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   It is a delight to spend time among students! We have fun learning together. With younger students, I wear my Labcoat of Letters (because writing is both an ART and a SCIENCE) and create Stories on the Spot to reinforce the curriculum standards. With older students, we talk about the writing process and careers in writing using the Million Dollar Myth PowerPoint presentation. Arts Integration visits are available through the Metropolitan Arts Council. Contact me to set up a visit with your group of any age and size.

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In the last three years, I've met with more than 450 students! Below is some of the feedback I've received.

   "Mrs. Thomas was a wonderful asset to our instructional program.  Her lesson with my students on poetry was fascinating. My students are still experimenting with the concepts of syllables and rhythm in their writing. Her lesson integrated mathematics and poetry. We used this as a springboard into a series of lessons that combined poetry and mathematical functions. Mrs. Thomas was a wonderful guide as she gently helped my students consider aspects of poetry that many of them had not worked with before. I would love to have Mrs. Thomas return to work with my students on any occasion. Her knowledge, demeanor and skillful delivery of content created an environment in which my students felt free to explore and find their own voices."
   Sara Newell, 5th Grade teacher, Charles Townes Center at Sterling School

   "Your experience in the industry was a great help as we worked to guide the young minds who were so desperately interested in sharing their writing! Your website provided practical and helpful links for those students to take what we started with them and proceed toward finding a suitable market for their work."
   Kristie Brown, NBCT, Challenge Teacher, Bryson Elementary, Fork Shoals Elementary

   Below are classroom visits, professional workshops and conferences in which I've participated this year. 

Calendar and Events 2008

January to February, Laura Purdie Salas online writing course for writing nonfiction (participant)

January, SCBWI Moscow Critique Group commences (founder and group leader)

March, SCBWI Bologna Conference (participant)

April, Bologna International Children's Book Fair

Calendar and Events 2007

January and February, Thursday afternoons, student writing groups participant, Greenville, SC

February, publication of the winter Pen & Palette, the newsletter of the SCBWI Carolinas (editor)

February 10, "The Write Stuff Workshop," Greenville, SC (participant) with authors Vonda Skelton and Ellis Vidler

February 23, "How to Get Published," Master Class, SC Book Festival, Columbia (participant), with Katherine Fausset, Curtis Brown, Ltd.; Steve Kirk, John F. Blair, Publisher; Sandra Johnson, author and SC Book Festival Advisory Committee Member

March, MAC Arts Integration "What story is worth telling?" with the Civil War social studies standards, third grade students, Greenville, SC (grant recipient and co-instructor)

March, April and May, Thursday afternoons, student writing groups participant, Greenville, SC

March, April and May, Tuesday and Thursday mornings, media center volunteer

 May, publication of the spring Pen & Palette, the newsletter of the SCBWI Carolinas (editor)

August 3-6, SCBWI 36th Annual Summer Conference in Los Angeles

August, publication of the summer Pen & Palette, the newsletter of the SCBWI Carolinas (editor)

September, move to Moscow, Russia

October and November, language and culture training

November, writing retreat in Royaumont, France

December, even more language and culture training at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow


Calendar and Events 2006

January through May, Wednesday and Friday afternoons, tutor k5 and 1st grade in language arts

January 20, "Stories on the Spot" school visit, Greenville, SC

January 24, "Million Dollar Myth" school visit, Greer, SC  

Fridays in February and March, "Finding Markets for Student Writing" school visit, Greenville, SC

April 1-2, writer's mentoring weekend with Harper Collins and Dial editors (moderator for Internet Resources for Writers)

April 12, interview with Ellen Pfirrmann for WNCW's "Art Break" regarding the children's writing conference; air date May 4

April 20, interview with Michelle Martin for etv radio's "Your Day" regarding the children's writing conference; air date May 15

May 8, Greenville Journal interview regarding the children's (editor) writing conference; publish date May 12

May 11, Metropolitan Arts Council (MAC) bookmaking workshop

May 20, Emrys Foundation children's writing conference, co-sponsored by SCBWI Carolinas (moderator for industry panel)

June 8, "Writing Nonfiction for Educational Publishers" live chat with Pam Zollman at the Institute of Children's Literature

June 10, early reader/chapter book workshop with Cathy Dubowski and Stephanie Greene, Concord NC

July 31-August 4, MAC Arts Integration Training Institute to develop collaborative strategies between artists and teachers, workshops with author Melinda Long, potter Shane Bryant, Carolina Ballet Theatre's Anita Sun Pacylowski, music specialist Velita Jones, and actor-director John Ellis.

August, publication of the summer Pen & Palette, the newsletter of the SCBWI Carolinas (editor)

September 18-20, Barrier Island experiential learning with fourth grade students, St. John's, SC

October, Thursday afternoons, student writing groups participant, Greenville, SC

October and November, MAC Arts Integration "What is transformation?" with the science concept of motion, third grade students, Piedmont, SC (grant recipient and co-instructor)

November, publication of the fall Pen & Palette, the newsletter of the SCBWI Carolinas (editor)

November, Thursday afternoons, student writing groups participant, Greenville, SC

 November 4, National Association for Gifted Children conference participant, Charlotte, NC

November 9, poetry session with fifth graders in Greenville, SC
November 14, WebEx seminar "What's Working in Children's Book Publishing Today" with Michael Stadther, founder and publisher of A Treasure's Trove, Inc. on "Reaching the Family Market;" Jeanne Mosure, Senior Vice President and Publisher, Disney Global Book Group on "TV Tie-ins to Books;" and Susan Katz, President, HarperCollins Children's Publishers on "Targeting the Teen Market"

December, Thursday afternoons, student writing groups participant, Greenville, SC

December 5, SCBWI online chat with literary agent Erin Murphy