Old Map of Daerland I’ve always liked maps. Real or imagined, they’re artistic and quite useful. I was cleaning out desk drawers and unearthed a forgotten map of Daerland I had sketched back when I realized I needed the layout to write the story. Of course, things changed as the story grew, and my illustrator did her magic for the final version for the book. Map-making is a great activity for kids young and old. We read Treasure Island in my 4th grade class and when I annou

Writing Activity for Kids...or Anyone Mix & Match Story Elements Get your creative juices flowing… Do you know those “mixed being” books? The ones where you flip sections of a page to mismatch the head or torso or legs and make a funny creature? This is a sort of “mixed being” writing activity using characters, setting, and plot. I learned this at a Loft Literary Center class from Lisa Bullard. I use this activity with students of varying ages and it’s always a big hit. It'

Do you ever have plans for a project and just don't know how to get started? Yeah, that's me in most artistic endeavors...especially when...