Wanda Luthman's Blog, page 21

Wally’s Misadventure

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your friends and family. We sure did. Even though our lives have been turned upside down lately and we couldn’t do much for Christmas other than keep it simple, it was a very blessed time. And I pray everyone has a very blessed new year!

Now, on to sharing another awesome book find I have come across, I’ll let the author introduce it to you, take it away Chrys…

I’m excited to introduce my first children’s book called “Wally’s Misadventure”.

[image error]Available on Amazon

“Wally’s Misadventure” is about a young raccoon who had been longing to explore the forest.  Wally knows he is supposed to take a friend with him, but when none of his friends can go he decides to go alone.  During his adventure Wally encounters trouble along the way! In the end, Wally realizes rules are meant to protect him.

The story of
Wally Wilson Raccoon Jr. began with the thought that raccoons are mischievous
and tend to get into trouble.  The beaver
came about because I like the beavers in C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch, and
the Wardrobe” (which is one of my favorite books).  I wanted a bird in the story and as I thought
about a name the first name that came to mind was Ivy.  Ivy was named after my maternal grandmother
who lived to be 105 years old and loved church music.  I chose the wren because that was the last
name of one of my pastors and his wife had a great soprano voice.

The biggest
inspiration was the part about Wally getting attacked by the bird which actually
happened to my cat, Zipper.  Zipper was a
big gray and black tabby who was a gentle soul. 
He didn’t like to hunt or eat anything but his dry cat food.  His food was always on a picnic table out on
the back porch so the dog wouldn’t eat it. 
For a while there was a Scrub Jay that would dive bomb Zipper while he
was eating.  Zipper finally got fed up
with the bird and Zipper killed it!

As a teacher for many years and now a substitute teacher, I have spent many hours around children.  I have seen how children don’t use their imagination very much.  It is disheartening to try to get a child to use their imagination and come up with so little.  My hope is that children will not only enjoy “Wally’s Misadventure”, but learn from Wally’s mistakes and develop their imaginations.

When I am
not teaching or writing I enjoy photography, traveling, baking, reading, and
crafting.  I sing in the choir and
Worship Team at my church as well as help with the Ladies ministry. 

Holiday Homebody (Education doesn’t have to take a holiday during the break from school)

[image error]

Dr. Valerie
Allen

Licensed
School Psychologist.

Holiday
Homebody

The clock is ticking, the phone is ringing, excitement is in the air! The children can’t wait to sleep in late, yet, learning can still find a place in your home. Holidays can be a time of enrichment and creativity for young minds. Here are six ways to turn the holidays into an enjoyable learning experience to share with your child.

1.  Discuss the meaning and the origin of your
holiday celebrations. You can also talk about how other cultures celebrate at
this time of year. Identify various customs, foods and traditions.

2.  Vocabulary: 
There are many words related to holiday celebrations. Start a
list and add to it everyday. Words can be classified into nouns, such as apply
pie, candy canes, ornaments, candles and so on. They can be identified as
emotions, such as happiness, sharing, caring, joy, and similar responses.

3.  Read: Give books as gifts. Refer to classic
stories that celebrate your holiday traditions. Talk about real vs. make believe
and encourage critical thinking about fact and fiction. Discuss fairy tales and
characters in children’s books. Decide which parts of a story are about real
things and which parts are pretend.

4.  Cultural beliefs.  Research the history of various celebrations.
Talk about the significant religious, social and cultural aspects of the
holidays.

5.  Food Celebrations.  There are certain foods we enjoy during
specific holidays. You can find simple, no-cook recipes for children to make
and enjoy together. Discussions can include favorite holiday foods and the
basic healthy food list. You can read the ingredients used in desserts and
compare them to the healthy food list. This can also lead to a discussion of
sharing food with others in the community.

6.  Talk about giving, receiving, and sharing.
Gifts don’t have to have a monetary value to have meaning. Make a connection
between work and money and making financial decisions about how and why to
spend money for the sake of others.

Just because school is
out, learning doesn’t have to take a vacation during the holidays!

# # #

Dr. Valerie Allen is a child psychologist and author in Melbourne, FL.  She has published two children’s books, “Summer School for Smarties” and “Bad Hair, Good Hat, New Friends.” Oh yes, she has also raised six children!

Sophia the Christmas Eve Snow Bunny & the Real Gift

[image error]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to pop on and share my newest picture book called Sophia the Christmas Eve Snow Bunny & the Real Gift.

My illustrator, Mara Reitsma, wrote up a great blog about it complete with hints on what animal is featured in the book (although if you look at the cover pictured above, you’ll be able to guess)

This book was inspired by my own white bunny when I was a child. His name was BunBun. I know, not creative, but he was well loved. The bunny in the picture book is an orphan but she learns the real gift of Christmas this season. Join her on her journey and discover places and animals from around the globe.

Check out Mara’s blog here…

http://itybityqt.wixsite.com/marareitsma/single-post/2018/12/20/Shes-here-shes-here

And you can get your ebook copy on Amazon by clicking here…

Also, please like, comment, and share so others can discover this wonderful tale!!

Thank you!

Merry Christmas!!

sophia the christmas eve snow bunny & the real gift

This Christmas give the gift of generosity to the child in your life with multi-award winning author, Wanda Luthman’s latest picture book….

Here’s three hints for you to guess what type of animal is the main character.

[image error]

Do you have an idea what it might be? 

Let’s see the next clue to help you figure it out.

[image error]

I bet you’re getting warmer…

Here’s one more clue to firm it up!

[image error]

If you guessed a bunny, you are correct!!

One of my favorite animals is a bunny. I love animals of all kinds but bunnies hold a special place in my heart. What about you?

When I was growing up in the suburbs of St. Louis, MO, we had a cow pasture behind our house. The fence actually divided the cow pasture from our yard.

One day, my sister found 3 abandoned bunnies and brought them home. They were the brown wild kind.

My sister, my brother, and I instantly fell in love with them. But, we soon realized we didn’t know how to care for them.

Fortunately, it was Easter time and my parents were quick thinkers. They told us the Easter bunny had taken them to care for them and left us a white tame bunny instead.

We loved that bunny so much!! We weren’t very creative at naming him though. We called him Bunn Bunn.

I was inspired to write a Christmas story using a snow white bunny for the main character based on our very own Bunn Bunn but, in this story, her name is Sophia.

You’ll be able to purchase the ebook of this story on December 23rd from Amazon. (The paperback will come soon thereafter).

Sophia the Christmas Eve Snow Bunny & The Real Gift is about a bunny who knows what it’s like to not have presents for Chistmas. Santa asks her to help him in the gift giving for animals. Join Sophia on her Christmas Eve mission as she circles the globe bringing joy to all the animals that would otherwise not have presents.

Thanks for playing along and I hope you enjoy Sophia’s story!!

Invite Guests—Not Germs—to Your Home During the Holidays

Some awesome advice during this holiday season!

Free Spirit Publishing Blog

By Elizabeth Verdick, author of Germs Are Not for Sharing

Hurray, it’s the holiday season!

Uh-oh, it’s also cold and flu season.

Parties, travel, and gatherings are all part of holiday fun, but time spent with others during cold and flu season means that you and your children are more likely to get sick. What are you supposed to do—hide out and avoid the crowds? Impossible. There are ways to reduce the risk of getting viruses, though. It all starts with the hands.

Your hands are busy all day long, and they touch so many different surfaces: railings, countertops, handles, money, credit cards, computer keyboards, the steering wheel, the remote control. Did you know that flu viruses can survive on a hard surface for up to 24 hours? As a parent, you probably spend part of your day changing diapers, helping your child in the bathroom, wiping noses, or cleaning…

View original post 586 more words

Introduce Yourself: Introducing Guest Author Wanda Luthman

Hi everyone,

I had the good fortune to be interviewed by this wonderful blog (PBS) and I’d love for you to read it and consider re-blogging it as well. And if you’re an author and would like to be interviewed too, just reach out to Yecheilyah.

The PBS Blog

Today, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Wanda Luthman. Let’s get started!



What is your name and where are you from?

Wanda Luthman. I grew up in St. Louis, MO but was born in NC, spent a few years in Florida, and two beautiful years in Hawaii, and now I’m back in Florida.

Hawaii. Okkaay. Are you employed outside of writing?

I’m a High School Guidance Counselor. I have 350 students that I track for graduation and help them with emotional issues as well as career advice throughout their high school years. I love my job, my school, my co-workers, and most especially the children/young adults.

I love it. Any siblings?

I have two siblings—a brother and a sister. I’m the baby of the three of us.

In your own words, what is love?

Love is magic. Whenever you think of love, you know something magical is there…

View original post 732 more words

Twelve Days to Save Christmas

[image error]

 

Title : Twelve Days to Save Christmas

Age range: 8 – 12 years (but adults have enjoyed it, too).

Book description:

Magical Mary arrives in Berryfield with two missions. The first is to bring Christmas back to the town, and the second is to help Esme, a Foundling and a child who does not speak, to achieve her destiny and save Christmas for the town. Mary has to enlist the help of the mysterious Jane and convince her of the role she needs to play to ensure Mary’s missions are fulfilled. The town Mayor has nothing but bad memories of Christmas and has kept the Christmas spirit from the town for so long, the people of Berryfield have forgotten what Christmas is all about. Can Mary and Imi the elf convince Jane to change the mind of the mean-minded Mayor, help the struggling family, and bring Christmas back to the town?

FIVE STAR Review:

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers’ Favorite

Grange Solicitors has never decorated its office for Christmas – no tree, no lights, no trimmings. In fact, the entire town of Berryfield has banned Christmas. You see, the mayor of Berryfield is a non-believer, a miserable old Scrooge who doesn’t believe in celebrating anything, let alone Christmas. So when Jane, who works at Grange Solicitors, and Mary, the cleaning lady, team up to decorate the offices, the mayor notices too much happiness and sets about making everyone’s life miserable. How? He bans pets of any kind from family homes. The town’s inhabitants are unhappy and very angry, but not as much as Jane, who sets about making things right for not only the town, but also the miserable old mayor. You see, Jane is on a special mission, and Mary, who is a Finder, helps her. Their ultimate goal is to save Christmas and there’s little time left to do so.

Jane Finch’s young people’s story, Twelve Days to Save Christmas, is a wonderful fable, a charming story for young readers about Christmas and the power of love and faith. She takes on the classic theme of a Scrooge-type character and expounds on the true meaning of the season. Each character has its place in the story, its place in life itself, and they all blossom with the unveiling of the magic of Christmas. This is more than a tale of Christmas miracles; it’s a story with the power to change and make things right in the world, starting with making Christmas right. 

 

From the author: With over twenty books now published, many of them children’s books, I had never quite written my dream, a Christmas story that would encompass a little magic, lots of animals, and look for the true meaning of Christmas. The idea stayed with me over several years, until finally I had to put pen to paper and write down my ideas. Twelve Days to Save Christmas evolved from that. We need to bring the magic back to Christmas, and I hope this story does that.

 

 

Amazon link: getbook.at/12days

Author website: finchlark.webs.com

 

 

Reprimands

I just discovered this blog and really like this post for parents of kindergarteners.

kindergarten23

Post 40

It’s been a couple of months now and hopefully your child has gotten used to school and has settled in nicely. Everything seems to be going along great when suddenly he/she gets “in trouble” at school. What do you do?

First of all, there are all levels of “trouble”. There’s being sent to the principal’s office (take it seriously) all the way to being told to “use your inside voice” (most children are told that at some point). Try to find out from your child the exact circumstances and what was said. Was it specific to your child or directed at the whole class? Did the reprimand come from his/her classroom teacher, a special area teacher, another child? Where did it happen….in the classroom, the hallway, cafeteria, library, etc? That will give you a sense of whether it was said to the group as a whole during a…

View original post 516 more words

An Attitude of Gratitude

[image error]

With Thanksgiving on its’ way this Thursday, we welcome our favorite School Psychologist, Dr. Valerie Allen, with words of wisdom for this holiday centered on gratefulness.

An Attitude with Gratitude

by

Dr. Valerie Allen

Even in difficult economic times, we live in a land of abundance. Most families exceed the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Children have more than ample toys and clothes. Often, they have difficulty finding storage for the excess items in their bedrooms and play areas. In this land of plenty, it is difficult to teach children how to appreciate what they have. The joy of giving is often lost in the expectation of getting.

How do we teach children to be thankful for what they have? We need to engage them in the act of giving and doing for others. They will not only develop an appreciation for what they have, but will learn to care for their belongings, and have the satisfaction that comes from sharing and helping others.

Here are some activities you can do to develop gratitude and appreciation in your youngster.

Thoughtful Families: Set an example at home. Discuss acts of kindness by friends, coworkers, or family members. Acknowledge heroic acts, which are reported in the paper or on the news. Talk about charitable donations and organizations such as the March of Dimes, Red Cross, and Habitat for Humanity. Help children understand there are others less fortunate who are in need of financial and emotional support. Tell them about Mother Theresa and her famous words, “We cannot do great things—only small things with great love.”
Thankful Thursdays: In the spirit of Thanksgiving, plan a day of gratitude each week throughout the year. Children can make a list or draw a picture of all the people and things in their lives to be thankful for each week. They can keep track of what they have done for others, as well as what others have done for them. You can help them plan a random act of kindness for the following week. Soon they will develop the spirit of Thanksgiving during every season of the year.
Take Action: Children can visit a nursing home, draw pictures and mail them to shut ins, or help a neighbor with yard work. More formal activities can be arranged through a church or volunteer organization to help at a school, collect canned goods, or work at an animal shelter. Children can make place mats, napkin rings, or menu cards for meals-on-wheels. They can participate in community clean up days, plant a tree, or help collect litter at a park. Did you know socks are the most requested item at homeless shelters? Encourage your children to become a positive influence in the community.
Thank You Notes: Children should get in the habit of writing notes to express appreciation. Not just for birthday or holiday gifts, but for those who give their time or help with projects. Write letters to teachers, neighbors, firefighters, police officers, the pediatrician, the scout leader, or the choir director to recognize their time and effort. cyber kids can send thanks via email.
Thrift Stores: Teach children to share. Have your youngster clean out toy boxes and clothes closets once a month. Have them remove an old item when replacing it with something new. Have them bundle up the items and take them to a consignment or thrift shop or a domestic shelter to be shared with others.

 

Twice Around: Recycle, reuse, and repurpose. Recycling is a wonderful way to respect and preserve our environment. Children can save and sort newspapers, cans, glass jars, and plastic containers. They can also be creative by using items in unique ways. For example, the plastic bags from groceries can be reused as trash bags. The Sunday comics can be used as wrapping paper. Small plastic containers can hold pieces and parts from board games, hair accessories, or jewelry.

 

Money is not the essential factor in helping others. Children need to learn giving of themselves is the most important gift they can offer. Doing for others is the best way to develop an attitude of gratitude in your youngster.

 

# # #

 

Dr. Valerie Allen is a child psychologist and author. She  has published two books for  children in grades two  to six

A Raven’s Tale Chapter Book

[image error]

 

Hi everyone,

Jane Finch is back with a chapter book that sounds just delightful!

Read on to learn more about this book…

A Raven’s Tale by Jane Finch

Book description: The tranquil life of the animals living at The Common comes under threat as the ravens try to stage a takeover after a carefully planned attack. They try to blame humans for their actions. The ravens offer protection to the animals in return for slavery. Some of the animals discover the truth and the Plan is hatched to escape and build a new life for them all, the animals of the forest working together to overcome the bullying of the ravens. But will they be successful or will the ravens get their way?

Publisher’s Note: Presented as an entertaining children’s story, this book forms a gentle introduction to the plight of refugees fleeing injustice the world over and presents an opportunity for discussion and understanding of this difficult subject.

 

A Raven’s Tale is a chapter book suitable for young readers age 8 – 12years.

 

Background:

The Raven is part of the Crow family and are known to be highly intelligent. Some years ago I used to take my son to watch the birds, and we made up stories together about what might be happening as we watched squabbles, bullying, preening, and pecking, and listened to their screeches and cawing. This was when the idea for A Raven’s Tale began to form. There is so much more to the animal life around us and I love to bring these stories to life in the hope that young readers will understand and appreciate the natural world around them.

 

Book link: getbook.at/RavenTale

Author website: finchlark.webs.com

Thank you, Jane, for sharing this lovely book with an important message for both children and grown ups!!