Let’s Get Ready with Cedar Valley Publishing

Make your dreamscape come alive and write about a wacky dream you or one of your characters has had and can’t stop talking about it. It’s all about the wackiest dream, but make sure it is appropriate for children ages 12 and under.

Submissions accepted: March 1, 2009 thru May 30, 2009

Who can enter? Two categories: one for adults and one for children (17 and under)

Contest Fees: Adults $10 / children FREE

Contest Prizes:
The Top Three stories for both categories will be published in the following months:
1st place-July 2009
2nd place-August 2009
3rd place-September 2009

In addition to publication in Stories for Children Magazine, our Top Three Winners in both categories will receive:

For Adults:  

1^st Place:  A year’s subscription to Children’s Writer, published by the Institute of Children’s Literature.

2^nd Place: Writer’s Little Instruction Book: Craft & Technique, by Paul Raymond Martin, published by Writer’s Digest.

3^rd Place:  Writer’s Little Instruction Book: Getting Published, by Paul Raymond Martin, published by Writer’s Digest.

For Youth (17 and under): a $10 gift certificate to a store of their choice.

Judges: The SFC Editors

CONTEST RULES

Specifications: Short stories for children ages 12 and under. Any original, unpublished piece not accepted by any publisher at the time of entry is eligible. Entries can take on any form of wackiness. Maximum word count is 1,200 words. (This is not including your title or byline.) NO sexual, violent, or drug related content. Winners will be selected based on quality and appeal to our readership at Stories for Children Magazine.

All entries must follow Stories for Children Magazine’s submission guidelines at: http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org/WackyDreamStoryContest.aspx

All submissions must be emailed as an attachment to: SFCcontests@StoriesForChildrenMagazine.org by midnight May 30, 2009. In the subject line, write “Wacky Dream Story Contest” and indicate adult or youth category.

No mail-in entries will be accepted! No acknowledgement of the receipt of entries will be sent. Multiple entries are allowed, but must be sent separately.

FOR ADULT WRITERS: An invoice will be sent via PayPal for the contest fee of $10.

What an honor for me!  I have been featured as a guest author on www.StoriesForChildren.com - and I couldn’t be more proud!

Stacey Kannenberg, affectionately known as the “Let’s Get Ready to Learn Mom,” is an author, publisher, motivator, consultant, spokesperson, and mom.  Stacey is a nationally-renowned education expert and award-winning author with an expertise in children’s education and “Mom-entrepreneurship.” She is the Founder/CEO of Cedar Valley Publishing and the co-author of the Let’s Get Ready series. Come along on this amazing journey and learn more about Stacey’s accomplished career and how her writing talents help children get ready for school. Stacey’s books include “Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten!” and “Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!” winner of the 2007 Teacher’s Choice Family Award by Learning Magazine. Pre-order the Spanish/English Bilingual Edition of “Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten!” at http://www.cedarvalleypublishing.com.

Click Here to Read the Entire Interview

I am a huge fan of Stories for Children Magazine!!

Sign up and see my interview with them coming soon!

You might remember that we recently posted about the Hutsler Family.  They were trying to raise $25,000 to adopt a child.  Here is the update:

As you know, January 15 was the deadline for our money to be due with the agency.  Before I let you know what’s going on, I want to thank each of you for your efforts in helping us to adopt. God has been so good to us and it has been amazing to watch Him move through each one of you.  You all have blessed us tremendously.

Despite our best efforts, the $25,000 that we needed for this adoption has not been completely raised.  So, the agency has decided to match Billie Kay and the baby boy we were hoping for with another family. This family has recently gone through a disruption (their birth mother backed out and changed her mind).  Since their adoption fee has already been paid, the agency thought it best to match Billie Kay with a family that was more financially secure.  We are sorry to say that our “Valentine’s Day boy” will become someone else’s.  Even though we are disappointed, we are very happy to know that this baby will find a forever home after all.  We realize that God’s ways are not our ways and there is a reason why we were brought to this agency. So, even though we are disappointed and a little sad, we are not discouraged.  Above all, we want you to know that no money raised has been in vain.  We are still going to adopt a bi-racial baby through ABBA Adoption and we are still working towards raising all the necessary funds for the adoption fee.  After the adoption fee has been paid we will be matched with another birth mother.  We are praying this happens SOON!
 
The good news is that since we are no longer matched with Billie Kay, we are no longer responsible for her birth mother expenses ($5,700 for rehab and perhaps more for rent and utilities for a few months).  We are praying that our new birth mother will have minimal expenses.  
 
So far, we have raised about $9,000 towards our adoption fee.  Only $6,500 to go until we’re matched!!!  Our next fundraiser is scheduled for Saturday, February 14th.  We’ll be babysitting for Valentine’s Day!  So, if you need a babysitter, we’ll be glad to offer you our services.  :0) 
 
Finally, our Home Study has been scheduled for next Friday.  As soon as we receive a copy of our Home Study, we are hoping to apply for adoption grants.  

Thank you, once again for all of your prayers and support.  We love you!    

In His Joy and Peace,
Leslie

I am a huge Seth Godin fan!! I am a member of his tribe!  Why?  Just read this post from him and pass it to everyone you know in education, you will see why:

What is school for?

Seems like a simple question, but given how much time and money we spend on it, it has a wide range of answers, many unexplored, some contradictory. I have a thoughts about education, how we use it to market ourselves and compete, and I realized that without a common place to start, it’s hard to figure out what to do.

So, a starter list. The purpose of school is to:

1. Become an informed citizen
2. Be able to read for pleasure
3. Be trained in the rudimentary skills necessary for employment
4. Do well on standardized tests
5. Homogenize society, at least a bit
6. Pasteurize out the dangerous ideas
7. Give kids something to do while parents work
8. Teach future citizens how to conform
9. Teach future consumers how to desire
10.  Build a social fabric
11. Create leaders who help us compete on a world stage
12. Generate future scientists who will advance medicine and technology
13. Learn for the sake of learning
14. Help people become interesting and productive
15. Defang the proletariat
16. Establish a floor below which a typical person is unlikely to fall
17. Find and celebrate prodigies, geniuses and the gifted
18. Make sure kids learn to exercise, eat right and avoid common health problems
19. Teach future citizens to obey authority
20. Teach future employees to do the same
21. Increase appreciation for art and culture
22. Teach creativity and problem solving
23. Minimize public spelling mistakes
24. Increase emotional intelligence
25. Decrease crime by teaching civics and ethics
26. Increase understanding of a life well lived
27. Make sure the sports teams have enough players

If you have the email address of the school board or principals, perhaps you’ll forward this list to them (and I hope you are in communication with them regardless, since it’s a big chunk of your future and your taxes!). Should make an interesting starting point for a discussion.

Sign up for Seth’s Blog at www.sethgodin.com.