Lauren enjoys visiting schools and libraries and sharing the delights of writing with children. With an MS in education and 17 years experience presenting author talks, she is comfortable with small or large groups. Her presentations vary, depending on the ages and interests of her audience.

• Magic Moments - where she gets her ideas
• Writing Process - how to turn ideas into stories, poetry, plays and nonfiction
• Never give up - making revisions and places to send your work
• Questions from children

Big Bird Brings Spring To Sesame Street
(Grades K-2)

Familiar characters come alive as audience volunteers use puppets in an exciting interactive reading of Big Bird Brings Spring To Sesame Street. Along the way, they learn the lessons of friendship and sharing. Colors, numbers, making predictions and problem solving are emphasized. In addition, children learn how characters influence plot development as they use their creativity to improvise a retelling of the story using different character/puppets.

The Santa Fe Trail Lives
(Grades 3-5)

Lauren shares her experience helping her eleven year old son, Andy, turn a journal he kept during a vacation into a publication for Cobblestone magazine. She demonstrates how Andy contacted the magazine for writer's guidelines, wrote and revised his article to fit the magazine's word limit, worked with an editor to review galleys and, finally, saw his by-liner in Cobblestone. A list of contests and publications for young writers will be provided.

Going on a Picnic
(Poetry, Grades 3-6)

Who doesn't love a picnic? As students take items out of a picnic basket, they learn about rhyme, rhythm, and the language of poetry with a fun surprise at the end. Afterwards, Lauren shares her 'bloopers' and explains why she rejected them. Students then divide into pairs to write their own couplets and, by the end of the session, the class will have completed a poem.