Tag: Education

Manatee School—from Start to Finish

Every creative project starts with a dream. One morning during the winter of 2015 my dream was born. As I gazed across the crystal clear water at Blue Spring State Park in Florida, I heard a snort and noticed scores of dark shapes gathering underwater. As the shapes swam closer I realized these were manatees who had migrated to the constant 72 degree water to escape the colder temperatures of the St. John’s River. Inspiration struck and at first I wanted to describe this scene by writing a poem.

While at Blue Spring I read about a dedicated volunteer who canoes the spring every morning during the winter months to count the manatees. Since 1980, Wayne Hartley has reported his manatee count to the U.S. Geological Survey. Mr. Hartley also monitors the animals for cold stress, malnourishment, and injuries.

If a manatee needs medical help, Mr. Hartley contacts the Florida Wildlife Commission to assist with rescue and release. The main threat to manatees is boat strikes. Sadly, a manatee can be identified by the location of scars on its body. Mr. Hartley uses this information to identify many of the “sea cows” he observes during his research operation. He has even given them names.

I decided then and there to write a rhyming picture book entitled, Manatee School. Mr. Hartley became my main character. He symbolized someone who answered a call and found purpose in his life. I gave my character the name, “Mel, the Manatee Counter.” I took Mel’s duties one step further—He would conduct a school for manatees and teach them how to stay safe.

When I started the draft the manatee “students” became my supporting characters. Instead of identifying them by their scars, Mel identifies them by their habits. Mike is always eating. Bertha performs barrel roles. Sherilyn is shy. These ideas contribute to the playfulness of the story. I wanted children to develop a sense of wonder about God’s creation—especially manatees.

Early in 2016 I sought publication for my manuscript at the Florida Christian Writers Conference. I met Jesse Florea, who at that time was editor of Clubhouse Junior Magazine. He suggested I write a nonfiction article and place a child in the canoe with the manatee counter. So I reached out to Wayne Hartley and explained that I was writing an article for a magazine. He agreed to take a friend of mine and her eight-year-old daughter on a canoe ride through the spring to see manatees. The article, Counting Manatees, was published in September, 2016. I shared the child’s reaction to seeing these gentle giants and included interesting facts.

During the next seven years Manatee School remained in a file while I published the Tales of Blueberry Street series with Elk Lake. Every now and then I would take the manuscript out and move some of the words around, determined to write better poetry. During those sessions I remembered the vision I received at Blue Spring and prayed that this dream of a picture book would become a reality.

In 2023 I entered Manatee School in the Florida Tapestry Contest and won Honorable Mention. To me this was a sign God had not forgotten me. But something was missing… I knew the story was not finished.

During the summer of 2024 I remembered the words of Jesse Florea. If this was to be a children’s book, I must make it appealing to children by putting a child in the canoe. I rewrote the story. The manatee counter became a grandpa who takes his granddaughter, Emily, on an adventure to visit his school, where he teaches manatees how to stay safe. In the fall I consulted with author, Michelle Medlock Adams who who advised me regarding how to structure the picture book and write a proposal.

I spent the summer of 2025 crafting a better narrative and sent my book proposal to my agent, Michelle S. Lazurek of WordWise Media in late August. Abundance Books offered me a publishing contract a month later.

My search for an illustrator began in earnest. Bennett Longmire was referred to me by Mickey Leonard who illustrated two of my previous books. Although Bennett lives in Pennsylvania and has never visited Florida, she did a beautiful job of capturing the essence of the Florida landscape from the photos I emailed to her.

What I enjoyed most about writing this book was incorporating facts about manatees into the rhyme. I have to say this was a challenge. When Grandpa teaches Emily about manatees he speaks lyrically.

“Manatees are mammals, dear

They surface to breathe air.”

Grandpa takes a closer look,

“I see a baby there!”

Now, more than ten years after the original idea was conceived, Manatee School is finished! I am thankful for the many people who contributed to the process of fulfilling my dream. I learned a story can change many times before it is ready for publication. My prayer is that children be filled with the same wonder I felt when I visited Blue Spring. Visit my facebook author page for videos and puppet shows celebrating the coming release on August 4. Links for preorders shown below.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Reading: Just Do It!

People who can read, should.

Are you a reader? Do you enjoy losing yourself in a book? May is National Get Caught Reading Month. The campaign encourages people of all ages to read for enjoyment.

REMEMBER WHEN READING WAS FUN ?

When I was a child I loved to read or hear others read. Yertle the Turtle, by Dr. Seuss was one of our family favorites. My mother read the book to us so often, my brothers and I memorized most of the lines.

In elementary school I enjoyed the Boxcar Children. Author Gertrude Warren amazed me with her tale of four orphans surviving on their own in an abandoned boxcar. I admired their ingenuity and the way they cared for one another.

A memorable character I related to was Anne Shirley, the dramatic imaginative Anne, spelled with an E of course! I felt a connection because like me, she got in trouble for talking too much. I read Anne of Green Gables again as an adult. L.M. Montgomery still delighted me with her beautiful descriptions. A few years ago, I enjoyed posing with “Anne” on a trip to Prince Edward Island.

HOW I LOST MY LOVE OF READING

As a parent, teacher, and now as a new author, I’m still talking to children about the importance of reading. Books contain insight, information, and inspiration. Books help us grow mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Parents and teachers encourage their children to read, but do they read for themselves? If not, what happened?

Sometime during my high school years, I was forced to read for information only. The entertainment value of books decreased. My classes demanded I read in order to pass a test, or write a term paper. This continued throughout college. The joy of reading evaporated like a puddle on hot pavement.

After college I became busy with my teaching career, managing a household, and transporting my children to their activities. I always hoped I would have more time to read without interruption. Sigh. Does reading a lesson plan count?

I remember when elementary schools used to have D.E.A.R. time during the school day. Everybody, including the teacher, was supposed to Drop Everything And Read. It was a sacred time when teachers were supposed to model good reading behavior. That’s a great idea in a perfect world. The reality was much different. It was hard for me to ignore the children and sit with a book when Johnny was writing with a Sharpie on his desk. Well, like many short lived programs, D.E.A.R. was dropped for learning goals and standardized testing. How sad.

Fortunately for me, retirement brought an opportunity to read more. One of my favorite books is The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Author Kim Michele Richardson tells the story of the blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the prejudice they encountered during the 1930’s. As someone who is “blue,” Cussy Mary Carter had plenty of reasons to hate white people, but instead responded with love. Cussy worked as a “packhorse librarian.” She carried books to some of the poorest and most remote shacks in Appalachia. The packhorse lending library was sponsored by the WPA of the Roosevelt administration. Cussy’s patrons grew to appreciate her love for books and gave her the name Book Woman. This book made me think about the importance of reading and how I often take it for granted.

START NEW HABITS

It’s hard to change old habits, but here are five tips to increase your time spend reading.

Read for fifteen minutes every night before you go to bed.

Order books from the public library. Most libraries lend ebooks these days.

Join a book club. You’ll read books you wouldn’t normally read, and make lifelong friends.

Join Book Bub, an online service that emails you daily with reduced prices on Amazon ebooks that suit your interests.

Dedicate one night a week to uninterrupted reading. Stay away from your phone, or better yet, turn it off.

Hopefully I’ve encouraged you to get busy reading, but keep reading blogs, too! (I think that counts.) What are you reading lately? Leave a comment about a book you’ve enjoyed, or offer a reading tip of your own.

Have You Abandoned Cursive?

On Father’s Day my family had an interesting discussion about cursive handwriting.  My husband said he practiced cursive with a fountain pen.  This laborious method involved dipping the pen in a bottle of ink. He continued to write in cursive throughout grade school. Now his handwriting is practically illegible. He tells me, “I can read it right after I write it, but if it sits there awhile I can’t understand it.”

As a parent, I forced my son to practice cursive every day for a whole summer, yet none of those exercises improved his penmanship. I remember being embarrassed during a parent teacher conference. A middle school teacher described his handwriting as primitive. Today he’s a successful attorney who signs documents electronically with an x.

Prior to the adoption of Common Core Standards, cursive was a large part of the third grade curriculum. My featured photo is from a worksheet I distributed every year to my third graders. Prior to retiring in 2013, I loved teaching cursive. Most of the children were excited about learning it. I remember spending hours grading their handwriting. I proudly displayed their excellent work on a bulletin board. Today I wonder if any of them still write in cursive.

For most schools, cursive is out and keyboarding is in. My husband and son think cursive should not be taught and view it as a waste of time. I can’t imagine living without cursive. I journal, take notes, make grocery lists, and sign my name in cursive. I think of it as a more efficient way to write.

My mom, age 85, joined our discussion. “What about people’s signatures? Isn’t that important?”

“Not anymore, Grandma,” my son responded. “Who writes checks? I pay all my bills online.”

Grandma shook her head. “Not me.”

In the distant past, cursive was considered a trademark of literacy. Mastering this skill meant you could not only write, but read other’s cursive. If cursive is no longer taught, future generations won’t be able to read historical documents. Journals and letters written by family members who’ve passed on will not be understood by their children. I imagine technology already exists to scan cursive and turn it into print. And the reverse, creating script from print. This seems so impersonal. A person’s handwriting used to say a lot about themselves.

What will become of people who analyze handwriting? According to graphologist, Kathi McKnight, cursive gives a good indication of our personalities. She asks people to write a simple sentence in cursive. A right slant means you’re open to others and like to socialize. A left slant means you like to work alone. No slant at all indicates you tend to be logical and practical.

I guess graphologists will be out of a job. Too bad, Kathi.

I’m afraid cursive has become an ancient artform. Its continuation now relegated for parents to teach at home. By the way, Amazon sells workbooks for adults and children. But what child wants to spend their summer vacation practicing cursive? Ask my son. It didn’t work for him.

Have you abandoned cursive? Do you think teaching it in school is a waste of time? Leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you. I’m growing my audience and would love to have you as one of my followers.