The Florida Everglades’ delicate and balanced ecosystem is being threatened by new species of plants and animals that have no natural predators. For instance, Old World climbing fern, which is not native to Florida, is smothering plants that grow naturally there and that are needed for food and protection to other species.
The Burmese python, which used to be imported to Florida for pet stores, (more…)
Introductions can be boring. Super boring.
Young writers think they have to fight with a blank piece of paper for that first, amazing sentence before they write anything else, and so they get stuck.
Cue the tissues. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
A mom recently asked me to look at her son’s essay. He was entering a state-wide speech contest on the topic of responsibility and had written a solid essay—except for the introduction. He was going to put his listeners to sleep with it.
We were all sitting at his kitchen table. I turned to this teen and asked him, (more…)
The world lost an important poet, writer, and human being in 2014.
On May 28, 2014, Maya Angelou, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and other famous books, died quietly in her sleep. You can learn more about her here.
Maya Angelou wrote many memoirs about her fascinating life. One of them is The Heart of a Woman, from which the following two quotes are taken. (more…)
It’s that time of year when everyone likes to give advice about the future—your future!
Yes, it’s close to graduation time!
Colleges and universities enjoy speeches from such luminaries as actor Denzel Washington, poet Billy Collins, documentary producer Ken Burns, actor Matthew McConaughey, Bill Nye (the Science Guy), and former President Obama during commencement.
Here’s a quote from actress Sandra Bullock at the Warren Easton Charter School’s graduation in New Orleans: (more…)
I recently cleaned out my purse and found seven expired coupons, most of them for clothing and craft stores. Now that you know how disorganized I am . . .
These coupons gave me an idea for a prompt you can do with your children.
Why do I suggest that you write with your children? When they see you writing, they learn that it’s a legitimate activity in which they can have success. Plus, it’s a lot of fun to read the results to each other. You might be surprised at what you learn about your kids. (more…)
What happens when the CEO of a large corporation supports traditional marriage? And what happens when he gives money to a political campaign to support traditional marriage?
FYI, we’re using the term “traditional marriage” to mean the marriage between one man and one woman.
Mozilla, a software company based in California, recently came under fire when some people discovered that their new CEO Brendan Eich had (more…)
Writing tools for all ages!
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