I’ve got a few fun speaking engagements coming up. The first is this weekend! On Saturday, I’ll be speaking at the Illinois Reading Council’s annual conference with the lovely and talented Brenda Ferber, author of Julia’s Kitchen and the soon to be released Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire.

We are speaking Saturday morning on the topic of how authors use emotion, and I think it will be a very useful thing to for teachers and librarians to think about, applicable both to helping their students become better readers AND better writers. But I’ll talk about more about my thoughts there, after the conference.

Next week, April 1, I’ll be at the SCBWI-Illinois far north suburbs network meeting. We’ll be at the Hawthorne Mall Barnes and Noble from 7-9 pm.(It’s not a joke, even though it’s happening on April Fool’s Day.) I’ll be giving a talk about how to get started writing a novel. Sometimes the hardest part is just beginning.

Hope to see you there if you’re in the neighborhood!

I don’t mean I dreamed the dream equivalent of “a stitch in time saves nine” or “a apple a day keeps the doctor away.” I mean, in my dream, I invented a new proverb. A strange proverb.

Well actually, I didn’t invent it. Justine Larbalestier did. In my dream she wrote me an email to talk about my work-in-progress.

No, I do not know Justine, nor have I ever communicated with her before, other than in my dreams. Yet I have dreamed her several times. I do not know why. I never dream any other YA authors. Though I do enjoy her books and her blog.

Here is what she told me regarding said WIP. That I was “too wound by the moldy milk in the mustardy.”

I knew exactly what she meant, too. In my dream mind, this made up proverb comes from the fact that if cows eat too many mustard greens the milk will be mustardy-tasting (I have no idea if this happens in real life,) but here I was worrying that some of the milk got moldy, when I had the much bigger problem of all of the milk tasting mustardy. In short, she meant don’t spend all your time working on a small part of the problem if you haven’t fixed the bigger problem.

Only, I didn’t think I was doing this with regards to my WIP, so I’m not sure I know what this dream was telling me.

Justine?

It’s National Children’s Dental Health Month! The perfect time to download my teacher’s guide and try some fun tooth related activities in your home or classroom.

It’s also the perfect time to announce four new winners of the third grade box o’ fun!
Ms. D. of Brooklyn, NY
Ms. H. of Saratoga Springs, UT
Mrs. M. of Clifton, NJ
and
Ms. J. of Phoenix, AZ

I also want to thank all the readers from Lone Grove Elementary School who sent me such special letters. I’ll be writing back to each of you, but just wanted to share some of the wonderful pictures of Polly you sent me!

Wildlife control is trying to wrestle him into a cage.
I’m not getting much writing done.

And I don’t know how he even got into the house in the first place.

I know we are technically six days into the new year, but in my world (which mostly consists of being a mom) life didn’t start back up until yesterday. And all you teachers didn’t go back to school until yesterday, too, and the first day back to school can be kind of chaotic. So really the contest announcement is right on time.

Without further ado, the winners for January are:

Ms. K of Buena Vista, VA and Ms. T of Brookville, IN.

Yesterday (instead of posting winners on my blog) I treated myself to something I’ve never done before: a writing date. I met a writing friend at a coffee shop and we worked silently side by side all morning. Have any of you done this before? I was worried it might become hangout time instead of writing time, but actually, I was incredibly productive. I don’t think it was because I was trying to look good, either. I think the simple act of sitting next to someone who is working and focusing rubs off, and makes you work and focus more than you would if you were alone.
Especially if when you are alone you are sitting next to the telephone, the kitchen and internet access. 😉

This month’s third grade boxes o’ fun go to:

Ms. W. in Arizona
Ms. A. in Texas
and Ms. B. in Texas

Congratulations!!

There is still plenty of time to enter. I’ll be giving away prizes through the end of the school year. Just click here for more info.

As much fun as it is giving away copies of my book, giving away FIVE copies of my book was even more fun. Exponentially more fun!!!

So I’m doing it again.

The five lucky winners of THIRD GRADE BABY for the month of November are:

Mrs. R. in Edmonton, Alberta

Mrs. T. in Cincinnati, Ohio

Ms. M. in Lone Grove, Oklahoma

Mrs. Z. in Burlington, MA

Ms. S. in Birmingham, AL

Congratulations!!! I hope you and your students enjoy my book.

It’s a few days past the first of the month, but better late than never, right?
However, I’m feeling a little guilty. And also, October is my birthday month, so I’m feeling a bit celebratory as well. So…. (drumroll please)

I’ve chosen FIVE winning classrooms this month.

Congratulations to:
Ms. M’s class in Riverside, CT
Ms. K’s class in Ramsey, NJ
Mrs. L’s class in Peoria, AZ
Mrs. K’s class in Marietta, GA
and Ms. M’s class in Brooklyn Park, MN

I hope you have fun reading THIRD GRADE BABY. I look forward to talking with you!

And of course, everyone is still welcome to enter! Drawings will be held every month for the rest of the school year. Just send an email to contest@jennymeyerhoff.com with the name, school and city of your favorite third grade teacher (even if it’s yourself!) For more info click here.

And just for fun, here’s a picture of me at my latest signing reading part of chapter ten with the help of my daughter in the role of Martha Molar.

…but I made it myself and am kind of proud.