Please help me welcome back Paula Mowery. She has a children’s book out with a very interesting program attached.

Paula, I’m so excited to have you back on my website, and I can’t wait to hear all about this new book!

This book, The Adventures of Chloe Ann Parker – Kindergarten, in my opinion, carries a brilliant and unique concept. Will you share with our readers how it works?

I am a teaching assistant in the Pre-K class at our elementary school, but I started going into many of the other classes, teaching writing lessons. Knowing that some of the best instruction for writing well is reading, I created a character who moves to our school in the middle of the year. The kids love that I use people in our school as characters. This first book was written post by post, showing what was happening with Chloe. Each post was accompanied by writing prompts for the kids.

This first book is based on those posts. But I decided this year I would involve a first grade class a little bit more. Chloe is in Mrs. Taylor’s first grade class, and each Friday I visit the class to get their insights into what will be posted that week. The teacher and I even sent home permission slips to each child, asking that I be allowed to use the first names of the students in the story. They especially love seeing their own names in the story.

Please explain your TAG program, which I also think is terrific.

TAG stands for Tomorrow’s Author Guild. I create writing lessons to encourage and motivate kids to write. I make myself available to the teachers to create lessons for them or to come in and present them. What we’ve found is that because I am a published author and someone different, the kids respond to me and will write for me. Some of my writing peeps call this “Mrs. Mowery tricking us again.”

How did you conceive this idea, both for the stories, and the TAG program?

Honestly, I noticed the lack of motivation in the kids when it came to writing. And the teachers were frustrated not being able to get good writing out of their students. Some teachers admitted that writing wasn’t their strong point, so it was hard for them to teach it to their students. I began to wonder, “Where will the authors of tomorrow come from?”

The first class I went into contained kids with learning problems. The teacher was discouraged with how to get writing produced from them. Enter Mrs. Mowery with her crazy writing lessons. This is the class I first heard: “Mrs. Mowery, you tricked us into writing.” To which I shrugged and said, “Told you it could be fun.”

Since our school is a Title 1 school, I figured a lot of our kids couldn’t afford reading material. However, most of their parents at least have a fancy phone that will go on the internet. So I came up with Chloe and started writing her story.

Now as to creating Chloe Ann Parker, I must admit that I love writing in her sassy little girl way.
Also the TAG program is for the teachers as well, meant to be a help in writing instruction. This is why there is a teacher resource tab on the blog.

Is this a series, so that we can expect more of them? If so, do you have a number in mind, as to how many there will be?

Oh yes, this has quickly turned into a series. In fact, the first part of Chloe’s first grade year is being edited right now. She has gotten into so many antics so far this year that her first grade year will be split into two books. The posts appearing on the blog right now will be in the second part. I plan to continue the series through Chloe’s elementary years, choosing a class at my school she will be in each year.

Paula, is there anything you would like to say to children who may be interested in writing, or to their parents?

First, to parents I would like to say – encourage your children to read good books and to write. Don’t talk about writing as a dreaded chore. And definitely don’t tell them that reading isn’t fun. Just reading books regularly can help your child more than you know – vocabulary building, comprehension, examples of how to write complete sentences and compose paragraphs, and even learn about different topics of interest.

To kids I would say the same. When I have asked author/friends what is the best way to get better and better in my writing, they say to read books. It works. Read and then get you a notebook or journal to write stories or poems or whatever you like to write. This is exactly the way I started. My mom worked at a bookstore when I was growing up. She would bring me books to read and blank journals to write in.

Thank you for being here, this month, Paula. I’ve so enjoyed having you and hearing about this new book.

Readers can find out about Paula’s TAG program on her blog at www.getkidswriting.blogspot.com.

If you’d like to win a copy of The Adventures of Chloe Ann Parker – Kindergarten, use my Contact page and type “drawing” in the comments box. The deadline to enter is January 24th.