teaching certification process.
But dude. Even so. I promise to read more this year.
MOVIES – Total at the theater 6
Kong: Skull Island Wonder Woman Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 2 The Lego Ninjago Movie Thor, Ragnorok Star Wars: The Last Jedi
All of these with one or more of my kiddos! My top three were Wonder Woman, Thor and The Last Jedi.
CONCERTS- Total – 13!
Yes, music is my therapy, my passion. I totally rock out and sing at the top of my lungs to decompress. So this is obviously where my entertainment dollar went to this year.
Kip Winger- Yes, that's me singing with him! Ahhhhhh!
Winger (twice)
Third Eye Blind
Scott Stapp, Trapt, Sick Puppies
Buckcherry (for the 16th time)
Daughtry and Nickelback Ed Sheeran (9th row!!) Josh Todd and the Conflict (twice)
Dua Lipa Papa Roach (for the 14th and 15th time)
So, that's my year.
What were your fave books, movies, and concerts of 2017?
My blog has been rather dormant this year, but I have not been! I've been busy teaching kindergarten, editing my middle grade novel, being a distributor for It Works health and wellness products, momming my three awesome kids, and all this below!
Here is my annual list of what I read, watched, and rocked out to!
BOOKS READ
I mostly read in the summer or on school breaks, so the list isn't as long as I'd like, but I read some amazing books this year!
ROOM by Emma Donoghue (need to still see the movie!)
YES, PLEASE by Amy Poehler
ONE TO KEEP by Tia Louise
ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainbow Rowell
WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON by John Green and David Levithan
EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING by Nicola Yoon
BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE by Maggie Steifvater
SIGN OF THE GREEN DRAGON By C. Lee McKenzie
THIS ONE MOMENT By Stina Lindenblatt
SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS by Ann Brashares
THE RAVEN KING by Maggie Steifvater
PERFECT TIMING By Robin Mellom
SEVEN DEADLY SINS by Corey Taylor
THANKS FOR THE MONEY by Joel McHale
Oh! And looky! Here's me with that handsome and hilarious author/actor Joel McHale!
MOVIES WATCHED
I am happy to report that I read more books than watched movies this year!
Grease Live on Fox
Daddy’s Home
Trainwreck
Civil War
Magic Mike XL
The Secret Life of Pets
The Legend of Tarzan
Batman vs Superman
Bad Moms
Rogue One (Sigh. Very sad about Carrie Fisher.)
CONCERTS ATTENDED
And you know my huge passion for my rock music. Concerts are my therapy for sure. Here are the bands I saw live this year! (And a sidenote: been dancing to George Michael tunes for the last few days. What a loss for the music world!)
Justin Bieber (yes, I have a teenage daughter)
Skillet (a five dollar concert- man, they rocked it!)
Buckcherry - 5 times! (my total count of Buckcherry shows is 15 now)
Sebastian Bach
Me and the Buckcherry boys
Goo Goo Dolls/Safety Suit
Click HERE to see me singing with Doug, the lead singer of Safety Suit! :)
WHAT WERE YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS, MOVIES, AND CONCERTS OF 2016?
This writer finally attended another SCBWI conference, and it was amazing! I feel like my brain is still processing and downloading all the wonderful information I learned there this past weekend.
Here's a quick rundown of my whirlwind weekend:
1. Look! I came prepared to learn from the wonderful Cinda Williams Chima, author of many bestselling books, including the Shattered Realms series. I attended her Ensnaring the Wary intensive, and learned so much about how to strengthen my middle grade manuscript.
2. Roaring Twenties Party!
What a fun way to start the weekend! The Charleston was taught. I danced to some Prince songs. And SO many fabulous costumes. So fun to mingle with so many talented people! Here is YA writer and friend, Gwen Flascamp, and I (photo taken by the wonderful Linda Sue Park - who was a speaker and part of the faculty. I attended an amazing session of hers on Saturday).
3. Saturday was jam-packed with session after session. I loved learning from agents, editors, and authors. Also, the attendees raised almost $4000 for the #WeNeedDiverseBooks#WNDB cause, funding diversity programs and publishing internships. Pretty awesome, right?!
4. Art Show Saturday Night
Beautiful art by illustrators were showcased. Here are some fave art pieces and people I met that night! Illustrators Matt Vincent and Michael Trujillo, middle grade novelist, KW Penndorf, and YA writer, Gwen Flascamp! We had such a blast!
5. Sunday sessions and critique pick up!
Even more amazing sessions on Sunday plus a thorough critique of my manuscript by faculty of the conference.
If you haven't attended a conference in a while, don't wait! I came back with so many ideas to strengthen my manuscripts, met so many wonderful people and contacts, and am so INSPIRED by the weekend!
Happy New Year, friends! I hope 2015 was good to you, and I hope 2016 is even better.
2015 was busy. I taught kindergarten and reading, helped coach my son in basketball, went to three weddings in June, hosted a Spanish exchange student, chauffeured and watched my kids play sports, and traveled to Arizona, Iowa and Wisconsin. My newest picture book I'M A LITTLE GREEN WITCH was released in September. I became an It Works! distributor (I'm healthier!). And I finished the year wrapping up my rough draft of a middle grade novel on December 31. I'm determined to make more time for writing and improving myself in 2016.
Here is my usual what I read, watched and rocked out to throughout the year!
Books
Bark Until Heard by Becky Monroe
Paper Towns by John Green
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett and Jory John
One to Hold by Tia Louise
The Silent Wife by ASA Harrison
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
King of the Mutants by Samantha Verant
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Demon’s Ink By Kimbra Kasch
Into the Dark By Caroline Patti
Auggie & Me by RJ Palacio
Movies
Fifty Shades of Grey
Insurgent
The Spongebob Movie Home Avengers: Age of Ultron Jurassic World Inside Out Minions AntMan Vacation Goosebumps The Outsiders Star Wars: The Force Awakens (3x)
CONCERTS
Buckcherry for the 10th time
Papa Roach 2 times in January
Seether
Sixx Am/Apocalyptica
Taylor Swift/Shawn Mendez
Kip Winger (see below)
and Papa Roach (for the 13th time)/In this Moment/Pop Evil
Mondays Music Moves Me is something I stumbled upon last month. How cool that Xmas Dolly hosts this twice a month! Today's theme is Movie Soundtracks. This is such a great theme with so many possibilities!
As you can see, I had trouble narrowing songs down for this theme.
First is "A View to A Kill" by Duran Duran from the James Bond movie soundtrack of the same name. Did you know that when that movie came out, I went to it fully expecting to see Duran Duran somewhere in it? Yup. Spoiler alert: they weren't in it. But this cool song was!
Speaking of the 80's, I listened to the movie soundtrack Purple Rain quite a bit. All are great tunes, but my fave from the movie is "Let's Go Crazy." I couldn't find a youtube video though to embed!
Next is "American Girl" by Tom Petty from Silence of the Lambs. I cannot hear that song without picturing the girl in her car singing it before becoming a victim!
We rarely take a road trip without blasting this song from Vacation at least once!
And lastly, who can't listen to this Queen song without banging their head like Wayne and Garth in Wayne's World! :)
I'm noticing my picks are all from the way past! I guess I need to see more current movies!
Though I did love the rockin' Avengers Assemble soundtrack. It had some of my fave bands like Papa Roach and Buckcherry plus Bush and Evanescence!
Visit Xmas Dolly for move links of songs from the movies! What's your favorite song from the movies?
Welcome to the Listing Hop! Looking forward to seeing everyone's lists!
If you've been here before, you know I love music.
So my list is a list of all (probably most, I may have forgotten a few) of the bands I've seen and how many times!
Here goes! In ABC order even! I told you I love music! Papa Roach is at the top of the list with 13 times live!
30 Seconds to Mars (5), 3 Doors Down, 5 Seconds of Summer, Aerosmith,
Christina Aguilera, Alice Cooper (2), Alter Bridge, Anberlin, Apocalyptica, Avenged
Sevenfold (4), Sebastian Bach (2), Bad Company, Pat Benatar (2), Big Time Rush,
Black Eyed Peas, Blondie (2), Bon Jovi, Brides of Destruction, Buckcherry (10),
Bush, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Chevelle (3), Chicago, Coheed and Cambria, The
Connells, Crash Kings, Creed, Sheryl Crowe, Daughtry (5), Def Leppard,
Disturbed (2), Dokken (2), The Donnas, Dovetail Joint, Duran Duran (4), Eve 6,
Foo Fighters (2), Lita Ford, Goo Goo Dolls (2), Great White (2), Guns n Roses,
Halestorm, Hollywood Undead, Hoobastank, Billy Idol, In This Moment, INXS, Jet,
Billy Joel, Elton John, Juke Kartel, The Killers, Kiss (2), LA Guns,
Lovehammers (2), Maroon 5, Bret Michaels Band, The Monkees, Motley Crue (8), My
Chemical Romance (2), Vince Neil solo (4), Nelson, Neon Trees (3), New Medicine
(3), New Politics, Otherwise (2), Our Lady Peace, One Direction, Owl City, Ozzy
Osbourne, Panic Channel, Papa Roach (13), P!NK, P.O.D., Poison (3), Pop Evil (2), Prince,
Puddle of Mudd (2), Queensryche (2),Ratt, RED, REO Speedwagon (2),Rockstar Supernova, Gavin Rossdale, Safety
Suit, Saliva (2), Mike Sanchez, Saving Abel, Scorpions, Seether (3), Seven Mary
Three, Shinedown (2), Silvertide, Cody Simpson, Sixx AM (2), Skid Row (2),
Slash, Slaughter (2), Smashing Pumpkins, Rick Springfield, Billy Squier, Stone
Sour (2), Styx (3), Sum 41, Survivor (2), Taylor Swift, System of a Down,
Tantric (2), Third Eye Blind (2), Three Days Grace (3), Justin Timberlake, The
Plain White T’s, Toadies, Trapt, Tremonti, The Tubes, Van Halen (2), Velvet
Revolver, Warrant, Weezer, Weird Al Yankovic,Whitesnake (3), Kip Winger (3), Winger (2)
Today I have my own poem to share from my new Halloween picture book, I'M A LITTLE GREEN WITCH! Halloween is big in our house, so I really wanted to write a book that my kids would enjoy. I'M A LITTLE GREEN WITCH is a collection of Halloween inspired nursery rhymes and songs. I recently was a guest author at a local school, and the kids loved guessing which nursery rhyme each poem was based upon.
Here's I'M A LITTLE GREEN WITCH, the first in the collection.
Here's me reading another poem from the collection.
Can you guess which nursery rhymes or songs I based those two on?
Do you want a paranormal YA for Halloween? How about DEMON'S INK by my blogger friend, Kimbra Kasch!
Here's the spooky premise:
There are lots of dangerous things hanging (or, maybe I should say, dangling) around Portland lately but, when a Demonic tattoo artist comes to town, everything goes to Hell, in DEMON’S INK.
This young adult novel set in Portland, Oregon is available on Amazon now and with Halloween coming, you'll want to have a story to share...
DEMON'S INK: It's about art, that's more than anyone bargained for.
Drake and Bartos come to the Pacific Northwest, where they open yet another tattoo shop but Bartos has no trouble dealing with the competition because there’s nothing normal about his art. And he’s stealing more than clients from the local skin artists. He's stealing their souls.
Customers fall in love with Bartos Slinderman’s tats but end up paying the ultimate price for their purchase because unlike Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray, they can’t walk away from this art and it’s beautiful until the artwork takes on a life of its own...
Tattoos are cool, but YIKES! I stayed up Friday night reading this book! There's a bit of a love triangle as well as the mysterious happenings. You can purchase Kim's book on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com!
Go visit Kim at her blog, too! Speaking of tattoos, do you have one? I have one tiny heart tattoo. Hope to get another someday. But NOT from anyone named Bartos!
Charles Ghigna is such an amazing author and poet, and I enjoy his poetry posts as well as the gorgeous paintings he shares of his son, Chip. Ghigna's poetry is featured frequently in children's magazines from the Cricket group and you can see his wonderful books including his newest release, A CARNIVAL OF CATS, available here.
Below is an original poem that writers, artists, and all creative souls can certainly relate to.
THE SPARK OF DIVINITY
Inspired thoughts climb toward the light
As new ideas begin;
Creation comes from inside out,... Not from the outside in.
It's October, and it's the perfect time for a Halloween book! We love Halloween in our household, and that is the reason why I wanted to write a book for this fun holiday.
My newest picture book, I'M A LITTLE GREEN WITCH, is a spooktacular collection of 14 Halloween themed nursery rhymes or songs for your little ghoul or boy!
Here's the amazing cover! The vibrant illustrations are by Kelli Ann Little!
And here's a sneak peek! I recently was guest author at a local school, and the kids loved guessing which nursery rhyme each poem was based on.
If you do have the book and you can't figure out which nursery rhyme or song a poem is based on, here's a list!
I'm A Little Green Witch - to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"
Willa's Wild Ride - to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"
Willa Had a Stinky Cat - to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
Trick or Treating - to the tune of "London Bridges"
Flutter, Flutter, Little Bat - to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
I've Been Digging in the Graveyard - to the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad"
Batty Cake - based on "Patty Cake"
The Bats Go Flying One by One - to the tune of "The Ants Go Marching"
Little Jack Mummy - based on "Little Jack Horner"
Hiss! Hiss! Black Cat! - to the tune of "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep"
Hairy, Scary Spider - to the tune of "Itsy Bitsy Spider"
Willa the Witch - based on "Humpty Dumpty"
Little Girl Green - based on "Little Boy Blue"
The Boogeyman - to the tune of "Muffin Man"
Hello, fellow poet lovers and hello, summer! Today is the first Friday I have at home since school was dismissed last week. I taught kindergarten for the first time and absolutely loved it! I was also able to attend my cousin's wedding in Arizona last weekend and read PAPER TOWNS by John Green on the plane ride home (and finished in bed later that night). One thing I loved about the book is Green uses excerpts of Walt Whitman poems throughout the book, and I love that young readers will now know the poetry of Whitman because of this book (which is also a movie coming out next month).
So today for Poetry Friday, I give you a Walt Whitman poem. Not one from the book above, but one that caught my eye when I was perusing his poetry this morn.
Happy New Year to you all! I am starting the new year with a wonderful new job as kindergarten teacher in my own children's school district. In the past I've been a third grade teacher, stay-at-home mom for 11 years, a teacher's aide for kindergarten and Early Childhood, and a preschool teacher, too (all that I truly loved-I'm pretty lucky). But I have wanted to be a kindergarten teacher since I was 20 years old and my junior practicum assignment was kindergarten with an amazing teacher! I wanted to be her so badly! And now I am! Cheers to you all in this new year!
This post lists the books, movies, and concerts of 2014. Surprisingly it's the first year in a while that I watched more movies than read books!
BOOKS!
Read some amazing
books by blogger buddies this year!!
Anansi and Company by Bish Denham
Wonder by RJ Palacio
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Control by Lydia Kang
Wish You Weren’t by Sherrie Petersen
Before You Break by Christina Lee
Watercolor by LTM
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Wishing for Washington by Shelly Sly
Timepiece by Myra McEntire
Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater
Seven Letters From Paris by Samantha Verant
MOVIES!
I saw ten movies in
the theater which is probably a record! Also, saw more movies than read books
this year. Sorry, brain!
The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug
Anchorman 2
Gravity
The Lego Movie
Muppets 2 Most Wanted
Mean Girls
Divergent
Dallas Buyers Club
Pearl Harbor
Bad Grandpa
The Wolf of Wall Street
Airplane!
European Vacation
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Giver
Neighbors
Mockingjay Part 1
Dumb and Dumber To
Elf (gotta see that every year)
The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
CONCERTS!
Sawsome faves (saw Buckcherry for 9th time and Motley Crue
for 7th and final time) and finally saw The Toadies and Alter Bridge for the
first time!
Buckcherry
The Toadies
Alter Bridge
Daughtry/Goo Goo Dolls/Plain White T’s
One Direction/Five Seconds of Summer
Buckcherry
Motley Crue/Alice Cooper(two nights in a row- Crue’s final tour!)
I haven't participated in Poetry Friday in a while, which is a shame, because I LOVE poetry! I've been busy teaching preschool this year, so my mind is on the very younger set while writing poetry.
Here's a number poem about a kid favorite - the puzzle!
PUZZLE
One piece, two piece
Three piece, four
All together
On the floor.
Five piece, six piece
Seven piece, Eight
It’s almost done.
I can’t wait!
Nine piece, ten piece
They all fit.
I’m finished now.
What is it?
- by Kelly Polark, all rights reserved
*Adorable illustration by Kelli Ann Little from picture book, ROCKABET: CLASSIC EDITION
(turned into a puzzle by me)
Thanks so much for stopping by! Go find other poems to read HERE at today's poetry roundup at Anastasia's Booktalking blog!
My friend and fellow blogger, Samantha Verant had an amazing October. Her debut memoir, SEVEN LETTERS FROM PARIS, was released as well as her debut middle grade novel, KING OF THE MUTANTS. (Yes, that is a photo of us taken six years ago in Chicago!)
Let me tell you about the two books!
SEVEN REASONS I LOVE SEVEN LETTERS FROM PARIS
1. Sam is one witty author.
2. The story made me laugh, sigh, and even tear up.
3. So yes, there is heartbreak, but there is much laughter and love, too.
4. Amazing story about second chances.
5. It embraces the lost art of letter writing.
6. There's a place in France where Sam likes to dance. (Maybe or maybe not)
7. I'm mentioned in the acknowledgements!
KING OF THE MUTANTS
I haven't read all of Sam's King of the Mutants yet (I've read the first few chapters long ago!), but I will because my son is getting it for Christmas! Here's the scoop:
Maverick Mercury is the sideshow attraction known as “Gator Boy” at Grumbling’s Traveling Circus and Sideshow. Despite being routinely kicked around by the other performers, Maverick has always been comfortable in his skin. That is, until he overhears Burt Grumbling talking about him behind his reptilian-like back. It seems Maverick’s freakish mutations are the result of some billionaire geneticist’s experiments gone awry. Apparently, this guy kidnaps kids, turns them into supermutants, and sells their powers to the highest bidder. Now, Maverick is on a mission to find the mad scientist who may have created him. All he has to do is steal some wheels from Burt, escape the clutches of one-eyed Yorgi and his gang of killer clowns, and make his way from some Podunk town in Florida to the Big Apple.
So happy for Sam on her double book whammy in October!
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
I have big news about my blogger friend, Sharon!
The wonderful Sharon Mayhew has started an editing business called THE MANUSCRIPT MAVEN! Don't you love the name?! She has critiqued many of my manuscripts, and I highly recommend her. Check out her new website HERE!
NOISELESS, patient spider,
