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It's been a busy one! In the last few weeks before April Vacation, I've had Spirit Week at school and two school visits to RSU18. I hope to connect with even more readers during the 2026-27 school year now that I'll be retiring from teaching.
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Our school's MidKnight FireSlayer Program has also begun. I adore watching students learn the in's and out's of firefighting from our local firefighters at the station. After fifteen years, I still learn something new every week! They've been a huge source of inspiration for me.
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MYSTERY OF THE EAGLE'S NEST is the current read aloud in Shannon's and my inclusive classroom. I've been creating content to teach it and have been adding our student's favorite lessons to the Resources For Teacher's page on my website as we make our way through the book.
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April Vacation has been full of visiting family and friends, catching up on writing to-do's, and gardening. Spring is showing up everywhere . . . you can tell by the numerous wildlife sightings in my backyard! I'll be uncovering my kayak today, and it won't be long now until I'm out on the lake soaking up nature!
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Read on below to learn more about how I'm teaching MYSTERY OF THE EAGLE'S NEST, what I've been working on writing-wise and see my latest backyard visitors!
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Click my books above to learn more about Cooper and Packrat's wildlife adventures. If you purchase one or more from the set for a favorite reader in your life, please let me know. I'd love to send them a note, bookmarks and even a wildlife postcard or two!
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Mystery of the
Eagle's Nest!
The week before April school break, I began teaching MYSTERY OF THE EAGLE'S NEST to our students. I'm so grateful to Shannon for suggesting I do this in my final weeks of being in her classroom.
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Using the EAGLE'S NEST curriculum guide Shannon created for our chapter discussions, our classroom sketch notes for students to keep a record of clues, and a giant plot map to track the rising action, I think we're going to have a lot of fun with this adventure!
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I even have chapter by chapter video read alouds that I'd created for classrooms during Covid. Now, when our students are absent, they can easily get caught up with the story. Teachers, if you're interested in these for your own read aloud, please let me know.
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EAGLE'S NEST also ties in nicely with our mini science unit on animal adaptations! Students have been entering information on beaks and nests in their Darwin-style Naturalist Notebooks as a way to get familiar with eagle behavior before reading.
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I've created a new sketch note sheet for you to use in the classroom as well. For those new to my newsletter, Shannon and I discovered that sketch notes kept our students engaged and focused during read alouds. We model the notes as we read, pausing to add important information. We encourage students to copy ours on their sheets. They can add to them or create their own, as long as the sketch's reflect the action and they are using color. Studies show that drawing and labeling in color, as well as "doodling with intention" helps students recall important information, especially during recaps.
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Sketch notes also play a large role in a story I'm working on, Rule of Two. (See below) To say I'm a big fan of this form of note taking is an understatement.
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Sketch notes are really fun to do! The drawings don't need to be too detailed, and stick figures can be quite animated! Give it a try! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out.
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Writing News . . .
You might remember, Rule of Two, a middle grade mystery near and dear to my heart which I've been working on recently. I finished another rewrite, and I'm really happy with the results. I'm so grateful for my agent Katie's guidance!
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Rule of Two's inspiration came from a program created by Shannon Shanning, Special Education Teacher at Whittier Middle School, in conjunction with the Poland Fire Department. In this program, students from Shannon's and my inclusive classroom go to the station weekly in the Spring for lessons on firefighting ~ real lessons like knot tying and the jobs each knot is used for, CPR and First Aid Certification, cold water rescue, hose drills, the science behind fire, fire rescue simulations and more.
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Learning alongside students year after year, I began to wonder, what if? What if a student wanted to be a junior firefighter but something huge stood in their way? What if they could lose the chance to be a firefighter forever?
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Rule of Two is in Katie's hands now, and I'm ever hopeful Lillie's story finds a home.
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With Cooper and Packrat's success, it's sometimes forgotten that I got my start with The Three Grumpies, illustrated by Ross Collins and published by Bloomsbury. Released in 2003, it's sadly out of print now, but every now and then a reader's family reaches out to tell me how they found a copy and why it's a favorite in their house, especially on grumpy days.
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I've missed having a read-aloud book to bring along on school visits for the youngest readers. So over the last few months, I've also worked on a packet of Maine eco-themed picture books. A moose who wants to camp, a boy who insists on bare feet, and a little loon trying to find her brave are only a couple of the story lines I've been immersed in. It's been so much fun to visit this genre again!
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And yes, dear readers, Cooper and Packrat have been begging me for a new adventure . . . it's still in the early plotting stages. But know I'll keep you posted on any developments!
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This spring, I've been so lucky to have several new visitors to my backyard!
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In early March, a barred owl hung out for a whole day!
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And my personal favorite photo from this spring . . . . I think that's the same look I wear when the spring weather finally arrives!
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Mid-April, a river otter was seen several times by my neighbors and I. Now I look for it nearly every day!
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To say I got a bit obsessed, would be putting it mildly!
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And my third visitor was a Cooper's Hawk. It also hung out in the yard off and on for a whole day.
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Walking in nature is proven to have so many health benefits for the mind and body. I hope you find time to get outside this spring, and that you have a wonderful season full of nature and wildlife encounters! If you do, I'd love to hear about them!
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Writing News and Wildlife Sightings!
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