Pat McCarthy is the author of a dozen nonfiction books for children and young adults. She has published numerous stories, articles, puzzles and quizzes in magazines for children and adults. She teaches for the Institute of Children's Literature. She has also written encyclopedia articles and school curriculum. Pat is a retired elementary school teacher who subs to remain in touch with kids. Her hobbies are photography, travel, birding and scrapbooking.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Wow! I can't believe it's been two weeks since I've posted anything! I've been busy. First I had to get the outline done for my book. It was due June 18, but I had to leave for a week on the 14th, so I had to do it fast. I e-mailed it on the 13th and it was approved by the 15th. But I was in Pennsylvania, having a good time scrapbooking at Becky's house with her, Kay, and Karen. Went to my sister, Kay's near Akron on Thursday, and we drove over to Becky's on Friday. Back to Kay's on Thursday and home on Friday. Then I started working on the book. Have to work hard because I'm leaving Thursday morning for a four-day birding trip to West Virginia. I'll have a week to finish it when I get home. And I had to prepare a Powerpoint presentation to give at Birders club tonight, about my trip in November to Wolf Park and Jasper/Pulaski Wildlife Area. Tomorrow night I have Photo Club Board meeting, and since it's going to be a luau, I think it will go later than usual. I have to make a fruit salad to take to that. Okay, back to work.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Book Assignment

I'm excited tonight. I got a book assignment today, and it's been a long time. This is to do a leveled reader for sixth grade. It's one of the below-level books for kids with reading problems, so it will be written on fifth grade level. It's called "Life and Times of George Washington Carver." It has a pretty tight schedule. The outline is due a week from today, and the whole book four weeks from today! I planned to leave Wednesday night to go to my sister's, then on to Becky's for a week of scrapbooking. Now we've pushed that back a day and I'll leave on Thursday afternoon. I think I can get an outline done by then. The book is 10,000 words and it's a flat fee book, rather than a royalty book, but one good thing is that I'll get the money soon and I really need it! I took off for the Dayton Library as soon as I accepted the assignment. Our library doesn't have enough variety. I've read one book and gotten an idea of the chronology of his life and how to divide it into chapters. Off to bed so I can work hard on it tomorrow!

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Sunday, June 10, 2007

Photos from the Smokies

 
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School's Out!

Well, school is out and I'm through subbing for the year. I've enjoyed it for the most part, but it will be nice to have more time.

I heard back from all three editors I e-mailed last week. Two wanted writing samples, which I sent, and the other wants me to submit a proposal and says he'll work with me on it. He's sending me another book in the series to pattern this book after. So that sounds quite promising!

I'm busy getting ready to go to my sister's on Wednesday night. I'll leave from Dayton after the Photo Club Board meeting, which will probably be over about 9. That will get me to her house about midnight. The next day we're going to Pennsylvania to spend a week scrapbooking with our friend, Becky. Our other friend, Karen, will join us there on Sunday and stay till Wednesday. So I'm sorting through all my stuff so there will be room in the van for my stuff and Kay's!

I'm also trying to go through the big plastic tubs where I put everything from the garage when I had it made into a family room. I'm trying to sort things and get them ready for a garage sale on June 23. Hopefully I can get rid of a lot of stuff and make some money for the Birders Virginia trip at the end of the month.

Thursday night was the Photo Club Banquet. I won a People's Choice Award for the Smokies photo of the sun rays streaming through the trees in the fog. They also gave me a funny award for being the person with the most colorful glasses! I got a huge pair of pink sunglasses, and a bag with four pair of Dollar Tree glasses (that's where I buy them!) Also got an award for amassing 750 Service Points to the club over the past 17 years. At the last board meeting, they made me go to the restroom while they decided what to get me. I was happily surprised to get a gift bag with two 2 gigabyte cards for my Canon digital Rebel XT! I can shoot forever without running out of cards!

Well, back to work on my sorting.

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Saturday, June 02, 2007

A Surprise and Some Writing Leads

Haven't entered anything for awhile. Subbed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday in sixth grade there were no lesson plans, I had a double period of Language Arts, then five classes of art in a class where the other teachers said she lets them yell the whole period. Got some stuff from another LA teacher and told them in art that they could talk, but not yell. Got through it somehow. At least it was in the basement and not too hot.

Thursday was upstairs with fourth grade, but the teacher has bad allergies, so they put in a window AC. That helped. The most intersting thing was that I met the little half-sister of my grand-niece. I don't know if this little girl knows she HAS a big sister, so I didn't say anything, but boy, she sure looks like Heather did at 9! My nephew adopted Heather when she was about that age, as her dad had never had anything to do with her.

Friday was fifth grade and another hot day. The morning was fine because I didn't have my homeroom! The other two classes worked quietly on their math test and worksheet, so I let them play a game for the last part of the period. The homeroom is the class from _ _ _ _ .
There are four boys who are a mess. One never stops talking, one didn't take his ADD medication, one was in in-school suspension, and the other says he's supposed to sit back in the corner and be quiet, but he doesn't have to do any work. I told him when I'm there, he's going to work.

I got lucky, because a few minutes into the afternoon one of the tutors came in and said, "I'm going to take B_ _ _ _ off your hands." (The one without the medication). "Who else do you want me to take?" I pointed to the kid in the corner and she took him, too.

Then it wasn't too bad. They got their test and worksheet done, with some talking. I had taken puzzles for them to work on when they finished their work. Then we divided into two groups and played the game. I had to play because one group was short, but it was fun.

I'm there for them again Monday, and she just left a huge stack of worksheets on the desk and said to pass them out in any order, or do anything I want. I know darn well that with only two days of school left, they're not going to sit there quietly working on worksheets that they know won't count anyway! So I'm going to come up with more puzzles, another game or two and show the video of My Side of the Mountain in the afternoon.

I asked on the NF for Kids list if anyone knew of a publisher assigning biographies. Two people let me know of publishers that are, and my friend, Laura Salas, told me one of her publishers is looking for someone to do some nonfiction chapter books for sixth grade and had asked her to pass the word. So I e-mailed two of them and am putting together a proposal for the other. Hopefully one of them will pan out. Even better, maybe ALL of them will! I can write pretty fast when I have to! Went to the library in Dayton today to get some books.

My cat, Oz, has found a new favorite plase to lie. He likes the towel stand in the bathroom! So I'm posting a picture of him in there.

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